Brand Networks Forms Strategic Partnership with Tapad to Expand into Cross-Device Programmatic Display Advertising

BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2018 -- Brand Networks, the company recently named a “Leader” in Social Advertising Technology by independent analyst firm Forrester Research, today announced an expansion of the company’s capabilities and offerings though a strategic partnership with Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing. This collaboration will bring programmatic display and social advertising together into one streamlined portfolio, helping Brand Networks’ partners move closer to achieving the vision of a unified customer experience across all of their digital advertising touchpoints.

Per the terms of the partnership, Brand Networks will license the proprietary Tapad Device Graph™ to execute managed media campaigns. Additionally, Tapad’s media services organization will be joining the Brand Networks organization, providing Brand Networks with seasoned industry veterans to accelerate the company’s entry into and management of programmatic display campaigns.

“This expansion comes at a strategic time for Brand Networks, as the company continues to address the ever-mounting rise of video and mobile,” said Dave Fall, CEO of Brand Networks. “Social has been an inherently strong sector to develop expertise in these categories, offering the opportunity to create multi-device experiences by leveraging the graphs available through the social platforms. With the additional depth and scale of the Tapad Device Graph™ and the infusion of talent that comes with the addition of the Tapad media services team, Brand Networks is immediately equipped to handle video and mobile in the multi-device paradigm across display, as well.”

“Tapad, at its core, is an entrepreneurial company and it is a natural progression to move from the more transactional media business to focus on what we do best in the industry — identity,” said Sigvart Voss Eriksen, CEO of Tapad. “Tapad’s talented media team will now have a new home that focuses on their core strengths giving them an environment to further progress and succeed in the media business. I look forward to the successes we both will realize by working in tandem and I am proud to have Tapad’s technology power Brand Networks’ display offering.”

This strategic move provides Tapad with the opportunity to become more focused on its identity products and already successful core graph while gaining a well-respected partner and customer in Brand Networks. As the company continues to evolve, Tapad will expand its data business, strengthening its infrastructure and creating best-in-class identity solutions for marketers at scale.

Through the partnership with Tapad, Brand Networks continues its growth as the leading provider of social, and now programmatic, advertising optimization and insights. Since its founding twelve years ago, the company has acquired two competing social advertising SaaS platforms — Optimal and SHIFT — and has received an infusion of equity from AEA Investors, a leading private equity fund based in New York. Brand Networks now serves hundreds of enterprise customers and is powering more than $500 million in media spend across every leading social media channel.

To learn more about Brand Networks, please visit www.bn.co.

About Brand Networks
Brand Networks offers best-in-class social media and programmatic display advertising optimization and insights. The company delivers award-winning adtech and services to hundreds of enterprise customers, including 71 of the AdAge 100 Leading National Advertisers and 14 of the 25 biggest US companies as ranked in the Fortune 500. Featuring the first and only Artificial Intelligence-based platform for social advertising, Iris helps brands outperform the competition with better ad performance, and helps media teams work smarter, faster and better together. As a virtual assistant, Iris brings intelligent automation to media buying, saving media analysts an average of 8 hours per week. Brand Networks was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Boston with offices in San Francisco, New York City, Rochester, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit and Sydney. For more information, please visit bn.co.

About Tapad
Tapad Inc. is a marketing technology company renowned for its breakthrough, unified, cross-device solutions. The company's signature Tapad Device Graph™ connects millions of consumers across billions of devices. The world's largest brands and most effective marketers entrust Tapad to provide an accurate, privacy-conscious and unified approach to connecting with consumers across screens. In 2015, Tapad began licensing the Tapad Device Graph™ and swiftly became the established gold-standard throughout the ad tech ecosystem. Tapad is based in New York and has offices in Chicago, London, Oslo, Singapore, and Tokyo. Tapad's numerous awards include: Forbes' Most Promising Companies, Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, Crain's Fast 50, TMCnet Tech Culture Award and Global Startup Award's "Startup Founder of the Year." Tapad was acquired by the Telenor Group in 2016. Telenor is one of the world's largest mobile operators with more than 170 million subscribers in 12 countries.   

Media Contacts:

For Brand Networks:
Colleen McCormick Blair
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 617-945-1915

For Tapad:
Dana Casalino
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 973-464-7642