Lausanne/Amsterdam

23 October 2012

PubliGroupe acquires advertising technology company Improve Digital

PubliGroupe, a Swiss-based provider of marketing and media sales services, acquires 85% of Improve Digital, a leading European provider of sell-side platform (SSP) technology and services based in the Netherlands with offices in Amsterdam, London, Madrid, Munich and Paris. Adding Improve Digital to the portfolio enables PubliGroupe to become a key player in the fast growing real-time advertising (RTA) market in Europe and its investment will accelerate Improve Digital's growth in key European markets. The acquisition is subject to approval by the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO).

Improve Digital's technology is tailored for the needs of European digital media publishers looking to automate their sales relationships and manage their own private marketplaces. Improve Digital's technology is used by over 70 premium European publishers and the company has received numerous industry awards since the company's founding in 2008. Improve Digital's billings for 2012 are anticipated to reach CHF 20 million, an increase of 100% versus 2011. The company employs 50 professionals. The two founders, Joëlle Frijters, CEO, and Janneke Niessen, CIO, will continue to lead the company during the next development and internationalisation stages. Improve Digital will operate as an independent company within the Group.

With the products and services of Improve Digital, publishers have an instant opportunity to open up thousands of buying relationships, already technologically integrated in the platform, including all major demand-side platforms (DSPs) and agency trading desks. This yields higher results, increased efficiencies and a maximum level of advertising, data safety and control. Improve Digital's technology secures connectivity to any third party vendor technology including all major ad servers that service the demand-side and cater to advertisers.

According to Forrester research, the total Western European display advertising market is expected to reach EUR 7 billion in 2015 with mobile display adding an additional EUR 2 billion to display advertising market. By 2015, a substantial part of display ad sales revenue is expected to be traded using real-time advertising in the US and the most developed European markets.

An important part of the sell-side platform's underlying concept of programmatic media buying is RTA, a technology that enables dynamic bids for specific advertising impressions as they occur in the browser in real-time rather than bulk-buying impressions on websites or ad networks based at a pre-negotiated price. The benefits of RTA are increased transparency, improved targeting methods that result in higher CPMs (cost per mille), more efficient workflows and generally more effective advertising thanks to constant optimisation on a real-time basis.

PubliGroupe's subsidiary Publicitas will use Improve Digital's technology to launch its RTA-enabled premium marketplace service for premium media owners, announced in June 2012. Through Publicitas' new offering, premium media owners can monetise their digital inventory efficiently whilst maximising yield. Publicitas is leveraging its position as a trusted partner for the world's leading media owners to bring premium inventory into the RTA ecosystem.

Arndt Groth, CEO PubliGroupe: "Improve Digital is a fast growing company with an outstanding value proposition. The dynamic and leading European sell-side platform (SSP) provider gives PubliGroupe an excellent opportunity to grow internationally in the field of real-time advertising, further developing our existing, trusted relationships with premium publishers, agencies and advertisers in a mutually beneficial manner".

Renato Martignoni, COO at Digital & Marketing Services at PubliGroupe, commented: "With this partnership
PubliGroupe will provide adequate resources to fuel the further expansion of Improve Digital's cutting-edge solution in key European markets and in Switzerland in the coming years. Advertisers and agencies have started to recognise the benefits of programmatic media buying and are now asking for larger inventory to match their increasing budgets. We are thrilled to embark on this Europe-wide venture with a team of great digital professionals".

Joëlle Frijters, CEO and founder of Improve Digital, said: "There is a whole new world evolving with new budgets seeking the automated route and more efficient ways of buying and selling media in real-time. Being part of
PubliGroupe enables us to roll-out our products and services even faster and more broadly, benefitting from an experienced, well-established network around the globe."

Janneke Niessen, CIO and founder of Improve Digital: "This investment allows us to continue to strongly develop our technology around our three strategic pillars real-time bidding (RTB), premium and data and continue to offer our clients a competitive platform, tailored to their needs allowing them to be in control of their future revenue."

Investors’ Day 2012 on 4 December 2012

PubliGroupe will hold an Investors' Day 2012 on 4 December 2012 at its headquarters in Lausanne. The acquisition of Improve Digital will be one of the subjects covered.

About Improve Digital

Headquartered in Amsterdam, Improve Digital was founded in 2008. The company provides real-time advertising technology to owners of premium digital media who want to build their own private advertising ecosystem. Improve Digital enables media owners to build, grow, manage, control and optimise their own environment, driving revenues from direct campaigns, RTA, ad networks, exchanges, trading desks and any other third party media buyers. In 2012, the company was a European Red Herring Top 100 winner and was selected a Global Red Herring Top 100 company. In 2011 Improve Digital was a Deloitte "Fast50" winner. For more information visit www.improvedigital.com.   

For further enquiries:

PubliGroupe Ltd
Beat W. Werder
Head of Corporate Communications           
Tel.: + 41 21 317 72 15           
E-Mail: bwerder(at)publigroupe.com

Improve Digital BV
Nicolas Clasen
Vice President Marketing 
Tel:  +49  170 24 63 761
E-Mail: n.clasen(at)improvedigital.com