Independent ad server Flashtalking is getting into the verification business.
Today, the company announced it’s acquiring Protected Media, an anti-fraud technology business that detects and prevents Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT) across channels. But, according to Flashtalking’s blog post on the deal, the story is all about CTV, which has seen spend explode over the last year.
“Most recently, we have invested in our OTT/CTV partnerships and platform integrations with other verification partners, but this acquisition takes that commitment to the next level,” says Flashtalking CEO John Nardone. “As the only media-independent ad server with a solution the MRC has accredited in this arena, and already perhaps the most trusted in the industry, Flashtalking can ensure that clients will never have to doubt the quality of their impressions, especially expensive, high value OTT/CTV impressions.”
The other verification partners Nardone refers to include DoubleVerify, Moat, Cheq and Protected Media, which Flashtalking now owns. The company announced partnerships with all four providers in April 2020, though it remains to be seen how that relationship might change given Flashtalking’s decision to acquire a competitor.
With the acquisition of Protected Media, Flashtalking says it’s now the “only independent ad management platform that utilizes an MRC accredited solution.” (Other verification companies, like DoubleVerify have announced their own MRC certifications for CTV and OTT.)
On the deal, Asaf Greiner, Founder and CEO of Protected Media, says, “Today, our CTV solution… guarantees the validity and quality of any given transaction specifically across the CTV supply chain. Given the company’s overarching philosophy on ensuring quality and their operational commitment to the OTT/CTV space, our coming together with Flashtalking could not be a more helpful union and proposition for advertisers. The new offering stands alone in its ability to serve advertisers at the interface where it matters most.”
While the deal’s marketing centers on CTV and fraud, Protected Media also provides fraud detection and prevention, and viewability verification across desktop, mobile web and in-app.
In addition to boosting its measurement offerings, Flashtalking also touted the operational efficiency the deal affords advertisers, saying it “simplifies the ad tech stack” by combining verification technology with an ad server. This could reduce costs, operational challenges and the opacity marketers struggle with when managing multiple vendor relationships.
A few questions remain, however. Should third-party verification services be acquired and bolted on to another business? To some advertisers, the third-party aspect is a value-add, despite cost or operational challenges. Being a separate, neutral actor gives them greater confidence in the quality of their media. It will be interesting to see whether or not this is an issue for Flashtalking’s deal with Protected Media moving forward.
