Google purchased Admeld recently and made waves in the display advertising industry. The clients and technology bought by the billions of dollars at Google’s disposal are a reflection of how impotent the competition are to them in the long run.
By purchasing Admeld, Google is one step closer to putting together a full end-to-end advertising stack that helps advertisers buy impressions in far more efficient fashion, wrote Alan Pearlstein. Where are Yahoo!, Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, Axciom, and Experian in all of this The other powerful digital technology companies need to consider getting involved in data, because if they don’t, Google will be the only player with a stack that can scale display. Google dominates search practically without rival. You can argue that Yahoo! and Microsoft have their toes in the game, but second place in the search game with less than half the market share of the leader is like a baseball team being 25 games out of first place in mid-July. In other words, there’s no chance of catching up.
Along with Admeld, Google has invested in DoubleClick, and last year bought Invite Media to facilitate real-time buying for display. Yahoo has been slow to react to these trends with integrating real-time bidding of their own, and Google may one day turn their covetous eyes towards direct mail and lead-generation, threatening powers like InfoUSA and Experian.
There are whispers throughout the industry about Admeld clients getting ready to jump ship and find new partners, or that Microsoft will take a renewed interest in the space, added Pearlstein. I sure hope so — the time is right for any other major display company or technology giant to take on Google. If all the other players in the game sit back and let Google assemble a stack without competition, then they’re going to be wiped out. They might not have the pockets, but even Google can’t afford every company. Some companies even bristle at the thought of a Google buyout. If someone is going to take Google on, they had better do it soon.
Source: AdAge
