Cadent acquires 4Info to beef up cross-screen targeting

Dive Brief:

• TV ad-buying platform Cadent has acquired data-matching company 4Info, a move intended to enhance advertisers’ ability to target and scale audiences across data-driven TV, including cable, broadcast, addressable TV, OTT, and connected devices, according to a press release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• The acquisition will give Cadent’s advertiser clients access to 4Info’s data activation platform and audience graph technology when buying ads in order to target devices at a household level. 
• The two companies have been partners since 2018 and have become more integrated over the last year, offering 4Info’s data-activation capabilities on Cadent’s buy-side TV planning and activation platform, according to the release.

Dive Insight:

As the connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) marketplace heats up, players will have to offer advertisers better tools in order to compete. Cadent’s deal for 4Info is just the latest example of how the landscape is evolving as stakeholders jockey for a leading role at a time when a number of new streaming content services have debuted or are getting ready to launch. In another example, Rubicon Project and Telaria last month announced plans to merge to create the largest independent sell-side platform in the advertising industry.

Cadent’s acquisition of 4Info aims to help advertisers understand which devices belong to the same household, in order to reach consumers on the appropriate device across set-top boxes, connected TVs and mobile apps. This could help advertisers scale up their CTV campaigns and streamline their media-buying efforts at a time when fragmentation is high. 

As viewing habits evolve, the ability to get an ad in front of the same users across devices could help advertisers drive results. More than 90% of advanced TV cross-screen campaigns from retailers, CPGs, automotive and entertainment companies saw online sales lift, 4Info reported in 2018. Financial services campaigns alone saw a 462% sales increase.

CTV advertising is on the rise among brands looking to reach cord-cutting consumers who are accessing content across a variety of devices. CTV media spending increased 38% to $6.94 billion in the U.S. last year, per eMarketer. By 2023, CTV ad spend is forecast to hit $14.1 billion, as advertisers target audiences on streaming services such as Hulu, Roku and YouTube.

As the marketplace grows, video ad impressions on connected TVs are growing. Ad software firm Extreme Reach found in October that CTV generated twice as many impressions as  in Q2, up 31% from the same period a year before. The CTV and OTT space will continue to heat up in 2020 as more new streaming services launch. In this environment, more tie-ups like Cadent and 4Info’s are expected.