Digital ad technology platform Magnetic has taken a big step into world of real-time marketing by announcing the purchase of Cognitive Match (CM), a site retargeting provider, for an undisclosed fee.
Based in New York but with staff in the US and London, CM claims to ‘eliminate generic ads’ by using data to optimise display advertising, thus ensuring that each user receives a message which suits their tastes and preferences.
Magnetic is also headquarted in New York and has an office in London along with locations in Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit and Los Angeles. The company offers marketers the chance to leverage data gleaned from search queries and websites to present highly personalised display ads across multiple platforms.
The pair have worked together on a number of digital marketing campaigns over the last two years but after Cognitive Match announced that it was to be put up for sale, Magnetic seized on the opportunity to turn this partnership into a permanent arrangement.
The perfect fit
One of the pair’s most recent collaborations saw Magnetic use data from product reviews and vertical search sites to assist CM in identifying the best types of content for ads in real time.
It’s thought that a blend of the two approaches will enable marketers to use search data acquired by Magnetic to tweak the creative elements of display ads before they’re presented to the user.
From the perspective of those same consumers, information from any searches they conduct on a retailer’s website or vertical search page will be fed back to Magnetic who will then decide on the ads they should receive.
The move means all staff from CM, including CEO Alex Kelleher, will join the Magnetic team in their offices across New York, San Francisco and London as of this week.