Mobile location company Verve has expanded into the German market with a buyout of push marketing firm matchinguu GmbH.
The acquisition will help the New York-headquartered firm strengthen its targeted audience segmentation offering while growing its international reach. The merge will see matchinguu’s proximity-based push and in-app notification product being integrated into Verve’s Velocity platform; a move to enable the company to offer new European audiences enhanced mobile ad experience.
Commenting on the acquisition, matchinguu GmbH’s CEO, Felix Heberle, said he was “excited” about the partnership and looks forward to seeing the results of the collaboration both in Europe and in the US as he believes Verve offers “first-in-class mobile platform” to drive strongly relevant marketing.
“matchinguu GmbH’s mission has always been to deliver a premium location data solution for our clients, allowing them to expand their storytelling capabilities beyond the norm, which has always been a core focus of Verve,” he explained.
Apart from creating a strong product to deliver engaging campaigns supported by first-party location data for Verve’s premium publishers, the mobile ad tech firm’s solutions will aid Verve in the development of its toolkit, supporting brands to interact with their known audiences within their mobile apps. As a result, Verve will be able to gain additional context to use when reaching those customers in other third-party apps through Velocity platform.
The expansion into a key European advertising market is part of Verve’s mission to improve its product and bring brands and publishers closer to the consumer. With the German acquisition, the company’s software development kit will be integrated into popular mobile apps in Germany, where matchinguu’s smartphone penetration rate stands at 25%. This will enable Verve’s clients to deliver more engaging mobile ads based on real-time consumer behaviour.
Verve’s general manager, Ian James, agrees both companies share a mission to enable great storytelling via location-driven data, which is why the deal came “naturally.”
“We are opening the doors to Germany’s foremost push technology; working together will make our offering even stronger for our clients and bring Verve firmly into the heart of Europe. Consumers demand relevance and engagement that is as seamless as possible and this acquisition will empower us to deliver this more than ever,” he commented.
With the operations set to run from matchinguu GmbH’s Munich office, Verve expands its fast-developing global footprint as its current offices span across the UK, US, Eastern Europe, India and Southeast Asia.