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Undertone (advertising company)

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Undertone
Company typePrivate
Industryonline advertising, internet services
Founded2002
FounderMichael Cassidy
Headquarters,
Number of locations
12
Key people
Michael Cassidy (President and CEO)
Eric Franchi (Co-Founder)
Number of employees
200 (as of February 2012)[citation needed]
ParentPerion Network
Websitewww.undertone.com

Undertone is a digital advertising company founded in 2002, initially as a subsidiary of Intercept Interactive, a digital media buying company. In December 2015, Undertone was acquired by Israeli software making company Perion Network for a fee of $180 million.[1]

History

In 2010 and 2011, the company introduced proprietary high impact display ad units called "PageGrabber" and "PageSkin". Undertone's clients include AccuWeather and Britannica.[2]

Undertone has been described as one of the last independent ad serving platforms in 2009 but has since bought up several competing companies.[3]

Services and products

Undertone offers online advertising display and video advertising services that allows businesses to target ads to specific locations, demographics and keywords.[4] Additionally, Undertone offers service guarantees, promising to refund money if clients demonstrate that their ads are displayed outside the agreed-upon portfolio of website.[5]

Working conditions

Among other benefits, Undertone gives employees three to four weeks of vacation, pays 100% of premiums for health, life and disability insurance and gives everyone in the firm stock options. Employees also get a $5,000 bonus for referring staff members.

Undertone was recognized by Crain's New York in 2008,[6] 2009, 2010,[7] and 2011 as one of the Best Places to Work in New York City. In 2012, Advertising Age named Undertone the 9th Best Place to Work in Marketing & Media for the company's unique culture and emphasis on its employees.[8]

Acquisitions

In 2008, Undertone raised $47 million from JMI Equity to acquire smaller competitors.[3][9] In June 2014, Undertone signed an agreement to purchase Israeli digital media company Upfront Digital Media; it made the purchase in particular to benefit from Upfront's proprietary advertising platform.[10] Upfront, which was founded in 2010 as Legolas Media, offered managed and self-serve consoles for programmatic buying of ads direct to publishers and through a number of supply and demand partners.[11]

In June 2015, Undertone announced[12] the acquisition of Sparkflow,[13] an all-in-one platform for cross-screen rich media advertising. Sparkflow was founded in 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina by Sebastián Alberto Miret, Gabriel Sánchez Catena, and Rodrigo Oscar Vazquez, a team of digital marketing and advertising veterans with more than a decade’s experience in the rich media advertising ecosystem.

References

  1. ^ "Ad tech firm Perion buys Undertone for $180 million in cash". Reuters. 1 December 2015.
  2. ^ O'Malley, Gavin (February 3, 2012). "Undertone solidifies publisher network, signs exclusive deals with top titles". MediaPost. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  3. ^ a b Olsen, Stefanie (March 31, 2008). "Undertone Networks raises millions to buy online ad upstarts". CNET. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  4. ^ "Undertone targeting options". Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  5. ^ O'Malley, Gavin (March 7, 2012). "Undertone Promises Brand Lift of Money Back". MediaPost. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  6. ^ "Crain's Best Places to Work 2008".
  7. ^ "Crain's Best Places to Work 2010".
  8. ^ "Advertising Age Best Places to Work 2012". March 26, 2012.
  9. ^ Fung, Amanda (April 19, 2008). "NY venture capital shrugs off recession". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  10. ^ http://adage.com/article/digital/undertone-acquires-upfront-media/293657/
  11. ^ http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/undertone-acquires-programmatic-firm-upfront
  12. ^ "Undertone Acquires Rich Media Platform Sparkflow - Undertone". Undertone. 18 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Undertone Has Creative On The Brain, Snaps Up Mobile Ad Startup Sparkflow | AdExchanger". AdExchanger. 18 June 2015.