Tapad: Difference between revisions

'''Tapad Inc.''' is a venture-funded startup company based in [[New York City]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Lunden |first=Ingrid |date=2016-02-01 |title=Telenor Jumps Into Ad Tech, Acquires Tapad For $360M |url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/02/01/telenor-jumps-into-ad-tech-acquires-tapad-for-360m/ |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Schonfeld |first=Erick |date=2011-06-15 |title=Tapad Brings Ad Retargeting To Mobile, And $1.8 Million From Powerhouse Investors |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/06/15/tapad/ |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref> that develops and markets software and services for cross-device advertising and content delivery. It uses algorithms to analyze internet and device data and predict whether two or more devices are owned by the same person. Participating websites and apps then cater their advertisements based on a collective knowledge of the user's actions across all of their devices.

Tapad was founded in 2010 by Are Traasdahl. It raised $1.8 million in funding in June 2011 and another $6.5 million in March 2013.

On January 29, 2016, Telenor Group entered into an agreement to acquire approximately 95% of Tapad Inc. The purchase price is USD US$360 million, on a debt and cash-free 100% basis. OnIn November 2020, Tapad was acquired by [[Experian]].

The idea for Tapad was conceived by cofounder and CEO Are Traasdahl at the [[Consumer Electronics Show]] (CES). Traasdahl previously founded Thumbplay, a mobile entertainment company.<ref name=":2" /> He saw attendees switching between televisions, laptops and smartphones and thought that brands should be able to cater their ads to individual users even as they switch between devices.<ref name="forbes"/>

Cofounder and CTO Dag Liodden, Traasdahl, and four others began developing algorithms for the software<ref name="forbes" /> and founded Tapad in 2010.<ref name="adage" /> It took almost a year for the company to obtain its first client, but afterwards the organization grew quickly.<ref name="forbes" /> In 2011, it raised $1.8 million in funding<ref name="techcrunch" /> and opened five more sales offices in major US cities.<ref name="forbes" /> From mid-2012 to mid-2013, the company hired 44 people and moved its headquarters to a larger office in New York City.<ref name="forbes">{{cite news|last=Colao|first=J.J.|title=Ads That Follow You Home: Has Tapad Cracked The Code Of Cross-Device Advertising?|newspaper=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2013/05/23/ads-that-follow-you-home-has-tapad-cracked-the-code-of-cross-device-advertising/|access-date=September 26, 2014}}</ref>

Another $6.5 million in funding was raised in March 2013<ref>{{cite news|title=Mobile Ad Targeter Tapad Raises $6.5 million, valued at $140 million|publisher=All Things D|first=Peter|last=Kafka|url=http://allthingsd.com/20130321/mobile-ad-targeter-tapad-raises-6-5-million-valued-at-140-million/|date=March 21, 2013|access-date=January 16, 2014}}</ref> and $7 million was raised in July 2014 to fund additional expansion in Europe.<ref>{{cite news|title=Silicon Alley darling Tapad raises $7M in capital|first=Thornton|last=Mcenery|date=July 1, 2014|newspaper=Crain's New York Business|url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140701/TECHNOLOGY/140709993/silicon-alley-darling-tapad-raises-7m-in-capital|access-date=January 5, 2014}}</ref> An additional $18.5 million in funding was raised in July 2015.<ref name="Loechnertwo">{{cite web | last=Loechner | first=Tyler | title=Tapad Adds Linear TV To Measurement Platform | website=MediaPost | date=July 2, 2015 | url=http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/252323/tapad-adds-linear-tv-to-measurement-platform.html | access-date=July 26, 2015}}</ref>

On November 19, 2020, Experian announced that it had completed the acquisition of Tapad for a roughly $280 million.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Experian plc - Experian acquires Tapad, a leading digital identity resolution provider|url=https://www.experianplc.com/media/news/2020/experian-acquires-tapad/|access-date=2020-12-20|website=www.experianplc.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Andrews |first=Robert |date=2022-06-06 |title=Next Step For Multi-ID Targeting Is Retail Media Networks: Tapad’sTapad's Connon |url=https://www.beet.tv/2022/06/next-step-for-multi-id-targeting-is-retail-media-networks-tapads-connon.html |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=Beet.TV - The Root to the Media Revolution |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Schiff |first=Allison |date=2020-11-19 |title=Telenor Sells Tapad To Experian For $280 Million |url=https://www.adexchanger.com/privacy/telenor-sells-tapad-to-experian-for-280-million/ |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=AdExchanger |language=en-US}}</ref>

In early 2015, Tapad partnered with Placed, a company that specializes in the measurement of in-store visitation by consumers, then introduced features and services that attempt to measure if an advertising campaign resulted in consumers visiting a business location.<ref name="Loechner2 2015">{{cite web | last=Loechner | first=Tyler | title=Linking Digital Ads To In-Store Visits Continues To Spread: Tapad, Placed Ink Deal | website=MediaPost | date=July 2, 2015 | url=http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/247551/linking-digital-ads-to-in-store-visits-continues-t.html | access-date=July 26, 2015}}</ref> It also introduced TV Pulse, a product that uses data from first party data suppliers to attempt to measure the effect of digital advertising campaigns.<ref name="Loechnertwo"/> Tapad’sTapad's Device Graph is also licensed to other technology companies and integrated into their products.<ref name="Loechner3 2015">{{cite web | last=Loechner | first=Tyler | title=Cross-Screen Marketing Tech Firm Tapad Raises $18.5M | website=MediaPost | date=July 2, 2015 | url=http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/249927/cross-screen-marketing-tech-firm-tapad-raises-18.html | access-date=July 28, 2015}}</ref>