AppNexus Launches Twixt; Automating TV Ad Buying

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AppNexus Direct

A new “programmatic direct” solution from AppNexus aims to streamline negotiations that happen before digital ad buys occur. Using the product, called Twixt, “a buyer can send out RFPs out to a list of sellers, gather and compare their responses, negotiate line items, and agree to terms with publishers,” reports AdAge. For the time being Twixt is free, perhaps to accelerate adoption in a crowded competitive environment that includes players like Yieldex, iSocket, Bionic Ads and AdSlot. Read more.

Automating TV

NBCUniversal may use automation to sell some TV ad inventory at its Upfront this spring, through the use of private exchanges. The WSJ reports this is not the media conglomerate’s first move to automate TV buying. When Interpublic Group of Cos partnered with several media companies last year to test a programmatic ad-buying platform for TV and radio, NBCU was purportedly on deck to join the group. Read more.

Video Botnets

TubeMogul released a list of dozens of fraudulent sites that are generating as many as 30 million nonhuman video views per day. Adweek’s Garett Sloane notes the video DSP uncovered three new sophisticated botnets generating faulty traffic and “contaminating advertiser cookie data.” They are Blog Bot, Annex Bot and 411 Bot. Read more on the “Clear Skies Initiative.”

Social ‘Accelerator’ At Condé

A tool incubated by Ars Technica that predicts when a story will go viral will be adopted by its sibling publishing brands at Condé Nast. Called The Accelerator, the product’s aim is to help Conde monetize social media traffic and sell ads next to popular Web content. It recalls a similar social media program, Ricochet, launched by The New York Times back in 2012. Such programs could help big publishers reduce their reliance on Facebook and Twitter. Digiday has the story.

Yext Revenue

Yext revenues were $2.7 million in 2011, $14.7 million in 2012 and $33.8 million in 2013, CEO Howard Lerman disclosed in a DEMO conference preso last week. Lerman added that the 2014 run rate is $56 million. More. The company has pivoted from a pay-per-call ad network to a licensed “geomarketing” solution, and Lerman says 100% of current sales come from recurring SaaS revenue.

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Bain Invests In Kenshoo

Tel Aviv-based search and social platform Kenshoo has raised $20 million in a funding round led by Bain. The investment values the company between $400M and $500M, the WSJ reports. Kenshoo said the cash injection will support its global expansion plans. Read on.

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