A month after raising<\/a> $270 million in its IPO, ad verification company Integral Ad Science (IAS) is spending almost that much to buy a further step into the world of connected TV (CTV).<\/p>\n IAS announced it had acquired Publica<\/a>, a CTV ads server platform, for $220 million in cash and stock.<\/p>\n Now it plans<\/a> to launch “a comprehensive brand safety and suitability solution for CTV advertisers and publishers in the coming months”.<\/p>\n In this video interview with Beet.TV, IAS CEO Lisa Utzschneider explains why her company is following the road to connected TV ad verification.<\/p>\n Utzschneider explained four reasons IAS is acquiring Publica.<\/p>\n 1. The M&A template works<\/strong><\/p>\n “We have a successful formula in place when it comes to acquisitions. We’ve done this already two times while I’ve been at IAS.”<\/p>\n 2. Leaning in to CTV<\/strong><\/p>\n “It’s the first inning of a long game with CTV. And, given that Publica has a leading CTV classification platform, (it) is just such opportunity for IAS.”<\/p>\n 3. Spreading to the sell-side<\/strong><\/p>\n “They have deep strategic integrated partnerships with some of the leading video publishers. Publishers, like Samsung, Philo, Fox. The majority of our business is with advertiser-direct. The combination of bringing together a robust buy-side and sell-side, there’s just so much opportunity to innovate together.”<\/p>\n 4. Team talent<\/strong><\/p>\n “The exceptional talent at Publica. They have a really strong engineering organisation and a really strong leadership team.”<\/p>\n Publica is a five-year-old connected TV ad-serving company that has grown to have employees in LA, New York, London and Paris.<\/p>\n It employs server-side ad insertion, as oppose to playing out ads from client devices themselves.<\/p>\n It built its technology with header bidding from the start. That is the technology that lets publishers entertain bids from multiple demand sources simultaneously, rather than in a \u201cwaterfall\u201d fashion, thereby reaping a better yield from a larger auction.<\/p>\n It also unifies bidding via direct sales and programmatic sources.<\/p>\n Today we acquired @getpublica<\/a> for $220M as IAS continues to transform the future of CTV advertising. It\u2019s the first inning of a long game in CTV. Where the consumers go, the marketers go…it just enables us to really accelerate that CTV opportunity. https:\/\/t.co\/SsGeDE8xsM<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TnSeuX0ym9<\/a><\/p>\n — Lisa Utzschneider (@Lisa_Utz) August 10, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe four reasons<\/h2>\n
Publica’s stack<\/h2>\n
The CTV odyssey<\/h2>\n
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