Tacoda to Launch U.K. Network
The behaviorally targeted ad network is recruiting publishers, and expects to begin serving ads later this year.
Tacoda is set to expand its behaviorally targeted ad network to the U.K., opening a London office and beginning the process of recruiting publishers.
Tacoda Audience Networks, which launched in the U.S. last year, has grown to over 4,000 sites and serves nearly 100 campaigns a week, according to Curt Viebranz, Tacoda’s CEO. That success, coupled with increasing demand for a U.K.-focused network for behaviorally targeted ads, led to the decision to begin expanding to other markets, he said.
“We’ve spent the better part of 18 months transitioning from a technology company to a media company,” Viebranz told ClickZ. “We’ve established ourselves as the market leader in the U.S., and now we’re ready to judiciously explore new markets, without taking our eye off the ball in the U.S.”
Tacoda has deflected several requests to license its technology or partner to develop international networks, he said, choosing instead to focus on its U.S. operation. The company had set an internal goal of expanding in early 2007, but the availability of Paul Goad, who has been named managing director of a new London office, coupled with an increasing amount of U.K. traffic in its network, led to an earlier start, Viebranz said.
Goad is the former advertising and sponsorship director for U.K. sports publishing network TEAMtalk Media, and has previously held positions at Ad Pepper and DoubleClick. Goad will be responsible for developing publisher, client and agency relationships across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The company has hired three people in the U.K. to reach out to publishers, and expects to have enough inventory to begin serving U.K. advertisers sometime next quarter. Once the U.K. network is fully operational, which should happen early next year, advertisers will be able to segment out U.K. sites, or serve ads targeting users in the U.S. and U.K. concurrently.
Viebranz expects few advertisers to target both markets, however, since even advertisers and agencies that operate in both regions have different decision-makers for each, he said.
Tacoda is looking at a few other international markets at the moment, and could announce more expansion before the end of the year, or early next year, Viebranz said.
“We’ve got no reason to rush things, so we’re investing prudently,” he cautioned.
