Programmatic video ad platform TubeMogul has announced its intention to go public and raise US$75 million, joining the ad tech gold rush of companies seeking to tap investors for a cash injection.
The company said it planned to list on the New York Stock Exchange and will join other video ad players such as Tremor and YuMe as publicly-traded stocks, both of which have both struggled since listing. Competition in the digital video advertising space is heating up, as witnessed by AOL’s acquisition of AdapTV in August last year for US$405 million.
The importance of TubeMogul’s Australian unit was underscored by the revelation that it provided 10 percent of total company revenue last year, which totaled US$57 million. Also, the Australian revenue of nearly US$6 million was half that of all revenues (US$13m) booked by TubeMogul in 2013 in all other countries outside of the US. The company set up shop in Australia two years ago.
In its statement, TubeMogul said it planned to make digital video advertising easier to adopt, though it recognised that adopting automated media buying was a big challenge for ad agencies and brands.
“We believe that the digital video advertising market is in the early stages of a significant shift toward enterprise software solutions that address the complexities of digital brand advertising,” TubeMogul said.
TubeMogul is seeking to differentiate itself from other ad tech companies by moving its customers to its “Platform Direct” offering, which is a self-serve offering that enables brands to run their own campaigns. It also delivers TubeMogul higher profit margins as it's a lower cost software-as-a-service model, underpinned by automation and minimal overheads.
The company said its also banking on new programmatic channels for future growth.
“Our future performance will be dependent in part upon the continued growth of digital video channels, including mobile video, connected TV, social video and TV formats such as video on demand, and upon our ability to grow our revenue in these channels,” the company said.
The company has also seen strong growth in terms of how much advertisers are spending on their video ad platform. After spending US$17.8 million in 2011, total spend through TubeMogul’s platform jumped to US$53.8 million in 2012 and US$111.9 million in 2013.
The company posted a net loss of US$7.4 million in 2013, more than double its 2012 loss of US$3.5 million, and also noted it could continue to make losses.
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.