Mobile advertising company Snakk Media has entered into voluntary administration appointing advisory firm KordaMentha to assist with the proceedings.
According to LinkedIn, the company currently employees 15 staff led by CEO Joel Williams. It recently hired its first chief commercial offer, hiring Fairfax Media's Sam Buchanan.
Based in Surry Hills, the company is incorporated in New Zealand and is listed on the NXT (New Zealand Stock Exchange), offering mobile-led advertising solutions for small and medium size businesses.
Snakk Media announced the voluntary administration process on the NXT to shareholders yesterday.
The company announced negative earnings for the 2017 financial year with an analysis of the company's financials showing it spent its equity to fund its expenses before making money from its day-to-day business.
Its most recent results were a stark contrast to its early success in the mobile advertising sector with the company ranked sixth in the Deloitte Fast 50 index of the fastest-growing businesses in 2013.
The company, which aggregates publishers' ad space on mobile devices and matches it to advertiser demand, invested in growth for several years, expanding into Asia and other markets as a specialist mobile agency.
It is now collapsing as media and creative agencies up their own mobile marketing capabilities with marketers no longer viewing mobile as a single channel, rather a fundamental part of the marketing mix.
It's not the first ANZ mobile ad business to run into trouble, with Australian tech startup and mobile rewards platform Unlockd entering voluntary administration in June, following the "unanticipated threat from Google" earlier this year. In November Unlockd was then acquired by Coles and Bunnings owner, Wesfarmers.
Snakk Media has been approached for comment.
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.