Content giant Taboola and Outbrain announced that they are merging and becoming one company to sponsor content recommendations. "We have a greater chance against Facebook, Google, and Amazon," says Taboola CEO and founder Adam Singolda
Hila Kidar
Taboola and Outbrain – two content-based digital advertising giants – are merging: Outbrain, founded in 2006 by Yaron Galay, and Taboola, founded a year later by Adam Singolda, since their inception, they have mastered content recommendations for surfers around the world. Both companies have been profitable in recent years.
Under the merger agreement, the two companies will operate under the name "Taboola", which will hold 70% of the company's shares. Outbrain will receive 30% of the company's shares, in addition to paying $250 million to its shareholders. The merged company will undergo a rebranding process, and Adam Singolda, founder, owner, and CEO of Taboola will also remain in the CEO position for the merged company, which will include a total of 2,250 employees in Israel and worldwide.
An algorithm that matches the content to the reader
The success of both platforms lies in the algorithm they have developed, which allows them to tailor the content to the reader. Advertising with Taboola or Outbrain allows readers interested in real estate, for example, to be more exposed to marketing articles in this field.
The unification of the companies is expected to have a positive impact on both the advertisers and the advertising and digital offices working with the platform. Also, the content sites that drive more traffic and higher staying times can enjoy the merger between the two.
Adam Singolda himself said after the merger was announced that the merged company could offer more distribution, more innovation, and later, more features to help them focus their advertising. Indeed, the purpose of the merger is to utilize the best of each company and bring more value to users and advertisers than traditional advertising.
Key Benefits for Marketers:
Wider Distribution – When the two companies work together, content sites that were exclusive to each company were opened. This way, advertisers can get more visibility across all content sites regardless of which company they choose to advertise and of course without paying twice and manage two advertising budgets (as before).
Smarter development – Both entities benefit from leading development and software teams that are now going to collaborate and produce better and more accurate algorithms. The integration of forces will surely have far-reaching results in the ability of the platforms to target the content and produce better results for both users and advertisers.
Why the Merger?
This appears to be one of the most sought after mergers in digital advertising – two companies that share the same niche of content recommendations and waste resources and energy, among other things, on competition between themselves, with each platform dominating other media bodies and signing exclusives with different advertisers.
Now, the merged company can focus on the really important thing: a fight against the undisputed control of digital advertising – Facebook, Google, and Amazon – that is taking huge steps toward entering the field.
Taboola founder and CEO Singolda said: "The merger will allow us to reach 2 billion people each month, giving us a greater chance against Facebook, Google and Amazon dominating the market with 10 million advertisers, while we only have a few tens of thousands."
If the merged company succeeds in attracting more advertisers as it surely will, it will become a major player in the content-based digital advertising market.
* Hila Kedar is the content manager at Malis Digital, which specializes in producing journalistic articles and marketing on Taboola and Outbrain.
