In 1999, ValueClick registered their intent to make an IPO, and steady growth in 2000ValueClick captured the interest of DoubleClick, another marketing industry leader. In January of that year, DoubleClick invested $85 million in the company’s proprietary ad platform, which served up over 1.3 billion ads to 25% of Internet users in the United States in 1999. In 2000, ValueClick was generating 40 million ads daily, an impressive number by any measure, and publishers were consistently performing for their advertisers. ValueClick turned these impressive numbers into an aggressive expansion campaign, opening offices in Toronto, Paris, Munich and Sao Paulo, Brazil by the end of the year. New advertisers who came on board included heavy hitters like Ticketmaster, Nabisco, Citibank, MCI/WorldCom, Verizon, BlueNile, and the U.S. Postal Service. In early 2001, ValueClick furthered their expansion with the acquisition of Z Media. In July of 2001, the company took marketing innovation to the next level by partnering with EyeWonder to provide advertisers with the opportunity to use streaming video capabilities in pop-ups and banner ads on publisher websites without the need for any downloads on the end users’ PC’s. This new technology did away with the need for media players or plug-ins, but gave advertisers a way to provide television quality video advertising to customers while using pay-for-performance marketing. 2002 saw the merger of ValueClick and Be Free, making ValueClick, Inc. a world power in the affiliate marketing industry. By merging these two key players in the pay-for-performance industry, they combined overhead and expertise to create a company that now leads the way. Other acquisitions followed, including Commission Junction at the end of 2003, which made ValueClick the world’s largest affiliate marketing provider, and PriceRunner in 2004, bringing them solidly into the European marketplace. Most recently, in October of 2004, ValueClick announced its formation of ValueClick Direct, which will provide marketers with advice on leveraging online direct response results. The program will include strategies, creative consultations and campaign optimization for direct marketing along with a range of distribution packages for email marketing solutions and multiple performance-based options tailored to individual needs. What Makes ValueClick Unique ValueClick offers a wide range of Internet advertising solutions far beyond just affiliate marketing. One of their most productive subsidiaries is, in fact, an affiliate market specialist, Commission Junction, but it isn’t their only business. ValueClick also owns MediaPlex, which offers three distinct services: traditional third-party coordinating of publisher/advertiser relationships, management of publishers’ website advertising, and email campaign management for marketing specialists. MediaPlex’s MOJO (mobile Java objects) technology is the only platform that automatically configures ad messages in response to real-time changes in a client’s advertising needs. AdWare, Inc. is their marketing content management company. AdWare has designed and implemented one of the best workflow/project management programs of its kind for the media and marketing industry. Included in AdWare’s media array are opportunities to track and purchase media advertising through local broadcast and print content and content management solutions for digitized video and audio. PriceRunner, another subsidiary of the ValueClick giant, is a comparison shopping network currently operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Sweden and Germany. This unique marketing site is hugely popular overseas and even rates offline products and stores who vie to be on board. Related Items
About The Author Lori Wilkerson
is a full-time freelance writer who loves her work because it
gives her the opportunity to learn more about the world every
day. Right now, she knows a little bit about almost everything,
and a bunch about
starting a
homebased business using affiliate programs.
She has two dogs who are spoiled and one teenager who is not. Related Articles
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