Adbank is excited to announce the acquisition of our first ad network which closed late March and is already generating revenue for the company.

This post will cover a few key points on our acquisition strategy:

What is the point of our acquisition strategy?

How has Adbank pursued potential acquisition targets?

What is our ideal acquisition?

Details of our first acquisition.

What Is The Point of Adbank’s Acquisition Strategy?

Simply put, the acquisition strategy is to help push the pace on our primary objective which is to drive the volume of ADB tokens used for digital advertising.

There are three goals with our acquisition strategy:

Volume — Drive the volume of ADB tokens by converting existing ad tech. Learning — Learn by doing when it comes to converting existing ad tech to the Adbank platform which will allow us to effectively & efficiently scale to the next level. Case Studies — When it comes time to convert other ad tech to the Adbank platform, having proven case studies under our belt will simplify that process.

How Has Adbank Pursued Potential Acquisition Targets?

We have had a 3 pronged approach for deal flow. First, we have leveraged existing relationships with online brokers and searched all listings for any businesses related to digital advertising that are for sale.

Second, we hired a firm that specializes in generating inbound deal flow to go out and search/make contact with acquisition targets.

Finally, leveraging the great connections of our key advisors (particularly Jon Walsh & Joni Joyner) from within the ad tech / ad network world, we’ve managed to get in touch with several promising ad networks.

The result has been over 10 NDA’s signed, many discussions and due diligence completed on a couple businesses.

What Does Adbank’s Ideal Acquisition Look Like At This Stage?

Just any ad tech company would not do for us, we have a limited number of KEY criteria. If a business meets these criteria we will pursue and work through additional questions.

The most important criteria depends on two factors:

They directly connect advertisers and publishers, not a business that sits within the programmatic ecosystem.

They have advertisers and publishers that are very likely to be receptive to paying and getting paid with the ADB token.

Plenty of additional questions get asked but if we can find an ad network that connects direct with advertisers to publisher all of whom we could believe would be open to changing over to the ADB token then we have a good starting point for further discussions.

Details of Our First Acquisition

We are very pleased with the first acquisition from a numbers standpoint, its ability to check the right boxes for our current needs and the additional benefits it offers.

It’s a perfect match for the criteria laid out above.

The network directly connects advertisers and publishers as a managed ad network

The industry it services is likely to be receptive to crypto as a form of payment since most businesses are smaller entrepreneurs, the vertical is newer and predominantly 18–30 year old males (same overlap as crypto adoption).

Additional Benefits:

Solid deal — 2x trailing 12 months profit

Management comes with the business

Has a “MOAT”

The leading ad network with 5+ years of history in its vertical

Google, Facebook, Twitter and most big programmatic options don’t allow this product to be advertised on their sites

Strategic relationships from prior businesses with some of the biggest publishers in the world in this space

Currently taking a healthy margin that leaves room for Adbank to improve the economics for advertisers and publishers to drive ADB token volume

Introducing Adbank’s First Network Acquisition: EcigMedia

EcigMedia is the leader in an industry that is no stranger to struggles with digital advertising. Similar to cryptocurrency and blockchain companies, all of the major networks such as Google and Facebook restrict advertising in this vertical which makes it ripe for innovative solutions.

“At first this may seem like a curious acquisition. Why the ecig vertical? Simply put, this is an industry that has extremely limited ways to advertise and has been forced to innovate at a faster pace. Being among the first to adopt a token based ecosystem requires a certain profile and this one ticks all the right boxes. Adbank’s acquisition of ecig media is a great first acquisition to allow the company to demonstrate the power of blockchain & AI to remove fraud from the digital advertising ecosystem.” — Jon Walsh, VP of AdSupply, Ad Tech Expert & Adbank Advisor

We will continue to share more details on how the acquisition progresses and will work towards having a successful case study of an ad network that grew its market share after converting to the Adbank platform as soon as possible.

Driving true utility of the token is the only way to become a leader in the blockchain advertising space and we are very confident that the steps we are taking now will position Adbank and the ADB token at the front of the race.

Here’s to a bright future,

Jon Gillham

Founder & CEO, Adbank