By Michael Goldberg
Yesterday Forbes released its annual list of America’s Most Promising Companies. I’m proud to say TripleLift made the list – joining 100 of the fastest growing, privately owned companies that are changing the face of business. Not surprisingly, several ad tech companies were prominently featured on this year’s list.
Forbes Most Promising Companies list takes a holistic gauge of privately held companies, trying to pin down their trajectories by looking at a slew of variables. Over the course of six months Forbes reviewed thousands of applications. The final assessment is based on growth (both in sales and hiring), quality of management team and investors, margins, market size and key partnerships. As you will see from the list, the companies represent all types of businesses, from beverages and banking to transportation and telecommunications.
This year, 14 percent of the companies included on the list represented the emerging ad tech community, TripleLift included. I think that is a telling sign of how the digital advertising industry is quickly evolving.
The global advertising market is expected to grow by 5.3 percent this year to $523 billion, aided by the growth in digital advertising technology, according to a recent Advertising Expenditure Forecast by ZenithOptimedia. From programmatic to native advertising, the emergence of these compelling strategies is helping drive the growth. And for every unique digital advertising strategy, there is a company to help make it work for marketers, as evidenced by the list.
Programmatic is the Future of Ad Buying
Rounding out the Top 10 of the list is the The Trade Desk, the independent marketplace that allows marketers to purchase various forms of advertising programmatically. Not surprisingly, over $20 billion worth of ads will be purchased through programmatic ad systems, according to eMarketer.
Advertising Quality is Paramount
In the Top 20, there’s Integral Ad Science, a technology company focused on ensuring safe, quality media environments for online advertisers. As issues like fraud and viewability come to the forefront, advertisers and publishers alike, are demanding to assess the true quality of digital media.
You’ve Got Email – Still
Who said email marketing was dead? Even with the growing social media revolution, tried-and-true email remains a constant. Brands agree; 25 percent marketers said they’re likely to increase budgets for email, according to a GigaOm study. That brings us to LiveIntent, coming in in the middle of the list. These guys deliver ads and marketing material to consumers based on info derived from their email.
Native is the Evolution of Display
If you’ve read this blog even once, you know that we staunchly believe native advertising is the future of digital. The numbers speak for themselves – spending on native ads will reach $7.9 billion this year and grow to $21 billion in 2018, rising from just $4.7 billion in 2013, according to Business Insider. This is just one of the reasons we believe TripleLift made the list, and we’re proud to fly the flag for native advertising as a whole on this year’s list. Of course, there’s our great team and super smart vision from our co-founders, who, by the way, also made Forbes list of 30 Under 30.
Check out the full list to see all the ad tech companies that are repented, as well as all of the growing companies from across the country.
