Rakuten LinkShare to acquire mediaFORGE extending its portfolio of services beyond affiliate marketing
Rakuten LinkShare has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire mediaFORGE, a Utah-based dynamic display media company.
Founded in 2009, mediaFORGE’s Consumer Engagement display platform provides online advertisers with a unique way to prospect, retarget, nurture and engage customers to help drive higher conversion.
The acquisition of mediaFORGE adds to Rakuten LinkShare’s portfolio of affiliate marketing, search marketing and lead generation services and solutions. The company’s expansion aims to help online retailers drive multi-channel, integrated campaigns.
By basing its business model on Consumer Engagement, mediaFORGE aligns its goals with advertisers’ goals by using a metric that measurably increases site conversions. As a result, clients get highly detailed analytics capabilities that offer online retailers and other companies a powerful tool for discovering actionable insights to achieve online marketing objectives.
Rakuten LinkShare’s global network will enable mediaFORGE to accelerate its expansion and reach throughout the US, Canada, the UK, and Japan.
Long term plans will see the two companies working together along with advertisers and publishers to identify multi-channel synergies and technical integration opportunities that will add value within the advertising landscape.
“We welcome mediaFORGE to the Rakuten LinkShare family of services and solutions. Their unique Consumer Engagement advertising model presents a compelling value proposition to our network of global advertisers,” said Yaz Iida, chief executive officer, Rakuten LinkShare.
“As we build a powerful, strategic portfolio of online marketing services that go beyond affiliate marketing, mediaFORGE complements our approach with a proven display and retargeting solution to help advertisers maximise their online investments while providing a personalised shopping experience for consumers.”
Tony Zito, chief executive officer of mediaFORGE, commented that the takeover will allow mediaFORGE to “reach more advertisers with our Consumer Engagement display model” and “expand our business around the world.”