Facebook confirms closure of its retargeting network FBX
Facebook is to close down its ad exchange FBX, an advertising tool that lets brands retarget ads via third parties such as AppNexus and Criteo, in November according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal claims that Facebook has confirmed the closure, adding that Facebook began notifying partners, which also include DataXu and MediaMath, earlier this week with the social networking giant reported to be focusing on directing advertisers towards its own Audience Network instead.
Facebook’s Audience Network lets advertisers target users of the social network on third-party websites and apps, but differs from FBX (which launched in 2012) as it requires brands to deal more directly with the social network.
However, TechCrunch carries a quote from a former high-profile Facebook employee Antonio Garcia-Martinez who suggested that Facebook would likely reintroduce such a product.
He added: “Whatever happens with FBX, Facebook will have an exchange again at some point, when they’ve lost the leverage needed to maintain a walled garden of clunky ads technology.”