AT&T rolls up adtech offerings into Xandr, taking on Oath’s services head-on
AT&T has announced the launch of Xandr, its new advertising offering that consists of recent acquisition AppNexus, AT&T Adworks and its other adtech services.
AT&T has packaged up its adtech offerings, including AppNexus, into Xandr solution
Xandr, named after AT&T founder Alexander Graham Bell, has consisted of AT&T’s advanced TV, data and analytics businesses, ATT.net, AdWorks, and AppNexus, all of which are to continue supporting the 170 million direct to consumer relationships across wireless, video and broadband. AppNexus had been added to AT&T's portfolio in June to help bulk up its offerings post-acquisition of Time Warner.
Also announced in this move were agreements made between Xandr and cable providers Altice USA and Frontier Communications to aggregate and sell its national addressable TV inventory. The goal, much like many of the cross-platform deals made in recent months, has been to create a marketplace for premium content publishers and advertisers.
This consolidation of services has followed Oath’s-roll up of Brightroll, Yahoo Gemini, and One by AOL into a streamlined method for ad distribution.
Xandr has positioned itself along as a company focused on personalization and worked with Insight Strategy Group and Advertiser Perceptions in an inaugural report on consumer attention. Called the Xandr Relevancy Report, the company’s findings claimed that 66% of consumers wish ads were more relevant to their interests and lifestyles, but 70% do like when ads speak to more than just selling products.
Brian Lesser, former GroupM North America chief who joined AT&T in 2017 has been named chief executive of the Xandr umbrella. AppNexus chief Brian O'Kelly has retained his role as chief executive of Appnexus.
Lesser unveiled Xandr at its inaugural Relevance Conference, saying: “Our purpose is to 'make advertising matter' and to connect people with the brands and content they care about. Throughout AT&T’s 142-year history, it has innovated with data and technology, making its customers’ lives better. Xandr will bring that spirit of innovation to the advertising industry.”