Data services company LiveRamp is acquiring neutral third-party ad measurement firm Data Plus Math in a deal reportedly valued at $150 million to $120 million in cash and $30 million in stock.
The combination is aimed at improving LiveRamp’s position in the targeted TV advertising space by combining LiveRamp’s people-based identity graph with Data Plus Math’s cross-screen data and sell-side relationships.
“While TV continues to be the most engaging screen in the household, the landscape is shifting,” said Scott Howe, CEO of LiveRamp, in a statement. “Data and technology have transformed the relationship a brand can have with its consumer on TV, creating tremendous opportunities to improve how TV inventory is bought, sold and measured. We are excited for Data Plus Math to join the LiveRamp family and look forward to working closely with its deeply experienced team of industry experts. Together, we will accelerate LiveRamp’s TV efforts and offerings and unlock the amazing power of data-driven TV for the entire ecosystem.”
Data Plus Math works with brands, agencies, cable operators, streaming TV services, and networks to deliver attribution, which means tying cross-screen ad exposure to real business outcomes like store and website visits.
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“On the heels of our strategic partnership announced last year, we’re incredibly excited to now be joining LiveRamp,” said John Hoctor, CEO of Data Plus Math, in a statement. “TV remains the most effective way for brands to quickly reach their audience, build their brand and drive product sales. Unfortunately, as consumers' viewing habits have evolved, TV measurement has struggled to keep up. With LiveRamp, we’re changing that.”
This year Data Plus Math has announced a few deals to accelerate the availability of attribution in TV advertising. In February, the company announced a partnership with Comcast-owned ad network FreeWheel to build a cross-screen TV/video media solution optimized on attribution, and also expanded its agreement with NBCUniversal to tie cross-platform ad inventory to real-world business outcomes.
Hoctor told FierceVideo that Data Plus Math has changed how attribution is done within video advertising by introducing anonymous household exposure data with outcome data including web traffic/visitation data, foot traffic data, first-party data from advertisers, auto registration data and more.
“With this approach, we can match up exposures that happen anytime during a campaign with outcomes that happen anytime during that campaign,” Hoctor said.
The deal is expected to close in LiveRamp’s fiscal second quarter.