Hasta La Creative!

In the often unpredictable ad tech world that we live in today, sometimes the stars align and the best possible outcome realizes itself. This is the case with Verizon acquiring the core assets of Yahoo, a story now playing itself out for a second time since Verizon acquired AOL in May 2015.

While I am confident that this was the best outcome for the industry, for consumers and for marketers, nobody should be under the illusion that the road ahead will be easy. The landscape is littered with failed tech mergers and acquisitions over the past two decades, and perhaps none is more infamous than the AOL/Time Warner merger in 2000. This is widely believed to be the worst merger of all time, and Verizon will need to heed the lessons of that debacle to be sure that it doesn’t meet the same fate.

Let’s start with the glass half-full. The synergies between Verizon/AOL and Yahoo are obvious. Both come to the table with impressive tech stacks, DSPs, data solutions, cross-device expertise and significant original content. Both have extensive sales teams and industry-vertical expertise. Both have scaled audiences that when aggregated can give Google and Facebook a run for their money. In a vibrant marketplace, competition is a good thing, and while Google and Facebook are both innovating and printing money, the rest of the industry is fighting for the scraps. A strong No. 3 will be good for us all.

Continue reading at AdAge.com