Twitter announced that it has acquired a mobile re-targeting and re-engagement advertising firm, TapCommerce, as it builds a stronger base for ad revenue.
Twitter, the renowned micro-blogging site, is digging deeper into mobile advertising as it looks to secure a prominent position in the competitive market. Right after Re/Code broke the news of Twitter taking control of the New York-based ad tech startup, TapCommerce - the social networking company - made it official with an announcement on its blog post, Monday. The move clearly suggests that Twitter is now intending to secure its ad business on its platform so that more advertisers and users turn to the site.
The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but Re/Code estimated the acquisition worth to be around $100 million. TapCommerce acquisition adds to the string of mobile ad companies snapped by Twitter recently. The acquisition will help the social network re-engage mobile users with advertisers in making purchases of products and services.
"Since the announcement of our acquisition of MoPub last September, we've been laying out our vision for how advertising across the mobile ecosystem can work better for marketers, app developers, and (most importantly) users," Richard Alfonsi, VP of Global Online Sales at Twitter, wrote in the company's blog.
"Together with the TapCommerce team, Twitter will be able to offer mobile app marketers more robust capabilities for app re-engagement, tools and managed service solutions for real-time programmatic buying, and better measurement capabilities."
TapCommerce offers real-time programmatic mobile ad buying across various exchanges. Advertising is the main source of revenue for Twitter, which made $226 million in the first quarter of this year and 80 percent of it came from mobile advertising. In total, Twitter made $250 million during the quarter. With TapCommerce joining the flock, Twitter is set to benefit further.
In a separate blog post, TapCommerce CEO and co-founder Brian Long said his company is a good match for Twitter. Also, he pointed that the company will continue to operate independently, at least for the time-being.
"For our existing customers, your TapCommerce experience will not change," Long wrote. "Being a part of the Twitter team will allow us to dedicate more resources to developing our product and expanding our services, so that you can continue to deliver even more value from your campaigns."
In its biggest move last September, Twitter acquired MoPub in a bid worth $350 million in stock. TapCommerce already works with MoPub, an ad tech firm that connects advertisers with app developers. Together, TapCommerce and MoPub will help Twitter build its advertising network even stronger.
