Rolling up an Online Ad Agency Powerhouse: AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarre (Part 9)

As more and more media moves to a digital format, the role of digital advertising firms will continue to increase. Firms which have hybrid experience, who truly understand brand management and are able to capitalize on online efficiency (buy more ad space for fewer dollars) are going to excel. AKQA will be an interesting firm

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Rolling up an Online Ad Agency Powerhouse: AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarre (Part 8)

Here we get a bit philosophical about the reason behind some of the industry regulation problems, and the pressures applied from the major players. Nonethelss, here is a new trend in advertising, one that is based on algorithms and mathematics, and the older schmoozing oriented models will be forced to adapt. SM: So you think

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Rolling up an Online Ad Agency Powerhouse: AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarre (Part 7)

With the recent trend of private equity deals and acquisitions of advertising firms, the industry is truly on fire. This is the perfect opportunity for Tom to either take his company public or sell for a substantial amount. SM: Have you had offers already for an acquisition? TB: No. SM: In the future, in terms

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Rolling up an Online Ad Agency Powerhouse: AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarre (Part 6)

AKQA had taken funding from Francisco Partners originally, and is now generating $100M in revenue annually. Francisco recently exited the business, and sold their shares to General Atlantic Partners. This happens right at the time when the online advertising market is heating up in a big way. SM: Your new investor is General Atlantic Partners?

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Rolling up an Online Ad Agency Powerhouse: AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarre (Part 5)

AKQA built differentiated expertise in doing interactive campaigns for a global market, including extensive localization, a strategy that spells foresight and vision. SM: Specializing in global campaigns seems to have been a good move, but could have been risky. Did it work out for you? TB: That expertise has paid off in the last couple

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Cadence LBO?

Does naivete rule, when investors send Cadence shares up to a 52-week high on the rumors of a buy-out? The truth is, a Private Equity player buying Cadence doesn’t make a hell of a lot of sense, since the company has a very slow growth rate due to the industry’s normal behavior patterns. It has

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Microsoft’s Next Move: A Roll-Up?

Microsoft has finally got its hands on an Ad Network. With its aQuantive acquisition, however, Microsoft has got something else: a portfolio of great interactive ad agencies, including Avenue A/ Razorfish. An interesting, offbeat, but smart move for Microsoft could be to proactively roll-up a large chunk of the online advertising space, which will force

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Saints Capital: Offering Secondary Market Liquidity

I recently had a very interesting conversation with Ken Sawyer, founder of Saints Capital, a new fund that offers secondary market liquidity to small companies and their shareholders. Let’s look at a few examples.