Google has snatched up social media marketing company, Wildfire, giving the search giant inroads into the social advertising business.
Wildfire's software links to social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and others, and allows marketers to manage their social advertising and brand presence. Wildfire clients include 30 of the top 50 global brands - including the likes of Sony and Amazon. The start-up was founded by Victoria Ransom and Alain Chuard in 2008 and has over 16 000 clients.
In a statement posted on the Wildfire blog, the company says: “We truly could not think of a more perfect home for Wildfire. It makes us so happy to know that joining with Google will make it easier for us to realise our vision of changing the way the world markets.”
Wildfire will be integrated into Google's display advertising business, bolstering the options available to customers across both social and conventional advertising options across Google's own network, and on competitors' networks too.
digital media marketing. For now, we remain focused on helping brands run and measure their social engagement and ad campaigns across the entire Web and across all social services.”
While Facebook may not be ecstatic about Google buying a service that specialises in advertising on its platform, the world's largest social network has declined to comment on the purchase.
The financial details of the acquisition have not officially been disclosed, but it is expected that Google paid in the region of $250 million for the start-up. Reuters quotes Macquarie analysts Ben Schachter as saying: "There's still a lot of opportunity for advertisers to get their message out on social media. As more and more social sites are being used, such as Pinterest, it gets more and more complicated for companies and brands to manage."
Wildfire has expressed gratitude to its partners at the various social networks its service connects with, and singled out Facebook in particular. “Were it not for the social media revolution that you have all helped to create, Wildfire would not even exist.”
Share