Interpublic to Invest in ADstruc

The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) recently announced a strategic investment in ADstruc, a buying platform company for Out-of-Home (:OOH) media. IPG Media Lab, a part of Interpublic, initiated the agreement with ADstruc and controlled the minority investment in the company. The terms of the deal were not disclosed

ADstruc's core strength lies in the automation of the planning and buying process of outdoor advertising, benefiting both the advertising operators as well as the clients. The online workflow helps operators to consolidate their OOH inventory and brands are able to plan their advertising more efficiently. ADstruc has obtained the buy-in of all the major operators as well as many smaller regional owners of outdoor space, in order to flawlessly consolidate, track and buy outdoor media.

With this partnership, Interpublic’s global OOH unit, Rapport, is expected to modernize and simplify the OOH planning and buying process for its clients. The ADstruc platform will enable Rapport`s OOH planners to quickly and easily plan and buy OOH audiences, thereby making their campaigns more measurable. Like Interpublic’s Mediabrands’ commitment to automate half of its media buys by 2016, Rapport U.S. has also entered into a strategic agreement with ADstruc for shifting its OOH purchases to more automated system.

This investment is expected to generate operational synergies for Interpublic in the field of OOH advertising, which includes platforms such as billboards, transit and street furniture, as well as place-based networks. Interpublic’s advertising arm expects the OOH market in the U.S. to reach $7.3 billion in 2014 with a growth of 4.8%.

N.Y.-based Interpublic offers a range of advertising and marketing communication services, as well as marketing services along with public relations, meeting and event production, sports and entertainment marketing, corporate and brand identity, and strategic marketing consulting services to a broad list of customers

Interpublic currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Other stocks that look promising and are worth a look in the industry include Millennial Media Inc. ( MM) carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy ), and Marin Software Inc. (MRIN) and MDC Partners Inc. (MDCA), both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy

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