DoubleClick

DoubleClick was a company acquired by Google in 2007 which developed and provided Internet ad serving services. Its clients included agencies, marketers and publishers who served businesses like Microsoft, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Motorola, L'Oréal, Palm, Apple, Visa, Nike, and Carlsberg, among others.

This article is about the Google subsidiary. For the computer term, see double-click. For the nerd-folk duo, see The Doubleclicks.

DoubleClick
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryOnline advertising
FoundedFebruary 1996 (1996-02)
New York City
HeadquartersNew York City, U.S.[1]
Key people
– Stephanie Abramson, Executive VP and General Counsel
– Neal Mohan, Senior VP of Strategy and Product Development
– Stuart Frankel, Senior VP of DoubleClick & GM of Performics
– John M. Rehl, Senior VP, Global Technical Services
ProductsDART family includes DFP (For Publishers), DFA (For Advertisers), DS (DART Search), Motif (Rich Media), DE (Enterprise), Sales Manager (Publisher), Media Visor (Advertisers), Adapt (Publishers), Doubleclick Advertising Exchange (Both Publishers & Advertisers)
ParentGoogle LLC
WebsiteOfficial website

DoubleClick was founded in 1995 by Kevin O'Connor and Dwight Merriman and had headquarters in New York City, United States. It was formerly listed as "DCLK"[2] on the Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ), and was initially purchased by private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity in July 2005.

On March 11, 2008, Google acquired DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. In June 2018, Google announced plans to rebrand its ads platforms, and DoubleClick was merged into the new Google Marketing Platform brand.[3] Core products adopted new names. DoubleClick Bid Manager became Display and Video 360, DoubleClick Search became Search Ads 360, and DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) became Google Ad Manager 360.[4]

History

Early years

In 1995, Kevin O'Connor and Dwight Merriman developed the concept for DoubleClick in O'Connor's basement. The pair created a system to display banner ads across a network of websites and track their performance to better target internet users.[5] The product caught the attention of entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, who later joined as the company's CFO and later became its CEO.[5]

Later that year, O'Connor and Merriman met Fergus O'Daily, the CEO of Poppe Tyson. Poppe Tyson had created an Interactive Sales division, but lacked the technology to deliver online ads across its network of client's sites. O'Connor, Merriman, and O'Daily decided to merge the two companies.[6][7] The merger caused some issues at Poppe Tyson, however, because it meant that Poppe's sales force would compete against the internal sales teams of the websites it served. To remedy the situation, in November 1995 they spun off DoubleClick as an independent, wholly owned subsidiary.[6] DoubleClick was founded as one of the earliest known Application Service Provider (ASP) for internet "ad-serving"—primarily banner ads.[8]

Early developments

DoubleClick launched an IPO on the NASDAQ under the "DCLK" ticker symbol in early 1998.[9] In June 1999, DoubleClick announced that it would merge with Abacus Direct Corp., which marketed consumer-purchasing data to catalog firms.[10] Soon after, privacy groups complained that DoubleClick's plan to combine its online profiling information with offline information gathered by Abacus Direct would violate privacy rules, as it would allow the company to match a person's identity with their online habits, which it tracks through cookies.[11][12] In February 2000, The FTC announced it had launched an investigation into the matter.[13] The investigation was concluded in early 2001, with the FTC stating that it found no evidence that DoubleClick used or disclosed consumers personal identifying information.[14][15]

In April 2005, Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, announced its intent to acquire the company for $1.1 billion.[16] Following the acquisition, the company was separated into two divisions, an internet ad-management business and a data-solutions business for direct marketers.[16]

Acquisition by Google, Inc.

Google announced on April 13, 2007 that it had come to a definitive agreement to acquire DoubleClick for US$3.1 billion in cash.[17][18] The deal raised concerns surrounding competition with both the FTC and the European Union. In May 2007, the FTC requested additional information about the deal after it was urged by competitors, including Microsoft,[19] who believed it would give Google too much control over online advertising.[20] On December 20, 2007, the FTC approved Google's purchase of DoubleClick from its owners Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity, saying, "after carefully reviewing the evidence, we have concluded that Google's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick is unlikely to substantially lessen competition."[21] European Union regulators granted approval on March 11, 2008, and Google completed the acquisition later that day.[22] On April 2, 2008, Google announced it would cut 300 jobs at DoubleClick due to organizational redundancies. Selected employees would be matched within the Google organization as per position and experience.[23]

In 2007, shortly after the announcement of the acquisition, it was reported that DoubleClick had been serving ads designed to trick users into buying malware. This occurred after a malicious website tricked several name-brand websites into serving the ads.[24]

Products

DoubleClick offers technology products and services that are sold primarily to advertising agencies and media.[25] The company's main product line is formally known as DART, which is intended to increase the purchasing efficiency of advertisers and to minimize unsold inventory for publishers.[26] DART Enterprise is the rebranded version of NetGravity AdServer, which DoubleClick acquired with its purchase of NetGravity in 1999.[27]

In 2004, DoubleClick acquired Performics.[28] Performics offers affiliate marketing, search engine optimization, and search engine marketing products. These products were integrated into the core DART system and rebranded DART search. DoubleClick Advertising Exchange (released Q2 2007) attempts to go even further by connecting both media buyers and sellers on an advertising exchange much like a traditional stock exchange. In June 2010, Google confirmed its acquisition of Invite Media, a demand-side platform which it later renamed DoubleClick Bid Manager.[29]

Data collection

DoubleClick targets along various criteria. Targeting can be accomplished using IP addresses, business rules set by the client or by reference to information about users stored using cookies on their machines. Some of the types of information collected are:

In addition, the cookie information may be used to target ads based on the number of times the user has been exposed to any given message. This is known as "frequency capping".

See also

References
  1. Cox, Beth. "DoubleClick Reportedly to Relocate in New York City". ClickZ. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  2. "DOUBLECLICK INC (DCLK) IPO". NASDAQ.com. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  3. Spangler, Todd (June 27, 2018). "Google Killing Off DoubleClick, AdWords Names in Rebranding of Ad Products". Variety. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  4. "Google is retiring the AdWords & DoubleClick brands in a major rebranding aimed at simplification". Search Engine Land. June 27, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  5. Colao, J.J. (December 16, 2017). "Gilt, MongoDB, DoubleClick: Meet The Duo Behind New York's Biggest Tech Companies". Forbes.
  6. "Modem Media Poppe Tyson". Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  7. Sidor, David (2004). The Click: A Memoir and Lessons Learned During the Great Internet Boom. iUniverse. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-595-32784-3.
  8. Weller, Bart; Calcott, Lori (July 13, 2012). The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords: Create Versatile and Powerful Marketing and Advertising Campaigns. Apress. ISBN 9781430240150.
  9. Staff. "DoubleClick enjoys banner IPO | ZDNet". ZDNet. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  10. Petersen, Andrea (June 14, 1999). "DoubleClick, Abacus Direct Are Set To Merge in $1 Billion Stock Deal".
  11. "FTC concludes DoubleClick investigation". Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  12. Penenberg, Adam L. (November 7, 2005). "Cookie Monsters" – via Slate.
  13. "U.S. Investigating DoubleClick Over Privacy Concerns". Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  14. "FTC Closes DoubleClick Investigation". ABC News. January 7, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  15. See In re DoubleClick Inc. Privacy Litigation, 154 F. Supp. 2d 497, 505–06 (S.D.N.Y. 2001)
  16. "DOUBLECLICK ACQUIRED FOR $1.1 BILLION". Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  17. "Google to Acquire DoubleClick – News announcements – News from Google – Google". Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  18. Helft, Louise Story and Miguel. "Google Buys DoubleClick for $3.1 Billion". Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  19. Teinowitz, Ira (September 27, 2007). "Microsoft: DoubleClick Deal Will Bring New Meaning to 'Being Googled' | Digital - Advertising Age". Adage.com. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  20. Editorial, Reuters. "US lawmakers plan Google-Doubleclick deal hearings". U.S. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  21. Bartz, Diane (December 20, 2007). "Google wins antitrust OK to buy DoubleClick". Reuters. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  22. Lawsky, David. "Google closes DoubleClick merger after EU approval". U.S. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  23. Mills, Elinor (April 2, 2008). "Google to lay off 300 at DoubleClick | News Blogs - CNET News". News.com. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  24. "DoubleClick caught supplying malware-tainted ads • The Register". www.theregister.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  25. O'Reilly, Lara. "Google is bringing DoubleClick to billboard ads for the first time — which could be huge for outdoor advertising". Business Insider. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  26. "Google launches DoubleClick display ad exchange network on auto-pilot". Geek.com. September 18, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  27. Journal, Andrea PetersenStaff Reporter of The Wall Street. "DoubleClick to Acquire NetGravity In Push to Own Online-Ad Market". WSJ. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  28. "DoubleClick Buys Performics". iMedia Connection. May 18, 2004. Archived from the original on November 28, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  29. Schonfeld, Erick. "Google Confirms Invite Media Acquisition, Brings Bidding To Display Ads". Techcrunch. Techcrunch. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
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