It was announced today that Plaxo will be acquired by Comcast – or at least they have entered into an agreement for this to happen.

An important piece of the announcement that grabbed my attention:

Plaxo and Comcast have been working together for the past year on a number of initiatives. Plaxo is providing the universal address book for Comcast’s SmartZone communications center (slated to launch later this year), and we are also now hosting all of the address book accounts for Comcast webmail users. Our partnership has already more than doubled the reach of the Plaxo network, bringing the total number of accounts to nearly 50 million.

What does this mean for the Social Networking space? This definitely puts some pressure on those who are looking at certain networks. Although the terms of the deal were not disclosed, I suspect that the price will be the new benchmark for social media net buyouts and be the latest “comp” for comparisons.

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Comcast to Acquire Plaxo

The deal, for approximatley $300 million in cash, comes at a time where the behavioral target market is heating up.

From the Yahoo official blog:

Yahoo! just entered an agreement to acquire BlueLithium, one of the largest and fastest growing online global ad networks with a stable of direct response products and tools for advertisers and publishers. BlueLithium runs the fifth largest ad network in the U.S. and the second largest in the U.K., providing access to valuable audiences and increasing our ability to sell performance-based campaigns both on and off our network.

BlueLithium also has an official posting on their homepage.

Technorati Tags: acquisitions, marketing.fm, bluelithium, yahoo

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Yahoo Acquires Blue Lithium

WPP’s strategy is remarkably different from other holding companies. As agencies struggle to meet the demands of new marketing, it appears that WPP is trying secure media outlets and for it’s client base in addition to it’s pursuit of interactive service expertise.

One might trace the roots of this investment strategy back to Sir Martin’s “Friend-Enemy” description of the Google-WPP relationship (WPP spent $200 Million+ with Google in 2006). As more and more media spending shifts online, Sorrell would like to squeeze as much as possible out of each budget.

As far as I’m concerned, this raises some serious ethical questions for WPP:

How will WPP’s media and advertising agencies make unbiased decisions when it comes to budget allocation?

While certain discounts will be undoubtedly be appreciated by clients, will the integrity of a brand’s marketing budget be sacrificed for the future success of WPP?

There is a reason that marketers contract media agencies to plan and buy: clients want expertise and relationship leverage in order to maximize the efficiency of their spend. If WPP purchases 24/7, will buyers still be able look at each and every ad network campaign opportunity equally?

Perhaps WPP should focus more on the evolution of some of its behind-the-times portfolio agencies (Grey Global Group?).

Related Links:

Advertising, Media & The Digital Revoultion

WPP: Group M Interaction Strategy Study, April 2007

Technorati Tags: Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP, 24/7 Real Media, Marketing.fm, marketing blogs, advertising, M&A, acquisitions, Ad Agencies

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WPP: Marketing Cannibalization?

Google announced today that they have acquired Tonic Systems in an effort to strengthen their Google Docs & Spreadsheets offering with a new feature – presentations. This is the latest in a string of acquisitions that are ramping up Google’s office suite. They now have a word processor, worksheet program, and now a presentation program. Many people think that this is a direct threat against Microsoft Office, and others question the efficacy of such online based tools.

Personally I am excited to see further innovation in the online space and I am looking forward to Google integrating all these systems under one roof. I have been using Jot for awhile now, and I can imagine the Google Docs system being fully integrated into JotSpot. This would be ideal as it is the focal point for me using online web apps for business. (Well, for this blog anyway).

What do you think the next naming convention will be for “Google Documents & Spreadsheets”? (Hopefully they will not just throw presentations on the end making it; Google Documents, Spreadsheets, & Presentations”)

Technorati Tags: Tonic Systems, Google Office, Google, marketing.fm, Google Docs

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Google Acquires Tonic Systems – Announces Presentation Software