The third Gartner Magic Quadrant for advertising technology shows some predictable development arcs for the companies within – but also a few surprises.
Starting with the less surprising, Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) are ensconced in the leaders quadrant, AdExchanger notes, as is MediaMath, a longtime participant in the demand-side platform space.
They’re joined there by new players, though, including Amobee as well as Beeswax, Centro, MediaOcean and Zeta Global.
Meanwhile, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is still only a “challenger” for now. (Gartner’s Magic Quadrant distinguishes “leaders” from “challengers” as the former have the best composite scores in two criteria: “completeness of vision” and “ability to execute.”)
“Amazon appears to have the means, motive and opportunity to be an ad-tech leader,” says Gartner distinguished analyst Andrew Frank. “It’s a question of where the task of integrating their various assets into a seamless platform for advertisers falls on their priority list of attractive investments.”
Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) also slots into the challengers for now.
Amobee (owned by Singapore Telecommunications (OTCPK:SGAPY)) moved up to the leaders quadrant after registering as a challenger last year – and in evolving from a mobile ad company to a platform with fully integrated TV, digital and social, it’s an unusual success for telecom-owned ad tech: Note the spotty record and potential sale of Xandr at AT&T (NYSE:T) (Xandr is a challenger), and Verizon Media (VZ; a “niche player” in Gartner’s quadrant).
Amobee is embracing programmatic TV while fellow leader Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) is abandoning it, AdExchanger says, with the help of savvy acquisitions and some solid support from parent Singtel.