Adtech
| Company type | Private (subsidiary) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Digital marketing, Online advertising |
| Founded | January 1, 1998 in Frankfurt, Germany |
| Founder | Michael Stusch, Michael Schultheiß |
| Fate | Acquired by AOL on May 15, 2007; integrated into Oath Inc. under Verizon Communications |
| Headquarters | Frankfurt , Germany, United States |
| Products | Ad serving platform for display, video, and mobile advertising campaigns |
| Parent | Oath Inc. (Verizon Communications) |
Adtech AG is a German-American company operating in the digital marketing sector, focusing on solutions that facilitate the management, delivery, and analysis of online advertising campaigns across display, video, and mobile platforms. Established in 1998 in Frankfurt, Germany, Adtech was purchased by the web portal AOL on May 15, 2007. Subsequently, it was integrated into the Oath Inc. brand as part of Verizon Communications' portfolio.
History
Founded in 1998 in Frankfurt by Michael Stusch and Michael Schultheiß, Adtech became a private limited company in 2000 after American Internet holding firm CMGI acquired an 80% majority stake. Leveraging technology licensed from AdForce Inc., the company inaugurated its initial data center in Frankfurt that same year. By 2001, Adtech had served its ten billionth banner ad, and by 2002 it was managing upwards of 100,000 advertising campaigns, delivering in excess of 100 million banners each day. In 2004, the firm transitioned from using AdForce’s technology to its proprietary ad serving platform and established a second data center also located in Frankfurt.
On May 16, 2007, AOL completed the acquisition of Adtech AG to strengthen its ad serving services for website publishers. Functioning as a fully owned subsidiary within AOL's Advertising.com division (which later became Platform-A), Adtech was incorporated into Oath Inc. under Verizon Communications by November 2018.
Products
Adtech provides a comprehensive ad serving platform designed to enable advertisers, publishers, agencies, and ad networks to oversee digital advertising campaigns spanning display, video, and mobile channels.
The ad server processes banner requests through XML from users’ browsers and delivers advertisements to online devices. Its open system architecture allows for integration with third-party technologies; for targeted advertising solutions, Adtech collaborates with providers like Nugg and Wunderloop.
Integrated ad management
In autumn 2007, at ad:tech events in London and New York, Adtech introduced a unified suite of display, video, and mobile ad serving technologies tailored for digital publishers. Through partnerships with Lightningcast and Third Screen Media, video and mobile functionalities were incorporated into the existing user interface and reporting tools.
This platform supported the distribution of digital advertisements across all types of mobile devices—including smartphones—while offering precise targeting capabilities to fulfill advertiser requirements.
Research
Beginning in 2004, Adtech has conducted analyses of banner requests processed by its ad servers to produce regular reports on web usage trends across Europe. These studies encompass browser usage patterns and click-through rates and have become valuable references within the digital marketing industry.