Italian publishers’ online ad firm financed to develop new formats

MONEY.CNN.COM – October 24, 2012

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/gigaom/articles/2012_10_24_italian_publishers_online_ad_firm_financed_to_develop_new_formats.html

(gigaom.com) — An open online advertising consortium of Italian publishers may soon get a leg up after its chosen ad vendor took a €2.5 million ($3.2 million) investment to develop new technology.

Salerno-based 4W Marketplace, which powers the Premium Publisher Network, is taking the money from VC house Principia SGR.

In an announcement, the firm says:

“The investment will be directed towards the strengthening of the technological department for research and development in the computational advertising area and the development of new cutting-edge internet advertising models.”

That work will be carried out together with 4W Marketplace’s local university.

The Premium Publisher Network wasformed by newspaper groups RCS and L’Espresso three years ago and now numbers dozens of members including broadcaster Rai and paper La Gazzetta della Sport and La Repubblica.

4W Marketplace is the network’s exclusive ad provider, having been started by the Digital Magicsincubator, and currently offerscontextual, mobile and social ads.