Unruly acquires social ad platform

Video technology company Unruly today announces it has acquired Shareifyoulike, the leading German platform for social video advertising. The acquisition combines Shareifyoulike’s portfolio of high quality media partners with Unruly’s global media footprint and proprietary technology, used by two-thirds of the Interbrand 100 and their agencies. Unruly’s international expansion has been rapid in order to meet growing demand from brands; the company now includes 11 offices worldwide, including five in the US.

With online video advertising the fastest growing category of ad spend in 2012 and predictions that global online video advertising spend will rise to $10 billion by 2015, the acquisition confirms Unruly’s position as the global market leader for social video marketing and supports its mission to deliver the most awesome social video campaigns on the planet.

“Demand for social video has reached a tipping point now that content marketing has established itself as a must-have marketing medium for every CMO’s strategic priorities and budget,” said Scott Button, co-founder and CEO at Unruly. “This acquisition not only accelerates our international growth but marks the start of consolidation in the market as social video technology is sitting high on the merger and acquisition agenda of large technology companies.”

Unruly’s market-first, multi-award winning innovations, such as Unruly ShareRank™, Unruly Analytics™ and its interactive app-based Social Video Player, helps agencies and brands to create contagious content and get their videos watched, tracked and shared across paid, owned and earned media.

“Unruly is a strong cultural and strategic fit for Shareifyoulike and will help us to leverage the market position we have built in Germany since 2010. Between us, we have delivered over 2,800 campaigns, with a total viewing time of over 979 years, perfectly positioning us to support leading brands and their agencies. Unruly’s data, technology and 360 degree product suite will help fuel our growth in this market and allow us to compete on the international stage,” said Martin Dräger, founder and CEO of Shareifyoulike, who will assume the role of Unruly Managing Director in Germany.

All staff members in Unruly’s Berlin office have been offered relocation packages and Olaf Kroll, the current Managing Director of Unruly Germany, will be actively supporting the transition. He has done a terrific job opening up the German market for Unruly and has quickly developed a very strong footprint in this important market.