The MarTech Minute: Kitewheel partners with Zeta, DialogTech adds Bing integration and more

It may be cold outside in some parts of the country, but the martech world is heating up this week with new mergers, acquisitions and partnerships.

MarTech in Motion

Namogoo adds Upwork as a client
Upwork is using Namogoo to improve user experience by blocking unauthorized ads. The freelancer website said the move will increase website conversions.

Flashtalking merges with Spongecell
The rich media ad server Flashtalking has merged with the dynamic creative optimization (DCO) specialist Spongecell. The companies say the merger will stimulate US and global expansion.

DialogTech adds Bing Ads integration
The new integration tracks conversions. The company says it enables search marketers to view call data within Bing Ads and optimize for what drives the best conversions online and over the phone.

Evergage acquires MyBuys
The personalization platform acquired the merchandising products business from digital advertising technology company Magnetic. The company says the deal accelerates its growth and expands its footprint in the retail vertical.

Dynamic Yield launches an AI personalization solution
The personalization technology stack added Predictive Targeting. The technology runs in the background, analyzing the performance of each campaign in real time and identifying opportunities to serve more relevant content to select audience segments.

Verve expands its premium mobile solution
The location-based mobile platform expanded its Premium Programmatic Mobile solution through Rubicon Project’s Orders platform. The UK-based company says its solution allows advertisers to complete its international end-to-end product suite to capture premium audiences in-app during meaningful moments.

Return Path acquires ThreatWave
Email data solutions provider Return Path has acquired ThreatWave, a Colorado-based email data company. The company says that the new technology and massive data stream will enhance its existing solutions and create new opportunities.

Kitewheel partners with Zeta Global
The partnership will enable Zeta to seamlessly integrate Kitewheel’s orchestration capabilities into its ZetaHub. The AI-powered platform combines Zeta’s marketing, data and experience clouds through a single “command center.”

Admitad launches Mobile SDK
The new solution facilitates integration and management of mobile offers by automatically detecting the advertiser’s application on a user’s smartphone without switching to the App Store/Google Play. The company says it can track and collect CPA statistics in the mobile applications of any advertiser.

Martech Movers

PebblePost adds veteran media salesperson Rich Flynn as VP of sales, automotive. Flynn has more than 20 years in the automotive space, with previous positions at AOL and Sports Illustrated.

Playbuzz names Rob Norman to its board of directors. Norman will continue to act as a senior advisor to GroupM following his retirement as global chief digital officer.

NetElixir adds digital marketing veteran Paul Wilson as chief growth officer. Previously, Wilson held the role of EVP/client development at Merkle and was part of the executive team at RKG when Merkle acquired RKG in 2014.

Sense appoints Dan Parkinson as its new experiential planning director. Parkinson joined Sense from Coley Porter Bell, where he worked across a number of national and international brands.

Rafael Landestoy joins eRelevance as vice president of business development. Landestoy has a decade of sales experience in high-growth healthcare technology startups, including PatientPop and Counsyl. The company also named Rand Travis Skidmore as VP of client success and retention.

Eyeota appoints Jill Orr as chief operating officer. Orr was most recently at Triad Retail Media.

Bill McConnell joins the Lumavate board of managers. Previously, he was the senior vice president and CIO at IU Health.

Gonzalo Brujó becomes global chief growth officer of Interbrand. He is the current CEO of Interbrand EMEA & LatAm. The company also named Hermann Behrens to the new role of chief growth officer of North America.

Rakuten Marketing names Stuart Simms as its president. Simms was previously with a subsidiary of the company as CEO of Ratuken Fits Me.

Unruly adds Norm Johnston as CEO. Johnston replaces outgoing CEO and co-founder Sarah Wood, who announced in October she will be taking the role of non-executive chair of Unruly’s board of directors.

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