Infillion
Formerly
  • SocialVibe (2007–2013)
  • true[X] (2013-2022)
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryOnline advertising
Founded2007 (2007)
Founders
  • Joe Marchese
  • Brandon Mills
  • David Levy
  • Rob Emrich
Headquarters
Key people
RJ Nicolosi (President & COO)
Rob Emrich (Executive Chair)
ServicesEngagement advertising, Media, Advertising technology
Number of employees
30–50
Websitewww.infillion.com


Infillion, formerly known as TrueX, Inc. (stylized as true[X]) and SocialVibe, is an American digital advertising company founded in 2007 by Joe Marchese, Brandon Mills and David Levy. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and New York City. It was previously owned by 21st Century Fox, from 2014 until Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, and The Walt Disney Company from 2019 until 2020.

Company history

The TrueX logo before being rebranded as Infillion

The company that would eventually become Infillion was founded as SocialVibe in 2006.[1] SocialVibe originally enabled customers to raise money for social causes they wished to support. In December 2007, it received $4.2 million in Series A funding led by Redpoint Ventures.[2] It was launched into public beta in February 2008.[3]

In January 2009, Jafco Ventures led an initiative along with Redpoint Ventures to raise the total amount invested in the company to $12 million, as the company shifted to a model in which it shared revenue with the charities it represented.[4] In March 2011, SocialVibe closed a $20 million round of funding led by Norwest Venture Partners.[5][6] By this point, SocialVibe had expanded into online and mobile advertising, including running ad campaigns within Zynga games on Facebook.[6] In 2013 the company became known as TrueX.[1] Between 2013 and 2014, the company doubled its revenue.[7] In May 2014, the company received an additional $6 million in funding.[8] Later that year, it was acquired by 21st Century Fox in a deal worth $200 million.[9] One of Fox's first moves after buying the company was utilizing TrueX technology that gave viewers using web browsers and connected TV apps a choice to watch a single interactive ad at the beginning of a piece of video content, or to have that content interrupted by regular commercial breaks.[10][11]

In September of 2017, The Walt Disney Company assumed control of TrueX as part of its $71 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox.[12][13] On March 17, 2020, Disney announced that it was looking to sell TrueX, as Disney considered it a non-core asset that did not operate as part of Disney's sales or technology divisions.[14] Disney announced that TrueX had been sold to the marketing data company Gimbal, Inc. on September 28, 2020.[12]

Following the sale of TrueX to Gimbal, the two companies became a single entity known as Gimbal/TrueX.[15] On March 1, 2022, Gimbal/TrueX rebranded as Infillion.[16][17] In September 2022, Infillion acquired Analytiks.ai, a company that had developed technology that tracks customer traffic within brick and mortar stores.[18]

In September 2023, it was announced Infillion had acquired the New York-headquartered advertising technology company, MediaMath.[19]

Engagement advertising

TrueX has worked with Microsoft, Visa, Apple, Disney, Coca-Cola, Kia Motors, Kraft Foods, Macy's, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Discover Card on online advertisements.[20] The company delivers ad units that are self-selected by the viewer in exchange for access to online content such as videos, music, games, or more articles.[7][21] The ads take over the browser of a user's computer for about 30 seconds, and require user participation for completion.[22] The results are measured in engagement metrics, such as submitted survey forms, video views, likes, and shares. TrueX is also a source of ad inventory for text and visual ads. The company has deals in place to provide ad space with publishers such as Tribune Company, Fox Sports, Pandora Radio, and AT&T,[8][23] distributing them programatically.[24] The engagement has reduced digital ad fraud.[7]

Awards and recognition

In August 2010, Forbes recognized SocialVibe's engagement for Microsoft Bing on Zynga's FarmVille as one of the "Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns".[25] The campaign garnered over 425,000 fans for Bing in less than one day, and 70% of the fans visited the search engine in the following month.[25][26] The campaign was also won an OMMA Award for Online Advertising Creativity in the social media category in September 2010.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 Jarvey, Natalie (November 6, 2013). "SocialVibe Becomes TrueX". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  2. ↑ Keane, Meghan. "Interpublic Partners With SocialVibe to Tap Into Brand Promotion on Social Networks". WIRED.
  3. ↑ Jones, K.C. (May 21, 2008). "SocialVibe Raises Funds For Earthquake, Cyclone Relief". Information Week. Archived from the original on May 27, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  4. ↑ Semuels, Alana (January 17, 2009). "Venture capitalists abandon 'spend mentality'". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ↑ "SocialVibe Closes $20 Million Funding Round". adage.com. March 22, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  6. 1 2 Pearson, Dan (March 24, 2011). "SocialVibe secures $20 million funding". Games Industry. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Ad Fraud Creates Worry For Some, Opportunity For Others". adage.com. April 10, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "True[X] Raises $6M More As It Tries To Enlist Big Publishers For Its Interactive Ad Platform". May 21, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  9. ↑ Ha, Anthony (December 17, 2014). "21st Century Fox Acquires Ad Company True[x]". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  10. ↑ Shields, Mike (July 16, 2015). "Fox's TrueX Faces Hurdles in Bid to Fight TV Ad Avoidance". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  11. ↑ Shields, Mike (October 17, 2017). "Fox is letting people watch fewer ads on TV using a trick adapted from the internet". Business Insider. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  12. 1 2 Weprin, Alex (September 28, 2020). "Disney Sells Ad Tech Firm TrueX To Marketing Data Company Gimbal". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  13. ↑ Schwartz, Matthew S. (March 20, 2019). "Disney Officially Owns 21st Century Fox". National Public Radio. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  14. ↑ Patel, Sahil (March 17, 2020). "Disney Looks to Sell TrueX, Ad-Tech Firm It Absorbed From Fox". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  15. ↑ Burgi, Michael (January 13, 2022). "Gimbal / TrueX to reveal the reason they merged: a new targeting tool for CTV". Digiday. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Gimbal true[X] Relaunches as Infillion, Strengthening Its Ad Solutions Platform for Business Growth". GlobeNewswire. March 1, 2022.
  17. ↑ LaFayette, Jon (March 1, 2022). "Infillion is New Name For Ad Tech Firm Gimbal/True[X]". NextTV. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Infillion Acquires Data Company Analytiks.ai". AIthority. September 29, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  19. ↑ FinSMEs (September 14, 2023). "Infillion to Acquire MediaMath". FinSMEs. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  20. ↑ "SocialVibe: How advertising and social media can change the world". January 27, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  21. ↑ "SVnetwork Incenting Consumers With Self-Selecting Social Ads Says CEO Samit". AdExchanger. October 14, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  22. ↑ "James Murdoch Joins Board of Advertising Start-Up - NYTimes.com". mobile.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2014.
  23. ↑ Heine, Christopher (June 12, 2014). "Horizon Media Can Now Buy Programmatic Ads Based on Engagement". www.adweek.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  24. ↑ Hof, Robert. "In Bid To Make Online Ads More Engaging, True[X] Taps Power Media Trio For Board". Forbes. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  25. 1 2 "In Pictures: Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns - 19. Bing/Farmville - …". archive.is. January 23, 2013. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  26. ↑ Bing's Virtual Bling Buys Facebook Fans. (2010, March 4). Brandweek. http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/incentive/e3ic70c834af0ab2460c16c05fd01736a5d
  27. ↑ "MediaPost Events". www.mediapost.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
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