Xandr

Currently, Xandr is a topic that has captured the attention of millions of people around the world. From its origin to its current implications, Xandr has been the subject of debates, studies and research that have attempted to decipher its impact on modern society. Whether from a historical, scientific, social or cultural perspective, Xandr has aroused the interest of experts in different fields, who have dedicated time and effort to understand its influence on our lives. In this article, we will delve into the fascinating world of Xandr and explore its many facets, analyzing its relevance and projection in the current context.

Xandr, Inc.
FormerlyAT&T Advertising and Analytics (2018)
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry
Predecessors
  • AT&T AdWorks
  • Turner Advertising
FoundedSeptember 25, 2018 (2018-09-25)
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Mike Welch (EVP & GM)
Ben John (CTO)[1]
ProductsCommunity
Xandr Invest
Xandr Monetize
Revenue$2,022 million (2019)[2]
ParentAT&T (2018-2022)
Microsoft (2022-present)
Divisions
  • Xandr Media
  • Xandr Data
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.xandr.com

Xandr, Inc. (pronounced "Zander") is the advertising and analytics subsidiary of Microsoft, which operates an online platform, Community, for buying and selling consumer-centric digital advertising.[3]

In December 2021, AT&T announced that they had agreed to sell Xandr (including AppNexus and Clypd) to Microsoft for an undisclosed price.[4] The acquisition was completed in June 2022.

History

Following its June 2018 acquisition of AppNexus,[5] Xandr was formed by AT&T to construct a national TV advertising marketplace.

Xandr was launched on September 25, 2018, at its inaugural AT&T Relevance Conference, in Santa Barbara, California, and was named after its parent company founder, Alexander Graham Bell.[6][7]

In June 2019, Xandr rebranded its AppNexus DSP, launching Xandr Invest, to serve as its central ad-buying hub.[8][9]

On October 18, 2019, Xandr acquired Massachusetts-based Clypd, an audience-based sales platform for television advertising.[10][11]

On April 30, 2020, it was folded into WarnerMedia.[12]

Rumors and speculation spread in 2020 that AT&T was seeking to sell and offload Xandr, along with DirecTV and Crunchyroll. The reasoning is twofold: first, AT&T took on immense debt to purchase WarnerMedia, and any non-core asset sales would help pay off that debt burden. Secondly, Xandr was inherently compromised by its association with AT&T and HBO Max, as many would-be advertisers were reluctant to use what is essentially a competitor for their ad buys, and as such it might be more lucrative on its own.[13]

On May 17, 2021, it was announced that WarnerMedia would be merged with Discovery, Inc. to form a new publicly traded company known as Warner Bros. Discovery, but that the Xandr business would not be included in the transaction and would remain a division of AT&T.[14] On December 21, 2021, AT&T announced that they had agreed to sell Xandr (including AppNexus and Clypd) to Microsoft for an undisclosed price, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory reviews.[4]

On June 6, 2022, Microsoft completed the acquisition of Xandr to bolster its advertising and retail media business, for about USD $1 billion.[15]

Leadership

Xandr is led by Mike Welch,[1] after the departure in March 2020 by former GroupM North America CEO Brian Lesser, who was appointed chief executive officer of AT&T advertising and analytics in 2017.[16] Kirk McDonald, who served as interim CEO following Lesser's departure,[17] moved to GroupM, a subsidiary of WPP, in August 2020.[18]

Operations

In May 2019, Xandr launched Community, its new video marketplace[19] that connects advertisers, publishers, and consumer media brands,[20] including Warner Bros. Discovery platforms: CNN, TNT, TruTV, B/R Live, and Otter Media. Other media on the Community platform includes Vice Media, Hearst Communications, Newsy, Philo, Tubi, and Xumo,[21][22] Vudu, and Bloomberg.[23]

The fee-transparent,[24] consumer-centric Xandr advertising model combines data, AT&T’s then newly acquired WarnerMedia content, AppNexus, and other proprietary advertising technology, to integrate with AT&T’s consumer network,[6][7] creating the first personalized advertising of its kind, with different commercials being delivered to different viewers simultaneously.[25]

During its first year, Xandr’s revenue was mainly derived from DirecTV sales. The company has approximately 1800 employees,[26] including 60 in Europe.[20]

In 2023 Netzpolitik.org analyzed an inventory file of Xandr[27] and described how it categorizes people in an article series[28] and a talk at the Chaos Communication Congress.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b "Xandr Leadership Team". xandr.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "2019 AT&T EARNINGS Xandr Segment" (PDF). AT&T. p. 25. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Lafayette, Jon (February 11, 2019). "AT&T Putting All Programmatic Digital Ad Spending with Xandr". Broadcasting Cable. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Foley, Mary Jo (December 21, 2021). "Microsoft to buy Xandr ad marketplace from AT&T". ZDNet. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  5. ^ Paoletta, Rae (November 29, 2018). "AT&T's Xandr Officially Combines Its TV Ad Biz With The AppNexus Digital Ad Platform". AdExchanger. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "AT&T Ad Unit Now Called 'Xandr' in Nod to Alexander Graham Bell". September 25, 2018 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  7. ^ a b "AT&T Launches New Advertising Company, Xandr". about.att.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  8. ^ Mariel Soto Reyes (June 12, 2019). "The Relevance Conference Santa Barbara, a leadership series presented by Xandr, an AT&T unit". Business insider. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  9. ^ Dang, Sheila (June 10, 2019). "The AT&T's Xandr launches ad-buying platform for premium content". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  10. ^ "XANDR ACQUIRES CLYPD IN MOVE TO BUILD CONNECTED TV EMPIRE Archived October 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Ad Age; October 18, 2019. Accessed October 21, 2019.]
  11. ^ Dang, Sheila (October 17, 2019). "AT&T's Xandr purchases TV advertising company clypd: source". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  12. ^ "WarnerMedia and Xandr Combine To Create A Stronger Value Proposition For Agencies, Advertisers, and Publishers". Xandr. April 30, 2020. Archived from the original on May 1, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  13. ^ "AT&T Ups Effort to Sell DirecTV, Xandr and Crunchyroll – Media Play News". September 2020. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  14. ^ Rifilato, Tony (May 17, 2021). "AT&T Will Hold On To Xandr As It Relinquishes WarnerMedia". adexchanger.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  15. ^ Czarnecki, Sean (June 6, 2022). "Microsoft just closed its acquisition of adtech firm Xandr. Here are 5 other companies it could buy to compete with Google and Meta". Business Insider. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  16. ^ "GroupM North America CEO Brian Lesser to Depart for AT&T Role" Archived August 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine by Alexandra Bruell; The Wall Street Journal; August 4, 2017. Accessed May 21, 2019.
  17. ^ "With CEO Brian Lesser gone, advertisers question AT&T's commitment to Xandr". digiday.com. March 16, 2020. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  18. ^ Steinberg, Brian (August 18, 2020). "Kirk McDonald Will Become North American CEO of GroupM". variety.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  19. ^ "Xandr To Launch 'Community' Marketplace, Enhanced Addressable TV Offerings". www.mediapost.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Joseph, Seb (July 1, 2019). "AT&T's Xandr has ambitious European expansion plans". DIGIDAY. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  21. ^ "AT&T's Xandr Unveils Community, Its Long-Awaited Video Marketplace". May 14, 2019. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  22. ^ "Xandr introduces ad marketplace, dubbed Community, during upfronts". Ad Age. May 14, 2019. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  23. ^ Lafayette, Jon (September 23, 2019). "One Year In, Xandr Still Pushing for Relevant Ads". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  24. ^ Sluis, Sarah (December 11, 2018). "AppNexus Reworks Publisher Contracts To Enable Fee Transparency For Buyers". AdExchanger. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  25. ^ "AT&T Pushes Xandr Ad Products in Viacom Carriage Talks" by Alexandra Bruell; The Wall Street Journal; March 25, 2019. Accessed May 21, 2019. Archived May 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine On March 11, 2020 CEO Brian Lesser resigned. On April 30, 2020 AT&T announced that Warner Media and Xandr would be merged.
  26. ^ Steinberg, Brian (December 10, 2019). "AT&T's Xandr Works for Closer Ties With WarnerMedia". Variety. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  27. ^ Dachwitz, Ingo (July 6, 2023). "Surveillance advertising in Europe: The adtech industry tracks most of what you do on the Internet. This file shows just how much". netzpolitik.org. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  28. ^ Gille, Johannes (August 24, 2023). "Schlagwort: Die Xandr-Recherche". netzpolitik.org (in German). Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  29. ^ Meineck, Sebastian; Dachwitz, Ingo (December 27, 2023). Die Akte Xandr. Retrieved June 18, 2024 – via media.ccc.de.