TradeTracker

Awin-affilinet merger reshapes European Affiliate market

United Internet and Axel Springer merged their affiliate networks affilinet and Awin to create Europe’s largest affiliate network. The merged entity reportedly generated 717 million euros in revenue in 2016, with about 10,000 advertisers and 150,000 publishers worldwide. Affilinet is expected to disappear as a standalone brand and be absorbed into Awin, subject to Bundeskartellamt approval. A potential IPO for the new mega-network was anticipated. The article notes concern over reduced competition and gatekeeper power, while highlighting ongoing market opportunities and the potential for stronger focus on cross-device and in-app tracking, influencer marketing, and mobile advertising. It also suggests advertisers might turn to private networks to diversify access and mitigate dominance by a single platform. The piece positions this merger as a pivotal moment for the global affiliate landscape and industry consolidation.

Berlin or Hamburg: Germany's AdTech Capital?

OMR compares the AdTech ecosystems of Hamburg and Berlin by compiling company clusters and employee counts. Counting employees at international firms (Google, Facebook, etc.), Hamburg totals about 1,145 people in AdTech—742 at global companies and 431 at German-origin firms. Berlin hosts about 854 people at German pure‑play AdTech providers, with Zanox (now Awin) noted as the largest employer among Berlin pure‑players. The analysis was inspired by Pawel Chudzinski of VC firm Point Nine and incorporates additional firms (AdBroker, Adclear, Adspert, Adtiger, Deltamethod, Spree7). Employee figures were sourced from LinkedIn and Xing and directly from some companies; OMR updated the Hamburg list on June 19 to add Letvertise, Marin Software, Smartclip and TradeTracker and corrected counts for Sociomantic and Spree7 in Berlin. OMR plans similar cluster maps for Munich and Cologne.

RTB House Leverages European Ecommerce Growth To Expand Programmatic

RTB House, a retargeting technology provider and DSP, leverages Europe’s ecommerce growth to expand programmatic buying across 29 markets. Founded in 2012 in Warsaw, the company has moved into the UK and Ireland and aims to open a London office to broaden its sales and partner network. The firm currently employs about 100 people and plans to add 30–40 more in the coming year. It partners with brands and affiliate networks, with TradeTracker Denmark noting growth across Europe as programmatic and RTB adoption accelerates, particularly among media agencies. Admitad, a Russian affiliate network, is working on 20 campaigns with RTB House and hopes to reach 100 by the end of 2014. RTB House also signals ambitions beyond Europe to markets including the US, Australia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, underscoring a broader global expansion strategy.