Millennial Says TapMetrics Buy to Serve Advertisers by Helping Developers

Mobile ad net Millennial Media’s acquisition of analytics firm TapMetrics could help the firm maintain its hold on mobile app inventory. As large firms like Google and Apple snap up Millennial’s ad network competitors, the company believes improved analytics for app developers and publishers will lead to stickier applications and ad inventory for advertisers.

“To maintain that audience asset, we do have to do things that are really beneficial to developers,” said Millennial CEO Paul Palmieri.

The four-year-old mobile ad network, the largest independent ad net since AdMob was purchased by Google, will now provide TapMetrics analytics data and tools to developers and publishers of the mobile apps in the Millennial network. The data will rank apps in terms of usage, track buzz about apps in social media, and detect when applications crash.

“It makes that audience asset more sticky…because we’re providing this intelligence to developers,” added Palmieri.

Palmieri said his firm had not partnered with TapMetrics in the past, and he came across the analytics company through his work as an advisor to venture capital firm LaunchBox Digital, which invests in TapMetrics.

According to recent data from IDC, Millennial Media ranks second with 18 percent in U.S. mobile advertising market share after AdMob among mobile ad networks. Google purchased AdMob late last year, while smaller ad net Quattro Wireless was gobbled by Apple in January.

The TapMetrics acquisition, suggested Palmieri, “is one indicator that we are not only comfortable but can be successful on the independent track.”

The terms of the TapMetrics acquisition were not disclosed.