A few short months ago, travel ad network company Travora Media in New York sought to increase its stake in the online travel market. After several substantial changes, on Monday digital ad technology company JMG Exploration in Glendale, CA, announced it has acquired Travora for an undisclosed amount. Travora Media had owned travel sites such as 10Best.com but recently sold off many of them to buyers such as USA Today.
However, Travora retained its website Travora.com, which launched in October offering travelers real-time information about the places they planned to travel to.
JMG Exploration plans to rename itself as MediaShift and will use technology from its subsidiary AdVantage Networks to enhance Travora with richer data and other services for advertisers and publishers. The acquisition is expected to help MediaShift grow through access to a network of publishers, advertisers, and agencies. Much of the Travora team is expected to remain onboard, operating out of New York with plans to expand the staff.
Brendon Kensel, president of MediaShift, tells Xconomy that AdVantage’s technology includes distributing ads on Internet networks at airports and hotels. “When you log on to a network as a guest at an airport or hotel and surf the Web, that activity will be monetized through in-margin ads or interstitials,” he says.
His company also provides revenue sharing with network providers. Kensel says MediaShift wanted to build up its sales force, and that Travora’s experienced sales staff and connections with clients made it an attractive target for acquisition.
