Extreme Reach is acquiring Australia-based Adstream to create a comprehensive platform that will streamline workflows for global brands activating video campaigns across devices and services. The combined company is addressing pain points for brands that have arisen from the fragmentation of video consumption. There is a lot more complexity because every ad that is served must be properly formatted to deliver an appropriate user experience and tracked so that talent is accurately compensated.

Tim Conley, Extreme Reach’s CEO and co-founder and Daniel Mark, Adstream’s CEO (who will become Chief Strategy Officer of the combined company), emphasized in a briefing that brands have been asking for a holistic solution, with global scale, that can power the full lifecycle of a video ad, spanning its creation, production, asset management, versioning, delivery, talent rights management and analytics.

Tim and Daniel said there’s a gap between traditional TV and digital video, at a time when brands are increasingly focused on targeting audiences wherever they consume video. This gap has led to escalating complexity and costs when brands use manual processes to manage their campaigns.

Talks between the companies began a couple of years ago but accelerated recently due to customer requirements and the shifting focus of Adstream’s primary investor, the Paul Ramsay Foundation, which will continue as a minority shareholder.

The companies’ platforms are complementary; Adstream has deep capabilities in digital asset management and has a customer base primarily outside of North America. Extreme Reach has specialized in creative asset and talent rights management and ad serving, and has a primarily North America customer base. Tim noted that the companies’ platforms have a modular architecture, which he believes will ease integration and unlock new opportunities for brands.

Tim and Daniel said brands and agencies can expect improved ROI on their campaigns through the combined company’s streamlined workflows and ongoing innovation. The deal is set to close in the second quarter of 2021, with 400 Adstream employees joining Extreme Reach. Terms were not disclosed.