AdForce LLC, CMGI‘s ad serving operation, on Tuesday
unveiled its plans for international expansion, which build on the European
presence of AdTech, a German firm which
CMGI bought and folded into AdForce.
The Frankfurt, Germany, headquarters of AdTech serve as AdForce’s base of
European operations. Later this year, the company plans to open offices in
London, Amsterdam, Paris and Madrid. Although most US Internet advertising
firms have begun their European push with a presence in the UK, it’s
interesting that, because of the AdTech acquisition, AdForce is starting on
non-English-speaking turf.
“We’ve had very satisfying growth in Europe so far this year, more than
quadrupling our ad serving from – 3 million impressions per day in December
1999 to 14 million per day in May 2000,” said John Tanner, president of
international operations and chief financial officer of AdForce.
“A presence in Europe will better enable AdForce to take advantage of
opportunities presented by the region’s strong growth in Internet use.”
Europe is considered to be second only to the United States in the size of
its Internet-using population. AdForce’s clients in the region include
Netscape International, 24/7 Europe,
and, through AdTech, ad pepper media
and Pilot.
Plans for Latin American expansion are also in the works. The company says
it will establish offices in Mexico City, Sao Paolo, and Buenos Aires.
Because both Europe and Latin America are considered to be ahead of the US
in the growth and development of wireless technology, AdForce is
emphasizing that market in its expansion plans.
