In a development that further deepens the retrenchment in advertising-related Internet
businesses, OneMediaPlace, an online marketplace for the buying and selling of ads, has laid
off 39 employees at locations in New York and San Francisco.
Company spokesman Patrick Paterson told IAR sister publication AtNewYork.com that the cuts represented 30 percent of
OneMediaPlace’s workforce, which was reduced from 130 to 91 after the staff cuts. The
layoffs were “part of a cost-management program that we’ve instituted to ensure our long
term financial health,” Paterson said.
The job cuts are a signal that the difficulties in the online advertising business have now
hit companies in this once-hot media marketplace sector. Although OneMediaPlace had been
around since 1997 as AdAuction, the space suddenly saw a rush of new entrants and new
capital earlier this year — around the time the company rebranded itself and scored big
bucks from investors.
OneMediaPlace snagged $67 million in private investment financing led by CMGI @Ventures in
May, with media firms PRIMEDIA, Liberty Media, and the French
investor Artemis joining the round. CMGI @Ventures had, just a month earlier, plugged $25
million into the company.
OneMediaPlace styles itself as a solution for planning, buying, and selling advertising
media on the Internet. As AdAuction.com, the company had focused mostly on online and
outdoor advertising, with sales taking place through an auction model. More recently, the
company brought aboard a more experienced management team, and worked to expand its reach to
radio, television, and print media. Additionally, OneMediaPlace aimed to leave behind the
auction model — a model that was much criticized in the industry because it sought to
change the way media buyers and sellers traditionally interacted.