Market Track Buys Ad Tracking Firm

In the US, retail promotion and pricing intelligence provider Market Track has acquired ad tracking specialist Competitrack from its founder Bob Moss. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Moss (pictured) set up New York City-based Competitrack in 1987, to provide a variety of data services including competitive spending and media usage, multicultural and co-op ad tracking and verification, and ad content analysis for use in predictive modeling. The firm's archive contains more than eleven million ads, and in the US it monitors media including TV, print, radio, online display, online video, social media and mobile advertising.

Market Track CEO Wayne Mincey says the combination of the two companies creates 'the most comprehensive market and competitive intelligence resource' for advertisers, retailers and brands.

Following the acquisition, Moss will remain with the company, serving as an advisor to Market Track and its Board of Directors, while Competitrack President Ginny Tuckman will also remain in her role with the firm.

Moss comments: 'This is terrific for both companies and their respective clients. Both provide comprehensive market and media coverage, highly detailed datasets, and an understanding that speed of information is critical to the decision makers we serve. The combined expertise and complementary datasets of the two firms will enable us to offer what I am confident will be the strongest competitive tracking and analytics capabilities available.'

In August, Market Track acquired eCommerce insight specialist Dynamite Data, which gathers, analyzes and distributes online pricing, inventory, and rating and review information from 'more than a billion' eCommerce web pages.

Web sites: www.markettrack.com and www.competitrack.com .