As Branded Content Grows, Vancouver’s Pressboard Acquired by Impact

Partnership management platform Impact has acquired Pressboard, the company announced this week.

Pressboard, an analytics and reporting platform for branded content, was founded in Vancouver in 2014. According to Impact, this acquisition will empower publishers to scale their content partnership opportunities and will enable better partnerships between publishers and brands to drive efficiency, revenue, and growth of what it calls the “partnership economy.”

The advertising industry moves fast and publishers are continuously confronted with challenges as traditional advertising declines and ad-blockers are on the rise. As a result the valuation of the branded content market last year approached $20 billion, according to data from eMarketer, with branded content becoming a source of revenue for almost 90% of publishers.

“To succeed in this highly competitive landscape, publishers, brands, and agencies must be equipped with best-in-class technology to drive profitable revenue,” said David Yovanno, CEO of impact.com. “The future of commerce is content-driven, and this acquisition allows for more publishers to meet the demands of today’s digital consumers with authentic experiences that deliver real results.”

Pressboard provides a suite of tools to measure sponsored content, e-commerce, and social media programs. Through integration capabilities, Pressboard provides creators with granular insights in a single dashboard. From reporting automation to campaign execution and analysis, Pressboard enables studios to “unleash maximum earning potential,” according to cofounder Jerrid Grimm.

“We are thrilled to combine forces with impact.com and continue to build the tools that allow publishers to partner with their advertisers and create powerful and engaging branded content programs for their audiences,” said Grimm. “Together we will help publishers maximize profitability by generating meaningful connections with consumers.”

Pressboard was named to the 2019 Deloitte Fast 50 for its rapid growth. Now the company will join Trackonomics to create a “robust and holistic publisher solution to power and scale their sponsored and commerce content programs,” according to a statement from impact.com.