About Us
1998
Born from brothers Scott
and John Ferber, TeknoSurf officially launches in August 1998. The company’s
early days are focused on building a network and obtaining clients, with
a small team of 10 employees working long hours cramped in a hot townhouse
outside Baltimore.
2000
TeknoSurf becomes Advertising.com and the company grows to 300 employees
during the dot-com bubble and subsequent burst. Advertising.com survives
and thrives – receiving $57 million in financing and launching its
international operations in London. The brothers Ferber are named "Entrepreneurs
of the Year" by Ernst & Young, and Dun and Bradstreet deem their start-up
the “Fastest-Growing Internet Company.”
2002
Search engine marketing is
starting to generate some buzz, just as Advertising.com launches its search
solutions – applying its award-winning banner optimization technology
to keyword bids. The company gains ground in other areas as well, specifically
a plot of land known as Scandinavia, with the acquisition of Dayrates – the
region’s largest online direct marketing firm.
2004
After years of steady, record
growth, Advertising.com declares its intent to go public by filing an S1
with the SEC. Instead, AOL acquires the industry’s largest online
advertising network in the industry’s largest acquisition of the
year. When discussing the $497 million deal, Ted Leonsis, vice chairman
of AOL, describes Advertising.com's business model as "the Holy Grail
of what interactive marketers have been looking for."
2006
Advertising.com continues its course of ongoing innovation and trend-setting
with a marked venture into the world of online video – as AOL officially
acquires video pioneer Lightningcast, Inc. as a subsidiary of Advertising.com.
In addition, Advertising.com makes a decision to enter into its 11th country – launching
a joint venture with Japanese firm Mitsui, Inc.
