Sojern Buys Ad-Tech Firm Adphorus to Better Compete on Facebook

If there’s one entity outside of Madison Avenue that should be happy about Facebook's ramping up of targeted advertising products, it’s the travel industry. That’s because the launch of new products enables marketers at travel companies like Fairmont Hotels and online travel companies such as MakeMyTrip and Kayak to spend their budgets a bit more efficiently. Anticipating a strategic opportunity, travel marketing technology company Sojern has acquired Adphorus, a marketing company focused on helping travel brands advertise on Facebook and Instagram. The companies did not disclose terms of the deal. Adphorus has raised $1 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. The 45-employee business, based in Istanbul, will continue to operate independently. The news shows the value of ad tech to travel brands. On the same day, TechCrunch reported that Airbnb has acquired ad tech startup AdBasis, which offers tools to companies for ad testing and optimization. Sojern's deal represents its first acquisition. The San Francisco company with 400 employees that has just been named for the fifth year as one of Deloitte's 500 fastest growing technology companies in the U.S. Sojern had already worked with companies on its own to take advantage of F