• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 4, 2014

The Atlantic has struck a deal with native advertising firm TripleLift enabling the publisher to use TripleLift’s image-optimizing technology to power its native ad offerings across all its sites, including TheAtlantic.com and CityLab.com.

The partnership will simplify the process of creating and executing native ad placements, allowing The Atlantic to continue expanding its native ad business.
 
The Atlantic will use TripleLift’s technology to deliver branded advertising messages with images automatically rendered in an aesthetically appealing way that matches the look and feel of the rest of the sites. The TripleLift technology is centered on proprietary software called Computer Vision, which analyzes images and renders them at the ideal aspect ratio for any ad placement, across multiple sites and devices.

Dan Martin, TripleLift’s vice president for business development, explained: “Computer Vision enables us to identify the ideal focal point of the image that the publisher is serving and then dynamically render the image to fit into the aspect ratio of many different as placements.”

The Atlantic's executive director of revenue operations, David Minkin, noted that the partnership has increased “our ability to administer these campaigns and manage the inventory … We expect the amount of business we do from native to only increase, and using this kind of functionality definitely helps us in term of achieving that scalability.”

Looking ahead, Martin predicted: “Without question the visual Web is the future of digital media, and mobile and connected devices are the catalyst. At its core, TripleLift is built to enable integrated campaigns across all devices, allowing the publisher to customize the ad experience for each one without requiring any additional resources.”

The already frenetic native advertising arena has seen a flurry of strategic moves recently.

Earlier this week, Hearst’s Jumpstart Automotive Group, which has advertising relationships with a portfolio of independent automotive interest publishers, announced that it is licensing Nativo’s technology for delivering native ads. Also, Vox Media revealed plans to expand its native ad offerings, funded by a new round of investment that raised $50 million. Last but not least, native ad firm Outbrain revealed plans for an IPO, with a potential valuation of around $1 billion.