Adobe beefs up its ad targeting by acquiring Demdex

Adobe may be best known for its media creation software Photoshop and Flash Builder, but it’s now showing more interest in the advertising market and just announced that it has acquired a data startup called Demdex.

Adobe acquired analytics company Omniture for $1.8 billion in September 2009, explaining the move as a way to give Adobe customers the tools they need to make money from their content. By July of last year Adobe said Omniture was already accounting for 10 percent of its revenue.

Demdex’s technology will be added to Adobe’s Omniture products. Demdex pulls audience data from a number of sources, including your website, advertising campaigns, and data sellers, so that advertisers can target their ads to a specific group. In its press release, Adobe emphasized how important this kind of audience targeting is becoming for publishers and advertisers.

“With the addition of Demdex, the Adobe Online Marketing Suite will enable advertisers to be smarter with their advertising spend and publishers to leverage their audience data to generate more revenue,” said Brad Rencher, vice president and general manager of Adobe’s Omniture business unit. “With audience optimization, Adobe is literally changing how online ads are bought and sold.”

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Demdex last raised $6 million in funding from Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital, and Genacast Ventures.