Rhombus

Founded in 2018 by Abe Storey, Rhombus carved a specific niche for itself within the ad-tech sector by focusing on social media content embedded within publisher websites. Storey, a self-described builder and marketer, identified an underutilized monetization opportunity for publishers and a highly specific targeting method for advertisers. His prior experience as a Product Manager at a digital agency, working with major entertainment and media brands, provided him with the insights into the digital advertising landscape that led to the creation of Rhombus.

The company's core business was an advertising platform that enabled brands to place ads adjacent to contextually relevant social media posts embedded in articles on publishers' sites. This addressed the growing trend of news cycles being driven by social media content. For advertisers, Rhombus offered a cookieless targeting solution, allowing them to align with trending conversations, specific accounts, keywords, and hashtags across more than a dozen social platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit. Clients included major brands like Heineken, Volvo, and ABC. For its publishing partners, such as Rolling Stone, USA Today, and Variety, the platform provided a new revenue stream by monetizing the social embeds already present on their pages.

Rhombus operated on a marketplace model, connecting advertisers with publishers to trade on this unique ad placement. The platform would analyze over 100,000 social embeds daily to classify them for targeting. In August 2020, recognizing the value of this specialized ad inventory, mobile advertising leader Kargo acquired Rhombus for an undisclosed amount. Following the acquisition, Rhombus's technology was integrated into the Kargo platform and rebranded as "Social Canvas". Abe Storey transitioned to a Director of Product Management role at Kargo to lead the integration, which has since grown significantly. Storey has since become a partner at JARS Capital, an early investor in Rhombus, where he now incubates and invests in other software companies.

Keywords: social embed advertising, contextual targeting, ad tech, digital advertising, publisher monetization, cookieless targeting, brand safety, social media advertising, Kargo, Abe Storey, Social Canvas, native advertising, ad marketplace, online media, content monetization, mobile advertising, ad platform, digital media revenue, programmatic advertising, embedded content