One Of Facebook's Ad Exchange Partners Will Hire 300 New Staffers This Year
iMediaConnection / YouTube Rocket Fuel, one of the companies that buys ads in Facebook's FBX ad exchange, will hire 300 new staffers this year, according to CEO George John.
That's a staggering number.
The company -- which does ad targeting and retargeting all over the web in addition to Facebook -- had revenues of $107 million in revenue in 2012. Generally, revenue at ad companies and agencies is a small fraction of the total adspend that they handle on behalf of clients.
It's virtually unheard of for ad agencies of any kind to know at this early stage of the year that they'll need 300 new staffers. Rocket Fuel, based out of Redwood Shores, Calif., currently has 289 employees in six offices -- so the company is essentially hiring an entire new agency, bigger than its current self.
John expects Facebook-fueled growth to continue, he told Ad Exchanger:
I would definitely expect more money going to FBX. A few analysts are already raising their expectations because of this advertising offer. I think it will be good for the industry since real-time bidding has really gained a lot of momentum and credit lately.
It all suggests that FBX will be a huge driver of revenue growth at Facebook. When Facebook unveils its Q4 earnings on Jan. 30, investors will be looking for clues as to how big FBX can get in the $2 billion real-time bidding ad marketplace.