Chango

Leading search retargeting platform before acquisition

Chango was a pioneering advertising technology company that specialized in programmatic search retargeting, allowing advertisers to serve display ads to users based on their search behavior across the web. Founded in 2008, the company developed a platform that collected search intent data from publisher sites and used it to target display advertising, effectively bridging the gap between search and display advertising. Chango's technology enabled advertisers to reach users who had demonstrated purchase intent through their search queries, even when those users were browsing non-search websites. The company grew rapidly and became a significant player in the programmatic advertising space, partnering with major demand-side platforms and ad exchanges. In 2014, Twitter acquired Chango for a reported $50-60 million to enhance its advertising capabilities and compete more effectively with Facebook and Google in the digital advertising market. Following the acquisition, Chango's technology was integrated into Twitter's advertising platform, and the standalone Chango brand and product ceased to exist as a distinct entity. Chango's legacy lies in its innovative approach to combining search intent data with display advertising, which influenced the development of programmatic advertising strategies and audience targeting methodologies that became standard in the industry. The acquisition by Twitter represented the social media platform's strategic move to strengthen its ad targeting capabilities during a critical growth period.