Facebook has announced a unique partnership with Google to allow its popular ad-buying platform DoubleClick act as third-party software on the previously exclusive Facebook Exchange service.


 Despite being fierce rivals in the lucrative digital ad-market (UK marketers are currently spending £66 per head in digital, recently surpassing £6bn over the last six months) this deal now includes hundreds of marketers being welcomed into Facebook ad-space.


Advertisers will work across a real-time bidding platform to snap up ad space in a high-priced auction, expanding on Facebook's current system.

Tech Crunch gave the below example:

Facebook launched FBX in June 2012 to let advertisers buy cookie-based retargeted ads on Facebook’s site. When someone visits an advertiser’s website, say to buy a flight to Hawaii, a cookie is dropped onto the user’s computer. The site can then pass this cookie to a demand side platform (DSP) ad tech service that uses it to target that same user with an ad on Facebook. So if the person didn’t buy the flight, the travel site can show them ads hawking that exact same flight at a discount in hopes of getting them to pull the trigger.

Despite Facebook working with Google rival Microsoft Bing to power its internal search program, Facebook executives are not opposed to working with Google.

On the official DoubleClick blog, Payam Shodjai, Google Senior Product Manager wrote:
“Partnership has been key to Google’s success as a rising tide lifts all boats.  So we’re excited to announce a new way to help our clients succeed by working with Facebook to participate in FBX, their real-time bidding exchange…we’re always looking at ways to serve our clients even better – starting in a few months, clients will be able to buy inventory on FBX via DoubleClick Bid Manager.”