Active International - Corporate Barter & Media Company | Active International

What Active International - Corporate Barter & Media Company | Active International does

Active International, operating through its legal entity Active Media Services, Inc., is a privately-held corporate barter and media company founded in 1984 by Arthur Wagner and headquartered in Pearl River, New York. The company runs an integrated commercial innovation platform built around three product pillars: Corporate Trade (Intercambio Corporativo), Asset Solutions (Solución para tus Activos), and Media Solutions (Soluciones en Mercadotecnia). Through Corporate Trade, Active International purchases client excess inventory, obsolete stock, and underutilized assets at above-market rates and pays clients in exchange credits (Abonos de Intercambio) that can be applied to advertising, point-of-sale materials, events, print, and other business costs. Asset Solutions involves remarketing and reselling acquired assets across more than 40 product categories through a global distribution network designed to maximize recovery value while minimizing brand risk. Media Solutions leverages Active's stated billions of dollars in media purchasing power to execute advertising campaigns for clients funded through exchange credits, integrating strategic planning with channel execution.

The company generates revenue through transaction fees, capturing the margin between asset purchase prices and resale values or media markups. Pricing is fully quote-based with multi-year contracts negotiated individually per client; no standardized tiers are publicly disclosed. Active International serves enterprise clients across four primary verticals: Automotive (manufacturers seeking to monetize excess inventory and finance advertising budgets), FMCG (consumer goods companies with obsolete or slow-moving stock), Retailers and Department Stores, and Financial Services/Benefits Companies. Distribution is exclusively direct B2B, with dedicated sales directors and new business development professionals engaging clients and their advertising agencies to structure bespoke deals. The company has not raised external venture capital or private equity and remains privately held with no disclosed revenue.

Active International has scaled its footprint to operate across 15 countries with offices in the United States, Mexico (regional headquarters for Latin America), Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The Mexico City office has operated for 25 years and serves as the Latin America hub, with a full regional leadership team covering managing director, finance, fulfillment, sales, people/culture/technology, and new business development functions. Marketing efforts center on 'The What's Next Podcast,' the corporate website (activeinternational.mx), direct business development outreach, and industry events. Leadership includes co-founder Arthur Wagner (Board Member and Chairman) and Alan Brown (Board Member and Chairman of AI Holdings), with Dayna Frank serving as General Counsel. The company supports over 600 charitable organizations through the ActiveCares program established in 1997.

Name

Active International - Corporate Barter & Media Company | Active International

Legal name

Active Media Services, Inc.

Website

https://activeinternational.mx

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Active International is a privately-held corporate barter and media company that enables enterprise clients across automotive, FMCG, retail, and financial services in 15 countries to convert excess inventory and underutilized assets into media credits or working capital.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Pearl River

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Corporate Barter Transactions: Active International generates revenue by purchasing client inventories and assets (obsolete stock, slow-moving goods, excess media budgets) at values typically above market rates, paying clients with 'Exchange Credits' (Abonos de Intercambio). These credits can be used to purchase media advertising, point-of-sale materials, promotional items, printed materials, and events. Active then resells or remarkets the acquired assets through its distribution network, capturing the margin between purchase price and resale value. The company also facilitates media transactions where clients use exchange credits to fund advertising campaigns across various channels.
2. Media Buying and Planning Services: Active leverages its media buying power and relationships with major media owners to negotiate advertising space, which is then made available to clients in exchange for their assets or inventory. The company earns revenue by marking up media inventory acquired through barter transactions and selling it to clients seeking to maximize their advertising budgets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Active International operates a corporate barter exchange platform that enables businesses to convert excess inventory, obsolete stock, and underutilized assets into media advertising credits (Abonos de Intercambio) or liquid capital. The company purchases client assets at values above market rates and provides trade credits that can be applied across media buying, point-of-sale materials, promotional items, printed materials, and events, then resells those assets through its distribution network to capture margins.

Product overview

Active International operates as a commercial innovation company offering a unified corporate barter model with three integrated service pillars. The core Corporate Trade platform enables clients to exchange slow-moving or obsolete inventory for trade credits (Abonos de Intercambio) applied to marketing costs. Asset Solutions maximizes value from client assets including 40+ product categories through remarketing and resale programs. Media Solutions provides data-driven media buying across all channels leveraging billions in purchasing power. The three offerings work together: clients recover value from unused assets, which is then applied to media budgets managed through the company's strategic media planning, creating a closed-loop commercial innovation system for automotive, FMCG, retail, and financial services clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Trade (Intercambio Corporativo) The core business model that generates additional value for enterprise clients by using their assets or inventory to pay for marketing budgets or other business costs. Clients exchange slow-moving or obsolete inventory for trade credits (Abonos de Intercambio) that can be applied to media spending across channels.
• Asset Solutions (Solución para tus Activos) Asset optimization and remarketing services that maximize the value of client assets including obsolete inventory, slow-moving products, gift cards, sponsorships, fixed assets, and real estate. The team conducts market research, inspection, and designs customized resale plans to maximize value and minimize brand risk across 40+ product categories.
• Media Solutions (Soluciones en Mercadotecnia) Data-driven marketing and media buying services that combine specific data with strategic buying approaches. The media team leverages billions of dollars in purchasing power to optimize campaign results and maximize return on investment across all media channels, with relationships across major media owners.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Liquidity Services: Publicly-traded marketplace operator for surplus and returned inventory across retail, industrial, and government clients. Comparable on the asset disposition/remarketing side; differs from Active in operating model (auction marketplace vs. closed-loop barter).
• Omnicom Group: Global advertising holding company whose agencies (OMD, PHD, Hearts & Science) compete for the same enterprise marketing budgets Active serves. Adjacent competitor rather than direct, since Omnicom does not operate corporate barter, but its media-buying scale sets the benchmark Active's media team competes against.
• GroupM: World's largest media investment group (WPP subsidiary) buying media on behalf of major advertisers. Comparable to Active's media solutions offering in channel coverage and purchasing power; differs in operating as a traditional agency with cash-based buying rather than barter-funded exchange.
• Gordon Brothers: Global asset disposition and valuation firm remarketing inventory, equipment, and intellectual property for retailers, brands, and lenders. Comparable to Active's Asset Solutions offering on the remarketing side, but without the integrated media buying / corporate barter funding mechanism.

Direct peers

• International Exchange Group (IEG): Corporate barter and trade exchange company specializing in converting excess inventory and media budgets for major brands. Directly comparable to Active International in business model (asset acquisition funded by media credits), client base (enterprise marketers), and service offering (barter + media buying).
• Bartercard: One of the world's largest barter exchange networks, facilitating trade among thousands of member businesses. Comparable to Active in the core trade-exchange model, though Bartercard focuses on SME-to-SME transactions rather than enterprise corporate barter with media integration.
• Tradebank International: Global barter exchange network operating across multiple countries. Comparable to Active in cross-border trade exchange mechanics, though focused on broader B2B barter rather than enterprise media-funded corporate trade.
• ITEX Corporation: Publicly-traded barter exchange company providing trade credits to member businesses. Comparable in the fundamental barter exchange mechanic; differs from Active in scale (SME focus vs. enterprise) and absence of integrated media buying.

Emerging players

• B-Stock Solutions: B2B liquidation marketplace for returned and excess merchandise from retailers and manufacturers. Comparable on inventory remarketing capability but not on the corporate barter/media funding integration that defines Active's model.

Regional players

• Coretex Group: European-headquartered corporate barter and trade exchange firm with focus on media and inventory exchange. Closest direct competitor in geography and service mix; smaller and more regionally concentrated than Active International.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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