AD TECH AND MARTECH
Smartly.io | March 17, 2023
Smartly.io, one of the world’s largest SaaS digital advertising platforms, today announces significant company advancements, stemming from months of strategic moves—including two acquisitions, a new platform release and strategic hires to senior leadership—under the guidance and vision of industry veteran Laura Desmond. The company, which holds certified partnerships with media leaders Meta, TikTok and Google, among others, brings dynamic integrations to the digital and social space, successfully “redefining social and creativity,” according to Nikhil Lai, Senior Analyst at Forrester.
Desmond, the former Global CEO of Starcom Mediavest Group and senior executive of Publicis Groupe, has a seasoned track record for creating symbiotic relationships between advertising and technology—influencing opportunities that reshape entire industry categories. As was the case in 2021, where Desmond, a member of DoubleVerify’s Board of Directors and operating partner at Providence Equity, played an integral role in leading its IPO—one of the most successful in the media and technology sector that year.
“When Providence acquired Smartly in 2019 and I became Chair of The Board, the company’s potential was clear from the start. Smartly is uniquely solving real problems that brands and marketers need to have solved: agile creative and media management at the same time; rapid intelligence around performance—what's working and what's not; the ability to execute personalization at scale. The steady updates we’ve been making are unlocking a depth and breadth to the technology that’s affording brands the ability to move across channels as fluidly as the consumers they aim to engage do,” commented Desmond. “Coupled with the additions of Brett Wein as Chief Sales Officer, and Oli Marlow-Thomas as Chief Innovation Officer, I am confident that our vision for Smartly.io will effectively redefine the future of digital advertising for brands and marketers alike.”
Smartly.io’s continuous releases to Workspaces has created a unique full-funnel, multi-channel approach to social advertising, integrating creative, media buying and intelligence at scale, in one platform. Specifically, the company’s creative-focused adtech enables marketers to:
Reach Smartly: Automate campaign workflows across all major platforms, reaching audiences quickly, easily and cost effectively.
Engage Smartly: Create beautiful, cohesive, and effective creative across the funnel that drives action.
Learn Smartly: Extract consolidated actionable insights to respond to audience behaviors in real-time to maximize return on investment (ROI).
"The depth of knowledge [Smartly.io] brings across verticals is really impressive,” said Merry Morud, Lead, Global Creative Optimization for Consumer Products at Uber. “On top of that, they have a fantastic creative team, which is very mobile-first, which is what we, as digital marketers, in a mobile space and mobile-first world look for.” Uber, a longtime client of Smartly.io, has used the company’s platform to execute iterative creative approaches at scale as part of their global media buying practice.
Smartly.io, now managing upwards of $5B in media spend, is unlocking the ability for true multi-platform brand building that exceeds both customer expectations and drives engagement across platforms, at scale. As a result, platform partners like Meta have leveraged Smartly’s Advantage+ Shopping solution to deliver upwards of 150 creative variations across all creative placements, expanding consistent brand reach and personalization in a privacy-safe way.
“Reinvention tends not to come from large scale companies, so we are using our nimble size and strong influence to create real movement in the industry,” said Oli Marlow-Thomas, Chief Innovation Officer, Smartly.io.
ABOUT YOU, one of Europe’s fastest growing fashion platforms, leverages Smartly’s TikTok Shopping Ads across markets. Since implementation, it's seen a near 30% uplift in ROAS for catalog sales, compared to the business-as-usual catalog sales campaigns, and greater than 100% uplift for "add to cart” actions compared to TikTok’s data.
“The Smartly Digital Advertising Platform is the result of years of collaborations, acquisitions and continuous innovation that’s allowing us the ability to really push the limits of what’s been possible, up until now that is. We’re working on some exciting new builds with partners that will hit the market in the coming months, that will take dynamic creative and media optimization to new heights,” continued Marlow-Thomas.
To learn more about the Smartly Digital Advertising Platform and how it’s revolutionizing the industry, please go to https://www.smartly.io.
About Smartly.io
Smartly.io is one of the world’s largest SaaS digital advertising platforms, managing nearly $5B in ad spend with 700+ brands worldwide. Our leading end-to-end technology and outstanding customer service help brands such as Walmart, FanDuel, L’Oreal, Warner Bros. Discovery, Nestle, and Disney/ESPN to better reach audiences, engage creatives and learn what performs best—consistently driving scale for brand and performance across the largest media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snap, Pinterest, TikTok, and Google. Visit Smartly.io to learn more.
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ADVERTISER PLATFORMS
Circle K, Alimentation Couche-Tard | December 06, 2022
Circle K, a global leader in convenience and mobility, today announces its first-ever U.S. nationwide advertising campaign, “Fueled by Circle K.” Taking place over the next year, the campaign focuses on Circle K fuel, which is now available in over half of its 7,000 U.S. locations. The campaign underscores Circle K’s mission to make customers’ lives a little easier every day, highlighting fuel they can trust as yet another way the brand serves the communities where it operates.
The campaign will run primarily on digital streaming and social media channels, taking a customer-centric creative approach in the four-part ad series that showcases different customers, their fueling experiences and how Circle K has everything they need for their journey.
Launched on Dec. 2, the first ad of the year-long campaign is holiday-themed, featuring actual Circle K employees alongside a variety of Circle K customer personalities, from delivery drivers to Santa’s helpers. The ad also features user-generated content from actual Circle K customers, and an original festive jingle to get customers in the holiday spirit.
“With the continued growth of Circle K in the U.S. and the expansion of Circle K Fuel reaching close to 4,000 stores by mid next year, now is the right time to introduce our first national fuel campaign,” explains Melissa Lessard, Head of North American Marketing.
“With the continued growth of Circle K in the U.S. and the expansion of Circle K Fuel reaching close to 4,000 stores by mid next year, now is the right time to introduce our first national fuel campaign,” explains Melissa Lessard, Head of North American Marketing. “As a major milestone for our brand, we want the ‘Fueled by Circle K’ campaign to celebrate our valued customers and show how they can trust the quality of Circle K fuel to support them on their journeys as well as enjoy so many customer favorites in store.”
To continue showcasing real customers throughout the campaign, Circle K fans are invited to share how Circle K is part of their life for a chance to be featured in future ads or social media posts, plus the opportunity to win fun prizes. To enter, customers can post to social media using #MyCircleK or upload their photos and videos directly to the My Circle K website.
View the first ad, “Holiday,” on YouTube. For more information on Circle K, Circle K Fuel, and to find a nearby location, visit circlek.com.
About Circle K and Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.
Couche-Tard is a global leader in convenience and fuel retail, operating in 24 countries and territories, with close to 14,300 stores, of which approximately 10,900 offer road transportation fuel. With its well-known Couche-Tard and Circle K banners, it is one of the largest independent convenience store operators in the United States and it is a leader in the convenience store industry and road transportation fuel retail in Canada, Scandinavia, the Baltics, as well as in Ireland. It also has an important presence in Poland and Hong Kong SAR. Approximately 122,000 people are employed throughout its network.
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AD TECH AND MARTECH
Smartly.io | October 27, 2022
Smartly.io, the leading social advertising automation platform for creative and performance marketers, today announced new survey findings that highlight consumers’ plans and preferences for this holiday shopping season. Included in the findings is how digital ads impact their decision-making. Conducted by Dynata, the survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers reveals that 40% of consumers say they will start shopping for holiday gifts earlier in 2022, and almost half of holiday shoppers have either already started shopping or are planning to start within the next month.
With a continued push toward e-commerce in mind, Smartly.io’s survey findings – including year-over-year trends from prior studies – point to a growing interest among consumers to use social media to aid their online shopping journeys. Specifically, 55% of respondents say they are open to making holiday gift purchases directly via a social media ad this holiday season. Further, Facebook continues to be the leading platform that respondents say they would consider making a holiday gift purchase from. However, since last year, YouTube has gained popularity over Instagram, rising 5% to 39% of consumers surveyed. TikTok is also increasing in popularity among consumers, with 24% saying they would consider purchasing holiday gifts from the platform, a 6% increase from 2021.
“For brands wanting to make an impact on consumers this holiday season, multi-platform strategies that tie-in discounts, personalization, and creator content across channels will be crucial,” said Lyle Underkoffler, CMO of Smartly.io. “This data shows that there is a greater opportunity for consumers to discover, and even purchase, products and services from their social media feeds as long as retailers can deliver relevant, personalized, and creative ads.”
Additionally, inflation is having a profound effect on how consumers shop this holiday season. Our data shows that 1 in 5 consumers say they are unsure if or how their shopping plans might change as a result of the current economic climate. Further insights show there is an opportunity for digital advertisers to create new experiences and forge better connections with these consumers via the following:
Discounts, Discounts, Discounts!
For both 2021 and 2022, discounts were ranked as the number one thing influencing consumers' decisions to buy products through digital ads. This year, due to market inflation, ads that offer discounts and coupon codes will be pivotal for brands looking to meet shoppers’ budgets and capture their attention this holiday season.
Making it Personal
Personalization continues to be at the top of the list when it comes to attracting audiences online. 60% of those surveyed rated an ad that is relevant or personalized to them as a deciding factor in purchasing holiday gifts from digital ads.
Be Transparent and Trustworthy
More than a third of respondents ranked a brand's trustworthiness as a crucial factor in deciding whether to purchase gifts from a digital ad. As consumers become more focused on how brands use their data, this is increasingly important.
Collaborating with Creators
Nearly 1 in 4 consumers get gift ideas from creators and influencers, and 66% of consumers say they are either somewhat or very likely to interact with a brand or its products based on content from an influencer or creator that they follow.
Embracing a Multi-Platform Strategy
81% of Gen Z is active on Instagram compared to 47% of general consumers. Incorporating multi-platform strategies that leverage the strengths of each channel allows brands to engage and create genuine connections with their desired audiences, leveraging each individual channel and platform to the best of its abilities.
Learn more about this latest research from Smartly.io, and how brands can capitalize on their digital advertising strategies this holiday season.
About the Study
In a study commissioned by Smartly.io, Dynata surveyed 1,000 consumers to uncover year-over-year trends as well as take a closer look at when consumers are beginning to shop for the holidays and, specific to this year, how the economic downturn may affect their plans. Respondents were located in the U.S. and were over the age of 18. The survey was conducted in September 2022.
About Smartly.io
Powering beautifully effective ads, Smartly.io automates every step of social advertising to unlock greater performance and creativity. We combine creative technology, ad buying automation, and intelligence with outstanding customer service to help 700+ brands scale their results—on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok. Last year Smartly.io acquired Ad-Lib.io and Viralspace.ai and are now a fast-growing community of over 800 Smartlies with 21 offices around the world, managing over $4B in annual ad spend and growing rapidly and profitably. Visit Smartly.io to learn more.
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