US retargeting giant AdRoll readies Australia launch, hires Allure Media founder Ben Sharp as MD
US firm AdRoll is readying for a entry into the Australian market and has hired former Allure Media and Vizury executive Ben Sharp as to head up its operations here and in New Zealand.
The advertising retargeting firm, started in San Francisco in 2007, is looking to expand its footprint in the local market, where it is already understood to have a number of clients.
Sharp has had an extensive career in digital media, including six years with Yahoo!7 where he was group sales manager, a co-founder and marketing manager for Allure Media which has sites including Lifehacker, Business Insider and PopSugar, and most recently with rival retargeting firm Vizury.
He is also a director with Edge Digital Media, where he worked on a contract as managing director for Effective Measure in Australia and New Zealand.
Mumbrella understands the company, which has been one of the most rapidly growing companies in the US for the last two years, is planning a major launch push in the next few weeks which will include some of the founders coming out to Australia, but is already talking to clients in market.
Digital media specialists described the company, which uses tags to track users across the web and serve them ads from sites or products they had previously looked at, has been a “phenomenal success” in the US in the small and medium business space, but has not apparently cracked the agency market.
In Australia this opens up a pool of thousands of clients not currently being serviced in the display advertising area, “from local pizza shops through so some medium sized enterprises” according to one digital executive.
“There is definitely market share to b had out there, and there’s no-one really doing it in Australia at the moment, so they must see it as a good proposition,” they added.
Australia would be the second global office for the company after opening in Dublin at the end of last year, taking 100 staff to service the European market.
Nice one Sharpie!
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Outstanding hire; Ben is one of the very best in my view.
Good move Ben. Congratulations
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Well done Sharpie.
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