Retargeting platform AdRoll is establishing a physical footprint in Australia with an office in Sydney and former Yahoo! member Ben Sharp as managing director.
AdRoll already has 500 Australian clients including Appliances Online and Clinique AU and offers retargeting opportunities across Google AdX, Twitter, Facebook and other display inventory sources.
The retargeting platform said the move into Australia comes at a time as growth in e-commerce, high smartphone penetration and trend towards performance driven marketing.
“In an era where Australian businesses are competing in the global marketplace a savvy retargeting strategy is business critical,” Sharp said in the release.
“Currently there is a limited choice for retargeting in Australia. No other company is able to provide the same solution for SMBs through to enterprise and agencies and for this reason we consider Australia an early battleground for retargeting leadership in APAC.”
Sydney is the second international office for AdRoll. It pushed into Europe with the opening of a Dublin office in October 2013.
AdRoll hopes to employ more than 20 staff for its Sydney office across marketing, direct sales, inside sales, account management and back office.
Sharp takes up his role as AdRoll Australia and New Zealand MD from his previous post as general manager of Vizury. Before Vizury he was co-founder and commercial director of Allure Media and spent six years at Yahoo!.
Aaron Bell, chief executive of AdRoll, said: “It’s awesome to finally launch in Sydney. Over the past year, we’ve seen Australia explode into one of the fastest growing markets with strong demand from advertisers and agencies. Establishing a local hub will allow us to provide the best support for our growing Australian customer base. Ben is one of Australia’s most experienced digital leaders with deep knowledge of the local landscape and strong relationships with agencies and brands. We’re excited to build out the AdRoll organisation around him.”
