MarTech Edge Interview with Marie-Lou Penin, Head of Marketing, DanAds

Hello, Marie-Lou! Walk us through the milestones in your marketing career and how you arrived at the position of Head of Marketing at DanAds.

Before joining DanAds, my career was a global adventure in marketing, spanning various sectors like entertainment and technology and countries including France, the UK, and the UAE. This international exposure honed my ability to craft data-driven marketing campaigns that resonate across diverse cultural landscapes. My journey at DanAds began as a Marketing Activation Manager three years ago. Within this role, I leveraged my global experience to bring fresh perspectives, leading to significant growth and the expansion of our marketing strategies. A year ago, I was offered the role of Head of Marketing, a testament to my contributions and strategic vision for the company.

This past year, we’ve achieved remarkable milestones, such as hosting the world’s second Self-Serve Summit in New York, featuring giants like Disney, Paramount, TripAdvisor, and Google. Our recognition in Deloitte’s Sweden Technology Fast 50, winning the Product of the Year Award at NAB Show 2023, and also celebrating DanAds' 10th anniversary is proof of our growing ambitions and success.

How does DanAds’ self-serve ad technology function and enable publishers to take full control of their ad ecosystem?

DanAds’ self-serve ad technology functions as a powerful enabler for both advertisers and publishers, transforming the traditional advertising landscape. This technology allows advertisers to directly engage with trusted publishers at scale, streamlining the advertising process through automation. For traditional publishers, it represents a path to future-proof their advertising business.

By automating their ad operations, they can maintain existing revenue streams while increasing their margins. This is especially crucial for new types of publishers who possess substantial first-party data but lack scalable methods to capitalize on it. In domains like retail media, which are witnessing significant growth, our self-serve advertising solutions unlock new revenue potentials by efficiently utilizing this data.

Automation is at the core of what DanAds does. How does leveraging automation catapult the ad capabilities in terms of production, management, and revenue?

At the core of DanAds is automation, which elevates the capabilities of ad production, management, and revenue generation. Leveraging automation means publishers can manage their ad business more efficiently, reducing the time and resources spent on manual ad operations. This leads to faster ad production and deployment, allowing publishers to respond quickly to market changes and client needs. Also, automation leads to the scalability of products that enhance targeting and personalization capabilities. Leading to more effective campaigns and increased advertiser satisfaction.

In terms of revenue, automation also enables publishers to optimize and scale their internal workflow. Ensuring both publisher and advertiser get the most out of their ad spend. This efficiency not only boosts their revenue but also attracts a wider range of advertisers seeking streamlined, effective ad solutions.

DanAds’ automation technology empowers publishers to take full control of their ad ecosystem, transforming their operations into more profitable, responsive, scalable, and future-proof entities.

Could you share your go-to inbound marketing approach, and how do you implement tailored strategies to cater to different pain points in a buying group, driving them toward the funnel?

In our inbound marketing approach, we focus on understanding the distinct pain points of each buying group member. This involves creating detailed buyer personas and tailoring content to meet their specific needs. We leverage various channels to ensure our message reaches the right audience and use marketing automation (Hubspot) for personalized lead nurturing. 

Together with the commercial team, we regularly refine our strategies using feedback to remain effective, steering prospects on a tailored journey to the sales funnel, and establishing enduring customer relationships. It's truly a team effort.

With clients like TripAdvisor, Rogers Sports & Media, Nine, and Philips, how do you ensure that DanAds’ brand voice and messaging cater to the diverse needs of such prominent brands?

At DanAds, being client-centric means we really tune into each client's unique needs, shaping our brand voice and messaging to resonate just right with them. We stay agile, adapting to new technologies and shifts in advertiser behavior. Our approach involves market research and competitive intelligence, allowing us to tailor our offerings to suit the specific needs of these brands. We recognize that each client values different aspects of our product, from its superior quality to the comprehensive post-sale support we provide. 

To meet these needs, we have developed a range of initiatives, such as hosting our annual event to foster a self-serve community and conducting private educational webinars. These are designed not only to support our clients on their self-serve and automation journey but also to position DanAds as more than just a technology provider.

How do you leverage data to inform your strategies and decision-making? Can you share an instance where data-driven insights unprecedentedly transformed the project outcomes?

Data plays a critical role in shaping our strategies and decision-making at DanAds. We rely on a data-driven approach to understand market trends, customer behaviors, and campaign performance. By analyzing this data, we can make informed decisions that align with our business objectives and customer needs.

We had this great moment when data really changed the game in a campaign we did for SMBs and SMEs on our client's platforms. The initial strategy was broad, with the primary objective being to understand what resonates with these segments in order to drive revenue. This involved creating specific products, considering the potential for differentiation (or lack thereof) in their current media sales strategies, and introducing new features and pricing to build the ideal platform for advertisers.

After analyzing engagement data, we discovered that a specific subset of these groups was responding more positively to a pilot program, including incentives and considering seasonality. We then realigned their marketing and sales strategies to focus on their most relevant segments, significantly increasing engagement and conversion rates.

Where is the self-serve ad space heading? How does DanAds plan to incorporate the evolving market requirements into its platform to sustain and advance its industry position?

The advertising space is rapidly evolving, with a growing emphasis on automation, personalization, and data-driven decision-making. As these trends continue, we anticipate a surge in demand for more sophisticated and user-friendly self-serve platforms.

At DanAds, we are committed to staying ahead of these trends. We plan to incorporate evolving market requirements into our platforms by continuously enhancing our automation capabilities, integrating advanced data analytics for better targeting and personalization, and ensuring our platforms remain intuitive and accessible.

In times of recession, we see more and more publishers making sure they keep existing ad revenues intact. So, migrating existing direct ad revenues into a self-serve solution enables them to ensure revenues are kept with higher margins due to automation. No matter the ad budget, the transactional cost of using self-serve technology is the same.

We’re also focusing on expanding our AI capabilities in our Creative Builder to help our clients and their advertisers. Our goal is to ensure that DanAds not only adapts to the changing landscape but also plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of advertising. By doing so, we aim to sustain and advance our position as a leader in the industry.