Adform

Adform

Founded	2002
Headquarters	Copenhagen, Denmark
Area served	Worldwide
Industry	Ad serving Online advertising Display advertising
Employees	700+ (2016)
Website	www.adform.com
Alexa rank	19,778 (April 2014)[1]

Adform is a global digital media advertising technology company. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark the company operates globally with its primary presence concentrated in the European, UK, and US markets. The company was the first pan-European DSP,^[2] and has built a reputation for rapid growth, innovation and investing heavily in advanced R&D. All three of the company's original founders are still involved in leadership roles and a Series B round of funding for $5.5 million USD was closed in early 2014 followed by a 150 million Danish Kroner (21.5 million USD) investment by Danica Pension in late 2015.^[3][4][5]

History

Founding

Adform was founded in 2002 in Copenhagen, Denmark, by Gustav Mellentin (current CEO), Jakob Bak (current CTO) and Stefan Juricic (current CPO). The company was initially founded to deliver ad serving but later grew to become a media-agnostic tech vendor specializing in banner advertising, mobile advertising, and digital marketing. Adform at first focused exclusively on the buy-side process and worked predominantly with advertisers and agencies. However, it now provides a full stack offering for advertisers, agencies and publishers which is split between Advertiser Edge, Publisher Edge and the company's stand alone DMP, Audience Base.^[6] The company specializes in Real-time bidding and Programmatic media.

International Expansion

The Nordics

Starting in 2005 Adform began to expand its client base in Norway and Finland. By 2007 the company had established a new office in Lithuania and had expanded into Sweden. In response to rapid growth the company rose to become the largest ad tech provider in the Nordics.

Europe and the UK

The Lithuania office, situated in Vilnius, was opened in 2006 as a result of the founders' relationship with a group of system developers. Today the Vilnius office is Adform's largest and is the base for a large part of the company's technical development, central human resource management, and finance based activities. Other services, such as customer service and account management is handled by each country's local office(s).

In 2009 the company launched an office in London, and Gustav Mellentin, the co-founder and CEO of the company, temporarily re-located to oversee the company's expansion into the UK market. The German, Czech, Spanish, Dutch and Belgian markets followed over the next three years.

The US and Eastern Europe

In 2014 Adform raised $5.5 million of series B funding from Via Venture Partners^[7] to expand its rich media offering and for expansion into the United States. This led to the launch of two new offices (LA and NYC) in the US ^[8] as well as a development center in Belarus and a new office in Poland.^[9]

As of January 2016 Adform had 700 employees globally, up from 450 in 2014 and 264 in 2013.^[9]

APAC and MENA

Late 2015 and early 2016 was followed by continued expansion with the addition of offices in France, Turkey and Singapore as part of the company's continued focus on servicing an increasingly global client base.

Product Lines

When Adform launched in 2003 they were focused on providing ad serving which was supplemented by planning in 2005. These two were the Company's primary focus until 2010 when Adform added Rich Media and initiated an intensive R&D focus. This not only led to a significant increase in staff, it also drove the company's expansion into new markets and market areas. In 2011 the company launched its Demand-side Platform, which was followed in 2012 with a Private Marketplace. In 2013 the company added a Rich Media DSP and 2014 saw the introduction of their Data Management Platform. In 2015 the company launched its Programmatic Publisher Ad Server, Supply Side Platform, and Automated Guaranteed products. In 2016 they expanded with new cross-device and Header Bidding product launches. This strategy has made Adform profitable every-year since it was founded. As of February, 2015 Adform's product offerings are divided between four primary areas of focus; Advertiser Edge, Publisher Edge, Audience Base and Brand Solutions.^[9]

Markets

Adform is the leader in the Nordic market and has experienced rapid market growth and adoption across its other markets. The company has offices in 18 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Singapore and Turkey.^[9]

Adform’s clients are media agencies, advertisers, and publishers. As of 2015, the company has delivers more than 30 billion daily transactions and is working directly with 21,000 advertisers, 1000 agencies, and more than 400 publishers.^[9]

Adform Academy

Established in 2013, Adform Academy is an outreach program sponsored and staffed by Adform employees that organizes lectures, workshops and internships for interested university students and qualified applicants. The program is dedicated to community outreach and knowledge sharing and is available to students and universities that have been selected free of charge. The program also includes a number of collaborative projects which the company uses to recognize and hire distinguished talent.^[10]

Awards and Recognition

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015

In 2015 Adform was recognized as the most innovative growth company in Denmark by Ernst & Young with their Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015 award. The decision to select Adform was based on the company's strong performance and innovation as Adform has worked to expand its market position by opening new offices globally and through the constant development of new products and services.^[11]

Gazelle Award

In 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2015 Adform was selected for the Danish Gazelle Growth Program, which aims to help innovative Danish companies realize their potential in the global market. This award is issued by the Danish newspaper Børsen.^[12][13] The award is given to one of Denmark’s fastest growing companies, which have achieved continuous growth in revenue or gross profit for the last four financial years, and which have, in total, more than doubled revenues or gross profits in the period.^[14]

Lithuania's Best Employer 2012 & 2014 & 2016

With its largest office (more than 350 employees) based in the Lithuanian cities of Vilnius and Kaunas, Adform was recognized as the nation's best employer in 2012 ^[15] and again in 2014,^[16] and in 2016 Adform was awarded the title of "Aon Best Employer" in the Baltics^[17] by Aon Hewitt and OVC consulting.

White Bull Longhorn Award

In 2011 Adform was recognized by White Bull for the company's dedication to innovation, values of excellence, and strong growth performance with the TMT sector. The Longhorn Award is awarded to inspirational companies that have advanced beyond series A and are in an intensive growth stage.^[18]

References