The mobile marketing landscape has grown more heavily populated with important players, many of whom quietly operate behind the scenes while some of their more brand-centric industry peers enjoy a greater share of the limelight. Adweek beat the bushes in search of the best and brightest minds behind great local mobile advertising campaigns that are transforming the marketing world. They are:
Dipanshu Sharma
Founder, xAd
Age: 41
Fast fact: 70 percent reach among U.S. consumers
There are many big players in the location-data space, but Dipanshu Sharma’s xAd always seems a few steps ahead. The company’s system reaches 500 million consumers monthly—50 million of whom share their location every day—and can zero in on what buildings they are in. Such location data is gleaned from more than 100,000 apps. Known by his peers as simply “D,” he’s also assembled a sure-fire sales team serving clients including Dunkin Donuts, Columbia Sportswear, BMW, Google, PepsiCo and Arby’s.
“Mobile technologies continue to play a larger role in reaching consumers and driving them to our restaurants,” says Mary Ellen Barto, vp, media services at Arby’s. “Our category is highly competitive, one in which decisions are made quickly and where loyalty is a premium. By partnering with xAd, we’re able to better identify, connect and attract consumers based on the depth of location intelligence [they] provide.”
While xAd won’t reveal revenue figures, last year it projected $100 million in sales. And after raising $42 million in funding last November, Sharma appears to be primed for even bigger things. As industry legend John Costello, who retired as Dunkin’s marketing chief last month, says of Sharma, “’D’ is a true visionary.”