MarTech Interview with Frost Prioleau, CEO at Simpli.fi

Tell us about your role and journey into Technology. What inspired you to start Simpli.fi?

We were inspired to start Simpli.fi based on the belief that advertisers could benefit greatly from targeting audiences in a more granular and transparent way than using the legacy approach of targeting audiences with opaque, prepackaged audience segments. We launched our platform to target using “unstructured data,” which delivers better performance and deeper insights. Initially, we offered search retargeting and other solutions for desktop display. Shortly thereafter, we developed very powerful mobile, video, and OTT/CTV offerings.

What is Simpli.fi and how does it fit into a modern Advertising Technology stack?

Simpli.fi is an omnichannel Demand Side Platform (DSP) built for localized programmatic that incorporates industry-leading display, mobile, and OTT/CTV capabilities. With over 120,000 live campaigns for over 30,000 advertisers, our customers value our ability to efficiently deliver performance on high volumes of locally targeted campaigns across desktop, mobile, and/or OTT/CTV devices.

Our platform is integrated with major workflow tools like FreeWheel/Strata, as well as the leading Supply Side Platforms (SSPs), brand safety vendors, viewability vendors, reporting aggregators, and others in the space. Simpli.fi is uniquely positioned for the future with its strong offerings in the fastest-growing parts of programmatic advertising: addressable, mobile, and OTT/CTV

Which businesses are fastest in the adoption of Mobile Programmatic platforms? How does it impact Advertising campaigns across channels?

We have found that the fastest adopters of mobile programmatic advertising are multi-location brands, their ad agencies, and local media groups that serve local advertisers. Industries that we serve to include QSR, finance, insurance, auto, retail, CPG, and others that want to reach local audiences and drive either online traffic or foot traffic to their physical locations.

Tell us more about your data-driven solutions? How can CMOs optimize their AdTech budget using these solutions?

Multi-location brands, ad agencies, and local media groups leverage Simpli.fi’s ability to provide superior performance on high volumes of localized campaigns. We provide data-driven solutions across display, mobile, video, and OTT/CTV advertising. Our completely transparent and highly granular analytics system provides deeper insights that enable our clients to continually improve their marking efforts.

Our clients leverage Simpli.fi’s ability to provide highly precise mobile geo-fencing, targeted OTT/CTV advertising, Keyword level Search Retargeting, Contextual Targeting, and several other targeting options. These targeting capabilities, coupled with the ability to optimize around the best performing parts of the campaign, allow our advertisers to maximize ROI and minimize wasted impressions ensuring that each ad is targeted to the right audience.

How can businesses maximize their ROI from investing in your platform for Localized Programmatic?

Our most effective customers leverage Simpli.fi’s ability to precisely target their audience across multiple media types, including display, mobile, and OTT/CTV. Advertisers maximize their ROI on our platform by targeting and optimizing around the best performing parts of their campaigns, increasing the ads to deliver to their best prospects, and minimizing wasted impressions.

What are your predictions on the most impactful disruptions in AI and Digital Asset Management technology for 2019-2020?

Machine Learning has been an integral part of Simpli.fi’s optimization algorithms for several years now. Over the course of the next year, we expect this technology to move upstream to further optimize cross-channel media planning.

What startups in the technology industry are you watching keenly right now?

At Simpli.fi, we stay up to speed on all companies that are innovating quickly in our space – whether they are startups or larger, more established companies. In addition to startups, today there are many large media companies, telcos, and retailers that are doing interesting things and moving very quickly.

How do you prepare for an AI-centric world as a Business Leader?

At Simpli.fi, we are very focused on automating processes so that both our customers and our service teams can more efficiently manage and get performance out of the high volumes of campaigns that are executed on our platform daily. We are leveraging Machine Learning and AI extensively in these efforts.

How do you inspire your people to work with technology?

Luckily, I do not need to do anything to inspire our employees in this area. Working with technology is a part of our team’s DNA.

One word that best describes how you work.

Service.

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

I cannot live without my Apple MacBook Air, iPhone XS Max, and Garmin Fenix 5x.

What’s your smartest work-related shortcut or productivity hack?

Wake up early and get stuff done!

What are you currently reading?

I read and scan a ton of industry publications on a daily basis. In addition, I love Michael Lewis books and other well-written, non-fiction books. I am currently reading Bad Blood.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

You cannot change the past. Optimize for the future.

Something you do better than others – the secret of your success?

Any success that I have achieved is due to the great team that I work with.

Tag the one person in the industry whose answers to these questions you would love to read:

Paul Harrison, our Co-Founder, and CTO.

Thank you, Frost! That was fun and hope to see you back on MarTech Series soon.