Acadia CEO Jared Belsky was featured on the AdExchanger Talks podcast published on December 10th, 2024. In “The Crusade Against Principal-Based Buying” Jared dives into the challenges and complexities of the agency-client relationship, calling for greater transparency and trust in the advertising industry. He shares his insights on topics like principal-based media buying, the pitfalls of opaque trading desk practices, and the need for agencies to act as fiduciaries for their clients’ budgets. Tune in…

Acadia CEO Jared Belsky was published in a September 30, 2024 MediaPost Op-Ed, “A $5 Million Budget Is Enough” Belsky highlights the fact that too many brands think a $5M budget is too low, when in fact it’s completely normal for the mid-market. ‘You need to double your impact, not your budget.’ Read the entire article here on MediaPost.

Acadia CEO Jared Belsky was featured in a September 13th article by The Drum answering the question, “Is it better to build agency capability or buy it in?” You can read Jared’s response below: “Build where you can, buy when you have to. Acquisition is harder than people assume. In addition to time and capital, it takes integration know-how, which is rare. We added a GA4/Tagging capability by studying the market to find a ‘way in’ and…

July 15, 2024 – Acadia has been named agency of record for Fresh Thyme Markets. Acadia will handle a wide range of integrated digital media services including paid media and Creative. This is a unique opportunity for Acadia to showcase the power of having creative and media/analytics all under one roof and working together every step of the way. Jared Belsky, CEO of Acadia, reflected on this significant milestone for Acadia in a LinkedIn post.…

In an article published on April 26, 2024, in ANA, Acadia’s Director of Paid Media, Alan Carroll, was quoted. Despite ongoing challenges for social media platforms, Alan highlights the continued importance of Meta for ad conversion rates, with Carroll noting that Meta’s extensive data gives it an edge. Despite concerns over misinformation and other issues, he highlights Meta’s cost-effectiveness and AI-powered targeting as key factors driving advertisers’ continued investment. “Meta is still the gorilla in…

The Acadia team was in NYC on April 24th to accept the AdAge A-List Performance Marketing Agency of the Year award! Acadia accepted this award on behalf of all of the Acadians and our clients who have helped make Acadia what it is today. Acadia CEO Jared Belsky accepted the award with the following message: “Greatest Partners Ever. Lowest Turnover Ever Most supportive spouses Ever I finally run to work on Mondays… …and am proud…

March 27, 2024 – Acadia has been named agency of record for Primo Water following a competitive pitch through a formal RFP process. Acadia will handle a wide range of integrated digital media services including paid media, CRO, and analytics. The assignment also calls for Acadia to build strategic brand platforms to balance  Primo’s multiple brands, its direct sales operations, and distribution through large reseller stores such as Costco and its growing distribution to such…

In an article published March 12, 2024 in Business Insider, Acadia’s Retail Media Team Lead, Ross Walker, was quoted on how Amazon’s advertising-tech disruption challenges industry giants Google and Meta. Ross highlighted Amazon’s growing advertising-tech ambitions and their impact on competitors like Google and Meta. He noted that Amazon is now effectively using its data to attract advertisers, offering advanced ad tools and knowledgeable sales representatives to help advertisers grow brand awareness. Walker emphasized that…

Acadia is proud to announce that once again we have been named a Google Premier Partner for 2024. Acadia first reached Premier Partner status in 2023. This partner status means Acadia is in the top 3% of all companies participating in the Google Partner program and is considered a Google Ads expert to clients and the industry. To become a top 3% performer Acadia was measured on the following factors by Google: Existing client growth:…

Acadia is very proud to announce that Julie Spear, Partner, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, has been named as an honoree in the 2024 Campaign US class of Inspiring Women. Julie was honored in the Making Media Matter category. You can read more about the entire class of 2024 here on Campaign US. “I love this industry for its dynamism – nothing stands still for long!” said Julie Spear. “But even more for the smart…

In an article published Feb 1, 2024 in Modern Retail, Acadia’s CEO Jared Belsky and Carly Tietzer, European Wax Center’s VP of Marketing, talks about the benefits of consolidating efforts within a single agency and how brands need to free their budgets from “Retail Island.” You can read highlights from the article below.  Digital marketing agency Acadia is now focusing on pitching itself as an agency of record for bigger brands, rather than a boutique…

Kiri Masters, Head of Retail Marketplace Strategy at Acadia, was featured in a recent article from mediavillage.com. Kiri will be speaking at the ANA Media Conference. She was recently recognized in Ad Age 40 Under 40, and a Top Retail Influencer. She discusses her journey in the Retail Media space and emphasizes the rapid growth and dynamism in the industry. She highlights the importance of education and advocacy in the early days, and now, the…

Jared Belsky, CEO and Co-Founder at Acadia, was featured in a recent article from The Wall Street Journal. Jared Belsky, the co-founder and CEO of Acadia, was mentioned in the article for emphasizing the importance of Amazon Prime winning over nonendemic brands-those that don’t already sell products on Amazon-such as Mercedes, Chipotle, and Allstate, to ensure the success of its streaming ads. He highlights the challenge Amazon faces in convincing these brands to invest in…

We’re excited to announce that we’ve completed our SOC 2® assessment for a second consecutive year. The security of our customers’ data is paramount to our success and we’re always looking for ways to improve.  The examination was conducted by Forv/S, a top accounting and consulting firm providing assurance services to clients throughout the US and globally. Acadia was assessed to ensure we had implemented the appropriate policies, processes, and controls to manage the identified…

Acadia is thrilled to announce that Kiri Masters, Head of Retail Media Marketplace Strategy at Acadia, has been honored with the prestigious 2024 Top Retail Experts award by RETHINK Retail for the second year.  Discover more about this honor here. This accolade is a testament to Kiri’s significant role in steering the retail industry’s future. Chosen from an impressive roster of over 400 nominees, Kiri is counted among an elite group of visionaries and leaders…

Acadia CEO, Jared Belsky, was recently featured among 80 top ad executives to predict 2024 marketing and advertising industry trends for AdAge. You can read a snippet of the article and Jared’s predictions below. The article can be read in its entirety on AdAge. 80 Ad Execs Predict 2024 Industry Trends  Industry insiders polled by Ad Age forecast more AI disruption, economic woes  and a tumultuous year with the US elections on the horizon  More…

Acadia was featured in the latest collaboration between LiveRamp and Snowflake, showcased for its exceptional utilization of identity resolution and activation within the Snowflake Native App framework. Recognized for accelerating end-to-end pipelines while prioritizing data privacy, Acadia exemplifies innovation in the dynamic realm of data-driven marketing. Explore how Acadia’s strategic approach aligns seamlessly with industry-leading solutions in the complete article. A great read with contributions from Acadia’s own analytics lead, Seth Hirsch. Read the full…

Kiri Masters, Head of Retail Marketplace Strategy at Acadia, was featured in a recent article from Modern Retail. In this article, Kiri explores the decision-making process for brand executives choosing between operating as a first-party vendor (1P) or a third-party seller (3P) on Amazon. Kiri highlights the challenging power dynamic under the 1P model, describing it as a “David versus Goliath power dynamic” situation. She emphasizes the lack of transparency in Amazon’s pricing structure for…

Acadia is proud to announce we’ve be recognized as a winner in Inc.’s 2023 Best in Business list for Advertising. Acadia is one of 215 recognized in the fourth annual celebration of companies making the biggest impact on their communities, their industries, the environment, or society as a whole. Inc.’s Best in Business honorees don’t need to demonstrate record revenue. But they do need something perhaps even more unusual: the foresight, caring, and dedication to…

Ross Walker, Senior Paid Media Manager at Acadia, was featured in a recent article from Modern Retail. Ross highlighted Amazon’s emphasis on video ad products and its evolving description, such as changing “OTT” to “streaming TV.” According to Ross, the addition of Sponsored TV ads without a minimum spend requirement aims to democratize access, removing barriers for smaller brands. He sees this as a strategic move by Amazon to prove the value of streaming ads, leveraging…

Jared Belsky, CEO and Co-Founder at Acadia, was featured in a recent article from AdAge. Jared said he hasn’t been surprised by the acquisitions made by holding companies, including this one: “Holding companies have been a little behind on retail media and marketplace adoption,” Belsky said, even though “that’s how every chapter in digital has gone for the last 30 years. The old companies were slow [into] search. They bought their way into search. They…

Kiri Masters, Head of Retail Marketplace Strategy at Acadia, is quoted in Vogue Business on October 19, 2023. Kiri Masters questions the impact of Amazon Inspire, stating, “I don’t get it. I don’t think any of our clients have seen anything meaningful coming from this either. To me, it’s a real nothing-burger.” The challenge lies in attracting social feed users to Amazon’s shopping app without a formal incentive for user-generated content on Inspire. Read the full…

This article was originally posted on warc.com in October 2023, by Seth Hirsch, Head of Analytics and Partner at Acadia When HubSpot surveyed more than 1,200 global marketers for its 2023 State of Marketing Report, the organization found that only 42% could cite their customers’ demographics, while only 45% knew their customers’ interests and hobbies and only 41% knew their shopping and content habits. Moreover, 50% admitted they’re missing key data on target audiences.  The…

Seth Hirsch, Head of Analytics and Partner at Acadia, is quoted in Business Wire on October 10, 2023. Seth Hirsch discussed LiveRamp’s groundbreaking identity resolution across major clouds, enabling seamless integration of pseudonymized and known data to enhance measurement and personalize advertising without extensive data movement: “The ability to utilize LiveRamp’s technology without leaving our cloud environment is an incredible benefit, as we look to our future on Snowflake, LiveRamp will give us the tools to…

Kiri Masters, Head of Retail Marketplace Strategy at Acadia, is quoted in Modern Retail on October 5, 2023. Kiri shares how Amazon is very secretive about how its prices Premium A+ Content pages: “It depends on the day of the week and who you speak with,” said Masters. “Vendors get given information that’s wildly variable from account to account and from representative to representative. It’s just like a black box, which makes it really difficult…

Ross Walker, Senior Paid Media Manager at Acadia, was featured in a recent article from Modern Retail. Ross gives his thoughts on why brands are drawn to Amazon’s new tools for advertising and what makes it one of the “best supply sources” for customer insights. On the heels of Amazon’s announcement that it will be bringing ads to Prime Video, more and more platforms are positioning themselves as full-funnel platforms. Chasing the advertising dollars of…

Last week, Acadia was once again recognized as one of the best places to work in Atlanta. The Atlanta Business Chronicle ranked Acadia the 15th best medium-size company (50-99 employees) out of 100 within the category. Acadia was voted one of the Best Places to Work in this category in 2022 as well. Rankings are compiled by Omaha, Nebraska-based Quantum Workplace surveyed its workers to find those organizations where employees are the most engaged. Surveyed employees were asked about benefits,…

Industry publication Mediapost shared the news on Jared Belsky’s new book titled “You Get The Agency You Deserve: 20 Practical And Emotional Lessons To Maximize Your Agency And Partner Relationship.” The book offers insights based on Belsky’s agency career, advocating for a departure from traditional RFP processes. He emphasizes factors like culture, team dynamics, and values in agency-client relationships. Belsky also suggests live problem-solving sessions to gauge agency capabilities and stresses the importance of clear communication…

Kiri Masters, head of retail strategy at Acadia, is quoted in Ad Age on August 15, 2023, where Acadia’s original analysis of retail media network launches is also cited. In the U.S., retail media ad spend is expected to reach $45.15 billion this year, a 20% rise over 2022, according to Insider Intelligence But that pace may be slowing, experts say. For example, of the 56 retail media launches since 2011, 31, or 55%, took…

Ross Walker, senior paid media manager at Acadia, said that the agency’s CPCs for Instacart increased 38% in the second quarter compared to the same time period last year. Walker said more advertisers are running campaigns on Instacart compared to a year ago. He suspects Instacart may have seen a drop-off in users after the pandemic – making it more expensive for advertisers to target people. Acadia said that Walmart CPCs grew about 2% year-over-year…

Danilo de Castro Alvares, Retail Media Manager at Acadia, is quoted in Modern Retail on April 14, 2023. Danilo shares what the unification of the DSP with the Ad Console means for advertisers: “From a more operational point of view, we don’t have to upload assets multiple times across platforms. All the applications are integrated. For the average advertiser, this will be very interesting for the fact that there is less friction with DSP. It…

Alan Carroll, director of paid media at Acadia,  is quoted in Modern Retail on  April 14, 2023.  “MPA (Managed Partner Ads) will “allow you to match to retail networks using retailers’ CRM data to get a little bit more volume and use their first-party data in a smarter way. And that’s really going to be super crucial in the next couple of years with cookies going away,” said Alan Carroll, director of paid media at…

Acadia Taps WPP Veteran To Build Out Its Influencer Marketing Offering Industry publication Mediapost broke the story on March 22, 2023, of Rebecca Yi’s appointment as Head of Influencer Marketing at Acadia.  Yi, a veteran of marketing agencies including Village Marketing (acquired by WPP) and Edelman, brings extensive experience in influencer marketing across various categories. Acadia aims to leverage Yi’s expertise to enhance its influencer marketing offering and combine it with its data, commerce, and…

Kiri Masters, Head of Retail Marketplace Strategy at Acadia, was featured in a recent article from AdAge. The effectiveness of Amazon campaigns extends beyond traditional metrics like return on ad spend (ROAS) and impressions, as highlighted in Acadia’s “Fit for Purpose” report. Kiri Masters, Head of Retail Marketplace Strategy at Acadia, emphasizes the underutilization of Amazon’s rich shopper data and suggests exploring 23 key metrics aligned with specific business objectives. As brands increasingly allocate advertising dollars…

Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services at Acadia is quoted in Modern Retail on March 9, 2023. “1P vendors are more focused on their margins and not wanting to leave any money on the table,” said Julie Spear, head of marketplace services at Acadia. “So [with] the brands that we work with, this is something that we’re looking at. Anytime we have a vendor client we’re digging into this immediately to make sure no…

Kiri Masters, Head of Retail Strategy at Acadia is quoted in Ad Age on March 9, 2023. “It’s the cost to the executives of trying to figure out how much do we allocate to this channel versus that and how do we know we’re making the right decision-once you start pulling on that thread of all the decisions that need to be made, there are a lot of them.” Kiri Masters, Head of Retail Strategy…

Acadia’s Head of SEO Scott Walldren wrote an op-ed for Marketing Insider on March 9, 2023.  In this piece Scott explores how AI can help speed up your search marketing efforts, including  the many benefits of using ChatGPT, from idea generation and metadata tagging to product descriptions and more. Of course, human oversight is a must.  Read the full article: “How AI Can Speed Up Your Search Marketing” in MediaPost, published March 9, 2023

Jared Belsky, CEO of Acadia wrote an Op-Ed for Media Post on January 25, 2023.  The predominance of the Amazon model and the explosion of retail media it has triggered represent the biggest marketing opportunity in two decades. How well advertisers capitalize on the new frontier will determine the category leaders of tomorrow. Yet most are set up to fail.  Marketers can’t afford to wait anywhere near that long to get Amazon and retail media…

Jared Belsky, CEO of Acadia, shares with Digiday: “In July, Google senior vp [Prabhakar Raghavan] reported that 40% of young people go first to TikTok to search for certain categories ahead of Google. This is happening because of the authenticity of the content, as well as the visual nature of TikTok’s answers/responses.” Read how TikTok is disrupting search in “TikTok is making search a bigger focus, but marketers, agency execs say it’s early days” published…

Jack Ogilvie, partner at ad agency Acadia, said that DTC brands used to expect that every ad dollar put into Meta would drive $7 to $8 in sales, but performance is now closer to $1 or $2 in sales for every ad dollar.Because Meta ads haven’t been able to drive website sales, DTC brands are now selling on Amazon. “What they want is profitable sales growth, and that is something that Amazon can offer,” said…

Kiri Masters, Head of Retail Marketplace Strategy at Acadia, was featured in a recent article from AdAge. The surge in retail media networks, illustrated by Ulta Beauty’s recent entry, has left brands uncertain about how to strategically allocate their advertising dollars, according to a survey by Acadia. Despite the rapid growth of retail media networks, only 21% of surveyed brands are content with their current allocation, with 26% lacking a consistent methodology for media spend distribution.…