Video contribution from Austin Paetow
Drilling an audience down to their likes, dislikes, and preferences is something advertising firms constantly strive to achieve.
Tempe-based digital advertising firm Genius Monkey is setting themselves apart from others in the industry by seeking the human side of advertising and using behavioral intelligence to identify patterns of engagement.
Senior vice president and director of solutions for Genius Monkey Jeremy Hudgens explains that the company buys ads from all the networks that are available, not just Google, and then pulls impressions and behavioral data to figure out a client’s target audience. Their software analyzes the ROI to determines how a company can optimize their advertising spending.
The firm has been in the programmatic space for around six years. “We have a great advantage and understanding of what programmatic advertising can do and how to best leverage it for our clients,” Hudgens said.
But there’s more to Genius Monkey than algorithms. “There’s one thing those algorithms will never have and that’s the human element. And that human element is so critical in us being able to fully optimize,” Hudgens said.
The company, founded in 2009, recently released a case study with Utah Honda Dealer Association, which showed that the company saw an increase in website traffic.
“They reallocated their resources after using Genius Monkey for a couple of years and saw the success,” Hudgens said. “They went from 12 percent of their marketing budget to 21 percent of their marketing budget with Genius Monkey, and they saw 142 percent increase in traffic to their website and a great effect on their sales.”
In March 2015, Genius Monkey raised $2 million in capital investments from Texas-based Cypress Growth Capital.
READ: “Cypress Growth Capital invests $2 million in Genius Monkey”
The money will be used for building out the intelligence behind the software and the brand itself. “[Cypress is] a fantastic partner,” Hudgens said. “It’s been a great move for us.”
Eighty percent of the company’s business comes from agencies and the other 20 percent comes from direct clientele.
The firm currently has 35 staff members. They are currently hiring both developers and support staff, according to Hudgens.
Genius Monkey is looking to continue to optimize their entire system as they approach the fourth quarter, according to Hudgens.
“There really is absolutely no limit. And the more we understand our clients and develop that relationship with them, the more we discover new ways to help them have a competitive advantage,” Hudgens said.
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