EngageClick launches to unify and simplify ad creation, delivery, and optimization (exclusive)

EngageClick launched out of stealth mode today to provide a simpler solution for brands who are looking to create ads, deliver them, manage them, optimize them, and do it across all the big and small screens we watch — including smart TVs.

That simpler solution? Do it all on one platform.

“Device and media fragmentation presents a major marketing challenge for brands, agencies and publishers,” CEO and founder Manoj Rajshekar said in a statement. “The traditional way of doing things no longer guarantees survival.”

The problem is that going digital is so challenging.

With demand-side platforms and supply-side platforms talking to ad exchanges and optimization technologies competing with analytics and personalization technologies, even experienced ad agencies are looking for answers — never mind brands. “They don’t understand the complexity, and get sold snake oil day in and day out,” Opera Mediaworks CEO Mahi de Silva said last week.

“We built one platform to create, manage, optimize, and deliver personalized and dynamic interactive ads for display and video ads across mobile, tablet, desktop, digital out-of-home, and other interactive screens,” CTO and co-founder Shekhar Deo told me via email.

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The company soft-launched in late 2013 after taking $2.2 million in unannounced money from angel investors including Jean-Philippe Courtois, Microsoft’s president for international business. It currently calls each of the top 10 mobile ad revenue makers clients, as well as the three largest digital ad agencies in the U.S.

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(That would include companies like Omnicom, WPP, Havas, or Opera, but EngageClick has not released any client names.)

While unification is nice, results have to be good as well.

The company combines big data and machine learning to predict who it is showing ads to, and what they are likely to be interested in. The result, EngageClick says, is “smart ads” that dynamically adjust, and automatic optimization that incrementally improves targeting and engagement over time.

“EngageClick has increased ad campaign performance on average from 50 to 700 percent for its clients,” the company states.

That’s impressive, although EngageClick didn’t provide details on what the performance means for the bottom line. More clicks is better, of course, but only if they actually result in sales. EngageClick did say that consumer engagement with its ads, particularly rich media ads with video and interactivity, was up 300 percent.

“Agencies, large publishers, DSPs, and large ad networks are our typical customers,” Deo told me. “They see great value in using an intelligent ad platform to increase ad performance and deepen brand engagement.”

The company does have the right DNA to be successful in advertising — advisors include a founding member of Google’s ad sales team, the founder of mobile ad network GreyStripe, and a former COO of Viacom.