Global retail media technology company CitrusAd, which opened its headquarters for the Americas in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2021, is expanding its worldwide presence. Since being acquired by the Publicis Group and opening its U.S. office last year, the e-commerce ad network has hired more than 100 team members, about 60% of them in St. Petersburg. To accommodate that growth, CitrusAd recently moved from shared office space at Thrive DTSP to new larger offices at 200 Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg.
Banner Year Since Acquisition Creates Need for More Employees, Space
At a ribbon-cutting event for the new space, Chief Product Officer John Chaplin, who traveled from Australia for the grand opening, reflected on the early days of CitrusAd, saying that watching the transformation from four people in a shared workspace in Brisbane in 2017 to more than 165 employees worldwide is “mind-blowing and so exciting.”
Sean Cheyney, EVP for Global Sales & Development, praised CitrusAd co-founders Nick Paech and Brad Moran for having the foresight to double down in the retail media space at the beginning of the pandemic and for supporting establishing the Americas headquarters in St. Petersburg. “In St. Pete, we have a great culture of people around here, but not just a great culture of people—it’s easy to get other people to come down here, even if they don’t work here. Or to say to our clients, ‘Why don’t you come down to St. Pete?’ It’s a very easy sell,” he said.
Regional CEO for the Americas David Haase noted that even more than the restaurants, the beach, the water, and the art world, the employees of CitrusAd are the “core of St. Pete,” and that they are the reason CitrusAd was able to expand.
CitrusAd Sees Explosive Growth
The move reflects CitrusAd’s explosive growth since its founding four years ago. Last year the company saw 300% growth over 2020. The company has been recognized as an innovator in retail media, receiving Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Australia award, the Gold Grocer Tech Initiative of the Year, the Technology Scale-Up Award, and was recognized as a Forrester Wave Leader. They have added new clients like Tesco, and now work with more than 100 major global retail partners.
When the company, which is based in Australia, looked at potential sites for its U.S. headquarters, they considered factors like city preferences, walkability, commute time, and quality of life. As they opened the St. Petersburg office, Rebekah Davila, CitrusAd’s Vice President of Onboarding and Business Development, said, “A significant factor was us wanting to find a location that aligned with the company’s young/fun spirit in being an emerging ad tech company. We felt that St. Pete hit on our desired target with its funky vibe and many expanding businesses.”
"A significant factor was us wanting to find a location that aligned with the company’s young/fun spirit in being an emerging ad tech company. We felt that St. Pete hit on our desired target with its funky vibe and many expanding businesses."
CitrusAd Embodies Creativity + Innovation
One of St. Petersburg’s strengths is its innovative culture, which grew out of its creative community. “CitrusAd combines the creativity and the innovation that is at the heart of St. Petersburg,” said J.P. DuBuque, President & CEO of the St. Petersburg Economic Development Corporation.
CitrusAd is the world-leading, white-label, self-serve, ecommerce advertising platform that enables retailers to monetize their digital shelf-space while enabling suppliers to increase sales by launching targeted and cost-effective digital campaigns right at the point of purchase. In July 2021, CitrusAd was acquired by Publicis Groupe, a Paris-based global leader in communication with 80,000 employees in more than 100 countries. The CitrusAd platform helps brands reach shoppers utilizing retailers’ first party data to make offerings and online experiences more tailored to individual shopper habits and preferences. This is of increasing importance for marketers as the use of third-party cookies for targeting declines. Launched in 2017, CitrusAd has become the retail industry’s preferred media platform for sponsored product ads, banners, brand pages, and email ads. With the acquisition, CitrusAd now offers both onsite and offsite identity-led retail campaign capability within five simple clicks.
Successful retailers across all verticals from 25 different countries are leveraging the CitrusAd platform and real-time relevancy engine to create more personal shopping experiences and deliver greater ROI for suppliers. In addition to its St. Petersburg, Florida U.S. headquarters, CitrusAd has offices in Brisbane, Australia, Barcelona, Spain, and London in the United Kingdom. For more, visit CitrusAd.