As we celebrate one year of coming together as Equativ, we took the opportunity to sit down with our CEO, Arnaud Creput to reflect on the past-year.

A full transcript of the video appears below.

Q: What were some of the highlights from the past year?

In the last 12 months actually, we achieved I would say an impressive journey. We gathered our 400 employees – at that time we were 400 – in Barcelona. It was the first time that we had everyone in the same place after two years or three years of Covid. It was a super important milestone for us. It was also the launch of a new chapter since we announced this rebrand to Equativ. 

If you want a few highlights, a few achievements, the first one is that we achieved a $100 million run rate. So for the first time in our ensuing is an important milestone. Then, number two we were 190 people three years ago. We are today 580. We have hired more than 200 new colleagues over the past 12 months. It’s also a big transformation and a big change for us. And the last one that we were able to get a new Tier 1 investor in our shareholding structure, Bridgepoint, which acquired the majority stake in Equativ a few weeks ago and which is here actually to fuel our ambition and to help us accelerate on everything which will happen in the future. It will be a long journey, but actually, we have everything today to succeed.

Q: How did the rebrand strengthen Equativ’s ambitions as a company?

Our mission is extremely simple. It is to fulfill the promise of adtech. To fulfill the promise adtech just means that we have to harmonize market interests. So this new brand is here to illustrate this ambition and to illustrate this vision. Just to make supply and demand converge in a single platform with supply path optimization, cost efficiency with activation of data, and so on.

Q: How did the rebrand impact Equativ’s employees?

First, for our employees, the rebrand was an important step in the integration of the three acquisitions we made over the past three years and especially for DynAdmic, LiquidM, and Nowtilus as well. So we were four companies with four different company cultures, four different experiences, and history as well. The first thing we wanted to do is to find a new name, a new brand identity under which, you know, everyone feels part of the same company and the same company culture.

The big achievement which is going with this new name is also to harmonize the company culture from all of the companies which were part of the group and actually, we took the best of everything coming from each individual company culture. 

Q: How did the rebrand impact Equativ’s clients?

To our clients and prospects, this name is here to reflect our new positioning to modernize our brand.

We were formerly Smart AdServer. The ad server is no longer the core business but it is still a strategic asset for us and we maintain this. But we are no longer, you know, a platform that is focusing all of its effort on delivering a strong ad server.

We are now a vertically integrated platform. We are talking to both sides of the markets – supply, so to publishers, but also demand, agencies, and advertisers. 

Q: What advice would you give others considering a rebrand?

Actually, it’s the first time I rebranded a company, so I’m not sure I am well-placed to give any advice to anyone in terms of rebranding. This is something that many agencies, brand agencies are extremely good, extremely strong to do and to advise companies in the situation of Equativ. But the only thing I would highlight is that the new name is not what should matter the most.

What matters the most is the vision, the project, the ambition, the strategies, and the company culture and you have to work hard on everything I mentioned before looking for a new name. So there are maybe two to three months where you have to assess who you are, what’s your value proposition, and what you want to deliver to employees, your prospects, and customers, and then the new name should be just the illustration of everything and it should actually be the easiest part.

Q: What does the Equativ name represent?

Equativ comes from equation and there is the symbol of equal, you know, below the E. And, what does it mean? It means that we are here to make the equation between supply and demand, and we are here to harmonize market interests while respecting consumers’ rights or privacy.