Adaptly x Accenture
Integrating an ad-tech company into a global programmatic services offering
Overview
A multi-year repositioning expanded Adaptly from social ad tech into a broader marketing orchestration business, creating the strategic foundation for its acquisition by Accenture.
Ahead of the acquisition, Adaptly expanded beyond core social platforms into programmatic, CTV, retail media, and other addressable channels, pairing media execution with proprietary technology to broaden its market, capabilities, and relevance to enterprise advertisers.
Following the acquisition, the work shifted to integrating Adaptly’s tech-enabled media activation offering with Accenture’s consulting practice for advertisers bringing programmatic and related capabilities in-house.
Together, the work transformed Adaptly from a specialist social media company into a broader enterprise media capability within Accenture Interactive.
Elements
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Market & Platform Expansion
Expanded Adaptly beyond paid social into programmatic, CTV, retail media, and other addressable channels, adding capabilities across Amazon, The Trade Desk, DV360, and other buying platforms while extending the company’s proprietary technology.
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Brand Integration
Integrated Adaptly brand identity with Accenture’s by developing collaborative brand, credentials, and narrative and migrating core messaging, sales materials, case studies, content, social channels, and product marketing.
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Enterprise Go-to-Market
Built combined media-services proposition connecting Accenture’s programmatic consulting with Adaptly’s tech-enabled media strategy, planning, and activation. The model brought design, build, and run together in a single enterprise offering.
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Joint Industry Engagement
Established the combined offering through research, thought leadership, case studies, and events including Skift Global Forum. Work included support for IAB’s Programmatic In-Housing report, guiding creation of hybrid model of internal capabilities and external partners.
Approach
I led Adaptly’s marketing and research strategy across both sides of the transformation: first expanding the company’s market, platform footprint, and enterprise proposition, then integrating its brand, go-to-market, and technology-enabled services into Accenture Interactive.
Key responsibilities included:
Corporate positioning and market expansion
Platform, partner, product, and service launches
Acquisition diligence, comms, and integration
Enterprise media-services positioning and GTM
Account-based and vertical sales marketing
Sales enablement, case studies, and credentials
Research, thought leadership, and industry events
Cross-functional leadership across deal teams, sales, delivery, and platform partners
The strategy combined Accenture’s ability to design and build in-house media capabilities with Adaptly’s technology-enabled activation, creating a flexible model for what advertisers should own versus operate with specialist partners.
Impact
Defined a new competitive position, combining Adaptly’s platform expertise with Accenture’s strategy, technology, and scale to differentiate Accenture’s media services with clients and against competitors.
Differentiated Positioning
Expanded Accenture’s relationships with major advertising platforms, including Google, Facebook, and Amazon, by creating new advertising service offerings that yielded new partnership opportunity
Diversified Ecosystem Development
Integrated GTM model yielded global client wins, strong client retention, and revenue growth, while the marketing and sales-enablement capability helped increase deal size and teams reach annual revenue targets.
Client & Revenue Growth
Coverage
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"Accenture will acquire digital ad company Adaptly"
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"Accenture Intends to Purchase Social Media Outfit Adaptly"
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"Accenture Interactive to Acquire Ad-Tech Firm Adaptly"
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"Accenture Interactive To Acquire Adaptly"