In our blog series “Life in Adtech” we’re showcasing the different ways in which StackAdapters are driving innovation in adtech, and creating a progressive tech culture. From using modeling and data to create advanced algorithms to building stylish and robust user interfaces, everyone at StackAdapt is contributing to evolving the StackAdapt platform and providing the best product and service to our clients.
This week features Aanchal Bajaj, a Manager of Solutions Consulting at StackAdapt. Aanchal shares her journey into adtech, what her role entails, and how the Solutions team at StackAdapt supports the success of StackAdapt users.
Can you share a bit about your journey into working in adtech?
When I was studying neuroscience and psychology in university, I honestly never imagined that one day I would end up in the world of adtech! But as I completed my MBA and had the opportunity to do several internships in tech and marketing, a transition into adtech seemed like the perfect fit for me.
I love adtech because it’s a fast moving industry with tons of opportunities to learn and grow. I get to challeng myself, and as a Manager of Solutions Consulting I tackle interesting problems and build creative solutions every day. Marketing and advertising is all about understanding customer journeys and behaviours, so it takes me right back to my roots in psychology. I guess I came full circle!
Working in adtech has given me the opportunity to learn from some amazing mentors who have encouraged me to take on leadership roles and explore my strengths. As a woman in tech and a person of colour (POC), I’m excited to contribute to growing diversity in the world of ad tech and I look forward to seeing and learning from even more women in the industry!
What is the main focus of the Solutions Consulting team at StackAdapt, and how do you support the team?
The goal of the Solutions Consulting team is to identify, develop and lead strategic growth initiatives across StackAdapt’s suite of offerings. The team identifies solutions that are vertical specific, such as healthcare, B2B, and political, which are very detailed and robust solutions for advertisers. We also provide vertical agnostic solutions that focus on the many features and capabilities that are available for all advertisers
I support the Solutions Consulting team in identifying, developing and commercializing various solutions. My focus has mostly been on leading and growing our B2B vertical and commercializing several measurement solutions such as retail offline measurement and foot traffic attribution. I have also had the pleasure of working with our international teams in APAC and EMEA to help bring the StackAdapt platform to these growing markets.
How does your team go about developing and leading strategic growth initiatives across our suite of programmatic advertising features?
A big part of developing new solutions and leading growth initiatives is identifying what gaps need to be filled and what features will provide more value for our users. The Solutions team does this through competitive research and market sizing to understand the business challenges our users in different industries may be trying to solve. We also take a bottom up approach and connect directly with our users and discover what features they’d find beneficial to their workflow.
Once we have an understanding of the direction we want to take, we brainstorm ways in which we can bring these solutions to market. This sometimes involves partnerships with third-party providers that are already experts in a particular offering or cross collaborating with various teams at StackAdapt like Data Science, Business Intelligence and Product to build solutions from the ground up. Regardless of the approach we take, being an agile organization means we’re always iterating and we learn from the feedback we receive along the way to bring the most effective solutions to StackAdapt users.
Can you describe how building successful partnerships and customized solutions brings value and success to StackAdapt users?
Digital marketers today are always looking to find new and creative ways to reach their target audiences, and partnerships allow my team to develop features that do just that. Successful partnerships with industry-leading providers enable us to bring new and exciting features to market that will help StackAdapt users drive performance.
How does collaboration factor into your team’s work?
Collaboration is a huge part of everything the Solutions team does! Since a lot of the solutions we build and commercialize are so complex, we rely heavily on the expertise of many internal teams in the process. In the past we’ve worked with Business Intelligence on process optimization and automation, Product on building in-platform features, and Marketing to put our solutions in front of users, just to name a few!
At the same time, the Solutions team also collaborates very closely with our external third-party vendors and partners. Many of our solutions are primarily partner driven, so close collaboration with our partners enables us to bring custom solutions to our users. For example, Foot Traffic Attribution and In-House B2B Targeting and Measurement are offerings that are made possible with integrations with our partners.
What have you found is most rewarding about working at StackAdapt?
The most rewarding part for me is all the wonderful and smart people I get to work with and learn from every day! Since I’ve been at StackAdapt, I’ve seen the team double in size (and maybe even more) with new members joining from all parts of the world.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with people in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand! Being a part of a fast growing and now international team has been so exciting because I get to learn about the different intricacies of each market or region and meet amazing new people in the process.
Interested in joining StackAdapt? See our open roles and apply, here.
In each new addition, we will be highlighting our teams and team members in our “Life In Adtech” series—stay tuned for more!
