Advertising tech firm diDNA Inc. has set its sights on expansion in Central Florida this year after racking up significant revenue growth in 2021.
The Orlando-based company’s revenue grew 210% year-over-year. As a result, its growth expectations for 2022 were adjusted upward, and the company anticipates hiring for data analytics, developer, advertising technology operations and finance positions this year, Investor and Strategy Officer Craig Petersen told Orlando Inno.
2X revenue growth ahead
More than 50,000 publishers around the world use diDNA to manage their advertising operations and boost ad revenue. The 5-year-old company attributes its growth to a series of factors and strategies, including:
- A boost in sales and marketing leads led to a 60% increase in impression volume.
- DiDNA ramped up its partnerships with online advertising and content creation firms, including publicly traded PubMatic Inc. (Nasdaq: PUBM).
- The firm released 37 improvements to its advertising tech product,
This year, diDNA projects it will double its revenue. To hit that mark, diDNA will expand its advertising through video and internet-connected TV, as well as rely on data to dictate new products it will release this year.
"We want to increase transparency in the ad industry by providing high-quality data coupled with UI improvements that will ultimately empower publishers to invest more in their monetization program,” said President Troy Bubley in a prepared statement.
While the firm grows, it remains committed to what it calls a “culture of no competition,” working with as many companies within its industry as it can. Becoming a bigger player in the advertising technology space doesn’t make it more difficult to collaborate with other firms; instead, it makes it easier, Petersen said. “As we continue to add partners, our referral pipeline also is increasing. It’s rare that we run into an ad tech partner we can’t collaborate with in some way.”
The company’s growth is important because the expansion of its team will be concentrated in Central Florida, where the company employs 14 full-time employees.
These likely will be high-wage jobs. In metro Orlando, the positions diDNA expects to hire pay average annual wages ranging from $71,370 to $95,870, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s more than metro Orlando’s average annual wage of $48,530.
Sector doubling in value
Meanwhile, the value of the global advertising tech sector is projected to more than double in a six-year period. The industry is expected to be worth $786.2 billion by 2026, up from $350 billion in 2020, according to a 2021 report by San Francisco-based Global Industry Analysts Inc.
Of course, diDNA isn’t the only Central Florida company in this industry experiencing growth. Winter Park-based advertising tech developer Sonobi Inc. expects it will double its revenue year-over-year in 2022, Chief Operations Officer Justin Kennedy previously told Orlando Inno.
While the heart of the U.S. advertising sector is in New York City, Sonobi has found success hiring local talent, especially from the University of Central Florida, Kennedy said. “We tell hires they will not stagnate in this job. The digital media space is one that constantly evolves.”
Sign up here for The Beat, Orlando Inno’s free newsletter. And be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
