How Acadia redefines and delivers performance, combats fraud and keeps staff from leaving

Performance marketing agencies tend to lean heavily on a relatively narrow range of media, particularly search, and a talent pool of number-crunching digital veterans. For Acadia, the idea is that all marketing should perform, that talented staff can come from many places and that the heart should be just as important as the head. The philosophy appears to be working for the three-year-old agency. Acadia’s revenue soared 53% to $31 million in 2023, nearly triple its 2021 level. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Agency A-List winners here Most performance agencies have 90% of staff dedicated to search and paid social and 10% on reporting, said Acadia CEO Jared Belsky, a 360i veteran. But Acadia devotes 35% of staff to retail media and 25% to analytics and data science, with the remaining 40% across paid search and social, connected TV, conversion rate optimization (CRO) and influencer marketing. That comprehensive approach helped attract new clients in 2023 that included Maggiano’s, European Wax Center and Sky Zone. For consumer electronics retailer P.C. Richard & Son, Acadia’s work focused on segmentation, identifying a group dubbed “suburban stars” that delivered 60% more value than the average consumer. The work delivered 7% growth in priority markets vs. 3% overall for the company. For Red Roof Inn, Acadia developed a social, content marketing and performance creative campaign that increased average daily reach by 70%. Acadia has drawn talent from a variety of backgrounds, including a former SWAT team member and a former Montessori program director, Julie Spear, who is now head of retail media. Because Acadia hires from diverse backgrounds, it takes a “great on day 90” approach to training rather than a “ready on day one” expectation. The vision of a performance agency that goes beyond Google and Meta experts to include retail media, CRO, influencer marketing and more was part of what Belsky and Co-Founder Sean Belnick sketched on a napkin before they launched Acadia in 2021. Ad Age A-List and Creativity Gala Buy your ticket to the in-person event Click here Retail media in particular is what Belsky calls “the third revolution in performance” beyond Google and Meta. And within retail, Acadia goes beyond the “big four” of Amazon, Walmart, Target and Instacart to focus on Kroger, Ulta and Chewy as well. Transparency and accountability also set Acadia apart. The CRO business, which uses statisticians, development engineers and designers to drive more yield from websites, offers clients a money-back guarantee. And Belsky said Acadia is tackling what he estimates is a $50 billion fraud problem in marketing by having clients pay for their media directly and ensuring they retain ownership of data. “We want to look that client in the eye and let them know there’s no chance of a kickback because it’s on your credit card,” Belsky said. And he said Acadia wants to retain a client because it performs well, not because it holds their data hostage. One metric he’s most proud of is one the leadership team looks at weekly—unwanted turnover, which he said is 9%, less than a quarter of the 40% rate typical among agencies. Every Acadia employee is a shareholder in the agency, he added. “The growth comes not because we’re chasing growth, but because we’re chasing how to have clients make a bigger impact,” said Chad Crowe, head of operations, “because they’re going to grow and employ more people.” See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Agency A-List winners here

How Acadia redefines and delivers performance, combats fraud and keeps staff from leaving

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