New agency launches with funding from Vitality Capital, advisory board includes Bruce Croxon
TORONTO, Nov. 24, 2016 /CNW/ - Today performance digital agency Abacus is launching to provide a data-driven approach to Facebook advertising, with a few simple mantras: be lean and take an agile approach; focus on growth since it's the only metric that matters; and be scientific because data is the only thing marketers can trust. The agency will audit and manage Facebook ad accounts for large advertisers around the world with a focus on tracking metrics that tie Facebook ad campaigns directly back to revenue and the bottom line. Abacus will also offer consulting services, Facebook account audits, and a CPA Lab for new Facebook advertisers and SMBs to help them learn how to launch their own effective Facebook marketing strategies.
Abacus is launching with funding from Vitality Capital, which will be used to recruit top talent and continue to build out their technology and data capabilities and advantages. They've also compiled an advisory board that's led by Round13 Capital founder and former Dragon Bruce Croxon.
"Marketing has changed more in the last five years than it has in the previous 50. Clients are increasingly asking for evidence that their digital marketing efforts are working, and we provide results based on hard data, not on soft metrics like awareness and branding," said Peter Reitano, CEO, Abacus. "Instead of focusing on marketing campaigns, we create growth engines that are repeatable, predictable, and scalable."
Abacus was founded by two industry veterans with both agency and client-side experience. CEO Peter Reitano was President at Spark, a paid digital agency with locations in Toronto and Austin, TX that grew to 30 people and was acquired earlier this year. While at Spark he worked with clients including Porter Airlines, Porsche, Ritz-Carlton, and OCAD University on their paid digital and search campaigns, and he also led the agency's operations. He is also a digital marketing instructor at Bitmaker Labs, and a frequent speaker at events across North America.
Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Goldenberg is a client-side veteran and performance Facebook advertising expert with over 15 years of startup experience. His most recent role was leading marketing and customer acquisition at Borrowell, a fast-growing fintech company. During his time there, he helped Borrowell achieve rapid month-over-month growth in their loan origination business, and was instrumental in helping launch their Free Credit Score program, the first of its kind in Canada, which resulted in over 100,000 Canadians getting their credit score for free. The summer culminated in a partnership between Borrowell and CIBC, also the first of its kind in Canada. He started Abacus based on his own frustration as a buyer of digital services and lack of expertise in the field. Having learned the Facebook ad platform from the inside out, he is anxious to apply his knowledge to help other companies grow. He is a frequent speaker and the co-author of the acclaimed book The Growth Hacker's Guide to the Galaxy.
"Our team has a combination of creatives, conversion optimizers, and data scientists and we believe nothing matters except growth and results based on hard data," said Jeff Goldenberg, CSO, Abacus. "We obsess over how technology and data can grow your business, because as the digital world continues to become more connected and complex, increasingly clients need someone to help navigate the clutter."
Abacus will be working directly with clients, and they've also formed a network of partners, including ad agencies, content agencies, communications agencies, digital agencies, investment funds, accelerators, and incubators. If you're a company that's considering Facebook advertising, a current advertiser who has hit a plateau, or just someone who's feeling lost in the world of digital, get in touch at [email protected].
Abacus's advisory board includes:
- Mona Akhavi, Founder and CEO, SideBuy
- Erin Bury, PR All-Star and Managing Director, 88 Creative
- Karla Congson, former CMO Dundee, Founder Collective IQ
- Bruce Croxon, former Dragon, Round 13 Capital
- Vlad Dascalu, design and strategy, Pinch VR
- Philippe Garneau, advertising legend, GWP Brand Engineering
- Robert Morand, EVP, GWP Brand Engineering
- Anthony Lipkin, VP Growth & Partnerships, Symbility Intersect
- Karl Sakas, Consultant to the Marketing Agency stars
Find Abacus online:
Website: http://abacus.agency/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abacusagency/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/agencyabacus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abacusagency/
About Abacus:
Abacus is a performance digital agency that specializes in helping companies achieve their growth objectives through Facebook ads.. With a data-driven approach to Facebook ads, Abacus is focused on creating scalable, predictable, and repeatable programs for clients, whether they're a Fortune 500 brand or an SMB. Abacus was started by agency veteran Peter Reitano and client-side veteran Jeff Goldenberg, and the advisory board includes Round13 Capital founder and former Dragon Bruce Croxon. The company has funding from Vitality Capital, and is based in Toronto.
About Vitality Capital:
Vitality Capital is a Toronto-based investment office investing on behalf of a limited number of significant high net-worth individual investors and family offices. At Vitality Capital we believe in the potential of immensely passionate people, our primary goal is to identify outstanding entrepreneurs with a grand vision and to help them realize their dreams by providing expansion capital and mentorship. We support entrepreneurs through our three investment funds: Vitality Mid-Market Growth Fund, Vitality Real Estate Partners Fund and Vitality Venture Fund.
SOURCE Abacus
For further information: Jeff Goldenberg, Abacus, Chief Strategy Officer, [email protected]
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