MarTech360 Interview With Rob Sanchez Chief Executive Officer, At Anteriad

“Obviously it’s important to layer innovation on top of a stable foundation, but it’s important to choose wisely. We have focused on AI and cloud technology, intent data and cross-channel activation because these innovations directly improve results for our customers.”

Rob, how has your 25-year career been shaped by the strategies and tactics you’ve utilized to foster enduring and fruitful business relationships with Fortune 500 marketers, alongside prominent clients in the technology and media sectors? Furthermore, could you elaborate on how your efforts have merited recognition as a distinguished ‘Who’s Who’ Thought Leader by B2B Magazine within the industry? 

I have been fortunate to have my career coincide with the digital and data-driven transformation of business, and I have harnessed that momentum as a way to deliver value to our customers for the past 25 years. My background is in sales, where it is important to listen and understand customer needs, but also educate and inspire to lead them forward. Our company, Anteriad, is the culmination of a number of strategic acquisitions that bring together the best of B2B data, marketing technology and analytics in one end-to-end offering. We were very thoughtful about our approach to M&A, ensuring that our efforts were directly connected to serving customers and driving growth. I am still focused today on the same thing I have been focused on for my entire career at Anteriad – putting our customers out in front. The tools and tactics have changed, but the strategies are constant.

Rob, can you tell us about your professional background and your current role at Anteriad. Also tell us how does Anteriad differentiate itself from other companies in the same space? 

Much of my career has been spent building the company that is now Anteriad. Originally a direct marketing company, we have transformed multiple times to embrace innovation and lead our customers into the digital future. We have incorporated one of the most comprehensive, quality B2B data offerings in the world, amassed cloud-based marketing capabilities to drive cross-channel campaigns at scale, and have end-to-end solutions for global and regional customers in 26 languages. What sets Anteriad apart is our incredible data foundation and our commitment to excellence, which helps our B2B marketer customers to get in front of their next customer faster.

Throughout this evolution, I have built up a level of data and media expertise that helps me create a vision for the future of B2B marketing. Anteriad has hundreds of customers around the world who are in it all day long, and we learn from them as we lead.

How can B2B marketers leverage the inherent flexibility of AI to gain advantages, even without centralized data or integrated marketing technology, and what are some practical ways in which AI can be utilized as a secret weapon to analyze results for specific channels or current customers, ultimately providing value in small but significant ways? 

The beauty of AI is that it is proving to deliver value in many different parts of B2B marketing. Marketers can work with their data partners to apply AI analytics to identify new customer segments or shape their ideal customer profile, even if their data is not perfect. For example, AI can help understand the online signals that indicate someone has high intent to purchase. AI can also identify aspects of a lead that indicates high value, something that might not have been obvious to a marketer on their own, such as which office location they are in.

Marketers can use AI algorithms to optimize their marketing campaigns across channels. Many B2B marketers have channel silos, but AI can provide a smarter “cross-channel” approach. While one prospect may respond to email, another may be better served with a text or a direct call from a salesperson. AI provides the overarching logic and insight to drive these strategies at scale.

How does Anteriad leverage its exclusive B2B dataset, distinguished by its extensive coverage, comprehensive insights, and strict adherence to privacy regulations, to enable businesses to achieve impactful results via precision-targeted marketing initiatives? 

We offer the most comprehensive, quality data for B2B marketers. Our high-fidelity data delivers unique insights, custom audiences and valuable results. Data drives our audience identification and activation, demand generation and performance marketing, and our analytics and intelligence. In other words, our data is the foundation of an end-to-end solution for B2B marketers. What’s more, advertisers can make even more use of our data through our marketing cloud solution,

We provide access to this data at scale, which opens up new opportunities for B2B marketers to find new customers and talk to their customers in new ways. Particularly Anteriad is providing new innovations in intent and lead generation, recently we announced our BNZSA inTNT offering, which gives B2B marketers AI-plus-human-validated intent captured in multiple European languages to enable them to get in front of more buyers more effectively.

Also Read: MarTech360 Interview With Heidi Lasker, Chief Customer Officer At Bynder

How can the integration of B2B intent data with CRM data enhance audience identification and activation strategies, particularly in initiatives such as Account-Based Marketing targeting and programmatic advertising optimization? 

Intent data provides a very timely insight that layers into CRM data to help marketers prioritize and activate effectively. Intent data exposes which leads and customers are showing signals that they are active – either researching or nearing the purchase phase. Combined with CRM data, B2B marketers can determine everything from potential value of closing the lead to the right product or content to use in an activation campaign.

Intent data has wide-spread value across ABM and programmatic advertising. The B2B buying process is often long and complex, and now that it’s moved largely online, marketers can use targeting to reach buyers across a number of channels. For example, intent data can be used to inform programmatic advertising on search, video and even CTV to time an advertisement and target specific creatives. Intent data can also be used to create triggered ABM campaigns based on intent signals that are observed on a website. Intent data is immensely flexible and useful across a spectrum of marketing strategies.

Can you share a pivotal moment or lesson from your career that has shaped your approach as a leader, and also how do you maintain a work-life balance, especially in a demanding role like CEO?

Our core values start with Lead and Learn. Scaling a company globally comes with many challenges. Without strong leadership throughout the organization, it can not be done. Leaders need to exist at all levels. I have been fortunate to have had great partners and colleagues over the years. The teams are always evolving, and this has allowed us to adapt to market challenges and opportunities. Its not always just the industry trends but the macro trends. I often use the following quote from Churchill, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts”.

What advice do you have for other leaders who are looking to drive growth for their brand? 

My advice is to get the fundamentals right, and be strategic with innovation. We have amassed a data offering that is the best in the business through thoughtful growth year after year and strategic M&A. We focus on quality and don’t cut corners. In fact, we’ve been named a Neutronian top 1% data partner quarter after quarter as a result of this work. It is easy to skip these steps and focus on shiny objects, but quality speaks for itself, and drives results.

Obviously it’s important to layer innovation on top of a stable foundation, but it’s important to choose wisely. We have focused on AI and cloud technology, intent data and cross-channel activation because these innovations directly improve results for our customers. In each case, we vetted our options, listened to our customers and read the market carefully.

What is the biggest problem you or your team is solving this year? Q Is there anything that you’re currently reading, or any favorite books, that you’d Recommend?

Over the past 5 plus years we have acquired 5 companies. Integration at scale and speed  to create alignment for our customers is always our focus. I would recommend Extreme Ownership. How US Navy Seals Lead and Win. Much of the book focused on the need to have a shared core mission but be adaptability to situations that change, because they always do. All plans should incorporate decisionmaking  and empowerment that adapts to change.

Thanks, Rob!