The Brandtech Group: on better, faster and cheaper marketing
Key points
- The complexity of modern marketing, with its fragmented audiences and ever-evolving consumer habits, means that global brands need help to effectively tell their story
- The Brandtech Group helps simplify marketing by offering tech and AI-enabled creative solutions end-to-end on a global scale
- Brandtech’s expertise and head start in utilising AI increases the likelihood of it remaining a market leader in the $750bn per year global advertising industry
As with any investment, your capital is at risk.
In the digital and social media age, global brands need a marketing approach that is technology and brand-savvy. Few companies excel at both on a global scale.
The Brandtech Group does. In Scottish Mortgage’s Invest in Progress podcast, deputy manager Lawrence Burns speaks with David Jones, founder of The Brandtech Group, the number one digital-only marketing group globally.
If content is king, data is queen
Even in the 2010s, Jones recognised the potential for technology to solve the headache created for brands by the rise of mobile phones and tech platforms, which made it harder for companies to retain control of their brand story.
“Suddenly,” says Jones, “brands needed hundreds of thousands of assets for all the digital and social channels”.
At the same time, “You went from a world where you had a real lack of data to an enormous supply of data and an ability to connect that content to make marketing perform better.”
But the challenge was how to. As chief executive of one of the large traditional advertising agencies at the time, clients shared their dilemma with him. The big agencies were great at brand but not tech, and the tech platforms promoted themselves, not the best option for the brand. There was no one who was an expert in both brand and technology. And yet a deep and holistic understanding of both is essential for brands to succeed in the modern world.
Listen to the latest episode of the Invest in Progress podcast to discover how Brandtech’s use of augmented reality and artificial intelligence helps brands tell their story.
As Jones notes, “Humans always completely underestimate how disruptive technology is going to be.” In a hyper-personalised advertising world, brands must utilise technology to work smarter, because people “no longer want to be followed around the internet by a pair of sneakers or trainers they’ve already bought.”
Jones suggests that “generative AI [artificial intelligence] technology will allow us to remove a lot of the incredibly annoying things that advertising has done historically.” Thereby, getting to “what I call the perfect market, which is, brands are only communicating with people who either are users of that brand or want to be.”
Bringing it all together
“We’ve always believed that investing in really interesting tech would give us expert knowledge, would give us a step up,” says Jones.
That’s why the company continues “to acquire high growth, highly disruptive companies that solve our clients’ biggest pain points.”
These are companies such as Oliver – “the only company in the world that builds in-house content studios for brands” – and Collectively, “one of the world’s top three global influencer marketing companies.”
“We put those companies together end-to-end and integrated them into our platform and were then able to deliver cutting-edge, digitally-enabled marketing solutions.”
Mile one of a marathon
Against this, Brandtech has a proven record of using disruptive technology to activate creative, real-time marketing solutions.
Alluding to the Henry Ford quote – “no one built their reputation on what they said they were going to do” – Jones says, “my mantra is that case studies beat press releases . . . And we’ve got some amazing case studies.”
Take McCain Foods, for example. Brandtech’s marketing campaign created future farms on Roblox to spread the brand’s sustainable, regenerative agriculture message: over 30 million people came and visited, harvesting 25 million virtual potatoes.
While Brandtech can create content ten times faster, with twice the performance, and at a lower cost than other marketing agencies, Jones pushes on. “What I am obsessive about . . . is, how do we become and ensure we are the world’s number-one generative AI marketing company?”
“I think we can claim to be it today, but we’re in mile one of the marathon,” he suggests.
Investing in the future
Burns explains that part of what led Scottish Mortgage to support the company back in 2015 is that “what Jones was seeing about the challenges of advertising really matched with what we were seeing from some of the big tech platforms that we were investing in”, and he had ‘a clear prescient vision of what the future could look like’.
Staying ahead will depend on Brandtech maintaining its reputation as a good partner and investor.
It’s an approach that resonates with Scottish Mortgage, which is also looking to invest in the best companies, those with visionary leaders and an opportunity in large, growing markets.
Global advertising is a $750bn per year industry, and both Jones and Burns think Brandtech could potentially be the first “to build a $100bn valuation company” within it.
That is more likely under Jones, as an “industry insider with a visionary entrepreneurial spirit” who has spotted trends far in advance and has a clear idea of how advertising needs to adapt.
By providing solutions for brands that build on the insights of AI and the creative possibilities of augmented reality, Brandtech looks set to secure its position as the market leader in the post-advertising world.
Regulatory Information
This content was produced and approved at the time stated and may not have been updated subsequently. It represents views held at the time of production and may not reflect current thinking. Read our Legal and regulatory information for further details.
A Key Information Document is available by visiting our Documents page. Any images used in this content are for illustrative purposes only.
This content does not constitute, and is not subject to the protections afforded to, independent research. Baillie Gifford and its staff may have dealt in the investments concerned. The views expressed are not statements of fact and should not be considered as advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a particular investment.
Baillie Gifford & Co and Baillie Gifford & Co Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The investment trusts managed by Baillie Gifford & Co Limited are listed on the London Stock Exchange and are not authorised or regulated by the FCA.
Baillie Gifford Asia (Hong Kong) Limited 柏基亞洲(香港)有限公司 (BGA) holds a Type 1 licence from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong to market and distribute Baillie Gifford’s range of collective investment schemes and closed-ended funds such as investment trusts to professional investors in Hong Kong.
Baillie Gifford Asia (Singapore) Private Limited (BGAS) is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a holder of a capital markets services licence to conduct fund management activities for institutional investors and accredited investors in Singapore. BGA and BGAS are wholly owned subsidiaries of Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited, which is wholly owned by Baillie Gifford & Co.
Europe
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC (the “Company”) is an alternative investment fund for the purpose of Directive 2011/61/EU (the “AIFM Directive”). Baillie Gifford & Co Limited is the alternative investment fund manager (“AIFM”) of the Company and has been authorised for marketing to Professional Investors in this jurisdiction.
This content is made available by Baillie Gifford Investment Management (Europe) Limited (“BGE”), which has been engaged by the AIFM to carry out promotional activities relating to the Company. BGE is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as an AIFM under the AIFM Regulations and as a UCITS management company under the UCITS Regulation. BGE also has regulatory permissions to perform promotional, advisory and Individual Portfolio Management activities. BGE has passported its authorisations under the mechanisms set out in the AIFM Directive.
Belgium
The Company has not been and will not be registered with the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (Autoriteit voor Financiële Diensten en Markten / Autorité des services et marchés financiers) (the FSMA) as a public foreign alternative collective investment scheme under Article 259 of the Belgian Law of 19 April 2014 on alternative collective investment institutions and their managers (the Law of 19 April 2014). The shares in the Company will be marketed in Belgium to professional investors within the meaning the Law of 19 April 2014 only. Any offering material relating to the offering has not been, and will not be, approved by the FSMA pursuant to the Belgian laws and regulations applicable to the public offering of securities. Accordingly, this offering as well as any documents and materials relating to the offering may not be advertised, offered or distributed in any other way, directly or indirectly, to any other person located and/or resident in Belgium other than to professional investors within the meaning the Law of 19 April 2014 and in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public pursuant to the Law of 19 April 2014. The shares offered by the Company shall not, whether directly or indirectly, be marketed, offered, sold, transferred or delivered in Belgium to any individual or legal entity other than to professional investors within the meaning the Law of 19 April 2014 or than to investors having a minimum investment of at least EUR 250,000 per investor.
Germany
The Trust has not offered or placed and will not offer or place or sell, directly or indirectly, units/shares to retail investors or semi-professional investors in Germany, i.e. investors which do not qualify as professional investors as defined in sec. 1 (19) no. 32 German Investment Code (Kapitalanlagegesetzbuch – KAGB) and has not distributed and will not distribute or cause to be distributed to such retail or semi-professional investor in Germany, this document or any other offering material relating to the units/shares of the Trust and that such offers, placements, sales and distributions have been and will be made in Germany only to professional investors within the meaning of sec. 1 (19) no. 32 German Investment Code (Kapitalanlagegesetzbuch – KAGB).
Luxembourg
Units/shares/interests of the Trust may only be offered or sold in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourg) to professional investors within the meaning of Luxembourg act by the act of 12 July 2013 on alternative investment fund managers (the AIFM Act). This document does not constitute an offer, an invitation or a solicitation for any investment or subscription for the units/shares/interests of the Trust by retail investors in Luxembourg. Any person who is in possession of this document is hereby notified that no action has or will be taken that would allow a direct or indirect offering or placement of the units/shares/interests of the Trust to retail investors in Luxembourg.
Switzerland
The Trust has not been approved by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”) for offering to non-qualified investors pursuant to Art. 120 para. 1 of the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes of 23 June 2006, as amended (“CISA”). Accordingly, the interests in the Trust may only be offered or advertised, and this document may only be made available, in Switzerland to qualified investors within the meaning of CISA. Investors in the Trust do not benefit from the specific investor protection provided by CISA and the supervision by the FINMA in connection with the approval for offering.
Singapore
This content has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this content and any other content or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the Trust may not be circulated or distributed, nor may be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor (as defined in Section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act 2001, as modified or amended from time to time (SFA)) pursuant to Section 274 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA) pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where the Trust is subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is:
(a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or
(b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities or securities-based derivatives contracts (each term as defined in Section 2(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the securities pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 except:
(1) to an institutional investor or to a relevant person or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(c)(ii) of the SFA,
(2) where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;
(3) where the transfer is by operation of law; or
(4) pursuant to Section 276(7) of the SFA or Regulation 37A of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Securities and Securities-based Derivatives Contracts) Regulations 2018.
