Executive Interview with Tyler Kelly, President, Basis Technologies

(republished from Advertising Week 2021 New York Trends Report)

You recently rebranded from Centro into Basis Technologies - what’s the significance of that?

We changed our name to expand beyond the programmatic advertising box that the market places on our company. Programmatic remains an important component of our platform. However, we want to showcase the wider value we bring to the market through automation. Our change signifies our longstanding commitment and mission to develop, in our Basis platform, leading cloud-based workflow automation and business intelligence software for marketing and advertising.

What are the key offerings from Basis Technologies and why are they important?

Basis’ integrated applications automate manual operations, standardize business processes, and improve marketing and advertising performance. I believe the industry needs this technology. Marketers are strained as operations have become too complex because of new channels, ad formats, reporting metrics, and more. This has negative effects including higher labor costs, decreasing customer service quality, lower efficacy, and yet the marketing industry continues to utilize legacy point solutions disconnected from workflows.

What do you think marketers have to gain in using automation?

Automation is about people – and giving them a better way of working. Reducing steps, repetitive and complex tasks will reduce the stress, workloads, anxiety, and burnout among our industry’s talent. These improved conditions also make our space more attractive for professionals. When our market utilizes automation, we can create a better, more enjoyable, more nourishing, and healthier industry.

Basis Technologies is regularly named in ‘best places to work’ lists. What’s your secret sauce?

Happiness is good business – that’s been the guiding principle of the company ever since it was established 20 years ago by our founder, and still the CEO, Shawn Riegsecker. I was one of the first set of hires at the company and we’ve always nurtured an environment where employees are excited about coming to work every day. We believe people are happiest when they are growing and giving. Our core premise is that if our company focused first on taking care of our people, the people would take care of those around them, our customers and ultimately, our company.

What are the innovations we can expect to see in the world of marketing automation in future?

Automation is a precursor to autonomous. All things that can be automated will be automated. And all that can be automated will eventually become autonomous, and artificial intelligence will be able to play a massive role in the future. It’s not about replacing people - ATMs didn’t eliminate bank tellers - but empowering professionals to spend more time doing intellectually stimulating and valuable work while feeling happier and healthier.