US firm GCTR nabs local ad data ‘success story’ Standard Media Index

Ex-business journalist Jane Ractliffe expects the global advertising intelligence company she co-founded in 2009 to ‘go to the next level’ under new owners GCTR.

SMI co-founder Jane Ractliffe: ‘The business has succeeded because it’s got great purpose – it’s creating transparency into the ad market and giving all media stakeholders knowledge.’

Former business journalist Jane Ractliffe expects the global advertising intelligence company she co-founded in 2009 to “go to the next level” under new owners GTCR, a US-based private equity firm.

Ms Ractliffe, who established Standard Media Index with public relations guru Sue Fennessy in 2009, will remain managing director of the business in Australia and New Zealand following last week’s move by GTCR to make a strategic investment in SMI through its portfolio company Dreamscape.

SMI is considered one of the leading global providers of advertising data and insights to the media industry, with its key markets being the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The company also does work for agency partners in more than 30 other countries.

SMI’s clients include a wide range of media stakeholders, financial analysts and advertisers.

Ms Ractliffe would not disclose financial details of the deal with GTCR, but said she was “very excited” for the future of the company. SMI’s Australian chief executive James Fennessy – who moved to New York with his wife Sue in 2011 to expand the business into the global market – will step aside from his current role to sit on Dreamscape’s board of directors. He will remain a consultant to SMI. Sue Fennessy exited the business in 2016.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next under the new owners,” Ms Ractliffe told The Australian on Sunday.

Ms Ractliffe, who did her cadetship in 1988 with The News in Adelaide, and was a one time editor of The Australian’s Media section, said the origins of SMI could be traced back to her time as a media writer. “It started out of necessity because as a journo I couldn’t find any information on advertising revenues,” Ms Ractliffe said.

“You’d have the quarterly reports to the stock exchange but then there was nothing in between, no visibility on advertising demand, so to make up for that I’d interview all the media agency CEOs to get their view on how ad demand was tracking.

“Those stories were always very popular, and eventually I realised that even the biggest agencies could only see part of the market; they couldn’t see the full market.

“I started talking to them about providing their payment details and aggregating that, and that’s how it all started.

“I knew there was a gap in the market, and I was lucky to meet Sue (Fennessy).

“She was a good friend of mine who had a lot of commercial success previously. I had the industry contacts and knowledge, but she had the commercial skill.”

Ms Ractliffe said SMI had delivered transparency to an industry that had traditionally been reluctant to part with too much commercial information.

“The business has succeeded because it’s got great purpose – it’s creating transparency into the ad market and giving all media stakeholders knowledge,” she said.

“Whether you’re a sales director and you want to know how the market is tracking, or you’re looking at buying into a media company, we can provide information on the market and competitors.

“It just means that everyone can operate in a far more sophisticated way.

“It’s been an exciting journey, there have been some ups-and-downs, it’s not always easy.”