AdSmart looks to the future with confidence

In the depths of the economic slump Tipperary firm AdSmart has built up a business devising marketing strategies for embattled retailers struggling to maintain footfall in their stores.

Set up by entrepreneur Tom Ryan in 2009 after the recession had already taken hold, AdSmart set out to target large indigenous retail stores which don’t have in-house marketing departments. Because of the slump in spending, building up a customer base proved both challenging and difficult.

“There were both positive and negative factors. Companies were increasingly reluctant to spend on marketing but their sales were diminishing and they needed to advertise to combat this,” says Mr Ryan, adding that they also required marketing campaigns in order to combat the intensified competition in the marketplace.