A TOUR OF PLISTA'S OFFICE IN BERLIN

We visited the company plista. Here is the interview – and have a look at the team and their cool office in Berlin.

Please, tell us something about your company. When was your company founded? Your location?

We are a global platform for data-driven native advertising in premium editorial environments. Based in Berlin, we successfully bring advertisers and publishers together since 2008 and are one of the pioneers in its segment.

As a one-stop shop we offer direct, single-source access to a broad portfolio of native solutions. With our proprietary real-time Recommendation Technology, our company is able to deliver both content and advertising that matches users’ individual interests – across all channels and devices.

Thousands of advertisers and publishers worldwide trust our unique tech know-how. The native ad formats stand out through their strong engagement character and enable brands to efficiently target audiences along the entire sales funnel. This way, advertisers can easily pursue branding as well as performance marketing goals.

At the same time, we empower publishers to engage their visitors with customized recommendations. This lets publishers get the best out of their website or app and benefit from outstanding content monetization, increased website stickiness and sustainable traffic growth.

Your Business:

What is your core business?

We are a one-stop solution for native advertising and content distribution in a premium editorial environment.

With our proprietary real-time recommendation technology, we are able to deliver both content and advertising that matches users’ individual interests – across all channels and devices.

This way our company delivers personalized recommendations with high user relevance.

How did you get to your business idea and when was your company established?

The founders of plista, Dr. Dominik Matyka, Christian Laase, and Andreas Richter decided that there was need for a change in the advertising industry. Web users were (and still are) sick of traditional forms of display advertising for its disturbing and intrusive nature.

Time had come for the invention of new forms of advertising technologies. These new technologies should, so they decided, follow the present trend for the personalization of the internet.

Based on these directions they founded plista in summer 2008.

In 2014, plista was acquired by WPP, the world’s largest advertising holding. Since 2016 Jana Kusick (who joined plista in 2010) leads the company as Global Managing Director.

Are you using Venture Capital? And if – who are your Venture Partners?

In the very beginning, DuMont Venture, crédite agricole and NWZ were the main creditors for plista. Today plista fully belongs to WPP.

In which countries are you active? Are you planning to expand your venture in other countries? And if – where?

Today, we offers its solutions on four different continents. plista’s core market is the DACH region, for it started launching in these countries.

Within Europe, plista is also established in Spain, Poland, UK and the Netherlands as well as the Nordics. Among our recent markets are the USA, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Canada, Russia, and Turkey. There are more market launches planned for 2017.

Where do you see the company in five years?

Hard work will pay off: plista will become one of the leading providers for programmatic native advertising. As the company is constantly working on the expansion of its portfolio, our range of products will be broader. Another important aspect is the ongoing internationalization – in five years from now many more countries will be able to have access to the plista technology.

Your team:

How many employees work at your company right now? Are you planning to expand?

At the moment, plista employs over 200 people worldwide. As we are continually growing in all our markets, the company is constantly looking for new talents – in Berlin, as well as abroad.

What is the average age of your team members?

The average age of our team members is 31. In the last years the number climbed up from 28 – the ascending average gives credit to the fact that many senior managers as well as directors have recently been employed at plista.

What kind of attitude should new employees have in order to work at your company?

“People that are aiming to work with plista have to be responsible, curious, and open.”

They should be technology enthusiasts and love to work in the fast paced industry of online marketing. plista is a company marked by both its openness towards everyone and every nationality and its thought for sustainability and friendliness.

Why is it fun to work at your company? Do you offer any employee benefits?

The beautifully designed plista office is located in the heart of Berlin, close to the Alexanderplatz. The working environment is diverse and international as the team consists of people from 25 nationalities, who speak 17 languages. Personnel development trainings and further development measures are being offered, amongst them manager training, language courses, E-Learnings, the plista academy and many more.

In the cafeteria employees enjoy freshly cooked lunch twice a week. In addition to that employees get a free flatrate for drinks and snacks. plista has its own sports room where employees can visit classes of yoga, pilates or cross fit during and after work. plista owns a hybrid car, that every employee is free to use.

Do you offer new employees a relocation service or help to relocate?

In fact, plista does not only offer a relocation service, but also provides support when it comes to applying for a visa, searching flats, finding childcare places and any other visits at government/public offices (if needed).