Brunner buys AI creative analytics platform AdSkate to boost marketing intelligence. Infosys, Abbott Labs among clients. AdSkate's CEO joins Brunner as AI innovation lead.
Alpha Score of 57 reflects moderate overall profile with weak momentum, strong value, moderate quality, moderate sentiment.
Brunner, a Pittsburgh-based independent marketing agency, has acquired AdSkate, an AI-powered creative analytics platform. Terms were not disclosed.
AdSkate's technology analyzes advertising performance across images, video, messaging, and audience segments. It helps brands understand not just what is performing but why, using machine learning to identify creative drivers of engagement and conversion.
AdSkate's client roster includes Infosys, Abbott Labs, and the Illinois Lottery, along with other enterprise and healthcare brands. Infosys, which uses the platform, carries an Alpha Score of 57 at AlphaScala, indicating moderate upside potential.
"Marketing is entering a new era where creative intelligence is becoming just as important as media intelligence," said Kevin Amos, Partner and Chief Media and Data Officer at Brunner. "Today's CMOs aren't asking for more data; they're asking for better answers."
Akaash Ramakrishnan, AdSkate's co-founder and CEO, will become Senior Director of AI and Innovation at Brunner. Co-founder and CTO Shreyas Venugopalan will join as AI and Technology Consultant. Max Rosen, Creative Technology Specialist at AdSkate, will become Creative Technologist at Brunner.
Brunner's client ecosystem includes Aerie, Church's Texas Chicken, Fred Rogers Institute, and Mitsubishi North America. The agency said it will integrate AdSkate's technology into its marketing intelligence suite, offering clients enhanced creative testing, predictive performance modeling, and AI-powered campaign optimization.
"This partnership allows us to scale our technology, accelerate innovation, and bring powerful new capabilities to brands," Ramakrishnan said.
The acquisition brings together two Pittsburgh companies: Brunner, with more than four decades in marketing, and AdSkate, which emerged from the city's innovation ecosystem with ties to Carnegie Mellon University.
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