Frans Vermeulen, President at Swivel shares proven tips and best practices to enable modern advertisers to optimize their ad ops processes in this MarTechSeries interview:
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Hi Frans, tell us about some of Swivel’s latest product enhancements in brief and your latest funding?
Swivel recently raised $5.8 million in Series A funding, led by Tribeca Venture Partners and Ardent Venture Partners, with participation from Motley Fool Ventures and others. These funds are being used to scale our GTM and engineering teams and further enhance our AI capabilities. On the product front, we’re expanding our automation suite to include additional optimization and trafficking capabilities, advanced ML recommendations, and a GenAI/NLP interface for business intelligence, which will enable smarter, self-service workflows across ad platforms.
How is the platform a differentiator when it comes to driving better Ad Ops processes?
Swivel stands out by automating 40,000–50,000 per client ad ops actions daily compared to 100–200 done manually. Our no-code SaaS platform integrates and orchestrates across multiple ad systems, allowing teams to set rules once and see automated execution across all demand partners and platforms. It not only reduces human error and effort but also boosts revenue, delivering up to a 17% increase through continuous optimization.
In what ways is AI across the industry streamlining ad ops, can you share top highlights from around the world?
Across the globe, AI is helping media teams replace manual campaign tweaks with intelligent automation. Swivel alone has executed over half a million automated actions for major partners like LG Ad Solutions, generating 25,000 hours of productivity. This signals a global shift where AI is operational and delivering measurable ROI now.
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What are some of the top challenges around Ad Ops that keep modern advertisers and publishers up at night?
These companies face a growing thicket of platforms, formats, and demand channels, all of which require constant, error-prone manual oversight. As spend scales, so does operational complexity and related human costs. Without automation, teams are stuck in swivel-chair workflows that slow down speed-to-market and limit optimization potential.
How can modern advertisers and publishers better streamline their adtech and compliance norms when running global ad campaigns in today’s highly digitized market?
These companies should prioritize platforms that offer unified automation and orchestration across their tech stacks. Swivel’s vision is exactly that. One intelligent layer handling trafficking, pricing, analytics, and compliance-sensitive workflows, so teams can adapt faster across geographies without reinventing the wheel each time.
Can you share a couple of ad optimization tips that advertisers and publishers should keep in mind to ensure ad performance at a time when adtech is changing the game significantly?
First, set granular, flexible rules based on real-time performance signals, then let automation handle the adjustments. Second, monitor cross-platform performance and automate orchestrated budget shifts between direct and programmatic where margins dictate. These practices allow advertisers and publishers to react faster than human teams ever could.
Five thoughts on the future of adtech before we wrap up?
- AI will handle the bulk of ad ops within the next decade.
- Point solutions will consolidate into unified automation layers.
- No-code platforms will empower non-technical teams to scale operations.
- Data-driven rule engines will replace one-size-fits-all optimization strategies.
- The winners will be those who automate without sacrificing human control or compliance.
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Swivel provides no-code automation, AI, and machine learning, to support ad operations — enabling teams to focus on strategy, growth, and performance as opposed to repetitive tasks. As revenue and media spend increase across the ecosystem, the operational burden has historically scaled with it. Swivel’s vision is to break that pattern. The platform drives improved yield for sellers and greater media efficiency for buyers, without increasing headcount or complexity.
Frans Vermeulen is a seasoned technology and advertising executive with decades of experience in TV, digital, mobile, and programmatic ad marketplaces. He currently serves as President of Swivel (formerly PilotDesk), where he leads commercial strategy and organizational scaling for the no-code AI automation platform. Prior to Swivel, he was VP of Strategy & Market Development at TransUnion following its acquisition of TruOptik, where he served as COO.