About us
Our history
and identity
History
Keyade was born in June 2006 with the goal, not of creating yet another online marketing agency, but of breaking new ground with a different approach: a specialized structure built on its background expertise, a small client base, a strong emphasis on technological innovation and training young graduates as permanent consultants, and an international reach.
Five years later, these elements are still core to the company's culture and strategy, complemented by a healthy dose of transparency and humility. We are convinced that Search Marketing, which by definition has strong technological roots, is not incompatible with an empirical and unpretentious approach that places high value on a never-ending quest to learn and innovate.
Keyade's increasingly international team provides it with a solid base, depth and richness. Our agency places more stock on the right personalities than specific degrees, and as such we seek out those with well-defined personal qualities that are vital to providing top-notch cutting-edge service. While this approach (which includes only hiring on permanent contract) presents no small challenge, is has resulted in a company that is built on solid and well-trained pillars who are in turn expected to impart their skill and experience to others.
Milestones
February 2006 : The decision to take the "great start-up leap" is made. Safety net? Nope. Vision and ideas? Plenty!
June 2006 : Keyade is born.
May 2007 : Keyade hires its first employees and is proud to be creating new jobs.
December 2009 : Keyade reaches a key milestone of $50 million in managed ad assets.
May 2010 : La Redoute and Voyages-SNCF both confirm their intent to collaborate with Keyade.
Mars 2011 : For the first time, Keyade's staff reaches 40.
September 2011 : Keyade receives funs from famous entrepreneurs Fabrice Grinda and Marc Simoncini.
Founders
Denis Vaillant, 29, managed affiliate marketing at Apple and later Meetic. Thanks to both his marketing experience and technical knowledge, this self-taught developer envisioned a powerful tracking and decision support tool catering to large online advertisers. Denis heads up our tech team.
Julien Babin, 32, directed Search Marketing for Amazon Europe and later for Meetic worldwide. Julien presents what Keyade has to offer to companies looking for new technological solutions or effective operational management. He divides his time between Paris and New York, where he oversees the launch of Keyade's foothold in the United States.
Antoine Mermet, 42, is a former journalist. After acquiring web-related experience in 2000 with American Looksmart, he joined Google in 2002 to create the maximizers team (now called account strategists), which he continued to head up until 2006. He co-managed Google in France in 2004. Antoine makes sure Keyade is well-managed, and oversees its operations team.
