Inuvo Inc.

This is the second time Inuvo Inc. of Little Rock, a publicly traded marketing technology provider that shares corporate DNA with Acxiom, has been named an Arkansas Business of the Year finalist.

The company has two lines of business: IntentKey and ValidClick.

The IntentKey platform, launched in 2019, is what’s been driving revenue growth. It uses artificial intelligence to provide data to clients that is free and clear of the privacy concerns many consumers have.

The ValidClick platform helps large clients, including Google, find ads to fill web spaces when their own systems fail to do so.

In the last six months, the company, with 90 employees, has transitioned from being just another vendor to being a full-service partner for its clients, said Amanda Propst, director of marketing and creative services.

“We’re really becoming essentially a digital agency of record for them. So we have taken on a number of new clients where we do … all of their media,” she said. “Clients now don’t want to have to have multiple agencies servicing them, or multiple vendors. They love a one-stop shop. So that’s really opened up the door to expand our relationships for us. And it’s growing exponentially, which is great.”

In 2021, Inuvo ran hundreds of advertising campaigns on the IntentKey side of the business. On the ValidClick side, it serves tens of thousands of clients through partnerships, Propst said.

Propst said Inuvo is also gaining customers because Google previously announced its intention to eliminate third-party cookies from its Chrome web browser. IntentKey is “future proof” because it doesn’t need cookies to function, she said.

“I don’t understand how we’re not a billion-dollar company yet. Like, why have we not exploded? I really think we’re at the cusp of our tipping point,” Propst said. “I think we’re finally there. Clients are starting to understand the value of us. We’re not a test partner anymore. We’re like ‘the partner.’”

Inuvo is also planning to be “pretty aggressive in terms of hiring” in 2022, she said.