Meet Anu Adegbola - #WomeninTech

April 8, 2022

This is the first in a series of posts where we'll be turning the spotlight on the digital marketing experts at Marin Software. Join us to work with some of our incredible digital advertising marketers today.

Anu Adegbola started her career as so many of us have – navigating the uncertain waves of SEO outreach for PR and link building efforts. Since then she has conquered rapids both big and small in digital marketing, from multi-million dollar paid media management accounts, to creating her own podcast and audio content.

Today, she is the president of the Paid Search Association and an Account Director for Sales & Retention at Marin. She is a big contributor to the internal culture of Marin and offers a unique perspective on paid advertising we are thrilled to offer our clients.

I’d like to focus primarily on what it is about paid advertising that inspires and motivates Anu, but first…here are a few “fast facts” to help paint the picture of who she is.

Anu studied computer science and business management at Queen Mary University of London.
Originally from Nigeria, she is “proudly Nigerian” but also loves England. After living in London for nearly 20 years, she considers the UK home.
Anu worked in the agency industry for six years, including Brainlabs, one of the largest global agencies in the demand generation space.
She loves to sing and plays the guitar. She prays as a daily practice and lists music and practicing her Christian faith as her ways to recenter.
For three years Anu was a paid search consultant for several personal clients, and through this experience she gained a love for omnichannel marketing. She is interested in SEO, email marketing, social media, and more, especially how all those channels work together with paid.
Travel is one of her favorite pastimes and she views life as a true adventure. About this she says, “If there isn’t some fear, it wasn’t a real adventure.”
Anu spent about five years in-house. By working in several different capacities: freelance, agency, in-house, she learned to “embrace who she is” and make her personal working style effective in various settings.
Her favorite place to vacation is Italy.

Anu has grown her career with hard work and tenacity, while still maintaining a humility and eagerness to learn that is infectious. Her enthusiasm for paid media was tangible during our 60 minute conversation; and what stood out to me was that her collaborative spirit is clearly a driving force personally and professionally. Throughout the discussion, where I was truly seeking opportunities to “brag” about Anu, she continually redirected the conversation to discuss others who have mentored her or been colleagues that continue to teach her new things every day. There is no doubt in my mind that this spirit of sharing is what has made her so successful.

While her love of learning from others is an earmark of who Anu is as a person, in getting to know her I was struck by how insightful she is both in respect to pay-per-click but also about life at large. Below I’ve listed just a few of the golden tokens of wisdom I was left with after meeting with her.

“Paid media continues to evolve; embrace change.”
“Organization and prioritization is key.”
“My life has progressed by being very curious and that is what I love.”

On the topic of paid media and digital marketing best practices, Anu could talk for hours. And she has. Her podcast, where she recaps a weekly Twitter discussion by global thought leaders is just that – a weekly audio roundup where she compiles comments and talking points brought up in #PPCChat and reframes them for a listening audience. She clearly believes in the power of digital storytelling. And as a self-proclaimed “Excel nerd” the data and insights are not lost on her as a crucial part of our job as advertisers; data will always give us the knowledge, so we can listen and respond to our customers’ needs.

For learning and inspiration, she shared with me some of her favorite people to learn from and follow, who I’ve listed below. But I would encourage you to listen in on her podcast and get a taste for what Anu has to offer directly. As a paid media wizard and a truly sparkling personality, her podcast is a great way to engage your mind during your daily commute, exercising, or while performing chores around the house. Her drive to offer value and make PPC content readily accessible to digital marketers both near and far is just another reason why she is a great fit in the Marin ecosphere, as it’s a core value of our company. Read on to get her tips for other great resources to learn about digital marketing and especially paid media.