As a pioneer in creating creative marketing solutions that stand out in a crowded industry, Smart Digital has arisen in today’s fast-paced digital economy, where every click and impression counts. Dmitry Postonogov, a marketing virtuoso whose skill and progressive outlook have been essential to Smart Digital’s ascent, is leading this innovative organization. Dmitry has played a pivotal role in revolutionizing the way brands engage with their target consumers, owing to his exceptional sense of timing and ability to utilize data-driven insights. Under his direction, Smart Digital has not only successfully negotiated the challenges of contemporary marketing, but has also raised the bar for quality and innovation.
In 1994, Dmitry founded his first company, a manufacturing business specializing in outdoor advertising. At that time, the advertising industry was just beginning to expand, and there was ample work available. The company produced illuminated signs for stores, advertising billboards, and explored new formats for outdoor advertising. In 2014, the company created its first LED screen for a sports club, marking the beginning of a new direction in their business. Six months later, Dmitry established Smart Technology to focus on this new line of work. Digital outdoor advertising quickly replaced static billboards and emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy. Recognizing the future potential of outdoor advertising, particularly with the rise of digital-out-of-home (DOOH) solutions, Dmitry anticipated significant opportunities in this area. With the advent of AI technology across various industries, it became clear that the advertising sector had promising new avenues for development. This insight led to the creation of Smart Digital, a company dedicated to leveraging these advancements in the advertising industry.
This article explores Dmitry Postonogov’s entrepreneurial journey, in addition to how he shapes his leadership and his vision for the marketing industry.
What are the main factors that guided you to where you are now?
Any business idea and any business process has its own life cycle. Every time we started a new line of business, we went through the phases of growth, stabilization of demand and then the inevitable decline in demand. On average, each such cycle took 6-8 years. I have never met an endlessly growing business. Each time, it was a new idea or innovation that allowed us to move to a higher level and start a new cycle.
Given your years of experience and accomplishments, what would you say was your biggest achievement?
The greatest achievements are yet to come. People are designed in such a way that they do not perceive what has already happened to them as life guidelines. The goal should always be ahead, and when you achieve some set goal, new goals immediately appear. For me now, the main focus is the implementation of the project to create an intelligent advertising ecosystem SAB, for which I came to Dubai. I am sure that this is the best place for such innovations to appear.
What is the quote that inspires you the most?
There’s an old Apple commercial, and there are words that I have always considered the biggest motivator: “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
Can you name two books that inspired you? And what did you take out of them?
When I was still a student, I became interested in psychology, and one of the books that I remember is “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. It was this book that sparked my passion for psychology. In all my subsequent work, my knowledge of psychology and the ability to find motivation in people were very useful to me. Of the more recent books I would name “Marketing from A to Z” by Philip Kotler. One of the most useful books for any businessman and marketer. The book gives an understanding of what needs to be done to sell your product correctly.
What personality traits contributed to you being a successful CEO?
Any leader must understand the psychology of the people he works with. Any leader must be able to ignite people with his ideas. Any leader must have this big idea so that people will follow him.
Are there any significant challenges facing the marketing industry today? Can you name the most relevant ones?
In today’s fast-growing metropolis, advertising is becoming more and more every day. On average, a person living in a metropolis receives 3,000 advertising messages per day. This is a huge amount of advertising information that our brain is no longer able to perceive. This effect is called “advertising noise.” Our developed defense reaction is to ignore all this information. This is a big problem, since all this advertising information is paid for by advertisers, and these are million-dollar advertising budgets. Every year this problem will only get worse.
In light of your journey and experiences, what message would you like to convey to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Don’t spread your efforts, but focus on a specific narrow area of activity in order to gain as much experience and knowledge in that area as possible. You need to focus on knowing the prospects for the development of your industry and acting proactively. There is no prospect of creating something that was needed yesterday. Creating what consumers need today is a risky path, because hundreds of other companies are doing it at the same time as you, and it is not a fact that you, a budding entrepreneur, will be stronger. Create something new, something that you think will be needed tomorrow. This is the path that will allow you to become a leader.
What is your personal team leadership philosophy, and how does it shape the approach and methodologies used by Smart Digital?
A leader is someone who takes responsibility for strategic decisions. It is the leader who must see longer-term prospects and see the future development of the industry.
What is the most valuable lesson learned from your professional journey ?
Making mistakes is not bad. What is bad is when you do not learn from your mistakes. Failures are not scary. The winner is the one who tried again.
Tell us more about what distinguishes SAB from other similar services?
The SAB intelligent advertising module is an innovative point-of-sale advertising device that is ready to connect to any digital screen, and allows to more accurately target advertising to your audience, increase customer engagement and improve conversions. Using AI and Computer Vision algorithms, the device recognizes the “demographic profile” of the visitor and broadcasts personalized advertising offers that are most attractive to a specific store visitor. The special feature is that all this happens in real time, at the moment when the store visitor is most inclined to make a decision. All information is depersonalized. Targeted advertising messages on digital screens at points of sale can increase in-store sales. SAB’s ability to analyze the interest and emotions of the advertising viewer in real time allows you to interact with the viewer and receive feedback, and this is a higher level of advertising impact. This is the future of the advertising industry.
What do you see as the most significant trends shaping the marketing industry right now?
I’ll just tell you two figures: according to research, the growth of the DOOH (digital-out-of-home) market in the world is 15-17% per year, and the growth of the targeted DOOH is more than 90% per year.
Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives you’re particularly excited about, and how do they align with Smart Digital’s strategic goals?
The SAB advertising ecosystem is the main project I am currently working on. The SAB ecosystem allows people to start treating advertising information differently. Digital advertising should stop being an inevitable evil and turn into a smart advisor and useful assistant, advertising should become a process with feedback and adapt to our desires. Advertising should turn the buying process into pleasant entertainment and adventure. This is the mission of our company.
Tell us about the ADVERTISING COOPERATION group. How did this idea come about?
My strongest impressions after incorporating Smart Digital in Dubai were the 24SIX9 community. It was in this community that one of the best ecosystems for supporting innovative entrepreneurship in the region was created. Once you get into this community, you find yourself in a special atmosphere that creates a feeling of being part of a big common cause. I considered it very important for myself to do something to help entrepreneurs like me. Then the idea arose of creating a group and helping each other on social networks to get a larger audience reach. Many people liked the idea, and the ADVERTISING COOPERATION group began to grow rapidly. We are showing an example of how entrepreneurs should unite to help each other, to help those who are just starting their entrepreneurial journey. The desire to help each other is definitely not about business. It’s about the 24SIX9 community and about the people who are creating the future of innovation.
