Retargetting platform AdRoll has opened a regional hub in Sydney with a 20-strong team planned.

The move follows establishment of a European base in Dublin last October.

Digital pioneer Ben Sharp – who cofounded Allure Media and spent six years at Yahoo! – has been appointed managing director. He was most recently general manager of Vizury.

Retargetting – the business of repitching ads after a consumer has visited a site without buying – has driven unprecedented growth for AdRoll, which claims a 500 per cent advertiser growth in Australia and 565 per cent overall growth across the Asia Pacific region. With Australian online advertising up more than 19.3 per cent year on year, AdRoll says it will help marketers collect, analyse and act on their data.

Among its 500 Australian clients are Appliances Online, Beginning Boutique, Clinique AU, MarketHQ, Nitro, Vend and Vistaprint NZ as well as agencies including We Are Balance.

AdRoll chief executive Aaron Bell says it’s “awesome” to be finally launching in Sydney: “Over the past year, we've seen Australia explode into one of the fastest growing markets with strong demand from advertisers and agencies,” he says.

Sharp says a shift towards e-commerce by Australian retailers combined with high smartphone penetration and the trend towards performance driven marketing means the appetite to create personalised online marketing campaigns continues to grow. He claims there is currently a limited choice for retargeting in Australia.

AdRoll will employ more than 20 staff at premises in Sydney’s Australia Square.