CHARLESTON, S.C. -

PureCars announced on Thursday that the company has not only completed its acquisition of software firm Tentail, but has also appointed a Tentail founder as new chief technology officer.   

Named to the CTO role is Adam Phillips, who founded Tentail with Ashley Messer, who has also joined PureCars. Both work from the company’s development offices in Atlanta.

The acquisition of Tentail, which automated the management of online advertising campaigns, furthers PureCars’ mission of providing more relevant data to improve the car buying experience, the company said.

It has combined Tentail's digital marketing capabilities with PureCars’ value solutions to create a marketing platform for paid search and display advertising, now called SmartAdvertising.

PureCars noted a “revolution” in auto sales created by the dramatic increase in consumers’ use of digital media in the car buying process.

Dealership budgets are moving to digital campaigns to match this consumer behavior, with the company reporting that studies show adults spend nearly seven times as much time online as they spend on traditional print media.

PureCars said both dealers and consumers will benefit from the addition of Tentail’s technology: Dealers can extend their investments into paid search and display advertising with access to this marketing automation solution, while customers will receive only the advertisements most relevant to their interests.

Regarding the appointment of Phillips, PureCars chief executive officer Jeremy Anspach said, “Adam’s deep understanding of digital marketing makes him a perfect fit with PureCars.”

“The synergies were amazing,” Phillips added. “Together, we were able to bring SmartAdvertising to market with lightning speed, enabling auto dealers to transform how they connect with consumers across new- and used-vehicle sales.”