ONSET Ventures, Quatrex Capital, and Voyager Capital invest in location-based mobile platform.
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 18, 2009 -- November 18, 2009 – 1020 Placecast, creator of the most scalable, proven, location-based marketing system currently available, today announced that they have raised $5 million in Series B funding from a group of high-profile investors including Quatrex Capital and current investors Onset Ventures and Voyager Capital.
The new round of funding will be used to accelerate progress on the company’s opt-in location-triggered marketing capability, which enables brands to engage with consumers via mobile phone based on the user’s specific location.
Over the past four years, 1020 Placecast has built a carrier-grade location-based marketing platform and recently inked strategic partnerships with Alcatel-Lucent and Navteq. The Placecast platform enables Fortune 500 retailers and brands to instantly scale location-based marketing programs to specific regions around North America and worldwide.
“1020 Placecast has been way ahead of most of the industry in thinking about location and the opportunity for advertisers and publishers," said Greg Sterling, founder of Sterling Market Intelligence and analyst with Opus Research. "Focused increasingly on location-aware mobile marketing, the company's approach forms a bridge between the digital world of online promotion and offline sales."
“We’re realizing the promise of connecting consumers with the brands they love while delivering relevant marketing that feels like a service, not an advertisement,” said Alistair Goodman, CEO of 1020 Placecast.
Location: Unlocking the Next Generation of Marketing
At a recent Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley
predicted “Mobile devices will evolve as remote controls for ever expanding types of real-time cloud-based services, including the emerging category of location-based services, creating opportunities and dislocations, empowering consumers in unprecedented and transformative ways.”
Also, according to a 2009 Gartner report, location targeting will be one of the primary types of marketing predicted to explode in upcoming years, and by 2013, mobile advertising spend will surpass $13 billion. Fueling this growth are improvements in GPS technology and rapid adoption of smartphones, including the iPhone and Blackberry.
“We believe 1020 Placecast’s compelling track record, talented leadership, and exceptional partnerships with world-class mobile and media partners will enable the company to define a new category of personalized mobile marketing programs,” said Jodi Sherman Jahic, Manager at Quatrex. “We look forward to helping the company further secure its place in this new and rapidly growing market, which has the potential to redefine marketing in the retail, consumer goods, entertainment and media sectors.”
About 1020 Placecast, Inc.
1020, Inc. is the developer and owner of Placecast, the first location-based platform specifically designed to use digital marketing on the web and mobile to drive consumers into physical environments.
1020’s groundbreaking Placecast service recently earned the company the OnMedia Top 100 Award, given to game-changing companies in the marketing, branding, advertising, and PR industries. Current partners include NAVTEQ and Alcatel-Lucent, and marketers include Yellowbook, FedEx Office, Avis and Budget Rental Cars and Hyatt Hotels. 1020 is funded by ONSET Ventures, Quatrex Capital, and Voyager Capital.
For more information about Placecast, visit www.placecast.net.
About ONSET Ventures
ONSET Ventures specializes in providing an ideal mix of start-up, follow-on, and intellectual capital to entrepreneurs and early-stage technology ventures, to help transform world-class ideas into sustainable and valuable businesses, through a process of “venture craftsmanship.” The firm has backed over 100 companies since 1984 and now has more than $1 billion under management.
ONSET Ventures focuses exclusively on information and medical technology-based start-ups, and has a long history of successful ventures in each of these sectors.
www.onset.com
About Quatrex Capital
Quatrex Capital is a consortium of European media executives dedicated to technological innovation in the digital media space. 1020 Placecast is the fund’s first investment in North America.
About Voyager Capital
Voyager Capital is a leading West Coast information technology venture firm, providing entrepreneurs with the resources, experience, and connections to build successful companies. Voyager invests in early and growth stage digital media, wireless, and software companies, where the firm’s domain expertise and “go-to-market” resources help build market leaders. Voyager Capital has $370 million under management with offices in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Menlo Park, California. For more information please visit: http://www.voyagercapital.com.
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