Ace Metrix, a company promising brands and agencies a smarter, faster approach to testing their TV ads, has raised $8 million in new funding.
CEO Peter Daboll, whose resume includes time as Chief of Insights at Yahoo and CEO of comScore Media Metrix, says the idea behind Ace Metrix is to “apply what we’ve learned in digital targeting and evaluation to television, which is the big kahuna in terms of spending.”
The traditional process for testing the effectiveness of TV ads with an audience is full of inefficiencies, Daboll says — such as the approvals needed to release each survey, or the length of most audience questionnaires. Thanks to streamlining every part of the process, Ace Metrix can deliver survey data about an ad’s effectiveness within a day or two — something that previously took four to six weeks. And it’s not just doing that for its customer’s ads, but for every ad that’s hitting television, so advertisers can see how their ad stacks up against competitors.
As an example of why this kind of real-time data is important, Daboll recalls a controversial campaign for Kraft that ran last year, showing parents terrifying their kids in order to steal back their Jello desserts. The next day, 350,000 people had signed on to a Facebook page protesting the ad. But did that mean Kraft should pull it? Did those 350,000 represent the general trend, or were they just a small, unhappy minority? Daboll says Ace Metrix had analysis on Kraft’s desk the next day showing that despite making a few people unhappy, the ad’s edginess made it the most effective thing the company had done in ages.
“These guys had 24 hours to make an $80 million decision,” he says.
Daboll says the new funding is an extension of the company’s Series C, with investors WPP (whose involvement shows the interest from the ad world), Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Leapfrog Ventures, and Palomar Ventures. There are some big launches on the horizon, he says, including Ace Viva (for Spanish-language audiences) and Ace Kids.
Ace Metrix is the new standard in television analytics, dedicated to delivering better, faster, and more cost-effective solutions for evaluating video advertising within competitive context. Through the Ace Metrix LIVE™ platform, companies can now access timely, actionable data wherever, whenever they need to, enabling real-time advertising campaign optimization. Combining leading edge technology and patent pending methodology, Ace Metrix is revolutionizing the way marketers measure themselves and their competitive landscape. The company is privately held and is backed by...
WPP plc, together with its subsidiaries, offers various communications services worldwide. It provides global, national, and specialist advertising services; above- and below-the-line media planning, buying, and specialist sponsorship and branded entertainment services; and specializes in brand, consumer, media, and marketplace insight, as well as works with clients to generate and apply insights. The company also offers corporate, consumer, financial, and brand-building services; consumer, corporate, and employee branding and design services, covering identity, packaging, literature, events, training, and architecture; a...
Hummer Winblad Venture Partners was founded in 1989 as the first venture capital fund to invest exclusively in software companies. Through our history, we’ve had the opportunity to invest in the pioneers and leaders of several generations of software applications, architectures, delivery methods and business models.
They believe that the most successful company in any industry gains a disproportionately higher return for its shareholders. their mission is to help their portfolio companies Leapfrog their competitors and achieve industry-leading levels of competitive and market performance as quickly as possible. They are all experienced operating executives of technology companies as well as successful venture investors. They can recognize the patterns that signal opportunities or risks in a small, high growth company. They have the resources and relationships to...
Palomar Ventures was launched in 1999 by veteran venture capitalists to focus on early stage information technology companies that demonstrate the potential for exceptional growth and market leadership. The founding principle of Palomar is teamwork; they work closely with their portfolio companies to assist them in achieving their objectives. The partners at Palomar have contributed their strategic insight, network of corporate relationships, and recruiting skills to assist in building nearly 50 public companies. Palomar Ventures is currently investing Palomar III,...
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