You’ve probably never heard of interactive media firm RGM Group, which is beyond a ton of custom ad experiences online. But after eight years of operating profitably without raising any money, RGM is looking to gain a little more visibility, raising $21 million from Riordan, Lewis & Haden Equity Partners. It’s also added former FastClick and ValueClick exec Kurt Johnson as its new CEO, and moving founder Kamran Razavi into the role of chief strategy officer.
RGM’s sweet spot is in building custom campaigns for advertising clients, which include brands like Jaguar, American Express, and Sony. And it works directly with publishers to build exclusive ad units and add those campaigns to their sites and mobile apps. In addition to custom ad units, it also has a network of publishers to give it a little more scale. The whole thing is handled by a creative teams that works directly with advertisers and publishers to build these custom campaigns and increase CPMs for publishers, while also driving more engagement for brands.
Johnson, who served as CEO of FastClick and CFO of ValueClick will oversee the company, as it moves beyond just providing bespoke ad solutions to publishers and seeks to increase the amount of clients and campaigns it can deploy at any time. It’s also added former Marshall Industries CEO Rob Rodin and RLH partners Chris Lewis and Ryan Smiley to its board of directors, joining Johnson and Razavi.
With the funding, RGM will work to grow all parts of its business, including adding sales, creative, product, and technology hires. The company now has 24 employees and is headquartered in Venice, Calif. With the funding, it expects to double headcount over the next nine months, expanding its offices in New York City, San Francisco, and San Diego, while opening a new office in Chicago.