TargetSpot adds $8 million in equity financing

0

TargetSpot, the largest digital audio advertising network, closed $8 million in its third round of equity financing. This round was from Union Square Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, CBS Radio and Milestone Venture Partners. The funds will be used to fuel growth investments in TargetSpot’s ad technology and expand its network and sales force/support teams to better serve new and existing clients. Specifically, TargetSpot plans to enhance investments in targeting applications, analytics, and multi-platform consumer engagement.


Eyal Goldwerger, TargetSpot CEO, tells RBR-TVBR three or four years ago this was a very small market. “Today there are over 70 million internet radio consumers. With all of the efforts of being there early as a company, we are now beating all of our quarterly forecasts. We are now realizing what has happened in other types of digital media is now happening in a mainstream way in internet radio, and advertising on internet radio is also starting to become mainstream.”

He wants to use this money to capitalize on their early mover advantage and “double down” on their investment to superserve advertisers. This includes unique technologies to provide unique ways to target users, provide insights in analytics and reporting. “We will find new and efficient ways to take our access to streamed data and target users in new dimensions and ways that are currently not being done–enhancing insights about how users are engaging with our media and our messaging and providing new types of reporting and metrics to advertisers that say something not just about the results but what’s going on through the communication with the consumer. We are also going to be investing more in mobile technologies, which we have already started to work in this year. The understanding is as one goes from regular digital media, consumption of internet radio–just like any digital media–comes in infinitely flexible ways. Consumers are excited about their ability to access their personalized or preferred radio content provider–whether in the home, car, iPhone, or in their living room. So we want to make our digital audio formats to be available to all fomrats and devices and increase investment in unique ad formats as well.”

Adds Eric Ronning, TargetSpot Co-President/Sales: “There is a just a huge amount of pride in the the people that are here now–the way the market is responding to us, and that the idea that this was possible and now is being supported by people like Union Square and Bain. There is a great sense of confidence, pride and mission that everybody in this company shares today.”