Global marketing technology company BrightTag has announced a $27 million round of funding led by Yahoo Japan.
The Chicago-based 2009-founded firm, which helps its clients to collect, connect and act on cross-channel customer data in real time, has secured nearly $30 million in the round which was led by the search engine giant.
In an expanded partnership, Yahoo Japan will use BrightTag’s newly patented Fuse technology to power its new data management platform offering. BrightTag Fuse is a real-time data integration solution that enables the Yahoo Japan to leverage live data about customer activities across channels.
Corporate officer/ head of marketing solutions at Yahoo Japan, Osamu Aranami, said the move will enable marketers in Japan to unlock more value from their data and execute highly relevant campaigns that are immediately responsive to customers’ interests and behaviours, both online and offline.
BrightTag will also use the funds to accelerate the development of its patented technology and grow its sales efforts in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the US.
President and CEO of BrightTag, Mike Sands, said: “Turning big data into immediately actionable knowledge is the holy grail for marketers in Japan and around the world.
“Yahoo Japan is at the forefront of helping marketers better understand, segment and target their audiences in complex ways that make their campaigns more effective and efficient.”
Yahoo Japan, which is the world’s tenth largest internet company, will launch the world’s first real-time, cross-channel DMP to help brand marketers and agencies leverage the mountain of customer data it is sitting on.
While brands have access to big data through their websites, mobile apps, social media channels, call centres and brick-and-mortar locations, most lack the ability to use that data in real-time to deliver more relevant, impactful marketing.
The BrightTag Fuse technology, which was patented last month, is a real-time data integration solution that will allow the new Yahoo Japan DMP to leverage live data about customer activities across channels and connect it with multiple media products offered by Yahoo Japan and its partners.
Since the inception of the company, BrightTag has achieved 300% percent year-over-year growth every year and is on pace to do so again in 2014.
Investors who participated in the new financing, included Baird Capital, EPIC Ventures, I2A, Pritzker Group Venture Capital and TomorrowVentures.