Gift Connect Announces $5.1 Million Funding for Innovative Gifting Platform
Data-Driven Advertising Network Announces $5.1 Million in Series B Funding from Hubert Burda Media To Expand Digital Advertising Technologies & Gift Inventory
NEW YORK, Nov. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Gift Connect, the first and largest performance-based advertising network centered around branded gifts, today announced the closing of Series B funding from Hubert Burda Media. The additional $5.1 million in capital will be used to support the company's growth by expanding the development of its unique data analytics product suite, revenue driving capabilities, and marketing and sales initiatives.
Gift Connect, formerly known as AllStar Deals, delivers value to both brand and publisher partners while also serving their consumer base with engaging and desirable content through "gift-izing." Redefining the way that brands reach their desired consumer, the advertising platform leverages media agencies, celebrity talent, and publisher networks as partners to distribute digital gifts from brands through any form of advertising media including: digital, print, broadcast, live event signage, social, and mobile. Its unique product suite, including digital applications, plug-ins, and back-end data marketing tools, is aimed at delivering revenue through product purchases by consumers, raising brand awareness across social media, providing detailed analysis of customer demographics, and offering real time reporting on campaign data. Through their unique analytics engine, Gift Connect offers deep, real time analysis of 75 million consumer data sources daily—interpreting media value, consumer preference and intent in order to provide a quantitative analysis for sponsorship and advertising opportunities.
"We're thrilled to be announcing this financial backing to aggressively expand our services and capabilities," said CEO & Founder Mark Levin. "Gift Connect represents a new stage in the evolution of e-commerce and advertising. Our platform, e-commerce applications, and innovative advertising solutions are all built on the idea that advertising messages can be directly translated into sales and earned media—simply by adding a little extra incentive for the end user: a free gift."
Hubert Burda Media is one of the largest publishers and leading consumer-internet companies in the world. The financial alliance will allow Gift Connect to expand its technology platform and marketing sales initiative. "Gift-izing is a new value proposition that will allow advertisers to form a distinctly different type of relationship with their consumers. We're looking forward to being a part of their future," said Andreas Schilling, CEO of BCN, Burda's marketing company.
Gift Connect has already cultivated an extensive media network of vertical influencers resulting in more than $100 million dollars in gift inventory available for consumers, with participating merchants such as Uber, Duracell PowerMat, and Getty Images (Photos.com). With a market penetration that provides six times the average conversion rate for social media promo code campaigns, helping to yield a 600% ROI to brands, the company has already executed several successful initiatives with top-tier brands such as Under Armour, Papa John's Pizza, and FTD Companies, Inc. Additionally, the company has signed partnerships with the top ten talent agencies, including CAA and IMG, and has secured Ryan Schinman, Chairman of Platinum Rye Entertainment and David Falk, CEO & Founder of sports agency FAME, for their advisory board.
To learn more about Gift Connect, visit www.giftconnect.co.
About Gift Connect
Founded in 2011 by a team of entrepreneurs and tech industry veterans, Gift Connect is a genre defining platform for brand advertising. Gift Connect uses a robust inventory of brand gifts to redefine the traditional advertiser-publisher model. Through their concept of "Gift-izing", brands and publishers can reach their consumers and influence desired actions by offering a no-strings-attached gift within their ad units.
About Hubert Burda Media
Responsible for over 400 print and digital consumer brands, Hubert Burda Media is one of Germany's largest media groups. With a strong focus on its digital portfolio and the international media market, it has been growing for several years. Innovation is the driving force behind the organization, which is building on its original roots and values as a family-owned company. It publishes more than 320 magazines around the globe. Burda holds stakes in successful, expanding Internet companies that include e-commerce and marketing platforms, as well as rating and agency portals, alongside its holdings in social media sites. Burda has 165 million users, approximately 40 million paying consumers and 43,000 advertisers. Its commercial success is powered by some 10,000 employees around the world: Burda is active in 19 markets, above all in Germany, Europe, Asia and the United States. www.hubert-burda-media.com
Chelsea Sanders
212-691-2800
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To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gift-connect-announces-51-million-funding-for-innovative-gifting-platform-300000376.html
SOURCE Gift Connect
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