A Los Angeles-area startup called Zadspace is moving its headquarters to Norwalk as it builds its business slapping targeted ads on boxes shipped by UPS, FedEx and other carriers.
The move was prompted in part by Zadspace attracting $3.2 million in new funding, with investors including the Connecticut Innovations Inc. venture capital fund, which operates under the umbrella of the state Department of Economic and Community Development and Wilton-based Cava Capital.
Zadspace said Norwalk was also a draw for its significant cluster of direct marketing companies. The company named Jeff Giordano as interim CEO. In addition to his role as an adviser with Cava Capital, previously he was chairman of the Arlington, Va.-based Electronic Retailing Association.
Giordano takes the role of CEO from Todd Outten, co-founder of Zadspace who previously worked with Sony Pictures and Industrial Light & Magic, among other entertainment conglomerates.
The company”™s other co-founder James Ho previously was an engineering consultant for National TeleConsultants, a company with offices in California and New York City that advises broadcast companies and others on facility design and technical equipment. Among other clients, Ho worked on projects for Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and Bristol-based ESPN.
Other investors included Cava Capital, Crosscut Ventures, DFJ Frontier, the Gideon Hixon Fund, and David Zucker. Zadspace has raised more than $6 million to date.
The company”™s “zads” are printed on demand in the warehouse and affixed only to boxes that that have recipients that meet an advertisers”™ targeting criteria. Zadspace”™s customers to date have included the Optimum business of Cablevision, the dominant cable television provider in lower Fairfield County.
“Today”™s advertisers are looking for cost-effective, measurable media to deliver personalized messages to consumers,” Geoff Schneider, lead partner of Cava Capital, said in a statement. “Of all the advertising networks we”™ve encountered over the past few years, Zadspace represents the best combination of an exciting new medium with obvious advantages for the entire value chain in an era where postal rates are ever-increasing and (return on investment) is paramount.”
Zadspace matches ads to specific consumer demographics ”“ as an example, the company cites the example of an advertiser who wants to reach women between the ages of 26 and 35 who live in the Northeast and who own a cat. With other services, that might mean a company buys the regional list for a women”™s magazine or an online women”™s shoe retailer. And it might also mean an advertiser jettisons some of its marketing budget on older women or those who don”™t own a pet at all.
Zadspace”™s software searches its distribution network and selects individual packages being delivered to customers matching the exact criteria. Those are the only packages that get zads, guaranteeing companies pay only for a strong match ”“ and providing the likelihood that the recipient is motivated to receive the package, given that they likely paid money for whatever is inside.
And clients get specific tracking information on the ads that have been delivered, via carriers”™ own sophisticated tracking systems.
“Advertising is rapidly shifting toward highly personalized, time-sensitive, and relevant placements,” said Peter Longo, president of Connecticut Innovations. “Zadspace”™s clever approach dovetails dynamic targeting technology with a unique physical placement and delivery mechanism. The results to date have been extremely impressive.”
