Launches Search Retargeting Option for Advertisers and Agencies Buying Search Data and Media

NEW YORK – June 16, 2010 – Magnetic (magnetic.is), the leader in search retargeting, today announced total venture capital investment of $5.25 million. The Series A $4 million round was led by Charles River Ventures, Ron Conway and NYC Investment Fund. Previous investors including Founder Collective and IA Capital Partners also participated in the latest financing. Magnetic will leverage new capital to further build its core search re-targeting technology and expand with new solutions for advertisers and marketers that bring synergy to display media and search data. With this latest investment, Magnetic has the resources to push forward on its mission to make search re-targeting easy for all types of media buyers.

Magnetic also unveiled a new option for advertisers to buy display media targeted with search data to reach consumers anywhere on the purchase funnel online. Magnetic can now run search retargeted campaigns for advertisers and agencies. Advertisers have full control of search keywords used for targeting audience intent during a campaign and also what type of media to serve the ad. Magnetic buys media from ad networks and demand side platforms (DSP), who also continue to buy data from Magnetic to serve advertisers. Magnetic’s deeper integration with partners gives it access to a wide range of inventory through premium sites and through ad exchanges. Its data marketplace remains open for the general online advertising ecosystem, where data buyers continue to apply search data to reach customers most likely to purchase.

“From the many ad technology companies we evaluate, Magnetic stands out from the rest because of its larger vision for the potential of search data. As advertisers struggle to couple display media with search, no one else has been able to apply this for the wider online ad ecosystem,” said Saar Gur, partner, Charles River Ventures. “While others are content to let the SEM spend stay within the search engines, Magnetic has created a powerful technology to harness search data outside the search engine environment.”

By coupling quality media inventory from its partners with search audience data, Magnetic is creating a powerful combination. Advertisers can build brands with target audiences when it counts, when customers are in purchase mode. Magnetic maximizes the efficiency of media by serving ads on brand name publishers only when people are searching for products. Because display campaigns on top quality media command higher CPMs, Magnetic offers an affordable and easy way to conduct brand marketing by only buying media with target customers who have expressed intent to buy.

“Online marketing is confusing for some advertisers, as well as digital and SEM agencies, and a few will want to work with Magnetic directly to target media with search data. This will drive revenue back to our ad network and DSP data buyers, from which we now buy media,” said Josh Shatkin-Margolis, CEO and founder of Magnetic. “A majority of advertisers will still buy directly from ad networks, DSPs and publishers, and we want to make sure marketers have a choice. No matter what the channel, we want to make it easy for any advertiser to run search re-targeting campaigns.”

As an added benefit, Magnetic’s offering gives search engine marketers and agencies an easy entry into display advertising. With search engine marketers understanding how to buy keywords, they can work with Magnetic to manage keywords and buy media with search data through one channel. Magnetic offers more branding and marketing options with search re-targeting than are possible with traditional SEM on the major search engines.

Magnetic has pioneered the practice of search re-targeting – using search as the key indicator of intent and reaching audiences outside of the search engine while they are in the purchase funnel. It operates the fastest growing search data marketplace with more than 270 million profiles. Its advanced self-service interface and algorithms makes it easy for display advertisers to work with search data, exposing the full power of SEM to the wider online ad ecosystem.

About Magnetic
Magnetic™ makes search retargeting easy. The Magnetic data marketplace empowers advertisers and publishers to use search data as the key indicator of intent and re-target campaigns to the most relevant audience online. With more than 270 million search profiles, Magnetic significantly lifts the value of media and improves campaign performance. Magnetic’s advanced technology provides the largest payment to search data providers. It is the search data partner of choice for more than 90 leading agencies, ad networks and DSPs. Magnetic is headquartered in New York, funded by investors including Charles River Ventures, Ron Conway, NYC Investment Fund, Roger Ehrenberg of IA Capital, Founder Collective and NYC Seed. For more information visit:https://magnetic.is/

Magnetic Contact:

Laura Fischer

Magnetic