By Carlo Versano
In the digital age, advertisers have more options to reach consumers online than ever before ー through social networks, native content, banner ads ー but their understanding of the effectiveness of digital ad campaigns has remained vague. Now, flush with $20 million in venture capital, Knotch is building a platform that it says will allow advertisers to see what works and where ー in real time.
Anda Gansca, co-founder and CEO of Knotch, calls her company a digital content intelligence platform. What that means, she said, is that Knotch delivers a one-stop shop for brands to analyze the performance and impact of their ad spend. Whether old-fashioned display ads or branded content, Knotch claims to be able to help companies understand how their campaigns are working across various channels, in part by surveying consumers directly, and analyzing what it calls "data signals" like behavioral data, conversion metrics, and engagement.
"We help brands understand the impact of their digital content efforts across literally every digital touchpoint," Gansca told Cheddar.
The Series B round brings the amount raised for the small firm to $34 million, which Gansca told Cheddar would be used to expand U.S. offices and build an international presence in the UK.
It could also spell bad news for digital agencies.
More brands are taking their advertising in-house, partially in response to tightening privacy regulations around the world, like the EU's GDPR and similar legislation pending in California. That trend helps Knotch function as a go-between to analyze consumer behavior, which Gansca said it can track, but doesn't own any of the data from which it gleans insights.
"We're the Switzerland of data," she said.
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