Start-up Dotomi, a developer of interactive messaging over advertising space, today announced that it raised $5 million from the US Venture Partners fund, one of the largest funds in the United States.
According to Tamir Koch, Dotomi’s CEO, the money raised will be used to establish a branch in US and will also help accelerate launch of the pilot as well as the sales and marketing activity that will follow it.
Founded in 2000, Dotomi has developed a direct communication channel for relationship marketing between corporations and their customers, via the Internet and interactive TV. The technology enables brands and corporations to send personal messages to clients who have opted-in for the service, creating a highly focused, permission-based marketing channel, the company says.
The messages are sent directly from Dotomi’s marketing and CRM systems, and are placed on the advertising spaces on the web, replacing current advertising banners.
Dotomi plans to cooperate with leading players in the American Internet, as well as with international brands, to market its platform in US.
Dotomi launched its service in the Israeli market in October 2002, and to date over 50 companies and brands have been using of its marketing activities. Dotomi said it was already providing services to El Al, Orange, American Express, Burger King, Holiday Inn Hotels, Isracard, Blockbuster, AIG, Avis, UMI (General Motors), Tower Records, Steimatzky, Bank Hapoalim, Yes, Barak 013, and others.
"Over 75,000 surfers have registered to receive Dotomi’s personal marketing messages, creating some quarter of a million existing and potential customer records for the different companies, in a process which is growing on a continuous and daily basis", says Koch.
According to Eyal Schiff, the inventor of Dotomi’s concept and the company’s business development manager, the new marketing channel created by Dotomi has proved its effectiveness, with a high percentage of response to the marketing messages that it sends out.
"Companies using the Dotomi service report response rates of 15% and more in the utilization of coupons and benefits by registered users, and over 10% average click rate on personal banners," Schiff said.
US Venture Partners general partner Magdalena Yesil said, “The unique concept of permission marketing created by Dotomi, and the fact that the company has in fact invented a new and advanced standard for direct marketing, led us to invest in the company.”
“The results to date have proved to us that there is considerable potential for Dotomi’s new communications channel. We believe that in the American market, which is characterized by a very high degree of awareness of direct marketing and long term customer loyalty, the results will be most impressive," Yesil stated.
US Venture Partners’ venture capital fund was founded in 1981, and since its inception has raised over $2.5 billion through eight funds. To date, the company has invested over $1.1 billion in more than 271 companies. The firm’s funds have invested in Sun Microsystems, Check Point (Nasdaq: CHKP), Actelis Networks, SanDisk, and many other companies.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on 24 June, 2003