MADISON, Wisc.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Networked Insights, developers of a marketing decision platform that helps companies use real-time data to optimize marketing, announced today that certain funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management are leading a $20 million Series B funding to further the company’s organic growth strategy and market position.
“With this round of funding, we are well positioned to challenge the future of marketing by introducing a decision-making platform that finally uncovers real audience interest and allows brands to sync with their customers,” said Dan Neely, CEO and co-founder of Networked Insights. “Many technologies claim to deliver insights that can guide marketing, but it’s not an intelligent use of social data to call something positive or negative -- or to merely monitor the results of a marketing campaign. Networked Insights applies the science of semantic analysis and machine learning to that data so brands can identify and invest in trends before they peak. The result is optimal marketing spend.”
Networked Insights is an established player in social analytics, informing $5 billion of media spend for companies like Samsung, MillerCoors, MTV Networks, Kraft and Starcom MediaVest. Founded in 2006, Networked Insights’ SocialSense platform analyzes social data to uncover trends and consumer engagement opportunities that allow brands to optimize marketing, advertising, research and product development. The company coined the term “Social Lift” to describe the engine that enables a brand to place the minimal effective amount of advertising needed to reach targeted audiences.
"The growing dependence on earned media requires robust marketing decision platforms capable of uncovering real-time data on consumer messaging, engagement and share of voice,” said Gaurav Bhandari, managing director at Goldman Sachs. “The inclusion of this type of data into marketing is growing rapidly, and we believe that Networked Insights is positioned to capitalize on this growth.”
Networked Insights’ seed round investors, including Kegonsa Capital Partners, were also invited to participate in this round. This latest capital brings the total amount of investor funding for the company to $30 million, and they plan to use the new funds to continue investments in machine learning technologies that will allow Networked Insights and its clients to customize audience development, provide increased fidelity in sentiment recognition and expand critical semantic analytic tools such as trending and prediction. Parallel investments will be made in the IT architecture to allow clients access to data and audiences in raw form, curated form or customized through Networked Insights’ tool sets, enabling clients to choose the level of social marketing analytics performed in-house.
“Competent marketers react to social data, but smart marketers are directed by it,” commented Brian Wallace, vice president of strategic marketing for Samsung, a Networked Insights customer. “That is why we have partnered with Networked Insights to optimize our marketing and media dollars and capture the true potential of social data. By moving beyond monitoring and sentiment, we have really started to increase the value of our media and advertising by delivering double digit efficiency across our entire spend.”
About Networked Insights
Networked Insights is transforming the way companies make marketing decisions. Our technology uncovers real audience interests that brands use to sync with their customers. The result is optimal marketing spend. Customers like MTV, Samsung, Kraft, RIM, MillerCoors, Group M, MediaBrands, Starcom and Mediavest use Networked Insights to help them improve media efficiency, reveal content opportunities and inform marketing decisions. Networked Insights has offices in New York, Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin. Please visit www.networkedinsights.com for more information.