INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vibenomics, a location-based Audio Out-of-Home advertising and experience company, today announced it has raised $6 million in Series A funding to further its momentum in the advertising market. The round was led by BIP Capital and brings total company funding to $13.5 million. The funds will largely support the expansion of convenience stores and grocery retailers in the Vibenomics Audio OOH™ Advertising Marketplace.
By combining licensed, background-music playlists and commercial spots paid for by brand advertisers, Vibenomics helps businesses with physical locations enhance store sales, enrich the customer experience and receive a share of advertisement revenue. The company enables brands to talk to shoppers directly at the point-of-sale inside thousands of retail locations through Audio OOH advertising, impacting immediate purchase decisions.
“Our team is pioneering programmatic Audio OOH media and has emerged as a resounding success story of how a traditional ad medium committing to digital transformation can achieve significant growth in both revenue and share of ad spend,” said Brent Oakley, co-founder and CEO of Vibenomics. “We will use this Series A investment to accelerate product development and scale go-to-market execution, building on the momentum we’ve already seen in only a short period of time.”
According to a recent study by MAGNA, listeners are 35% more receptive and open to audio ads than viewers. Built for both location-based businesses and advertisers, Vibenomics has reached incredible scale at a rapid pace. The company has added over 100 brand advertisers in more than 4,000 locations across 48 states — reaching over 150 million people — and provides a vehicle for retailers to monetize their private, physical-location airwaves to transform a legacy expense into a new profit center.
“Vibenomics is a fresh new way to reach shoppers at the point of making purchase decisions,” said Paul Iaffaldano, chief investment officer at BIP Capital. “It has an amazing effect on both impulse items and brand preference within competitive categories.”
In addition to the funding, Vibenomics recently welcomed several key brands to its customer base, including convenience store chain Kwik Trip, and additional national retailers being announced in Q2.
“When Vibenomics approached the Kwik Trip team, the technology and revenue model was something I’ve never seen in this space before,” said Mark Meisner, Director of Marketing and Advertising at Kwik Trip. “We typically see 8 million or more transactions a week in our stores and, with that amount of ears and eyes, we have a unique opportunity to impact buying choices. When I first took a deep dive into the Vibenomics model, I saw the potential to offset costs to the stores for in-store music and potentially generate ad revenue. The model itself made sense to me and the technology was clean as far as installation and logistics. Vibenomics has been a great partner in accommodating our business needs.”
To learn more about Vibenomics, visit https://www.vibenomics.com.
About Vibenomics:
Vibenomics, Inc. is a location-based Audio Out-of-Home™ advertising and experience company that powers audio channels for retailers, giving brands the ability to talk to shoppers directly at the point of sale. With its powerful cloud-based technology, licensed background music library, data integration capabilities, full-service team of audio experience experts, and network of on-demand professional voice talent, the company provides the right revenue-enhancing vibe for over 100 advertisers in more than 4,000 locations across 48 states, reaching over 150 million people.
Delivered through flexible plug-and-play mobile tablet devices, Vibenomics dynamically broadcasts hyper-targeted, in-stream audio advertisements and curated playlists within any combination of locations across its swiftly growing national footprint, unlocking a powerful new shopper marketing channel for reaching consumers during the critical final footsteps along the path to purchase. Through a first-of-its kind partner program, retailers can receive a portion of revenue for all advertisements sold by Vibenomics that play within their locations, giving them the ability to monetize their private airwaves and transform a legacy expense into a new profit center.
About BIP Capital:
BIP Capital is recognized as one of the most active venture investors in the Southeast, serving entrepreneurs, investors, and operators to grow the emerging company ecosystem. It applies experience and process to make investment decisions and operational recommendations, allowing its portfolio companies to achieve and stay on a glide path of growth. Areas of focus include Enterprise SaaS, Healthcare IT, Digital Media, Dev Tools, and MarTech.
