Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT), an Irvine, CA-based provider of technology and services that enable celebrity endorsement and consumer engagement, has closed a $7.5m Series D funding.
The round was led by Matthew Pritzker Company, with participation from existing investors Miramar Venture Partners, Newport Coast Investments, RimLight, LLC, Fulcrum Venture Capital, and ad pepper media International.
This new round brings total funding to over $34m.
Founded in 2007 by Ryan and Chad Steelberg (CEO), Brand Affinity Technologies provides Fantapper, a celebrity endorsement and clearance platform that provides a one-stop endorsement and media clearance solution for marketers and advertisers. Launched in November 2010, Fantapper enhance the web browsing experience for consumers by providing real-time access to information about celebrities and athletes via proprietary apps and live Twitter and Facebook feeds, among others.
With over 4,000 signed athletes and celebrities, including a broad partnership with the MLB Players Association, the platform is used by market-leading brand advertisers and agency clients such as MLB Players Association, ESPN, Fox Sports, Sony Entertainment, USAA, Tostitos, Pine-Sol, Digitas, AKQA, and CBS Outdoor.
Today, BAT released Fantapper 2.0, which empowers users with the ability to actively collect, curate, and share both web content and life experiences, encompassing photos, videos, articles and files. Curated channels can be made public or kept private, accessible only to those invited to view and/or contribute. Everyone is empowered to crowd-curate on any event or interest.
The company intends to yse the funding to expand and grow the Fantapper service, while driving sales growth within its celebrity endorsement and clearance business.
FinSMEs
02/05/2012