As the Internet is getting faster, with everything coming and going in real-time, advertising is playing catch-up. DataXu (said like “data zoo”), an advertising startup that optimizes ads in real time, today announced $11 million in funding to continue doing just that.
DataXu’s mission is to optimize the placement of ads on the Web, in real time. Its algorithm considers more than 100 factors for every single impression an ad gets, from time of day to context, and from buyer intent to ideal ad size. By selling individually optimized impressions, DataXu thinks it can create a higher return on investment for advertisers.
Whether advertisers are looking for buys, clicks, or some other action, DataXu optimizes ad placements for them. Companies provide information to DataXu to inform how DataXu places their ad initially, but the longer the ad runs, the more information DataXu gets to operate. If an ad for your shampoo gets more clicks on a women’s blog in mid-afternoon on a Sunday, DataXu starts to push your ad to similar sites in a similar way.
Pricing is similarly fluid: as an ad space becomes more valuable to you, you pay more for it. The flip side, of course, is that advertisers are no longer overpaying for the ads that bring no return, because DataXu filters those out. DataXu also provides reports for advertisers of the factors that most influenced the performance of their ad, which is potentially invaluable information for companies looking to continue to advertise on various media.
DataXu works with the biggest advertising platforms –- Google and Yahoo –- as well as a number of other providers. That means companies that already use one or more ad networks don’t have to switch, but can just plug DataXu into their existing stream. Other advertising startups have followed a similar model, like Clickable, but DataXu’s goal is more robust, working across the entire Web rather than just in search results.
The trouble with advertising, whether online or elsewhere, is that the effect is so hard to measure -– you spend millions to get a Super Bowl ad, and who knows if it worked or not? DataXu, newly flush with cash, is definitely trying to find out.
DataXu is based in Boston, MA, and launched at TechCrunch50 in 2009. The new round was led by Menlo Ventures.