Zoove announced today that it has closed a $15 million round of Series D funding, led by new investor Panorama Capital. Existing investors also participating in the round included: Cardinal Venture Capital, Highland Capital Partners, and Worldview Technology Partners. Zoove will use the funds to further accelerate its operations as the exclusive provider of StarStar Numbers for the largest wireless operators in the United States, reaching more than 250 million people.
StarStar?
StarStar Numbers are branded vanity mobile phone numbers. They are used for marketing campaigns or ads. So its words that people when they want to call/push etc. a brand they simply dial the brands name on the keypad. But – as you would expect – before they do this they press ** (two stars or StarStar).
When they do this a call to action is made and a result is returned such as a barcode or short code or text message.
From the press release
“Zoove has tremendous potential to help brands and advertisers leverage their existing ad budgets to reach today’s on-the-go consumer,” said Shankar Chandran, Partner, Panorama Capital. “What excites us the most about StarStar Numbers are their simplicity and reach. Zoove’s exclusive relationship with the major U.S. wireless carriers means that it can deliver significant value to advertisers, mobile operators and consumers. We’re proud to invest in such an innovative company that solves such a fundamental market need.”
“Brands are looking for ways to engage and activate consumers in a simple, memorable and instant way that fits seamlessly into their day-to-day life,” said Joe Gillespie, CEO of Zoove. “Our value proposition is far broader than the so-called ‘mobile advertising’ category. It’s about enabling brands to create a direct response mechanism by appending a StarStar Number across all of their promotions. StarStar Numbers are about using their own brands to engage consumers instead of meaningless, unbranded QR codes or SMS short codes. We’ve seen tremendous interest by major brands and advertisers planning to use StarStar Numbers, and look forward to sharing more details in the near future.”
What we think?
Hmmm. This is interesting. On the one hand I thought the voice market couldn’t be utilised further. But then this comes along. You make a call and then you get content. Hmm.
I think that I like it. Its seems strange to ring for content but the value proposition is more than simple. On top of that the brand remains in control as the brand name is easy to remember and the feature of the StarStar service.
I wanted to know how much this cost as I thought this would be a barrier –but it seems as though it is the price of a phone call. Great if you have a flat rate – but this might get pricey on a pre-plan where you pay to call and you pay to receive the message.
But that is for the consumer. How much will it cost brands. I couldn’t find this out but it seems as though it could be pricey – yet no more pricier than another content campaign and I presume you would have the **(NAME) for life.
I wonder how they get this to work on a blackberry?