LONDON and NEW YORK and EDINBURGH, Scotland, Feb. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Good-Loop – a global ad tech company that converts people’s attention to ads into donations to good causes – announced today it has closed a Series A round of $6.1M (£4.5M).
The funds will be used to accelerate the company’s product roadmap, including the development of new solutions aimed at reducing digital advertising’s substantial carbon footprint. The company also plans to expand its international teams, including opening new offices in New York and Chicago to serve its growing US markets that currently comprise 33% of total revenue.
The round was led by New York-based investment fund, Quaestus Capital Management (QCM), with additional backing from Scottish Enterprise, impact investor SIS Ventures, European ad tech fund First Party Capital and investment raised on the crowdfunding platform Seedrs – bringing total investment into the ad tech for good platform to $8.2M (£6m) since it was formed in 2016.
Good-Loop, a B Corporation that runs campaigns in over 18 markets around the world, is on a mission to make the connection between brands and consumers more meaningful by delivering respectful ads that have real social impact – while also driving significant business and brand uplift for advertisers.
The company’s unique ad formats motivate people to watch an entire ad online by allowing them to ‘unlock’ a free charitable donation at the end of each spot. This strategy allows advertisers to receive more meaningful brand engagement, while appealing to consumers’ goodwill by providing a cost-free means of philanthropy. This results in an average ad recall 4.5X higher than the industry standard. Designated charities receive 50% of ad revenue. Current clients include Unilever, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Levi’s, adidas, NBC Universal and Nike.
Good-Loop CEO Amy Williams, who founded the company alongside CTO Daniel Winterstein, said: “At the heart of our industry is an inherent value exchange between advertiser and consumer, and I’m on a mission to harness that value as a significant force for good. Through our respectful, positive ad platform, brands can treat people online as partners – rather than targets – united by a desire to have a meaningful social impact. Backing from industry experts like QCM and FirstPartyCapital, social impact investors and, indeed, the general public, will help to supercharge our growth whilst keeping us true to our values at every step along the way.”
Austin Davis, CEO at QCM said: “Good-Loop elevates advertising and conscious-minded business to an entirely new level and will become the industry Fairtrade Stamp. The business model solves many longstanding issues in the sector and is the paradigm shift that has been needed to regain consumer trust in transparent and ethical advertising that not only provides superior results to advertisers, but does it while making great contributions to the world through philanthropic giving. It is a win-win for all parties. Ultimately, Good-Loop proves doing good is truly good for business – it is not a trade-off. I’m genuinely honored to have led their Series A, and to be working with such an exceptional company and team.”
Good-Loop, which has offices in London and Edinburgh, has also launched a suite of solutions to help advertisers measure and offset the carbon cost of their digital ad campaigns, including its Carbon-Calculator and Green Ad Tag – a 1x1 tracking pixel that enables brands and agencies to track and offset the carbon cost of their digital advertising in real time.
Demand for Good-Loop’s ad programmatic solutions has grown 180% in the last 12 months, while its purpose-powered ad formats have also now raised more than $5M for charities around the world, including Save The Children, WaterAid, Feeding America and the WWF.
Supporting quotes
Rich Ashton, Managing Partner, FirstPartyCapital said: “We’re proud to be supporting Good-Loop, which is promoting brand responsibility and driving more transparent processes in the digital advertising industry, all while addressing the massive carbon footprint the sector is accountable for. We believe that Amy and the team will ultimately play a critical part in providing the media execution infrastructure for a cleaner, greener and more trustworthy adtech ecosystem, a vital step in ensuring our sector plays a valuable role in the movement against climate change.”
Kerry Sharp, Director of Growth Investments at Scottish Enterprise, said: “Scottish Enterprise is delighted to continue to support Good-Loop’s growth in Edinburgh with this most recent funding round that aids its US expansion, development of its advertising for good technology platform whilst also lowering carbon emissions across the digital advertising industry. It is fantastic to see a Scottish company innovating in the ethical marketing space on a global stage that will in turn also help other businesses to improve ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) credentials and also provide a valuable boost to many charities as Good-Loop grows too.
“This investment aligns with Scottish Enterprise’s net zero framework and digital scale-up national programme that is focussed on growing Scotland’s digital tech scale-ups and highlights the talent in Scotland’s digital economy as Good-Loop aims to disrupt advertising to create a virtuous business model and more inclusive economy.”
Rob Halliday, Senior Investment Manager, SIS Ventures, said: “As one of Good-Loop’s early investors, SIS Ventures has always believed in the company’s potential to deliver significant social impact through its disruptive advertising technology. Since starting up, progress has been impressive and Good-Loop is now remarkably well positioned for global growth and impact creation. It has been a real privilege sharing the journey with a first-class team and we’re excited to be part of the next chapter.”
Contact details
David Waterhouse, Communications Director
Good-Loop
Email: david@good-loop.com
About Good-Loop
Good-Loop is a purpose-powered ad tech platform that drives ad engagement by converting people’s attention into donations to good causes around the world.
The company, which has offices in London and Edinburgh, is on a mission to make the connection between brands and consumers more meaningful by delivering respectful ads that bring real social impact, while also driving significant business and brand uplifts for advertisers.
The company has raised more than $5M for charities such as Save the Children, WaterAid and GOSH. Clients include Unilever, Nestlé, Levi’s, Bose and H&M.
About QCM
Quaestus Capital Management (QCM) is a mission-driven, integrity-based private equity and venture capital firm that invests in purpose driven initiatives across asset classes. We apply a flexible approach to investing, while having a core focus on renewable power generation, sustainability, and tech enabled businesses that strive to make a positive social impact.
QCM invests in buyout, growth equity and venture opportunities that have revenue generating operations, commercialized, and proven technology and processes, generally at Series A and B. We look to invest where we can add value and provide industry relevant expertise and / or resources, while ultimately creating shared value for our investors, and all stakeholders; from the businesses we invest in, to the people they employ and humanity we collectively serve.
About Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is Scotland's national economic development agency. We’re committed to growing the Scottish economy for the benefit of all, helping create more quality jobs and a brighter future for every region. Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/scotent and https://twitter.com/ScotEntNews Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/scottish-enterprise/
About FirstPartyCapital
FirstPartyCapital is an operator-led VC fund that has quickly become the strategic investor of choice for early-stage AdTech, MarTech, and digital media businesses since launching in December 2020. The firm’s investor base includes hundreds of industry insiders, giving portfolio companies privileged access to a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and commercial opportunities. For more information, please visit: www.firstpartycapital.com
About SIS Ventures
SIS Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Social Investment Scotland (SIS), provides the tools and mission-aligned investment required to help early-stage businesses grow and deliver impact at scale. In return for investment, SIS Ventures seeks a mission lock – where the social and/or environmental mission of the organisation is locked into the Articles of Association and cannot be changed without consent. Launched in 2018 and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, SIS Ventures has already raised and deployed its first c.£1.3m Impact First EIS fundraise. It is currently deploying £5m Scottish Government funding into follow-on rounds of existing portfolio investee businesses as well as into new impactful business opportunities. https://www.sisventures.com/
