Target Data Raises $1 Million from Facebook Investor

by Amina Elahi
August 15, 2012

Moving is a stressful process for the people doing it, certainly, but also for the marketers trying to reach them at that time. Target Data is a marketing solutions company that’s built its business on using big data and analytics to reach people in the pre-moving stage. Their objective is to make it easier for marketers to reach those peoplefrenzied though they may bebefore they move. Their just-announced round of funding, $1 million from Bay Area firm Western Technology Investments (WTI), is a vote of confidence that they’re doing something right.

[ibimage==18358==Medium==none==self==ibimage_align-left]Last spring, Target Data raised $3 million in a round led by Apex Venture Partners. "We will use the new funds to continue to invest in world class talent, specifically analytics and marketing strategy positions,” said president and CEO Ross Shelleman. “We will also use the funds to launch a new digital offering where we will work with third parties to translate our offline data to online data for targeted display advertising.”

For marketers, movers are a valuable audience. Not only are they looking for a number of services as they pack up one home and head to another, they are also in the market for lots of new goods to stock their new abodes. Their struggle is getting their messages in front of people before they move, and that’s where Target Data comes in.

According to Shelleman, Target Data handles the heavy lifting by providing its clients tons of data
that’s the easy partbut the challenge arises when teaching clients how to leverage that data best. For those in the pre-moving space, though, Target Data is the place to turn. “Our real strength has evolved over time to become not just the provider of data but to be the experts in how to develop complex marketing strategies using the data,” Shelleman said.

WTI was founded in 1980 and, since then, has dealt out over $3 billion in debt and equity capital to tech and life science companies. Previous investments include Facebook and Google and, well, we know how those turned out. What does that mean to Shelleman (aside from being flattering)?

“We are playing a different game than pure digital companies such as Facebook and Google,” he said. “I think what it should tell people is that offline is certainly not dead and that you will continue to see a merger of both worlds.”

Visit Target Data’s website, check out their BIC company profile and follow them on Twitter at @targetdatacorp.

Jobs at Target Data

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