Geo-targeted ad network transforming maps into revenue generating properties
Lat49, a geo-contextual advertising network, has raised C$1.5 million in Series A financing led by PenderFund Capital Management, with participation from existing investors including Discovery Capital.
The Vancouver-based company serves both advertisers and publishers alike.
For advertisers, lat49 basically lets them choose which region of the map they’d like to place their ad on (New York, San Francisco, etc), and then gives them the option of ad size, map zoom in level, and interactivity options.
On the publisher's end, if they are running a map-based site, lat49 offers an API, which it says works with all of the major map providers (Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth to name a few.) Publishers are given the option of which ads and sizes they’d like to run on their maps and from there, share revenue with lat49. The payment plan doesn’t seem all that great though – lat49 pays 30 days after the end of each calendar month if earned balance is greater than $100. Some featured publishers include Topix, SFGate, Trails.com and Hotpads.
“Contextual advertising - advertising that is driven by location awareness, is the cornerstone of most web and almost all mobile consumer interactions,” believes John McEwen, CEO of Discovery Capital.
If lat49 can really build and span out this technology, perhaps jump into mobile and take advantage of all the new GPS enabled devices out there, I’d say the company has a bright future ahead of it.
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Lat49 is the online mapvertising system that brings geographically relevant advertising to users of online maps.
Lat49 for Advertisers
Lat49 is a new mapvertising system that finally enables advertisers to reach the enormous number of people who use online, interactive mapping technologies such as MapQuest, Google Maps, and the long tail of "map mashups". From Fortune 500 companies to special interest map mashups, the use of online, interactive maps has and will continue to experience explosive growth.Put Your Brand on the Map
Lat49 puts your ad right where you know the user is looking — on the map. As users travel to different regions on lat49's partner map sites, your geo-targeted ad appears where it matters to your business. Your lat49 ad provides users with locally relevant, interactive map content. There is no competition for the user's attention. You own every block or region of the map that you buy — and you own it across a worldwide network of map sites that cater directly to your target market. To learn more about our publisher network, visit our featured publisher page.Geo-target Like Never Before!
With lat49, you can buy parcels of land at multiple zoom levels to suit the goals of your advertising campaign. Build your regional branding campaign by owning the map's most zoomed out views. Or, finely tune your messaging to target the local street, neighborhood, or urban level audiences. Action oriented or branding focused... lat49 offers a variety of ad formats to accommodate your needs.