Emdigo raises $1.1M for mobile app marketing

The company gets support from Javelin Venture Partners

The mobile app ecosystem has provided a whole new world of possibilities for entrepreneurs looking to create the next Big Thing (Big Thang?). But with so many new businesses trying to cash in on the exodus out of stand-alone websites to mobile apps, a startup's golden idea can easily get lost in the scramble. Enter Emdigo: a company that markets your mobile app and makes it easy for users to download the app on whatever device they own (tablet, smartphone, PC, etc.) with one click, rather than searching for your app on each device separately. Emdigo announced Tuesday that it has raised $1.1 million in a round of financing led by Javelin Venture Partners, bringing the startup's total raised to more than $7 million.

Emdigo's GET IT platform was launched in October 2010 to help startups cut through the mobile app noise to attract and engage users both online and off. The GET IT solution uses a Web button that takes users to a page where they can enter their mobile phone number and the device(s) that they're using to get the app sent directly to their phone and/or tablet. The service utilizes interactive ads, email, Facebook, QR code, and even shortcode for print and TV ads. 

The beauty of the GET IT button is that it works the same way the App Store does, in that once a user creates an account, his/her information is on file and ready to go the next time he/she wants to download another app using GET IT. This looks like a pretty attractive solution to the recent catastrophe brought on by Apple's recently announced subscription billing system, which takes a 30% cut and prohibits app publishers from offering lower prices elsewhere. Nor does the new system allow publishers to redirect users to a site outside of the App Store to purchase the app. 

This probably wouldn't be such a big deal if users didn't already have an incentive to purchase apps in the App Store over an outside site. Since their billing information is already on file in the App Store, users are more likely to go the one-click route than use an outside billing service that will require their billing information all over again. But GET IT could offer a handy alternative to the App Store by simplifying both the downloading and payment processes into one easy click (doesn't really solve the problem of updates or subscription renewals later on...). But the solution has drawn some big names, including EA, CNET, and CBS.

“As the major mobile ecosystems battle for consumer mindshare, marketers and content providers will find it increasingly difficult to guide their mobile audiences to the right version of their advertised content,” said Noah Doyle, managing partner at Javelin Venture Partners, in a prepared statement.  “We invested in Emdigo because GET IT makes this complex situation seem amazingly simple from both the content provider’s and the consumer’s perspective."

The company has its roots in innovation: CEO Christopher Tanner created the technology behind Google Earth, in addition to being the founder and chief architect at Intrinsic Graphics, where he worked on the Intrinsic Alechemy video game platform. 

Steve Gleitsmann, president of Emdigo, said in an email that the company plans to use the new funds to gain more exposure for its platform and ramp up hiring this year. 

Image source: Emdigo.com