North West digital fund makes third investment
THE North West Fund 4 Digital & Creative, managed by AXM Venture Capital, has joined private investor Joel Rosenblatt in forming a syndicate to take a minority stake in Lancaster-based Azullo.
Azullo builds web-based products such as its own online advertising platform Respond, which matches “contextually relevant” call to action buttons to content. The firm said it provides a simple way for publishers to earn new revenue, and for advertisers to increase conversions by letting customers click on an overlay.
The Lancaster-based company recently signed a partnership agreement with global performance marketing company TradeDoubler to deliver its technology to power advertising campaigns and affiliate programmes on behalf of TradeDoubler’s publisher network and advertisers.
Over 150 brands now run ad campaigns with Respond, including Nike, Disney, BT, Microsoft, British Airways and lastminute.com.
Azullo co-founder Guy Cookson said: “Respond provides a much needed alternative to existing forms of online display advertising.
“Respond works by contextually matching call to action buttons to relevant content across a network of quality publishers. (It) is as simple for publishers to add as the Facebook Like button or Google Adsense, it works on any site or blog, and works with any device.
“We’ve reached a point where there are huge opportunities for growth, so we felt the time was right to tap into the expertise, experience and resources offered by the team at AXM and Joel Rosenblatt.”
