itvt

–Secures $10 Million in Series B Funding Round
–Names Steven J. Heyer Vice Chairman, Jim Anderson SVP of Engineering
–Creates Social Video Services for Chick-fil-A, Meijer

Vitrue, the user-generated advertising/marketing company that was formed in 2006 by ex-Tandberg Television president, Reggie Bradford, has closed a $10 million Series B funding round. The round was led by Dace Ventures, and saw the participation of existing investors, Comcast Interactive Capital, Turner Broadcasting and General Catalyst Partners (note: the latter provided most of the funding for Vitrue’s launch). Dace Ventures founder and managing partner, David Andonian, has taken a seat on Vitrue’s board of directors. Vitrue, whose customers to date include Procter & Gamble, TBS, VH1 and Cincinnati Bell, specializes in creating branded, video-focused social media sites that invite consumers to create, edit and submit videos and other content. It provides brands with a "Review and Approve Module," which it claims allows them to "employ their own brand safety standards" for any content posted by consumers. "We at Dace Ventures have been diligently reviewing the online marketing and social media spaces in order to make investments in capital-efficient technology businesses that are headed for success, and we’re very excited to make this highly strategic investment," Dace’s Andonian said in a prepared statement. "Reggie is an entrepreneur with a proven track record, having built several successful companies throughout his career, and Vitrue has already assumed a leadership position in video-centric social media."

In other Vitrue news:

• The company has appointed Steven J. Heyer as vice chairman. Heyer, an investor in the company, is a well-known, though controversial, figure in the marketing world. Last year, he resigned as CEO of hotel company, Starwood, after he was accused of sexual harassment (he denies the accusations). According to Vitrue, while at Starwood, he presided over a "remarkable turnaround that helped the company more than double its market cap via innovative marketing and sales initiatives." Prior to his stint at Starwood, he served as president and COO of Coca-Cola; and, prior to that, as president and COO of Turner Broadcasting System and as a member of AOL Time Warner’s Operating Committee. While at TBS, he oversaw the launch of 14 new television networks, and led efforts to expand the company’s Internet presence, including the launches of 19 Web sites in multiple languages. His resume also includes stints as president and COO of Young & Rubicam and as managing partner at Booz Allen & Hamilton. "Vitrue is at the center of the next phase of marketing collaboration that is already underway, with major brands embracing consumer creativity and establishing mutually beneficial, one-to-one relationships," Heyer said in a prepared statement. "In a very short time, Vitrue has clearly positioned itself as the leader and innovator in video-centric social media. This dynamic company has wonderful assets and talented people, and is highly analogous to my work helping Turner embrace the power of the cable and the Internet more than a decade ago. Collaboratively, we will work to make Vitrue and video-centric social media a major part of every company’s marketing mix."
• The company has appointed Jim Anderson as SVP of engineering and product development. According to the company, Anderson has an extensive background in consumer Internet technology and in fostering in-company collaboration between development and sales-and-marketing teams. At Vitrue, he is tasked with implementing "the next generation" of the company’s "video-centric social media products and services." He joins the company after a decade at ISP, EarthLink, where he served most recently as VP of product development and where his responsibilities included leading application development, core infrastructure, QA and other teams focused on the company’s consumer-facing applications. Prior to his stint at EarthLink, he was an engineering consultant, working with such companies as Procter & Gamble and Georgia-Pacific. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
• Fast food chain, Chick-fil-A, has tapped the company to power a new, social-media Web site (chick-fil-a.com/biggestfan) that is centered on a video contest to find "the Biggest Chick-fil-A Fan." According to Vitrue, the site, which is designed to encourage the public to engage more closely with the Chick-fil-A brand, offers a suite of tools that enables consumers to create and submit videos and other content: Chick-fil-A enthusiasts are being invited to submit a video of up to a minute in length that "creatively pleads their case as to why they believe they are the brand’s most passionate fan." The deadline for submitting videos is January 15th, and the grand prize winner will receive 40 months of free Chick-fil-A "Combo Meals." Vitrue says it worked with online consulting firm, The Foundry Agency, on the development of the new site, which launched on November 13th with a video in which Chick-fil-A president and COO, Dan Cathy, appealed to fans of the chain’s food to submit their videos. The site employs Vitrue’s "Review and Approve Module," allowing Chick-fil-A to screen videos before they are posted.
• The company says that Meijer, a "big-box" retailer that operates 181 locations in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky, has tapped it to develop a "long-term, video-centric solution" that will "power the company’s social media presence." Vitrue and Meijer say they will develop online communities that encourage customers to upload their own videos about the retailer, and that these communities will be used for multiple campaigns throughout the coming year. The first such community to launch is dubbed meijerbrand.com, and invites customers to create and share videos illustrating their experiences with Meijer’s store-brand products: participants are currently being asked to submit short videos that recount how a Meijer product has changed their life, for a chance to win around $11,000 in prizes. "Our partnership with Vitrue helps us embrace our customers in a new way and harness their creativity to make our relationships even stronger," Mark Brewster, Meijer’s manager of broadcast planning/production and video services, said in a prepared statement.

Originally published January 14, 2008 in Issue 7.58A
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