UK, Manchester-based OfferMoments [1] has somehow managed to raise GBP 1.5m in a round led by Michael Edelson, a director at Manchester United FC.
Other investors include mobile industry veteran Paul Althasen, who founded MPC and sold it to Vodafone; and Apadmi Ventures, the investment arm of mobile technology group, Apadmi [2].
OfferMoments are telling people who will listen that they want to install screens on petrol forecourts – though it’s very hard to believe their claims that they will have over 2000 installed within a year.
Industry experts also know of course, that their claims of ‘personalised digital billboards powered by facial recognition and mobile data technology’ is actually nothing spectacular – with the the likes of Quividi, Admobilize and others having provided this technology to many better funded and better connected media owners for at least a decade now.
Abdul Alim, chief marketing officer of OfferMoments, said “This is a really exciting time for us as we continue to expand our offering and develop an innovative new OOH service, which we believe will transform the face of advertising as we know it. The investment will contribute to the ongoing development of the product and help us to successfully launch it to the market”.
Howard Simms, CEO of Apadmi Ventures, demonstrating that he knows nothing about the out of home industry said “OfferMoments is a truly revolutionary business that is constantly on the lookout for innovations that can disrupt the world of advertising.
“At Apadmi Ventures, we are dedicated to investing in technology businesses in the North that are set to completely disrupt their sectors. After hearing about OfferMoments’ unique business venture, we’re convinced that it is going to be a game-changer. We’re looking forward to working with the team and seeing what we can achieve together”.
The announcement of the investment stated that OfferMoments will use the money to launch a new product to market next month and we quote “details of the product launch are being kept under wraps, but developers say it will seek to disrupt the GBP 1bn outdoor advertising market” – that of course is highly unlikely – even if rumours are true that highly successful and well respected Esprit Digital are somehow involved in the ‘new’ product.