Private funding round supports deployment of interactive audio services to pure play and streaming radio providers
WASHINGTON – XAPPmedia, provider of the first interactive audio content and advertising service, announced it has received an additional $3.8 million in funding, bringing the total amount invested in the company to $6.8 million. The private investors who participated in the seed round also led the A1 funding round.
Many audio publishers were initially interested by the high CPM rates that XAPP Ads command, which are 4-5 times higher than other mobile ad units
With the new funding, XAPPmedia will continue to expand its interactive audio services to pure play and streaming radio providers. The previous funding was used to launch the industry’s first interactive audio advertising service with National Public Radio, extend the product capabilities to include voice-activated content discovery and app navigation services for Internet radio users, and to form a partnership with jacapps, which now offers XAPPmedia services to more than 300 radio stations streaming through its mobile app platform.
“Our new funding represents another vote of confidence in XAPPmedia’s ability to give consumers a voice and create instant connections with content, artists and brands through mobile audio apps. The funding is a strategic extension of our original seed round and will help to further expand our customer base and product capabilities,” said Pat Higbie, chief executive officer and co-founder of XAPPmedia.
“Many audio publishers were initially interested by the high CPM rates that XAPP Ads command, which are 4-5 times higher than other mobile ad units,” continued Higbie. “Given the industry’s economic challenges and competitive limits around ad load, a three-pronged strategy to increase listening hours, CPM rates and sell-through is widely seen as essential for growth and profitability. XAPPmedia helps Internet radio publishers with all three. More recently, we demonstrated new product capabilities to improve user experience around content discovery and app navigation that enable listeners to connect effortlessly with content and artists. Industry product managers have recognized the power of using voice engagement to improve user experience, since 79 percent of listening occurs when touch interaction is not possible. We are excited about leveraging this new funding to bring Interactive Audio Services to a broader audience of Internet radio listeners.”
About XAPPmedia
XAPPmedia™ is the leader in interactive audio services for advertising, content discovery and app navigation and is the first company to Give Consumers a Voice™ allowing instant, voice-activated connections with brands, artists and audio content through mobile apps. XAPP Ads, Content Discoveries and App Navigator services are effective even when audio consumers are ultramobile, which means they are listening but cannot interact with a mobile screen visually or by touch. The immediate voice conversion opportunity brings more value to advertisers and content producers and improves ad unit yield and user experience for audio app publishers. XAPPmedia was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Washington, DC.
via BusinessWire
