Dublin-headquartered mobile marketing player Brandtone raises €14m

13 Jan 2014

Mobile marketing player Brandtone has closed its third round of funding with an investment of €14m from Unilever Ventures, Verlinvest and agri-business Syngenta.

The investment will help the company grow its global reach with new offices opening in New York and Jakarta.

The company said growth in the 10 fastest-growing markets it targets will account for 75pc of client revenue by the end of this decade.

The investment will be used to support mobile marketing campaigns for existing clients, such as Univlever, Mondelez and Pepsico, as well as working with Syngenta to engage with rural smallholders in more innovative ways.

“Brandtone’s success to date has been underpinned by committed support from Unilever and Verlinvest, and we are delighted to welcome Syngenta on board,” explained CEO Donald Fitzmaurice.

Fitzmaurice grew the business from one market in 2010 to 10 today.

“Mobile offers a way for our clients to engage responsibly and sustainably with consumers in the fastest-growing markets and, together with Syngenta, we are excited about exploring the possibilities this offers in the agricultural sector.”

The investment will also focus on new areas of growth in the smartphone world, including engaging in more innovative ways with farmers in China, India, south-east Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

“Brandtone’s unique mobile solutions will help Syngenta meet the ambitious commitments outlined in our Good Growth Plan,” said Syngenta’s global head of business development Robert Berendes.

“This includes reaching 20m smallholder farmers to help them increase their farming productivity by 50pc without further depleting scarce land, water and energy resources,” Berendes said.

Mobile marketing Africa image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com