The North West Fund 4 Digital & Creative, managed by AXM Venture Capital Limited, has joined private investor Joel Rosenblatt in forming a syndicate to back Lancaster-based Azullo Limited, for a minority equity stake.
Azullo builds innovative web-based products, including its flagship product, Respond (www.respondhq.com), a unique online advertising platform. Respond matches contextually relevant call to action buttons to content, and delivers campaigns via an overlay. Respond provides a simple way for publishers to earn new revenue, and for advertisers to increase conversions.
The investment from The North West Fund for Digital and Creative, which is part of the £185m North West Fund financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), will support the company’s growth plans.
The Lancaster-based company recently signed a partnership agreement with global performance marketing company TradeDoubler to deliver its unique 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 commented: “Respond provides a much needed alternative to existing forms of online display advertising, which are increasingly ineffective due to ‘banner blindness’. Respond works by contextually matching call to action buttons to relevant content across a network of quality publishers.
“Respond 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.”
David Smith, Investment Director of AXM Venture Capital, added “We are delighted to have completed our third investment to support this dynamic and well regarded management team. Azullo is a high growth business with an innovative solution to a known problem in the market place, already aligned with major commercial partners.”
Andy Leach Chief Executive Officer for North West Business Finance said “Azullo represents an exciting investment for the North West Fund for Digital and Creative and is another valuable addition to the portfolio of growing SMEs that The North West Fund is building as part of a lasting investment legacy for the North West economy.”