OwnerIQ - Ownership Targeted Media
BOSTON, MA, October 30,2007- OwnerIQ, the first company to deliver customized, ownership-targeted media programs, today announced it has received $2 million in funding from Atlas Venture, CommonAngels and the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation. The company operates a network of Web sites, the OwnerIQ Network, that helps people find user manuals and other self-support information for a broad range of consumer products. By aggregating consumer interest in many of the largest consumer product categories, OwnerIQ offers manufacturers and brand advertisers direct access to likely purchasers.
Each day, consumers conduct more than two million online searches for self-support information on products ranging from consumer electronics to kitchen appliances. Many of these searches end in frustration, because this information can be difficult to find. In fact, a recent survey by OwnerIQ confirms that 89% of respondents say locating user manuals presents some difficulty, ultimately contributing to a negative brand experience. OwnerIQ solves this common and frustrating problem by collecting and organizing user manuals and other self-support information online, making it easy to find.
“There is a significant customer service problem for manufacturers that rely heavily on brand loyalty to keep their customers coming back,” said Eric Hjerpe, partner at Atlas Venture. “By solving the self-support problem, OwnerIQ ultimately enhances a consumer's brand experience and provides advertisers with the unique ability to reach a highly qualified consumer audience.”
Unlike traditional advertising programs that target consumers based on a combination of demographic information and behavior, OwnerIQ.s ownership-targeted media programs enable advertisers to target consumers more precisely based on what they already own, including specific products, product type, category or brand.
“OwnerIQ's ownership-targeted media programs provided an effective way to raise awareness for “Cook for the Cure, Presented by KitchenAid” a charitable partnership between KitchenAid and Susan G. Komen for the Cure,” said Deb O.Connor, senior manager of Brand Experience for KitchenAid. “The key benefit to working with OwnerIQ is their unique ability to provide a highly relevant audience that is actively engaged with information on kitchen appliances.”
OwnerIQ is led by a team of seasoned executives with proven experience developing online media programs that provide advertisers with highly targeted opportunities to reach potential buyers. The company was founded by key members of the management team from Bitpipe, a leading network of IT and business Web sites that was sold to TechTarget (Nasdaq: TTGT) in late 2004. Since its founding earlier this year, the OwnerIQ network has grown to serve more than 700,000 unique visitors every month, and its customers include some of the biggest brands in the industry. OwnerIQ currently provides user manuals and other self-support information from more than 2,200 manufacturers and adds new content daily.
“Consumer products are becoming increasingly complex, and people are left on their own to address support issues? helping them is a large and under-served market opportunity,” said Jay Habegger, chief executive officer of OwnerIQ. “As the first company to address the selfsupport problem for consumers, OwnerIQ is focused on the most immediate source of pain: locating actionable product information to learn about features and functionality. In doing so we create new opportunities for the consumer products industry to strengthen relationships with its customers and influence purchase decisions.”
For more information on OwnerIQ and ownership-targeted media programs, please visit: www.owneriq.com.