Latana Raises €36 Million Series B Funding to Disrupt Brand Analytics Market
In 2013, Nico Jaspers, founder of market research firm Dalia Research, noticed a significant shift in consumer behavior. People were increasingly using their smartphones to access information, making it easier for brands to reach them directly. This insight led Jaspers to team up with Fernando Guillén and launch Latana, a platform that uses mobile ad space to deliver short research surveys to users.
A Breakthrough in Brand Analytics
The platform’s innovative approach has caught the attention of investors, who believe in the potential of Latana’s solution. In a recent development, Latana closed a €36 million (~$35.79 million) Series B funding round, led by Oxx, with participation from Balderton Capital and Kreos. This investment brings the company’s total capital raised to date to €44 million ($43.75 million).
Latana’s Unique Selling Point
Jaspers, Latana’s CEO, attributes the platform’s success to its ability to provide actionable insights into consumer behavior. "Brand marketing is probably the only remaining large cost item at consumer businesses that is not well understood and measured," he said in an interview. "We’re solving that problem by providing more visibility for brand marketers and executives."
How Latana Works
To achieve this, Latana collects data from mobile-optimized surveys distributed through its platform. The company uses AI technology to identify trends that brands might want to know about their target audiences. To ensure the accuracy of the results, Latana employs algorithms to minimize the margin of error and maintain the representativeness of the survey population.
Building the World’s Largest Database
Latana is currently building what will be the world’s largest database on brand performance, tracking over 100,000 brands across the globe. Jaspers believes that there is a huge increase in demand for analytics solutions that create more visibility on brand performance and expects this trend to continue.
Competition in the Market
While Latana faces competition from established players like Ipsos, Kantar, and YouGov, as well as startups like Attest, Streetbees, and Quantilope, Jaspers argues that few focus on brand analytics, which is Latana’s specialty.
Growing Demand for Marketing Efficiency
With tightening marketing budgets, companies are increasingly looking for solutions to improve their marketing efficiency. Latana wants to accelerate its go-to-market strategy by expanding its team and investing in new technologies. The company currently employs about 70 people and plans to double headcount next year.
Investors’ Confidence
Mikael Johnsson, Oxx’s general partner and Latana board member, expressed his confidence in the company’s potential: "Powered by novel sampling methods and advanced statistical processing techniques, Latana is disrupting this paradigm by providing brand marketers with accurate, timely, and affordable brand marketing data. This provides for an enormous market opportunity, and we’re convinced that Nico and the Latana team are in pole position to build a really large company."
Conclusion
Latana’s innovative approach to brand analytics has caught the attention of investors, who believe in the potential of its solution. With €36 million in Series B funding, the company is poised to accelerate its growth and expand its market share. As Jaspers puts it, "We’re not just a research platform; we’re building a more transparent and efficient marketing ecosystem."
