4INFO

4INFO Inc.
Private
Industry Big Data
Computer Software
Mobile Advertising
Founded Palo Alto, California
United States
September 8, 2004 (2004-09-08)
Founder Pankaj Shah, Zaw Thet
Headquarters Silicon Valley,
San Francisco Bay Area,
San Mateo, California,
United States
Number of locations
 5 (2015)
Area served
 United States
(2004-present)
Latin America
(2010-2011)
Mexico
(2017-present)
Key people
 Tim Jenkins
(CEO)
Ed Koenig
(Chief Financial Officer)
Arash Saffarnia
(CTO)
Michelle Estabrook
(SVP Client Services)
Mari Tangredi
(SVP/GM Audience Solutions)
Chuck Moxley
(Chief Marketing Officer)
Kirsten McMullen
(Chief Privacy Officer)
Products 4INFO ID
4INFO Platform
Multi-screen Capabilities
Brands AdHaven
AdHaven Bullseye
Revenue
  • Increase US$28,000,000 (2014)
  • US$21,000,000 (2013)
Number of employees
 45
Website 4info.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3][4][5][6]

4INFO is an American corporation that provides mobile advertising technology for the placement and tracking of advertisements; including on computers, mobile phones, and end-point systems such as cash registers.[7] The company's products collect data on the extent to which its clients' customers are exposed to their advertisements.[8]

History

The company was founded in 2004 by Pankaj Shah[9] and Zaw Thet.[2] It originally focused on text-based SMS advertising. The company worked in mobile search[10] and in SMS publishing and advertising.[11] In May 2015 MBlox, an independent application-to-person (A2P) SMS provider, acquired 4INFO’s SMS business line.[12]

In 2006 4INFO won an Emerging Technology Award.[13] In 2008 4INFO was estimated to be the largest provider of business-to-consumer SMS content in North America by Nielsen,[14][15][16] claiming to send 80 million text messages a month in early 2009[17] and 200 million text messages a month in early 2010.[18] Nielsen rated 4INFO the fourth largest SMS U.S. Network.[19] In 2010 4INFO was the largest provider of free text message alerts and information in the U.S.,[20][21][22] and the largest SMS U.S. Network.[1][23][24] In 2010 it was rated the second largest Mobile Advertising U.S. Network.[25] 4INFO was named a 2007[26] and a 2014 AO100 Top Private Company winner.[27] 4INFO is ranked 1742 on the 2015 Inc. 5000 as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies.[4]

The company is headquartered in San Mateo, California with other offices in the U.S.; in total, it employs 45 people.[4] The company moved into mobile display ads in 2011.[28]

Software and services

4INFO claims their database has connected 152 million mobile devices to 101 million U.S. households.[29] In April 2014, the company added multiscreen functionality that identifies PC and laptop activity, enabling cross-device targeting, retargeting and multichannel retailing[7] that by July 2014 also includes video ads.[30] They offer geotargeting and geofencing .[31] In August 2014, 4INFO was awarded a patent for “Systems and methods for statistically associating mobile devices to households“[29] claiming they can link 95% of mobile users to their address and their other devices.[32] 4INFO can directly match with third-party data sources as well as a retailer's own customer data. The company purchases anonymous data from internet service providers, mobile network operators, and other information aggregate sources, then uses Media Mix Modeling[33] to send targeted advertisements from their clients.[7] 4INFO then cross references with CPG data to look at actual purchases made by those who saw the ad.[32][34][35]

Partners 4INFO and Catalina's June 2015 study reveals how mobile advertising is affecting in-store sales.[31] The study looked at 83 mobile campaigns across a variety of CPG categories for 59 different brands; campaign durations ranged from four to 38 weeks, with 12 weeks on average. They claim mobile advertising generates more than double the sales of its desktop counterparts.[36] The Benchmarking was performed using 4INFO partner[37] Nielsen Catalina Solutions.[38]

AOL, Acxiom,[39] App Annie,[40] Catalina Marketing,[41] Catalist, Datalogix,[42] Experian,[43] Millennial Media, Nielsen[37] and others leverage 4INFO's mobile technology. In-store visitation measurement company Placed partnered with online-to-offline sales analyst 4INFO June 2015 enabling both companies to offer clients omnichannel retailing path-to-purchase insights.[44]

In June 2015, 4INFO and DMG Solutions announced a strategic alliance creating solutions for multicultural marketing in the United States and targeting specific audiences.[45]

In March 2016, 4INFO and Crossix formed a strategic alliance for Household-Level Pharmaceutical Marketing Ad Targeting in the United States. 4INFO claims they did a six-month set-up process that doesn't allow personally-identifiable data touch the partners' systems in order to comply with HIPAA. Data broker and services firm Acxiom sits in between Crossix and 4INFO.[46]

Privacy

The company has a chief privacy officer on staff.[47]

Acquisitions

2010 4INFO acquired Butter, a company specializing in creating customized mobile solutions and ad campaigns for the iPhone and Android platform.[48]

References

  1. 1 2 "4Info and WAU Movil Partner to Offer Mobile Marketing Solutions to Latin America". Close-Up Media. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Cook, Dena. "Zaw Thet Steps Down As 4INFO CEO". MediaPost. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  3. ↑ Kaplan, David. "4INFO's Mallon: Meeting The Challenges Of Cookie-Less Measurement". GeoMarketing. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Inc. 5000 2015: 4INFO". Inc. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  5. ↑ Rowley, Liz. "Inc. Mag's Revenue Survey: Ad Tech And Marketing Firms Make The Cut". Ad Exchanger. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Acxiom Expands to Mexico Enabling Better Engagement and Reach". Martech Advisor. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 Minsker, Maria. "4INFO Launches AdHaven Bullseye MultiScreen (Video Interview)". CRM Magazine. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  8. ↑ Sass, Erik. "4Info Bows New Mobile Targeting For Direct Mail, Online". Online Media Daily. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Pankaj Shah founded 4INFO secures $8 M funds". SiliconIndia. Retrieved March 22, 2005.
  10. ↑ Ray, Ramon. "Time to 'Mobilize' Your Site?". Entrepreneur. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  11. ↑ Ewan. "4INFO's stonkingly good deal with USA Today". Mobile Industry Review. Retrieved October 16, 2007.
  12. ↑ Murphy, David. "Mblox Buys 4INFO's SMS Business". Mobile Marketing. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Emerging tech award winners announced". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved November 14, 2006.
  14. ↑ Salz, Peggy Anne. "Mobile Advertising Landscape: 4INFO CEO Zaw Thet Ramps Up To Focus On Premium Publishers & Markets Beyond The U.S." Mobile Groove. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2009.
  15. ↑ Tsirulnik, Giselle (May 5, 2009). "Should brands use mobile ads to promote their Twitter feeds?". Mobile Marketer.
  16. ↑ Khan, Mickey Alam. "GE, VCs invest $20M in SMS ad firm 4Info". Mobile Marketer. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  17. ↑ Steel, Emily. "4INFO Gets $20 Million". Digits. WSJ. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  18. ↑ Arrington, Michael. "4INFO Adds New Execs To Fuel 100% Growth/Quarter". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  19. ↑ Stewart, Jon. "Global Mobile - Strategies for Growth". Nielsen. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  20. ↑ Moon, Bernard. "Lunsford Group Wireless Industry Snapshot 2010 Page 38". SparkLabs Global Ventures. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  21. ↑ Pinola, Melanie. "Useful Things to Do with Regular Cellphones". About.com. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  22. ↑ "SMS and Viral Video Presentations for Non-Profits". Single Tree Media. Retrieved Jan 1, 2015.
  23. ↑ Stutz, Randy. "Analysis of the FTC's Decision Not to Block Google's Acquisition of AdMob Page 9" (PDF). The American Antitrust Institute. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  24. ↑ "DMN University Digital Solutions Training Online Tutorial Page 31" (PDF). DMN University. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  25. ↑ Rusli, Evelyn. "4INFO Makes A Real Play For Display: AdHaven Platform Reaches 63 Million". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  26. ↑ "4INFO Selected by AlwaysOn as an AO100 Top Private Company Award Winner". AlwaysOn. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
  27. ↑ "The 2014 OnMobile 100 Top Private Companies". AlwaysOn. Archived from the original on 2015-02-17. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  28. ↑ Krzykowski, Matthaus. "4info says its mobile ad business is exploding". Venture Beat. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  29. 1 2 Sterling, Greg. "4INFO Gains Patent For Matching Smartphones to Household Location". Screenwerk. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  30. ↑ Madsen, Greg. "Ka-Ching! 4INFO Links Mobile Ads to Cash Register Success". Mobile Advertising Watch. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  31. 1 2 "For CPG, Mobile Promotions Push Targets to Store". eMarketer. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  32. 1 2 Wasserman, Todd. "Why cross-device tracking is the latest obsession for marketers". Campaign. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  33. ↑ Goldman, Sharon. "Shopper Marketing: Filling the Cart with Big Data". The Mars Agency. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  34. ↑ Smith, Steve. "Yes Virginia, Mobile Banner Ads Really Can Drive Bricks and Mortar Sales". MediaPost. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  35. ↑ Kaplan, David. "For 4Info, 'Measuring What Matters' Means Sales Lift, Not Just In-Store Traffic". GeoMarketing. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  36. ↑ Taylor, Glen. "Mobile Ads Drive Twice The Sales Of Desktop Ad Campaigns". Retail TouchPoints. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  37. 1 2 Tode, Chantal. "Nielsen Catalina Solutions and 4INFO Form Alliance to Launch Mobile Advertising Measurement Services". Mobile Marketer. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  38. ↑ Urbanski, Al. "Study: Mobile Campaigns Drive Twice the Sales of Desktop". Direct Marketing. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  39. ↑ Smith, Steve. "Acxiom Partners With 4Info For Mobile Retargeting And Attribution At Household Level". MediaPost. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  40. ↑ Clancy, Heather. "Meet App Annie, the go-to source for mobile insight". Fortune Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  41. ↑ Neff, Jack. "Catalina Marketing will Target Mobile Ads Based on In-Store Purchase History". AdAge. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  42. ↑ Constine, Josh. "Datalogix Raises $25M to Pump Juicy Offline Purchase Data into Google and Facebook". Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  43. ↑ Schiff, Allison. "Experian 'Turns Up The Volume' On Its Cross-Channel Capabilities With New Partners". Ad Exchanger. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  44. ↑ Kaplan, David. "Placed Racks Up Partners And Patents, Crosses Measurement Milestone Of 300M Locations". GeoMarketing. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  45. ↑ "4INFO and DMG Solutions Announce Strategic Alliance, Creating 4INFO Multicultural Solutions". DMG Solutions. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  46. ↑ "Data Partners to Tie Mobile Ads to Drug Refills, Doc Visits". Adage. March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  47. ↑ Kaye, Kate (October 6, 2014). "'Privacy-by-Design' Is Crucial, but Not Easy or Cheap". Advertising Age. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  48. ↑ Rusli, Evelyn. "4INFO CEO: Expect More Acquisitions, Revenues Will Quintuple [Video]". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
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