The video advertising data and analytics firm EDO, which has seen its stock rise amid Nielsen’s continued struggles, has raised $80 million in a new funding round led by Shamrock Capital.
EDO, which was founded in 2015 by tech entrepreneur Daniel Nadler and the actor and filmmaker Edward Norton, the company uses data science and artificial intelligence to generate insights around streaming and TV viewership and advertising campaigns. The company is led by CEO Kevin Krim, who previously worked as an executive at CNBC and Bloomberg.
Just this week EDO inked a deal with Discovery to measure advertising impact, and is also among the companies working with NBCUniversal on its next-generation ad measurement efforts. Its other clients include Amazon Studios, Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros., IBM Toyota, and Nissan.
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EDO, like a number of other measurement firms, is trying to help develop new “currencies” for advertising that can succeed the traditional Nielsen rating.
Shamrock, meanwhile, specializes in entertainment, communications and media assets, with investments in companies like AdWeek and FanDuel. It was founded as the family office of Roy E. Disney in 1978 but has since evolved into an institutionally-backed investment firm.
“We’ve fundamentally changed what is expected from the effectiveness of TV advertising — weak proxies and soft signal don’t cut it anymore when our customers know they can get real-time, always-on measurement that confidently predicts business outcomes and allows them to optimize while campaigns are in flight,” said Krim. “The industry is hungry for a whole new definition of ‘currency,’ especially one that inherently reflects the fair value of what’s being bought and sold — that is outcome measurement. We’re thrilled to earn the support of Shamrock Capital, which shares our vision and brings an outstanding track record of helping companies turbocharge their growth.”
“EDO’s customers and the tectonic ruptures in the market have validated our ambitious vision to transcend the antiquated, obsolete methods that have defined TV measurement for too long and put a serious drag on the value and creativity of the whole media & entertainment complex,” added Norton in a statement announcing the raise. “It’s not an overstatement to say that our CEO, Kevin Krim, and the entire EDO team represent an incomparable combination and caliber of industry experience plus data science and engineering talent. And that talent ‘alpha’ is redefining daily what brands, agencies and creators expect in terms of investment-grade insight into what precisely their marketing investments are achieving. With EDO, they can finally and confidently know what works.”
