OneScreen.AI — Real-Time Performance Ad Marketplace
By: Jeff Piltch
Tags: Startup, Marketing, Angel Investors, Marketplaces, Venture Capital

OneScreen.AI — Real-Time Performance Ad Marketplace

Connecting marketers with ideal customers through a real-time, highly targeted, performance marketing ad marketplace.

The Problem

Small business owners need additional revenue streams and low-cost customer acquisition channels in order to survive in the post-COVID-19 reality. Tens of millions of screens inside businesses could be used to connect advertisers with ideal customers, but they’re disconnected and the “out-of-home advertising” (OHH) industry lacks the technology to be useful to performance marketers. According to OneScreen, that lack of basic technology is why more than 50% of OOH screens go unsold every month and why marketers spend $167B per year online and less than $10B per year OOH. Meanwhile, performance marketers need new channels of growth as over-optimized internet advertising channels have led to a 50% increase in CAC over the past 5 years.

What The Company Does

OneScreen mails it’s small, free IoT device to any brick-and-mortar business that requests one. The business simply plug the device into the HDMI port of any digital display, such as a TV screen, and they’re instantly connected to OneScreen’s content platform. The device sends back real-time information about the number of people in the room and enables marketers to target based on demographic and behavioral parameters previously available only online. The device facilitates a real-time auction to maximize the revenues for screen owners while easily enabling marketers to deploy campaigns. The machine learning algorithm powering the auction automatically optimizes what ads get shown when and where — empowering marketers with ad campaigns that optimize themselves.

Business Model

OneScreen takes a share of revenues through the platform and also offers analytics as a recurring-revenue SaaS platform for incumbent businesses. They also plug into incumbent-owned screens and can sell their unsold or under-sold inventory for them.

The Market

Even counting the decline in traditional ad mediums caused by COVID-19, hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on advertising in the U.S. every year. Like the team did at HubSpot, they say they are following a “blue ocean strategy” that turns competitors into ecosystem partners by focusing on creating a new supply-side (connecting screens inside businesses) and creating a new demand-side (mid-market local advertisers and performance marketers).

Traction

They’ve launched their pilot program with approximately 100 businesses in the greater Boston area and have approximately $50k in ad budgets committed. Their goal is to validate the unit economics of the network first so that they can develop an intelligent cost to acquire a customer (CAC) target and determine which go-to-market (GTM) model will fit best. According to the team, their supply-side GTM model will likely be similar to Square, and their demand-side GTM model will be similar to HubSpot’s based on the current LTV:CAC models.

Founding Team Background

Sam Mallikarjunan was the head of growth at HubSpot Labs, chief revenue officer at Flock.com, and taught innovation management and advanced digital marketing at Harvard University. Greg Wise was the principal consultant leading HubSpot’s e-commerce sales initiatives. After HubSpot, Greg worked at Simon Property Group where he experienced first hand the difficulties of monetizing foot traffic for retail. Andrei Oprisan was the product entrepreneur working with Sam at HubSpot Labs. He’s the former director of engineering at Wayfair. He built and led the more than 300 person Boston engineering team for Liberty Mutual, where he was the youngest vice president in the more than 100-year history of the company.

What They Need Help With

The team would love intros to potential customers. If you know any small business owners who could use additional revenue ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per month, OneScreen would love to get them set up for free. The team is also in growth mode. Connect with the OneScreen team.

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