4INFO Inc. is an American targeted advertising corporation.[5] The company was owned by Nielsen Holdings. It was acquired by Cadent in 2020.[6]

4INFO Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryTargeted advertising
Big data
FoundedSeptember 8, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-09-08) in Palo Alto, California, United States
FounderPankaj Shah, Zaw Thet
HeadquartersSan Jose, California
Area served
United States, Latin America and Mexico
Key people
Tim Jenkins (CEO)
RevenueIncrease US$28,000,000 (2014)
Number of employees
45
ParentNielsen Holdings
Website4info.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3][4]

History

edit

4Info was founded in 2004 by Pankaj Shah[citation needed] and Zaw Thet.[2] It originally focused on text-based SMS advertising, SMS publishing and mobile search.[7][8]

In 2008, the company was estimated to be the largest provider of business-to-consumer SMS content in North America by Nielsen Holdings,[9] claiming to send 80 million text messages a month in early 2009[10] and 200 million text messages a month in early 2010.[11] Nielsen rated 4Info the fourth largest SMS U.S. Network.[12] In 2010, the company was the largest provider of free text message alerts and information in the United States.,[13][14] and the largest American SMS Network.[1][15][16]

The company began providing mobile display advertising in 2010, based on connecting American households to IP addresses.[17] In 2010, 4Info acquired Butter, a company which created ad campaigns for the iPhone and Android platform.[18]

The company is headquartered in San Jose, California with other offices in the United States. As of 2015, it employed 45 people.[19] In 2015, the company was included on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies.[19] In May 2015, MBlox, an independent SMS provider, acquired 4Info's SMS business line.[20]

In March 2016, 4Info and Crossix formed a strategic alliance for targeted advertising of pharmaceutical products in the United States.[21]

Software and services

edit

The company purchases anonymous data from internet service providers, mobile network operators, and other information aggregate sources, then uses marketing mix modeling to send targeted advertisements from their clients.[22][23] The company then cross references with CPG data to look at actual purchases made by those who viewed ads.[24][25][26]

In 2014, the company added multiscreen functionality that identifies PC and laptop activity, enabling cross-device targeted advertising, retargeting and multichannel retailing.[27][23] The company also offered geotargeting and geofencing.[28] In August 2014, the company 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 IP address and other devices.[24]

The company has provided advertising data to companies such as AOL, Acxiom,[30] Catalist, Datalogix,[31] and Experian.[32]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "4Info and WAU Movil Partner to Offer Mobile Marketing Solutions to Latin America". Close-Up Media. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Cook, Dena. "Zaw Thet Steps Down As 4INFO CEO". MediaPost. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  3. ^ Rowley, Liz (18 August 2015). "Inc. Mag's Revenue Survey: Ad Tech And Marketing Firms Make The Cut". Ad Exchanger. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  4. ^ "Acxiom Expands to Mexico Enabling Better Engagement and Reach". Martech Advisor. Retrieved July 24, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Sass, Erik. "4Info Bows New Mobile Targeting For Direct Mail, Online". Online Media Daily. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  6. ^ "Cadent Acquires 4INFO, Expands Cross-Screen TV Capabilities for National Advertisers". PR Newswire. 2 January 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  7. ^ Ray, Ramon (30 September 2007). "Time to 'Mobilize' Your Site?". Entrepreneur. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  8. ^ Ewan (16 October 2007). "4INFO's stonkingly good deal with USA Today". Mobile Industry Review. Retrieved October 16, 2007.
  9. ^ Khan, Mickey Alam. "GE, VCs invest $20M in SMS ad firm 4Info". Mobile Marketer. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  10. ^ Steel, Emily (22 January 2009). "4INFO Gets $20 Million". Digits. WSJ. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  11. ^ Arrington, Michael. "4INFO Adds New Execs To Fuel 100% Growth/Quarter". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  12. ^ Stewart, Jon. "Global Mobile - Strategies for Growth". Nielsen. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  13. ^ Moon, Bernard (26 July 2010). "Lunsford Group Wireless Industry Snapshot 2010 Page 38". SparkLabs Global Ventures. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  14. ^ "SMS and Viral Video Presentations for Non-Profits". Single Tree Media. 8 August 2011. Retrieved Jan 1, 2015.
  15. ^ Stutz, Randy. "Analysis of the FTC's Decision Not to Block Google's Acquisition of AdMob Page 9" (PDF). The American Antitrust Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ Krzykowski, Matthaus (19 January 2011). "4info says its mobile ad business is exploding". Venture Beat. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  18. ^ Rusli, Evelyn. "4INFO CEO: Expect More Acquisitions, Revenues Will Quintuple [Video]". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  19. ^ a b "Inc. 5000 2015: 4INFO". Inc. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  20. ^ Murphy, David. "Mblox Buys 4INFO's SMS Business". Mobile Marketing. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  21. ^ "Data Partners to Tie Mobile Ads to Drug Refills, Doc Visits". Adage. March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  22. ^ Goldman, Sharon. "Shopper Marketing: Filling the Cart with Big Data". The Mars Agency. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  23. ^ a b Minsker, Maria. "4INFO Launches AdHaven Bullseye MultiScreen (Video Interview)". CRM Magazine. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  24. ^ a b Wasserman, Todd. "Why cross-device tracking is the latest obsession for marketers". Campaign. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  25. ^ Smith, Steve. "Yes Virginia, Mobile Banner Ads Really Can Drive Bricks and Mortar Sales". MediaPost. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  26. ^ Kaplan, David (11 May 2015). "For 4Info, 'Measuring What Matters' Means Sales Lift, Not Just In-Store Traffic". GeoMarketing. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  27. ^ Madsen, Greg. "Ka-Ching! 4INFO Links Mobile Ads to Cash Register Success". Mobile Advertising Watch. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  28. ^ "For CPG, Mobile Promotions Push Targets to Store". eMarketer. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  29. ^ Sterling, Greg. "4INFO Gains Patent For Matching Smartphones to Household Location". Screenwerk. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  30. ^ Smith, Steve. "Acxiom Partners With 4Info For Mobile Retargeting And Attribution At Household Level". MediaPost. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  31. ^ Constine, Josh (25 April 2013). "Datalogix Raises $25M to Pump Juicy Offline Purchase Data into Google and Facebook". Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  32. ^ Schiff, Allison. "Experian 'Turns Up The Volume' On Its Cross-Channel Capabilities With New Partners". Ad Exchanger. Retrieved July 30, 2015.