VisibleBrands

VisibleBrands provides a unified, direct-to-shopper digital advertising and data network. Based in Kirkland, WA, the company aims to connect advertisers and shoppers at home and at the point of purchase in retail environments. In October 2011, VisibleBrands announced it had raised over $2 million in a Series A financing round. This capital was intended for the commercial testing and deployment of its advertising network. The network's broader objective extends beyond coupon delivery to include brand-building experiences, business intelligence, campaign analytics, and live panel data.

The company's core offering, the vRAIL℠ platform, is an end-to-end digital media communications network designed to link advertisers, retailers, and shoppers directly in the aisle, at what the company terms the "Moment of Decision™". This system uses patent-pending technologies to deliver promotional content and service offerings. The platform is built to create an integrated brand campaign that reaches from home to mobile devices and finally to the shelf-edge in a physical store. Messages can be informed by online and in-store behavior, allowing for selective engagement with shoppers through relevant and personalized offers. As an initial application, the company focused on delivering digital 'clip to cart' coupons to shoppers via shelf-edge touch screens in supermarkets.

The business model is centered on creating a new marketplace for optimized advertising and consumer promotion within retail stores, effectively turning the physical retail space into a planned media destination. VisibleBrands serves retail publishers, marketers, and other solution providers by supplying analytics alongside its media delivery services. The system is designed to avoid requiring significant changes in shopper behavior, such as needing to pick up a special device or check-in. By linking in-home, mobile, and in-store identity, it creates a unified audience that advertisers can reach through a single network.

Keywords: in-store digital media, retail advertising network, shopper marketing, moment of decision marketing, vRAIL platform, digital coupon delivery, shelf-edge advertising, consumer promotion, retail analytics, CPG advertising, personalized in-store offers, direct-to-shopper, omnichannel retail media, supermarket advertising, campaign analytics, business intelligence retail