HipCricket Secures $2 Million in Funding On Strong Investor Demand

March 21, 2007 - BELLEVUE, WA
HipCricket, a leading mobile marketing firm, today announced it closed a second and final tranche of Series A funding, driven by strong investor demand and the company's growing momentum with the broadcast community and major consumer brands.
In addition to its Series A round that closed in January, HipCricket has received $2 million from angel investors, Broadmark Capital, and a European investment group.
As a pioneer in mobile marketing, HipCricket's deep broadcast experience has helped build the nation's largest mobile marketing operation focused on the broadcast community, serving more than 100 clients across North America. Over the past 12 months, the company's unique product and approach drove 250 percent growth in its client base, while initial funding helped support the necessary increase in staffing.
HipCricket's founding members, Ivan Braiker, Graham Knowles, and Iain Simms, have refined the company's technology platform to address broadcasters' needs to better understand and communicate with its audiences, and to help measure the success of their mobile marketing efforts.
More than just technology, HipCricket stands out because their staff is made up of seasoned radio and television broadcast specialists who understand the business of keeping clients happy with measurable results and premium customer service.
"HipCricket is a partner, not a provider," said Ivan Braiker, CEO of HipCricket. "Broadcasters and brand marketers come to us because we know what works for them. They stay with us because we don't just hand them a technology. We deliver measureable results in revenue and ratings and 24/7support that others just don't offer."
The Series A funding will allow the company to offer clients even higher levels of its unique personal support program, expand its offices in Bellevue, Washington, and address new mobile marketing opportunities, one of the fastest growing segments of the wireless industry.
As of June 2006, HipCricket estimates 95 percent of all active cell phones in the US, representing more than 220 million users, can be reached using text messages, and that 62 percent of all mobile phone subscribers regularly send and receive text messages.
According to public research, response rates for mobile marketing campaigns are 40 percent compared to 3 percent for direct mail and 1 percent for Internet banner advertisements.
Powered by the company's M3 (Mobile Media Management) service, and supported by a partner network that reaches 95 percent of all U.S. cell phone users, HipCricket's end-to-end text message marketing solution allows broadcasters and brands to reach a huge, yet precise, addressable market, changing the way marketers can communicate with specific audiences and measure return on investment.
The power of this value proposition has drawn companies such as Disney, Staples and General Motors and broadcasters like Los Angeles' KNBC and Clear Channel radio's KIIS, KYSR, KBIG and KHHT stations to HipCricket, allowing companies to go beyond traditional measurement tools to detailed data about real listeners they want to reach. From helping radio stations to powering part of Hershey's ongoing "WrapperCash" campaign, HipCricket is defining mobile marketing.
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