Google AdSense move over? Ecommerce meets contextual ad network in Tumri Publisher
Does integrated online advertising and merchandising bring to mind “a romantic song set to light classical music”?
Tumri Inc, named after the Indian Thumri genre of music, is aiming to build the world’s first online merchandising network and hopes its new Tumri Publisher launched today will be music to Web publishers’ ears.
Hari Menon, founder and CEO of Tumri, claims his company is “changing the face” of advertising on the Web through the power of a blended merchandising and advertising network.
How so? I met with Menon last week in New York City to find out.
For Menon, Tumri Publisher represents the third prong to the Tumri set of core advertiser and publisher solutions, following Tumri Network and Tumri AdPod.
The Tumri business model:
A fully-automated online marketing program for merchants who are seeking better results from below-the-line marketing investments (AdPod), for content owners looking for new sources of revenue (Publisher); and for consumers who want more relevant offers presented to them (Network). Tumri earns all of its revenue by delivering premium customer leads to merchants on a pay-for-performance basis, using the retailer's catalog data feed as the primary input. Tumri pays content owners for the use of their ad inventory on either a CPM or revenue-share basis.
Menon told me the Tumri “blended” approach trumps both existing contextual advertising and banner and rich media advertising today because 1) its gives Website publishers greater flexibility and control over the advertising displayed on their sites, such as enabling customization of the products, offers and merchants featured in the AdPod units displayed within properties and 2) it allows brand conscious advertisers to leverage the power of performance marketing on the Internet by delivering integrated and dynamic, interactive branding, merchandising and customized offer-based advertising via a targeted, offer intelligence network.
The Tumri value proposition for advertisers and publishers
Target the right audience, at the right time with the right offer,
Engage the consumer with customized, dynamic and interactive ad unit,
Convert customers with compelling offers delivered at any stage of the purchase process.
For institutional investors Shasta Ventures and Accel Partners, the Tumri value proposition targets a multi-billion dollar online performance and affiliate advertising market opportunity.
Tumri was founded in 2004 and has raised about $6 million in Series A funding from Shasta and Accel. Menon told me another investment round is in the performance marketing cards for Tumri.
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