Thismoment has mostly flown under the tech press’ radar since it first launched its platform two years ago. That’s primarily because what it makes — social content management software (CMS) to let brands develop their online marketing campaigns — is targeted toward enterprise companies. When Thismoment does its job correctly, the average online user doesn’t even know it’s there.
But now that the San Francisco-based Thismoment has closed on a sizable new funding round, it’s ready to start courting a little more mainstream attention.
Thismoment tells TechCrunch it has raised $22 million in new funding, which serves as a Series C round. The round was led by Trident Capital, with the participation of existing investors Sierra Ventures and Fenway Partners’ Tim Mayhew . It brings the total outside investment into Thismoment to $34.8 million.
TechCrunch TV sat down with Thismoment’s founder and CEO Vince Broady to learn more about Thismoment’s growth so far and what the funding round means for the company’s future. You can watch that interview in the video embedded above, and here are some of his key points:
A Well-Timed Round
The funding comes at a key time for Thismoment, as it has become the largest standalone player in its space since its peers Buddy Media and Vitrue have been snapped up by major tech firms (Salesforce and Oracle, respectively) in recent months. Broady put it like this:
“In some ways for us to be, I think, the biggest company out there remaining that’s not a part of one of these behemoths gives us an advantage, because really we’re just about serving this market, this product, this customer base. The larger companies have a lot more to think about… There’s an opportunity right now for us to take advantage of the situation.
Smoothing The Way For Better Online Content
Broady has an interesting way of describing what Thismoment is: It does for online brand marketing campaigns what Amazon Web Services did for web applications. It handles all the technical logistics needed for brands to push marketing content to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, brand sites, blogs, international social networks such as VK, Mixi, Orkut, Hyves, and others.
So, it takes away a big part of what brands and advertising firms had to do on their own — think about the code and infrastructure of running their campaigns — to let them focus more fully on the creative aspects on their campaigns. The idea is that this will mean more unique and clever content on the web, which will ultimately lead to bigger online ad revenues.
Going Big
Thismoment is by no means a small company: It has 146 employees across its offices in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Dallas, and London. Its revenues are well into the double-digit millions I’m told, and it has an impressive client list: Coca-Cola, all eight of the major US automakers, all six of the major US movie studios, and the like.
The new funding will be put toward going even bigger, Broady says. International growth will be a big focus, as Thismoment plans to add new offices in Europe, Latin America and Asia.