One of the buzzwords in the era of Web 2.0. is focused advertising. There is no shortage of companies that have identified this trend and are now developing technologies for smart advertising. One company seeking to gain a foothold in this market is web technology start-up Xpanity Ltd., founded last year by CEO Assaf Unger. Xpanity is developing a browser plug-in that will enable site owners and software developers to bring more focus to the range of content they offer surfers.
"Our technology can identify and categorize areas of interest by user group, and tailor content and advertising accordingly," explains Unger. The company also enables surfers with common interests to contact one another through a chat line, while they're on the same page in the site, although this is not its focus. "Our system currently has 3,000 users, which enables us to communicate with them to obtain feedback about our level of success in offering focused content," he adds.
Unger invested $300,000 of his own money in Xpanity, and obtained a further $1.1 million from a group of private investors from Israel and abroad. The company is currently raising $6 million in venture capital, and Unger says it will be profitable by 2010-2011. It is also considering opening a branch in the US.
Unger claims that no one else is offering the capabilities Xpanity offers and, "the aim is not to compete with companies, but to offer site owners a new, cutting-edge technology, which they can use without abandoning existing technologies. We're in a new category that we invented."
Globes: What advantage do you offer?
Unger:"This is an innovative technology that enables the offering of focused content in real time, while maintaining surfer privacy and with no language constraints. Companies in this field violate surfers' privacy by tracking them, keeping information on them and planting cookies. Aside from being a nuisance to users, it also creates inaccuracies, since most of the information accumulated about a user gives very little indication about what really interests him or her."
Xpanity's technology is based on the creation of user profiles in real time, which disppear once surfers have logged off. "We can tailor advertising or content on the basis of specific items of information and user behavior, and create a situation where two surfers enter the same site and see different advertisements," says Unger. He adds that this service is less commonplace in Israel but is already available in other countries.
Another element that differentiates Xpanity's technology is the fact that it is not language-dependent. "We're not limited to English alone, and we will be launching a pilot in India in the near future. Five sites will feature our system, with the aim of reaching 20 million users," says Unger. "In India there is a large population and a number of languages, but almost no smart advertising solutions."
Unger adds that Xpanity will be spend most of 2008 testing the add-on, and that several sites in Israel are trialing it, as well as several more in the US, UK, and Brazil - the company's main target markets. Xpanity's business model is based on a share with site owners of the additional advertising revenue that they generate using the company's technology. "Over time, the average click rate per advertising space on the site remains constant, so it is easy to measure the extra revenue our technology generates," says Unger.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 31, 2008
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