StarVest Partners

Marketers Must Step Back From Personalization And Automation

The AdExchanger Industry Preview 2019 article argues that marketers should slow down on personalization and automation due to rising privacy concerns, consumer trust erosion, and tightening regulations. It emphasizes that privacy encompasses both data and the systems used to execute campaigns, warning that aggressive automation can harm brands when ads are offensive or misaligned with consumer reality. Voices cited call for a shift toward contextual targeting over audience-based tactics, and question whether legitimate interests can sustain advertising use cases under GDPR. The piece highlights a €50 million GDPR fine against Google and predicts further penalties as regulators tighten rules, with US states pursuing privacy measures in the absence of a federal law. It notes Oracle Data Cloud’s acquisition of Grapeshot to bolster contextual targeting and includes reflections from marketers like Frank Cooper of BlackRock and analyst Joanna O’Connell.

Man vs. Machine: AI Crafts Better Marketing Messages

Persado, a New York-based AI marketing platform, claims to craft emotionally resonant messages via Cognitive Computing that combines machine learning, linguistic data processing, and natural language generation. In an interview, co-founder Assaf Baciu explains that the system analyzes message format, structure, description, emotional content, and CTA to produce data-driven messages tailored to brand voice and campaign goals. The platform supports Facebook, display advertising, email, and mobile, and the AI learns from each campaign. Persado asserts that emotions drive more than 60% of response-rate differences and relies on 19 primary emotions via its Wheel of Emotion. The company has raised about $30 million in funding, bringing total external capital to over $65 million, with backers including Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital Ventures, StarVest Partners, American Express Ventures and Citi Ventures. Customers include Microsoft, Staples, and Verizon. Germany expansion includes a Frankfurt office; Persado employs over 200 people across nine locations and was founded by Assaf Baciu and Alex Vratskides.

Persado Closes $21 Million Series B For ‘Persuasion Marketing’ Platform

Persado, a marketer’s AI platform that uses natural language processing to optimize campaign copy, closed a $21 million Series B round led by StarVest Partners with participation from Citi Ventures, American Express Ventures and Bain Capital Ventures. The new funding will support global expansion and product development for Persado’s 'persuasion marketing' platform, which tailors copy across email, on-site content, search, SMS, and social ads to maximize engagement. Persado claims its technology maps language components to emotions and values to predictably improve multi-channel campaign effectiveness. The company already serves about 50 Fortune 2000 customers, including Citibank, American Express, and Verizon, and has raised $36 million overall. Integrations exist with ExactTarget, Oracle Responsys and Experian, with planned integrations for Adobe Target and Optimizely. CEO Alex Vratskides emphasized the platform’s role in automating language generation to enhance marketing outreach.