Online Ad Tracking Company Grabs $11 Million

Silicon Alley direct marketing and advertising firm Orb Communications and Marketing
received its first outside investment this week as eVentures took a 25 percent stake worth $11.3 million.

The company’s Orbit software is used by clients to track the effectiveness
of online campaigns and retail operations in real-time, and has recently
expanded that tracking capability to add wireless features, appealing to
media buyers and e-commerce execs on the go. Clients include Clinique, COTY, Bigstar, TIME Inc., Blue Dingo and Citibank.

ORB will use the proceeds from the investment to expand marketing and sales
efforts, increase service support and expand technology development, said a
spokesperson.

“ORB’s interactive marketing solutions and technology are helping fulfill
the promise of e-commerce by providing the tools to track impressions
through transactions and optimize results that drive retail traffic, online
sales or customer acquisition objectives in real-time,” said Jeffrey
Marcus, chief executive officer of Dallas-based eVentures. “Its proprietary
software, now being licensed to customers, and its cutting edge wireless
technology, now being developed for a wide range of wireless devices,
position the company as a leader in its field.”

As part of the deal, Olaf Guerrand-Hermes, a senior vice president of corporate
development at eVentures, will become interim chairman of ORB, effective
immediately. Additionally, Barrett Wissman, president of eVentures, was
named to ORB’s board of directors. eVentures has committed to increase its
stake in the company to 29 percent if certain performance targets are
achieved.

“We look forward to the benefit of their guidance and the opportunity to
integrate groundbreaking wireless and broadband marketing applications with
their next-generation communications infrastructure,” said founder and
chief executive officer Andrew Pakula. “Their investment is a great
endorsement of our business strategy and technology, and will help us build
on our strong leadership position in the Internet marketing services
arena.”