September 30, 2009

alarm:clock: Delivery Agent Raises $24.85M For Entertainment Merchandizing

Filed under: In the News — Jonas @ 10:53 am

Pay attention to Delivery Agent as they have been one of the huge success stories in eCommerce. They have gotten there by smartly marrying entertainment and celebrity with merchandise sales.

San Francisco-based Delivery Agent has raised $24.85M in Series D funding.The startup had raised $35M, from Bessemer Venture Partners, Cardinal Venture Capital and Worldview Technology Partners. Coral Capital Management is a new investor on the Series D round.

Delivery Agent has pioneered the online conversion of on-screen product placement, ranging from TV shows, movies, sports, and publishing to music videos.

Delivery Agent now has partnerships with 100 entertainment properties to allow consumers to purchase the items they see on screen. It has an aggregation site for all of the products at SeenOn In TV, they providing a platform for a “Desperate Housewives” fan to buy the clothes worn by Teri Hatcher. For the Pussycat Dolls, fans who watch a Pussycat Dolls videos on the band’s site or on SeenOn.com can move their cursor over a performer, click on her earrings and be immediately routed to a site to buy that exact item.

The company was founded in late 2001 and received its first financing in 2005. As a bootstrapped company, the CEO says they did a million dollars in revenue before their first round of financing came through. They told Inc. that they did $22.6M in 2007.

Delivery Agent says it recently signed a deal with Univision, 20th Century Fox Discovery Channel and HBO to power their shopping sites. Its really amazing how many top entertainment properties have outsourced to the firm. Delivery Agent was named the No. 1 Privately Held Media Company of 2008 by Inc. Magazine and ranked third on Deloitte & Touche’s Technology Fast 50 for Silicon Valley. The firm told Inc. that they did $22.6M in revenues in 2007.

September 29, 2009

Multichannel News: Univision Communications Opens Online Store

Filed under: Uncategorized — Jonas @ 11:21 am

Site Offers Show-Related, Branded Products From Univision, TeleFutura, Galavision

Mike Reynolds — Multichannel News, 9/29/2009 3:12:01 PM

Making its initial foray into digital consumer commerce, Univision Communications has opened an online store proffering products tied to its three networks’ programming fare.

La Tienda Univision (The Univision Store), created in collaboration with Delivery Agent, Inc., can be accessed at www.tiendaunivision.com, where users can find fare based on programming on broadcast networks Univision and TeleFutura and cable cousing Galavision. To celebrate the launch, the Spanish-language media leader in the U.S. will give customers 15% off purchases of $50 or more for a limited time.
La Tienda Univision offers an array of products for adults, children, and even pets from some of the networks’ most popular programs, including Despierta América (Wake Up America), El Gordo y La Flaca (The Scoop and the Skinny), República Deportiva (The Sports Republic), Escándalo TV (Showbiz TV) and Acceso Máximo (All Access). Univision, TeleFutura and Galavisión branded products, including watches, hooded sweatshirts, T-shirts, baseball caps, aprons, and many other items are also available for purchase. In addition to branded products, viewers will have the opportunity to purchase CDs, DVDs, books and other products associated with Univision’s programs. Univision will introduce additional products over time, including items based on Univision Radio properties.
Fan gear also will feature sayings and images familiar to the Univision audience, such as “Esto Es Una Bomba” (“This is the Bomb”) from Escándalo TV.

Fans of Univision’s morning program, Despierta América, can even purchase an outfit for their pet with the image of Chispita, the show’s fashionable dog.

“Univision is one of the most loved brands for U.S. Hispanics and La Tienda Univision allows our loyal community to connect with their favorite programs and celebrities,” said Univision Communications senior vice president of franchise development and strategic partnerships Ted Zagat in a statement.

RBR.com/TVBR.com: Univision Offering Branded Merchandise

Filed under: In the News — Jonas @ 11:18 am

Univision announced that for the first time in the company’s history it is selling products based on programming on Univision, TeleFutura and Galavisión with the launch of La Tienda Univision (The Univision Store).

La Tienda Univision includes products for adults, children, and even pets from some of Univision, TeleFutura and Galavisión’s most popular programs, such as: “Despierta América” (Wake Up America), “El Gordo y La Flaca” (The Scoop and the Skinny), “República Deportiva” (The Sports Republic), “Escándalo TV” (Showbiz TV) and “Acceso Máximo” (All Access). Univision, TeleFutura and Galavisión branded products, including watches, hooded sweatshirts, T-shirts, baseball caps, aprons, and many other items are also available for purchase.

Fan gear will feature sayings and images familiar to the Univision audience, such as “Esto Es Una Bomba” (This is the Bomb) from “Escándalo TV.”  Fans of Univision’s morning program, “Despierta América”, can even purchase an outfit for their pet with the image of Chispita, the show’s fashionable dog. In addition to branded products, viewers will have the opportunity to purchase CDs, DVDs, books and other products associated with Univision’s popular programs. Univision will introduce additional products over time, including items based on Univision Radio properties.

The Univision brand is identified with family, empowerment, and quality. Studies confirm the emotional connection between Univision and its audiences.

Said Ted Zagat, SVP, Franchise Development & Strategic Partnerships, Univision, “Univision is one of the most loved brands for U.S. Hispanics and La Tienda Univision allows our loyal community to connect with their favorite programs and celebrities.”

The store is being created in collaboration with Delivery Agent a leader in shopping-enabled programming for television shows, motion pictures and sports, in partnership with Univision. The launch is timed so that audiences can access the new merchandise ahead of the holiday shopping season.

September 28, 2009

Delivery Agent’s “Television Commerce Summit” Draws Brightest Executives from Top Media and Sports Companies

Filed under: Press Releases — admin @ 10:14 am

Forty-Eight Gather to Create the Blueprint to Make Premium Entertainment & Sports Content Shoppable Across All Platforms

When will you be able to buy Jennifer Aniston’s Sweater?

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. – September 28, 2009 – Delivery Agent, the leader in shopping enabled entertainment, held its first “Television Commerce Summit” bringing together consumer products, digital and ITV executives from partners NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, HBO, A&E Television Networks, Discovery, Showtime, UFC, Boston Celtics, Fox Sports – all to discuss the current challenges and future opportunities tied to shop enabling entertainment.

Executives from Delivery Agent lead over twelve discussion sessions that covered the state of entertainment licensing, product development and integration, the role of big brand advertisers in entertainment shopping environments, consumer marketing, consumer data capture and one-click shopping. Sessions included all of Delivery Agent’s clients sharing their experience- from product development to talent approval to marketing – in developing and executing programs that allow consumers to shop their shows and sports events.

“We have tremendous respect for our clients. Collectively we’ve made great strides in developing a business around entertainment shopping,” said Mike Fitzsimmons, Delivery Agent CEO. “We had all the brain power in the room to be proactive in shaping the future of entertainment shopping across all platforms from online, where consumers can currently access the 40 plus interactive environments we manage for our entertainment and sports partners, to mobile to ITV.”

“Delivery Agent has a strong track record of helping the entertainment industry create standards and best practices around entertainment shopping. Its Television Commerce Summit allowed for tremendous networking and thought leadership bridging across all of our media businesses and leading us to think about how critical shopping-enabled entertainment has become to growing our revenue, engaging our audiences, and as a means to generate ad revenue from existing and new advertisers,” said Andrew Wise, Vice President, Consumer Products of A&E Television Networks.

Cablevision closed the two-day summit with a presentation on the state of ITV, demonstrating how the MSOs are now ready to offer consumers one-click shopping. By marrying Delivery Agent’s commerce capabilities, with the media industry’s premium sports and entertainment content, consumers will, in essence, be able to stock up on Jennifer Aniston’s sweater….or Meredith Grey’s sweater or even Kevin Garnett’s shoes.

About Delivery Agent, Inc.

Delivery Agent, Inc. (www.deliveryagent.com), named #1 Privately Held Media Company by Inc. Magazine, and #3 on the Deloitte & Touche Silicon Valley Technology Fast 50, is the leader in shopping-enabled programming and content monetization for more than 125 entertainment properties from major media companies such as ABC, CBS, NBC Universal, Twentieth Century Fox, MTV Networks, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Boston Celtics, UFC, and The Weinstein Company. Delivery Agent created the market for shopping-enabled programming by redefining how products related to entertainment are cataloged, merchandised and sold online. Since its inception in 2001, Delivery Agent has deployed its comprehensive technology platform, including e-commerce applications, video and mobile products, and interactive advertising solutions to create profitable connections among entertainment content, consumers and brands. To date, the company has developed a network of more than 90 distinct branded shopping sites for its partners and its own SeenON!™ (www.SeenON.com), the definitive online shopping destination for products seen on screen.

Press Contacts:

Kim Marder
Delivery Agent, Inc.
415-728-9602
press@deliveryagent.com