Financial Express | September 6, 2022
Consider this. More than six billion people across the world use smartphones and this number is forecasted to only grow further. Naturally, millions of businesses need to understand consumer behaviour to cater to the market effectively. Thus, having real-time consumer insights has become all-important.
VTION was founded on this need to “understand consumer behaviour, transparently and with the full consent of the consumer,” says the company’s founder & CEO, Manoj Dawane. He has two patents in his name in India and the US for a method that allows the collection of data from smart devices in a transparent and efficient manner.
“VTION’s methodology relies on a consumer panel that is recruited to mirror the population in a statistically accurate manner. As per the principles of data privacy that are followed in large geopolitical areas, VTION takes explicit permission from the panelists and also rewards them for their data. This data, at an aggregated and naturally anonymised level, is used for generating insights and building look-alike models which help digital marketers at ‘segment level’. Thus, VTION’s model is based on a representative panel and not the whole population, helping preserve privacy,” says Dawane.
VTION launched commercial operations in September 2020. Since then, there are four key product lines that it has introduced and these are well established in the Indian market. These entail end-to-end services for planning, activation and measurement of marketing campaigns and advertisements.
VTION has assisted more than 15 companies in different categories like consumer packaged goods (CPG) and e-commerce in understanding consumer behaviour and improving their marketing return on investment (ROI). “The retention rate of more than 90% that we enjoy indicates the quality of our services,” he says, adding, “VTION added more than five clients in Q1FY22-23.”
The company has completed trials of its services in five countries, with commercial launches expected this year. It has raised more than $2 million in funding. Recently, it raised $1.3 million in a Pre-Series A led by YourNest Venture Capital and two other investors. Earlier, the firm had raised $750,000 in two seed rounds, which included $500,000 from leading angel investors in India, anchored by Angel List, and investors from Sweden, US and Dubai, and $250,000 from Core 91 VC.
VTION plans to aggressively scale up its advertising activation strategy and panel infrastructure and target growth in specific sectors. As part of global expansion, it plans to enter the UAE, South Africa and Indonesia soon.
Link: VTION — consumer intelligence platform; keeping its finger on the consumer’s pulse