Upside Commerce CEO Jeff Sampson.
Upside Commerce CEO Jeff Sampson.

Upside Commerce is raising more cash for its platform that helps brands utilize data to create real-time personalized promotions and offers.

The Seattle startup just reeled in an additional $1.2 million, which is part of a larger $2.5 million round that Upside Commerce plans to close later this year. Investors include WolfCreek Partners, SmithTown Bay, Bernt Bodal, and SocialStarts.

Upside Commerce will use the fresh cash to further develop its technology that pulls in data from a variety of sources — social media, online advertising, etc. — to help marketers reach customers, particularly those in physical stores.

“We give brands the ability to engage consumers when and how they want to hear from their favorite brands by offering them highly personalized, real-time product incentives and rewards delivered to their mobile device,” explained Upside Commerce CEO Jeff Sampson. 

Upside Commerce makes money off a pay-for-performance model, charging a cost-per-action on validated sales in stores, which Sampson said ends up being around 90 percent cheaper than alternative services.

He added that Upside Commerce differentiates from competitors by facilitating a “closed loop.”

“We facilitate a closed loop by publishing brand stories and promotions across multiple online, in-store and out-of-store touchpoints using multiple proximity triggers including GPS, beacon, sound and light,” he said. “By combining affinity with proximity, we provide not only proof of sale but the most transformational, proprietary source of combined consumer behavior, location and transaction data in the market.”

The company, which is piloting its product with several brands, employs 10 people and plans to double its headcount by the end of 2016.

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