Online content engagement platform Playbuzz has raised $15 million in new funding, led by Saban Ventures with participation from The Walt Disney Company.
Playbuzz is an online content platform that enables publishers, marketers and brands to embed interactive content onto their websites to improve user engagement and social interactions – think online quizzes, quirky games and gamified polls.
Launched in 2012 they’re currently working with 40,000 partners / brands to include the likes of CNBC, Time, MTV, CNN, HBO, USA TODAY, Cosmopolitan. In the UK I can confirm they are working with HuffPost UK, Express, Daily Mail, The Sun, The Mirror, American Express UK and more.
Existing investors 83North, Carmel Ventures and FirstTime Ventures also participated in the investment round.
Playbuzz will use the investment to further enhance its proprietary content-engagement platform and expand its sponsored content business, which already works with many of the world’s leading brands to create and distribute native advertising campaigns at scale.
“Playbuzz enables publishers and brands to create content that matches today’s content-consumption habits, while generating meaningful engagement and new monetisation opportunities,” said Shaul Olmert, co-founder and CEO of Playbuzz. “The support of global leaders in media, such as Saban and Disney, will enable us to expand both our editorial reach and sponsored content business.”
The Playbuzz platform is used by tens of thousands of publishers, brands and content creators to create and distribute content in formats that optimize audience engagement and social distribution. Examples of Playbuzz’s innovative content formats include slideshows, flip cards, galleries, quizzes, lists and video snaps.
The popularity of content created using Playbuzz is skyrocketing, as engagement metrics for such items outpace those of traditional digital formats, such as articles and long-form video. Playbuzz-powered content generates average item completion rates of up to 94% and social share rates as high as 15%.
“Engaging content is the key to media consumption, and Playbuzz has positioned itself as the leading platform for media companies and brands to create and distribute such content across all devices,” said Barak Pridor, Managing Partner at Saban Ventures, who joins Playbuzz’s Board of Directors following this financing round. “Playbuzz’s unique network, and distributed sponsored content offering, make it the ideal platform for editorial and commercial growth of its partners.