Zeta Global Explained

Zeta Global Holdings Corp.
Type:Public
Industry:Business software
Predecessors:-->
Founded:2007
Founders:-->
Successors:-->
Hq Location City:New York City, New York
Hq Location Country:United States
Areas Served:-->
Owners:-->

Zeta Global Holdings Corp. is a data-driven marketing technology company[1] which was founded in 2007.[2] Zeta offers companies a suite of multichannel marketing tools focused on creating, maintaining, and monetizing customer relationships.[3]

Zeta Global has the industry's third largest data set (2.4B+ identities), next to Google and Facebook, powered by demographic, locational, behavioural, transactional, and predictive signals.[4] The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange on June 10, 2021, at a US$1.7 billion valuation.[5]

The company's headquarters is in New York City, with 15 offices worldwide, in 11 countries, including Silicon Valley, London, as well as Chennai and Hyderabad in India.[6] [7] Zeta has more than 1,300 employees worldwide.[8] [9] The company's CEO is David A. Steinberg.[10]

Forbes Magazine reported that the company had been referred to as a 'Unicorn' a "billion-dollar startup." According to The Wall Street Journal, as of March 2020, the company is profitable, with annual revenues exceeding $400 million.[11]

History

Zeta Global was founded by David A. Steinberg and former Apple Inc. CEO John Sculley[12] in 2007 under the name 'XL Marketing'. The company changed its name to 'Zeta Interactive' in 2014, then again to 'Zeta Global' in October 2016.[13] [14]

As of April 2017, Zeta had bought nine companies in the past nine years. In July 2015, the company raised $125 million from Blackstone's GSO Capital Partners to grow its business through the acquisition of data startup companies.[15] [16]

In November 2013, Zeta acquired the Adchemy Actions division from ad tech firm Adchemy to incorporate their 'machine learning' based advertising platform.[17] [18] In January 2014, Zeta acquired Clicksquared, a Boston-based company that created 'The Hub,' a SaaS-based, cross-channel campaign management platform.[19]

In late 2015, they acquired the customer relationship management division of eBay's Enterprise operation in a deal which sources near the company said was worth $80–90 million. CEO Steinberg said the deal "gets us a long way toward becoming the largest customer lifecycle management platform."[20] In August 2016, they announced that they had purchased the marketing automation tool 'Acxiom Impact' from marketing technology and services company Acxiom, in a deal which sources said was worth more than $50 million.[21]

In October 2016, Zeta Global hired Jarrod Yahes as CFO. Yahes is a former senior finance executive at EXL Service Holdings, who previously served as the CFO of Jackson Hewitt.[22] In March 2020, Christopher Greiner became CFO of Zeta Global.[23]

In April 2017, Zeta appointed Donald Steele as the company's first-ever CRO.[24] In April 2017, the company raised $140 Million in a large late-stage equity and debt funding round, with funds coming from GPI Capital and Franklin Square Capital Partners. Forbes reported that sources close to the company said this raised the company's valuation to $1.3 billion.[25]

On July 18, 2017, Zeta acquired machine-learning centric platform Boomtrain.[26] [27] Steinberg said the company planned to integrate "its machine learning, decisioning and marketing automation in our entire marketing cloud."[28]

On December 5, 2017, Zeta Global acquired Disqus.[29]

In 2018–2020, Zeta made several key ad tech acquisitions. In 2019, Zeta Global acquired Temnos, a Silicon Valley AI company. Steinberg, a co-founder of Zeta Global, stated that Temnos "allows us to see everything on the Internet from an intent perspective. It lets us see what people are reading and what is trending globally."[30] Also in 2019, Zeta also acquired demand-side and data management platform ad tech company Sizmek after it filed for bankruptcy. The deal was estimated to be around $36 million, integrating a programmatic ad buying platform into Zeta's data software."[31] [32]

During this period, Zeta also acquired Rocket Fuel's data management platform, IgnitionOne's demand side platform, and PlaceIQ's managed media business to further expand its marketing tech capabilities."[33] [34]

In March 2021, Zeta announced an additional $222.5 million in new debt financing ahead of filing for its initial public offering.[35]

Zeta went public on the New York Stock Exchange on June 10, 2021, at a $1.7 billion valuation under the symbol ZETA.[5]

Products

As of 2019, the company has a database of permission based profiles for approximately 750 million+ people. Using big data analysis, they identify which companies they should sell to, contact those people, and manage existing customers.[36] The Zeta Marketing Platform (ZMP) is the largest omnichannel marketing platform with identity data at its core.[37] While the company originally focused on email marketing, more recently it has expanded into the customer lifecycle management market.[38] As of 2021, the company has a database of permission-based profiles with approximately 2.4 billion identities.[4]

Activities and events

On January 30, 2014, Zeta Interactive hosted a forum on changes in advertising and marketing over the years, using Apple's 1984 commercial as a benchmark. Sculley shared the panel with advertising executive David Sable, Global CEO of Young & Rubicam; Jessica Gelman, Vice President of Customer Marketing and Strategy; The Kraft Group the owners of the New England Patriots; and Hooman Radfar, chairman and co-founder of marketing firm AddThis.[39]

Awards

In 2014, Forbes listed Zeta Interactive as a "Most Promising Company", and in 2015 the magazine put Zeta Interactive on its list of "Top 100 Analytics Startups of 2015.[40] [41]

Zeta was included in Gartner Inc.'s annual "Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Campaign Management" in 2014 and 2015, and in 2017 was ranked as "Visionary" in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Digital Marketing Hubs.[42] [43] In 2020, the Zeta Marketing Platform was ranked as a "Leader" in the Forrester Wave: Email Marketing Service Providers Q2 report.[44]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fans or not, NFL braces for new stadium feel, sudden changes. .
  2. News: Urbanski. Al. Zeta Introduces 'Cross-Lifecycle' Platform. Direct Marketing. Haymarket Media, Inc. 9 Jul 2014.
  3. Web site: Zeta Global Has Worldwide Ambitions But An IPO Will Wait. 16 October 2016. Seeking Alpha. 5 May 2017.
  4. Web site: Zeta Launches Customer Data Platform, CDP+, to Help Marketers Provide an Elevated CX. 5 November 2020.
  5. Web site: Zeta Global Has a Muted IPO, but 'We're in It for the Long Haul'. 10 June 2021.
  6. Web site: How This CEO Learned the Difference Between Coaching and Controlling. September 2021.
  7. News: Azuri. Calivin. XL Marketing Has Now Become Zeta Interactive. Cloud Contact Center. Technology Marketing Corp.. 17 Jan 2014.
  8. News: Konrad. Alex. Never Heard Of Zeta Global? Software CEO David Steinberg Has 300 Million Reasons Not To Worry. Forbes. 18 Nov 2016.
  9. News: Konrad. Alex. Zeta Interactive's New Name And Purchase Reveal Challenges For Email Marketers. 600 Employees. Forbes. 23 Jan 2014.
  10. Web site: Zeta Interactive Website. About Us Section. Zeta Interactive. 24 December 2013.
  11. News: Patel. Sahil. 2020-03-04. Marketing Software Firm Zeta Global Eyes IPO—Once Again. en-US. Wall Street Journal. 2020-07-14. 0099-9660.
  12. News: Patel. Sahil. 2020-03-04. Marketing Software Firm Zeta Global Eyes IPO—Once Again. en-US. Wall Street Journal. 2020-10-02. 0099-9660.
  13. News: Zeta. Press Release. Zeta Interactive Rebrands as Zeta Global, Culminating Year of Massive Growth and Broadened Focus. PR Newswire. 18 Oct 2016.
  14. News: Lunden. Ingrid. XL Marketing, The Direct Marketing Company Co-Founded By John Sculley, Buys UK Rival Intela. Tech Crunch. 9 October 2013. 5 May 2017.
  15. News: Konrad. Alex. Zeta Interactive Hits $1 Billion Valuation And Looks To Buy Up Data Startups. Data Startups. Forbes. 15 Jul 2015.
  16. News: Bond. Shannon. Zeta Interactive valued at $1bn after Blackstone investment. Blackstone. Financial Times. 15 Jul 2015.
  17. News: Ha. Anthony. XL Marketing Buys Adchemy's Customer Acquisition Division, Adchemy Actions. TechCrunch. AOL. 4 Nov 2013.
  18. News: Loechner . Tyler . 7 November 2013 . XL Marketing Acquires Real-Time Analytics Platform Adchemy Actions. MediaPost . New York . 5 May 2017.
  19. News: Zeta Interactive Acquires Marketing Automation Platform Provider ClickSquared. CRM.com. Information Today, Inc.. 23 Jan 2014.
  20. News: Hof . Robert . 2 November 2015 . Eyeing Expansion, Zeta Interactive Buys eBay's CRM Division . Forbes . Jersey City, New Jersey . 11 May 2017.
  21. News: Lardinois . Frederic . 4 August 2016 . Zeta Interactive acquires Acxiom Impact for over $50M . TechCrunch . 11 May 2017 .
  22. News: Monga . Vipal . 6 February 2017 . Zeta Global Prepares for Potential IPO . Wall Street Journal . New York . 5 May 2017.
  23. News: Patel. Sahil. 2020-03-04. Marketing Software Firm Zeta Global Eyes IPO—Once Again. en-US. Wall Street Journal. 2020-10-26. 0099-9660.
  24. News: Lardinois . Frederic . 10 April 2017 . Zeta Global hires its first chief revenue officer as it eyes an IPO . TechCrunch . 5 May 2017 .
  25. News: Hof . Robert . 27 April 2017 . Zeta Global Raises $140 Million For Its Marketing Cloud . Forbes . Jersey City, New Jersey . 5 May 2017 .
  26. Web site: Zeta Global Buys Boomtrain to Make Its Marketing Cloud Smarter. .
  27. Web site: Zeta Global Bolsters Its Marketing Cloud by Acquiring Machine Learning-Centric Boomtrain. 18 July 2017 .
  28. Web site: Zeta Global acquires Boomtrain to bolster its machine learning tech. 18 July 2017 .
  29. Web site: Hof. Robert. Zeta Global Makes Its Biggest Buy Yet: Social Discussion Platform Disqus. 2020-07-14. Forbes. en.
  30. Web site: Fast-Growing Zeta Global Buys Silicon Valley AI Firm Temnos. Goldsmith. Jill. Forbes. en. 2020-03-31.
  31. Web site: Zeta acquires DSP from Sizmek, takes aim at the Trade Desk. 19 April 2019.
  32. News: Marketing Software Firm Zeta Global Eyes IPO—Once Again. Wall Street Journal. 4 March 2020. Patel. Sahil.
  33. Web site: Zeta Global Buys Sizmek DSP and Rocket Fuel DMP Assets for $36 Million. 19 April 2019.
  34. Web site: Rolling up a Marketing Cloud, with Zeta Global CEO David Steinberg. 20 November 2020.
  35. Web site: Martech company Zeta Global raises $222.5M in debt. March 2021 .
  36. News: Marketing start-up co-founded by ex-Apple CEO raises $140 million, hints at potential IPO. Kharpal. Arjun. 27 April 2017. CNBC. 11 May 2017. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
  37. Web site: Zeta Global's IPO filing uncovers modest growth, strong adjusted profitability. 24 May 2021 .
  38. News: Zeta Global Raises $140 Million For Its Marketing Cloud. Hof. Robert. 27 April 2017. Forbes. 5 May 2017. Jersey City, New Jersey.
  39. News: Iftikhar. Bilal. Super Bowl 2014: Advertisers lose yardage. 30 January 2014. Crain's New York. 30 January 2014.
  40. News: Zeta Interactive on Forbes Lists #45 America's Most Promising Companies (2014). Jan 2014. Forbes.
  41. News: The Top 100 Analytics Startups of 2015. Columbus. Louis. 8 Aug 2015. Forbes.
  42. Zeta Interactive Named to Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Campaign Management Report for Second Straight Year. April 2015 . PR Newswire.
  43. News: Zeta Global Becomes Gartner 'Visionary'. Sullivan. Laurie. 23 February 2017. MediaPost. 5 May 2017. New York.
  44. Web site: Key Takeaways: Forrester Wave for Enterprise Marketing Software Suites 2021. 24 May 2021.