In an age where YouTube virality equals influence, it's easy to see why brands might want to collaborate with the video site's stars—as a way to help generate buzz and drive sales. Grapevine—a MassChallenge 2014 alum that took home a $50,000 cash grant from the program in October—has developed YouTube marketing software that aims to enable that connection, between brand and video creator. Now, the startup has banked a $1.1 million seed round from investors including Boston Seed Capital (with Dave Balter as the leading partner) and Boston Syndicates (an Atlas Venture seed program). Local angels Diane Hessan, Joe Caruso, Jere Doyle and TJ Mahony were also part of the round.
Founded by former Discovery Channel executive Brendan Lattrell, Grapevine aims to amplify brands’ visibility on YouTube by hooking them up with YouTube stars who can deliver creative videos to promote products. Brands can also evaluate the success of the videos they post via Grapevine’s custom tracking technology, which analyzes how many sales and signups their video campaigns generate. Meanwhile, YouTubers get access to unique product sponsorships, and without any exclusive agreements. Lattrell noted in a press release that he got the idea for Grapevine while producing shows for Discovery Channel, when he noticed that many YouTubers were getting more views than primetime TV programs.
"I'm excited to see Grapevine leave the launchpad and head towards becoming Boston's next great AdTech company," Lattrell told BostInno in an email. "In 2015, Grapevine's North Star remains the same—helping our YouTubers become successful through brand partnerships. The new working capital allows us to to do two very exciting things: roll out a more powerful dashboard and tool set for our YouTube Stars, and enter two new industry verticals outside of the beauty & fashion space, which we currently operate in."
Currently, Grapevine works with more than 100 beauty, fashion and lifestyle brands, including Walgreens, NYX Cosmetics and Remington. The company’s network contains more than 4,000 YouTube stars, and its campaigns yield more than 350 million views monthly. Grapevine says its videos average a click-through rate 50 times higher than traditional display.
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Featured image of YouTube via Shutterstock.
