MarTechInvestment

Odore, a customer engagement platform empowering direct-to-consumer brands to streamline their marketing efforts, has raised £3.8 million in seed investment.

Odore was launched in 2020 by co-founders Armaan Mehta and Karan Gupta, both graduates of London School of Economics. 

The round was led by Fuel Ventures with participation from existing investors.

The escalating changes within the advertising industry, with rising costs of social media advertising and shifts in privacy laws, have rendered customer retargeting increasingly challenging and expensive. 

Meanwhile, Facebook and TikTok’s cost per thousand impression (CPM) rates surged last year by 89% and 92%, the company says, underscoring the need for innovative strategies to efficiently navigate the landscape.

Odore has made its mark by offering a diverse product suite that enables brands to create engaging online experiences, centralise operations, cultivate customer bases, and integrate physical and digital marketing efforts through unique solutions like product sampling, metaverse campaigns and cross channel digital activations. 

These innovative campaigns use consumer touchpoints to collect zero party data, enabling brands to be in control of their retargeting and customer engagement. 

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The platform’s design studio empowers brands to create attractive online experiences – for example landing pages and emails – via a user-friendly drag and drop builder. An integration hub offers connections with several social channels, publishers, and retailers, reducing data fragmentation and centralising operations. Advanced CRM solutions equip brands with tools for nurturing and retargeting customers, fostering robust brand-customer relationships and enhancing customer lifetime value. 

Odore already counts the entire L’Oreal Group – including the likes of Armani, Lancome and YSL – Dior, LVMH, Shiseido, and others among its clients. 

“The challenges that today’s industry faces are complex, and we founded Odore to provide solutions that are not only comprehensive but also transform the way brands strategize, operate, and connect,” said Mehta. 

“This is just the beginning. With this latest funding round, we’re delighted to have Fuel Ventures on board for our next chapter as we expand our team and business globally and launch new tools to better serve our customers.”

Shiv Patel, investment director at Fuel Ventures said: “From the platform experience, the robust suite of tools, and the blending of digital and physical, everything is designed specifically for the brands, resulting in a far superior experience and very high levels of continued business from world-leading brands. 

“The rapid expansion of both Odore’s geographic footprint, as well as its financial traction, makes us really excited to see what the team does next.”

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