Fuisz Media has secured itself a hefty chunk of change. The interactive video company, founded in 2012 by Justin Fuisz, has raised a $10 million funding round led by Evolution Media Capital.
Fuisz Media’s proprietary technology allows its partners to put clickable annotations in videos. While this may seem like a simple task, Fuisz accomplishes it in a way that ends up being much more elegant than, say YouTube’s annotations. Take, for example, the Gillette video featured on Fuisz Media’s website; throughout the duration of the ad, viewers are prompted to click on it and head to the Gillette website.
With its new capital, Fuisz will be able to build upon its existing services and recruit more brand partners, particularly in the entertainment industry. Its current clients include companies like Microsoft, Ford, and Target.
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The videos Fuisz Media powers aren’t just pretty, though; according to Justin Fuisz, they’re also far more efficient than typical web videos. As Fuisz told Variety, his company’s videos achieve click-through rates of about 60%, which is significantly higher than the low click-through rates associated with pre-roll advertising on YouTube.
“The Snapchat generation doesn’t want pre-roll ads,” Fuisz told Variety. “With our Hollywood partners, we have an opportunity to go after long-form brand integration.”
Thanks to previous funding rounds, Fuisz Media has now raised more than $12 million in venture capital. Other investors who participated in the current round include former Yahoo CEO Ross Levinsohn and former AOL CEO Jon Miller. Both Levinsohn and Evolution Media Capital’s Ian Doody have joined the Fuisz Media board.
