"I had four great years with Tribal Fusion, but it was time to take on a new challenge," Goodman said. "This one was particularly compelling because Placecast is about the size Tribal was when I'd joined, and it's facing some of the same challenges; namely that it's a great product with some traction that just needs momentum and scale."

San Francisco-based Placecast targets users across the Web through email, Wi-fi and mobile, with ads that are relevant to their current or future location. A New York-based visitor to local events site Eventful, for example, could be served a Scion ad if they were searching for Coldplay concert tickets, while a Montana-based user searching for outdoor activities could be served a Toyota Highlander ad instead. Both ads would include addresses and links to the local dealerships.

Goodman said that Placecast's targeting technology can take any kind of location info--be it from cell tower triangulation, local info on a Web site or even the location of an airport's free Wi-Fi hub--to infer relevancy and intent. "So instead of using behavioral data or targeting based on content, we're able to deliver a profile based on where the user is and what kind of intent that can imply," he said.

There are several dozen sites within Placecast's network including Eventful and travel search site Yapta. Campaigns can run across sites or hotspots within the network itself, or on other channels that the company has brokered deals with. Goodman said that the company was actively growing its publisher footprint--both through deep integrations where site owners actually use Placecast's ad server, as well as through need-based ad placements on sites with location-relevant content (such as real estate or travel info).

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