• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 31, 2013

Attempting to solve one of marketing's biggest dilemmas, Datorama closed a $3 million Series A funding round it will use to build out its cross-channel marketing platform, according to the company's CEO.

The investment, led by Cedar Fund and supported by Eric Schmidt's investment firm Innovation Endeavors, will support advancements in cross-channel marketing. Datorama has secured $3.75 million in total, including a $750,000 seed round in 2012.

The amount of data, media channels and disparate marketing silos continue to overwhelm marketers trying to build a clear picture of prospective and existing customers. Datorama CEO Ran Sarig, previously vice president of research and development at MediaMind, said marketers need to see the entire picture before they can understand and properly allocate budgets toward specific media and audience segments.

Datorama's technology allows brands to integrate data from TV, print, radio and online media, such as display, video, mobile, email and search. It also allows marketing organizations to combine data from internal, client-specific databases without involving the company's IT department or undergoing a costly computer system upgrade.

The platform doesn't serve the ad, but rather collects the data, combines it in one model and attempts to give marketers the tools to analyze what media works and what doesn't. Sarig said one client analyzed its TV spots in relation to its YouTube channel and used the results to better coordinate spots and optimize conversion rates.

"We're not executing campaigns on search or social, but rather helping marketers and agencies optimize media budgets," Sarig said. "Advertising is about experimenting, and it takes an understanding of how media works."

Social networks like Twitter and Facebook have begun to work with traditional broadcast networks to prove the connection between video, social and television, for instance. On Wednesday, Nielsen released a white paper to show how Facebook can expand the reach of branding campaigns.

Along with Sarig, Datorama's founding executive team supports a range of expertise in analytics and agencies. In 2012, its founding members -- Sarig, Efi Cohen, and Katrin Ribant -- came together from MediaMind, now a DG company, and Havas Digital.