• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 4, 2012

Marketers are spending billions to create custom, branded content online as well as in print -- but often have a hard time getting this content before audiences. To help marketers promote branded content, Austin-based startup OneSpot is launching a new service that uses native advertising to drive traffic to branded content in various formats, including blogs, white papers, YouTube videos, and social media advertising, including sponsored stories on Facebook.
 
Noting that “only 14% of engagement happens after the first 48 hours” for most Web content, OneSpot founder and CEO Matt Cohen said the service is designed to help extend the effective lifespan of branded content and increase audience size by delivering targeted ads based on audience analytics, including behavioral data.
 
Once a publisher or marketer has selected a piece of content to promote, OneSpot suggests image and text for native ad units, which are targeted at Web users likely to engage based on current context, previous online behaviors and other data.

Various ads are placed through online exchanges and continually tested against each other to determine the most effective messages and audience placements. Native ads can be served simultaneously across multiple channels, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and mobile platforms.
 
The OneSpot engine can be calibrated to track any number of desired outcomes, according to Cohen: “It looks for the outcome that advertisers are  trying to drive."
 
During its beta period OneSpot worked with clients including Dell, Home Depot, Remington and General Mills. To date, the company has raised over $1.5 million from angel investors, including RSL Venture Partners, 500 Startups, Ralph Mack, Mike Maples, Sr., and Josh Baer, among others.