Maven Capital Partners (“Maven”), one of the UK’s most active investors in growing businesses, has led a £3 million Series A investment in Drovo, a specialist on-vehicle advertising platform.
London based Drovo operates the UK’s largest network of carbon neutral on-vehicle media. Its proprietary software platform pairs vehicle owners with advertisers to deliver highly targeted and measurable out-of-home (“OOH”) advertising and digital engagement campaigns.
Drovo provides advertisers with the ability to brand black taxis, commercial fleet vehicles and private cars using dynamic digital screens typically mounted on the roof. Its technology goes beyond traditional outdoor advertising, as the displays can be adapted in real time, allowing a product to be advertised based on the location of the vehicle. Drovo’s technology provides transparency and visibility of all assets through an intuitive dashboard, enabling clients to see the location of the vehicles they have branded, the distance covered, and the routes taken. Drovo’s algorithms then use real time monitoring to provide an accurate likelihood of impressions, reach and overall campaign success.
This innovative advertising model also enables the operators of those vehicles to earn passive income, offering an attractive additional revenue stream, particularly to those businesses with large commercial fleets.
The transit outdoor advertising sector is predicted to grow this year and now accounts for circa 40% of the overall UK OOH market.
In recent years Drovo has raised close to £2 million to help develop its technology and commercial proposition. This latest funding round will enable the company to scale and take advantage of the clear market opportunity.
Alex Rothwell, Investment Director at Maven, said; “Drovo is an exciting emerging business which has significant IP and a first mover advantage in the UK placing it in a strong position to capitalise on the expected growth in this attractive advertising sub sector. The company also has a well-defined plan to diversify its sources of revenues further and ensure that it continues on this trajectory, and Maven looks forward to working with the Drovo team to help them reach their goals.”
Artjom Jekimtsev, Co-founder and CEO at Drovo, added: “Investors have recognised that our digital screens offer brands an innovative way to seize the attention of key target audiences as they navigate around London. Our proprietary technology platform provides a unique advertising solution for brands UK-wide. No other organisation is able to offer these opportunities in such a bespoke and measurable way.
“With discussions around key strategic partnerships ongoing, this is just the beginning of our journey: the scale and effectiveness of our offering will only increase. As we head into the winter months and daylight becomes more limited, our digital screens will shine brighter and attract more eyeballs while legacy OOH activations fade from view.”
