In the increasingly competitive environment of online advertising, high-potential technology companies need long-term partners. That's why Sofiouest, an investment and holding company, is helping S4M, the leader in drive-to-store solutions, to develop sustainably by participating in its latest round of financing.
The traditional advertising market is in a state of upheaval. 365 billion is invested in traditional advertising every year, but it's still very difficult to assess the return on investment, since it's generated by channels that are difficult to measure, such as billboards, radio and print advertising. Customers are less and less willing to buy advertising without a guarantee of an effective ROI. This creates high expectations for effective advertising campaign management solutions.
One of the strongest expectations concerns the creation of traffic in online and offline stores, or "drive to store", as 90% of sales worldwide are made in physical stores. The highly competitive "drive to store" mobile advertising market is coveted by many players, but only those who assert their technological leadership worldwide will prevail, with a strong valuation opportunity at stake for their investors.
S4M has the potential and the capacity to become the world champion of mobile advertising ," explains Patrice Hutin, Deputy Managing Director of Sofiouest. Its mobile solutions are a must, as they apply equally well to online and physical stores, whether they be retail chains or local boutiques."
Christophe Collet, founder and CEO of S4M, is an experienced mobile marketing entrepreneur. He has gathered around him a close-knit team, some of whom have come from his previous companies.
"In addition to the quality of the team, S4M perfectly met our investment criteria," emphasizes Patrice Hutin: high maturity (€23m sales in 2017), strong growth on several continents and the technological platform for the digital advertising of the future."
With over 5,000 effective advertising campaigns delivered every year in Europe, the United States and Asia, S4M helps major international brands boost their in-store traffic and thus their sales. The company is aiming for sales of $100 million (€84 million) by 2020.
S4M's main differentiating factor is its development of FUSIO by S4M: a unified platform for real-time measurement and optimization of all advertising campaign indicators, both online and offline. The company has enriched its technology with exclusive proprietary algorithms, such as Dynamic Catchment Areas, a unique feature that enables consumers to be targeted according to their affinity with a brand and the time they spend walking or driving to its points of sale.
Sofiouest will support S4M over the long term, in particular by putting S4M in touch with key players in its ecosystem, including several entities in the SIPA Ouest France group.
"Sofiouest's managers bring an entrepreneurial and industrial vision," says Christophe Collet, CEO of S4M.
