Admiral, a startup that initially gained traction with ad block recovery tools, recently announced the successful closure of a $19 million growth equity and debt funding round. This latest funding round brings Admiral’s total capital raised to $28 million since its inception in 2015. The funding was led by Harbert Growth Partners, the growth equity arm of Harbert Management Corporation, with participation from Bridge Bank.
Originally known for its ad block recovery tools, Admiral has since rebranded itself as a „visitor relationship management“ platform, akin to customer relationship management (CRM) but tailored specifically for publishers. While CRM software is commonly used by marketers and advertisers to track a potential customer’s journey, digital publishers face a unique challenge in engaging with their readers, viewers, and visitors.
Admiral’s platform is designed to help publishers cultivate stronger relationships with their audiences, ultimately leading to diversified revenue streams. CEO Dan Rua emphasizes the importance of moving away from traditional ad tech methods and paywalls towards more personalized and engaging interactions with visitors.
The shift from ad block recovery technology to visitor relationship management is a strategic move for Admiral in response to evolving privacy regulations, signal loss, and a growing emphasis on user choice. Rua highlights the need for publishers to establish meaningful connections with their visitors through conversational messaging, brand identity, and a deliberate strategy for engagement.
In addition to its existing tools for ad block recovery, email registration, first-party data capture, donation paywalls, and social paid subscriptions, Admiral has begun exploring AI technology. By leveraging OpenAI’s GPT engine, Admiral can create and test personalized messages based on a visitor’s behavior, interests, and the content they are engaging with.
One of Admiral’s upcoming initiatives is the development of „Pub Brain,“ a tool that aims to provide smarter content recommendations to visitors within a publisher’s ecosystem. This tool will enhance the visitor experience by offering relevant content suggestions directly from the publisher’s knowledge base.
Despite the challenges faced by publishers in collecting first-party data and encouraging visitor authentication, Admiral recently announced a partnership with The Trade Desk to integrate with TTD’s single-sign-on tool, OpenPass, and UID2, an open-source identity solution. This integration will streamline the authentication process for visitors and help publishers leverage first-party data more effectively.
Overall, Admiral’s focus on visitor relationship management and personalized engagement strategies reflects a growing trend in the digital publishing industry. By prioritizing meaningful interactions with visitors and investing in innovative technologies, Admiral is poised to help publishers navigate the evolving landscape of digital advertising and revenue generation.