T-Venture

Online Video as a Driver for Growth: T-Venture and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft Invest Seven-Digit Euro Amount in Berlin-Based Video Marketer clipkit

• Strong boost for video marketing, syndication and player technology: clipkit is further expanding its reach, content, and product
• According to Bitkom, consumption of video content is increasing to 50 minutes per day in German-speaking markets
• T-Venture and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft via its VC Fonds Kreativwirtschaft Berlin invest mid-seven-digit Euro figure in Germany’s largest independent online video marketer

Bonn, January 26, 2012 - T-Venture, the Venture Capital subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH invest in the German video marketer clipkit. Supported by the mid-seven-digit Euro financing round, the Berlin-based company aims to further develop their own video player technology and to significantly expand their video content library as well as network reach. The Managing Directors Cengiz Kurt and Mathias Blüm plan to recruit more creative sales, product, and technology experts for their 24-strong team. With the increase in staff, the mission for 2012 is to extend national and international partnerships focused on distribution of video content to any end-user device.

„Our mission for 2012 is to strengthen our position as both the innovation leader among German video syndication services and one of the leading video marketers in Germany”, says Mathias Blüm, CEO of clipkit. “We’re excited to get the trust and boost of Deutsche Telekom and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft to realize our product and sales agenda both in Germany and internationally.”

Roger Bendisch, Managing Director of the IBB Beteilungsgesellschaft mbH, adds: „clipkit’s ambitious team has managed to conquer all essential levels of video marketing and syndication within a short time. A unique, flexible player technology as well as comprehensive partnerships in the fields of video content, reach, targeting, and ad formats – all those factors have convinced us to play a vital part in furthering clipkit’s future development.”

“Video advertising is one of the biggest growth factors within the digital industry”, says Frank Bachér, Managing Director of InteractiveMedia CCSP GmbH - Deutsche Telekom Group. “As one of the most dynamic German companies in this sector, clipkit is a strong partner and we are more than happy to promote their growth.”

Clipkit is specialized in the syndication of premium video content, which is distributed and marketed on mobile and stationary websites – via their own video player. Consumption of online video content in German-speaking markets has increased to 50 minutes per day, according to Bitkom, the German Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media. That’s why demand for licensed and marketable clips for online publishers is rising drastically.

With the help of clipkit, publishers get relevant video content presented in the look and feel of their websites, blogs, social networking profiles or mobile applications. Thereby attractiveness, retention, and thus ad revenues are demonstrably enhanced. On the other hand, advertisers get access to more than 100 million marketable video views per month, which they can target with state-of-the-art targeting technologies. The reach is composed of a partner network comprising more than 100 websites (such as MyVideo.de). Furthermore, above-average engagement rates are achieved by the intelligent combination of interactive pre-roll ad formats like “inRoll”. The win-win-win approach of syndication enables content producers like dpa or SPORT1 to get extensive rates of engagement.

In addition, clipkit offers marketers and publishers flexible cooperation alternatives, e.g. internal video syndication and white label solutions for publishing houses (with or without marketing measures) or secondary monetization measures for existing video networks.