BrightTag, one of the world's leading marketing technology platforms, today announced a new $27 million round of funding led by Yahoo! JAPAN, which invested in the company after selecting BrightTag's newly patented Fuse™ technology to power its breakthrough data management platform (DMP).

Yahoo! JAPAN, the world's 10th largest* Internet company and Japan's digital market leader, announced plans to launch the world's first real-time, cross-channel DMP to help brand marketers and agencies leverage the mountain of customer data they're sitting on. While brands have access to big data through their websites, mobile apps, social media channels, call centers and brick-and-mortar locations, most lack the ability to use that data in real time to deliver more relevant, impactful marketing.

BrightTag Fuse™ technology, which was patented last month, is a real-time data integration solution that will allow the new Yahoo! JAPAN DMP to leverage live data about customer activities across channels and connect it with multiple media products offered by Yahoo! JAPAN and its partners. The DMP will be able to safely manage data for both Yahoo! JAPAN and its advertisers.

'Turning big data into immediately actionable knowledge is the holy grail for marketers in Japan and around the world,' said Mike Sands, President and Chief Executive Officer, BrightTag. 'Yahoo! JAPAN is at the forefront of helping marketers better understand, segment and target their audiences in complex ways that make their campaigns more effective and efficient.'

Yahoo! JAPAN plans to launch the DMP that is built on BrightTag Fuse™ technology in the spring of 2014, offering big data-driven marketing campaigns to the thousands of consumer brands that comprise its client base. Yahoo! JAPAN reaches 84 percent of the country's Internet users every month.

'Our expanded strategic partnership with Yahoo! JAPAN, our added funding and our new patent are all important milestones for BrightTag,' said Marc Kiven, Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, BrightTag. 'We're gratified by Yahoo! JAPAN's confidence in our technology and vision for creating the infrastructure for the next 20 years of marketing in Japan.'

Since the inception of the company, BrightTag has achieved 300+ percent year-over-year growth every year and is on pace to do so again in 2014.

'Today's marketers are struggling to have more relevant conversations with their customers across different touch points,' said Osamu Aranami, Corporate Officer, Head of Marketing Solutions Company, Yahoo! JAPAN. 'We're excited to be working with BrightTag to enable marketers in Japan to unlock more value from their data and execute highly relevant campaigns that are immediately responsive to customers' interests and behaviors, both online and offline.'

All current investors participated in the new financing, including Baird Capital, EPIC Ventures, I2A, Pritzker Group Venture Capital and TomorrowVentures. BrightTag will use the funds to accelerate the development of its patented technology and grow its sales efforts in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the U.S.

'Yahoo! JAPAN selected BrightTag's Fuse™, invested in the company and expanded our partnership because of its seasoned management team, impressive track record and patented leading-edge technology,' said Toru Takata, Vice President, Head of Display Ads, Marketing Solutions Company, Yahoo! JAPAN. 'BrightTag truly enables marketers to deliver the right offer to the right people at the right time via the right channel, so consumer brands and their agencies can finally keep up with customers in a multi-device, real-time world.'

For more information, visit the BrightTag Newsroom. You can also find BrightTag on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

*Source: Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, '2013 Internet Trends,' May 2013

About BrightTag

BrightTag is one of the world's leading marketing technology platforms, powering more than 1,000 brands and agencies. BrightTag empowers its clients to collect, connect and act on cross-channel customer data in real time, from websites and beyond - including mobile, social, email, ads, point-of-sale, CRM, call center, kiosks and more. This enables brand marketers and agencies to deliver smarter, more relevant omni-channel marketing that improves engagement, conversion and loyalty. BrightTag's patented, award-winning technology facilitates billions of requests around the globe, supporting top brands that generate more than $1.5 trillion in commerce, including Allstate, Crate & Barrel, DeVry University, GAP, JetBlue Airways, Macy's, 1-800-Flowers, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and many more. For more information, visit http://www.BrightTag.com.

About Yahoo! JAPAN

Yahoo! JAPAN, operated by Yahoo Japan Corporation, is a leading Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations in Japan. Yahoo! JAPAN seeks to provide online products and services essential to users' lives, and offers a full range of tools and marketing solutions for businesses to connect with Internet users in Japan. Yahoo! JAPAN is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.