Tritech Media has acquired a 51% interest in Ionizr, a local provider of real-time proximity advertising technology, for an undisclosed amount.
Tritech was founded by entrepreneur William Kirsh, who helped build local media giant Primedia, among other businesses.
Wayne Venter, CEO and founder of Ionizr, retains a 49% interest.
Kirsh hogged the limelight in 2013 following the aborted merger between his company, Value+ Nettwork, with JSE-listed FoneWorx. Value+ Nettwork has rebranded to Tritech Media.
Tritech in December last year also acquired a 45% stake in local gaming industry innovator GameZBoost for an undisclosed amount.
Through its proprietary technology, Ionizr provides analytics-driven location-based mobile engagement tools for mall owners, retail tenants and advertisers. It is able to anonymously track consumer behaviour in shopping malls and retailers through its ability to identify mobile devices.
It achieves this through its novel node technology, which doubles up as a proximity sensor and provides free WiFi. The software platform provides targeted advertising and other personalised content.
Tritech Media believes anonymous data is particularly relevant to mall owners as it allows them to understand where consumers are dwelling, enabling them to influence the flow of consumer traffic with real-time mall marketing.
"Our investment in Ionizr supports our first mover advantage in precision marketing which up until now has been focused on providing turnkey corporate loyalty capabilities," says Kirsh.
"Location-based marketing services are growing at an extraordinary rate and are anticipated to rise from $10 billion currently to around $18 billion globally by 2019. Ionizr also gives us an in-store presence where 90% of retail purchase decisions are made," he adds.
"We built a global leading platform that helps retailers understand their visitors as well as engage with them," says Venter.
"Our platform offers a powerful marketing and analytics tool that generates additional revenue, drives customer loyalty, delivers optimal returns on investment and provides valuable insights. We're excited about developing our platform as a Tritech Media portfolio company, harnessing group synergies as we meet very encouraging demand growth," he concludes.
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