Grapevine Raises $1.1 Million in Seed Capital to Change the Way Brands Sell Products Through the Power of YouTube Stars

BOSTON, Feb. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Grapevine, the YouTube native marketing experts, today announced that the company has closed $1.1 million in seed funding. Grapevine's network of more than 4,000 YouTube stars gets 350 million views monthly with videos averaging a click-through rate 50 times higher than traditional display for beauty, fashion and lifestyle customers, including Groupon, NYX Cosmetics, Remington and Walgreens.

YouTube is quickly proving to be one of the strongest platforms for introducing and selling products to consumers. Grapevine supercharges a brand's YouTube vision by combining powerful marketing analytics with the creativity of YouTube stars to deliver videos consumers trust and act upon.

Grapevine's on-demand platform makes it easy for brands to promote products with YouTube stars. Brands can review creative proposals submitted by interested YouTubers, monitor audience analytics as the views roll in, and ultimately gauge success with detailed conversion metrics.

For YouTube stars, Grapevine offers unique product sponsorships with no exclusive agreements. YouTubers have the flexibility to work on deals with interesting brands while maintaining the creative freedom necessary to make original, compelling content.

"While producing shows for Discovery Channel, I noticed many YouTubers were getting more views than primetime TV programs. This gave me the idea to create Grapevine," said Brendan Lattrell, founder and CEO of Grapevine. "It's daunting for brands to find YouTubers that have a relevant audience and collaborate with them. Grapevine solves this problem by placing products into the hands of trusted YouTube stars while providing technology that generates click-through and conversion rates which are nothing short of game changing."

Grapevine has brought together a world-class group of investors including Boston Seed with Dave Balter as the leading partner and Atlas Venture via Boston Syndicates. Additional notable investors participating in the round include Diane Hessan, Joe Caruso, Jere Doyle and TJ Mahony.

"Grapevine's model represents a significant evolution in the word-of-mouth industry that BzzAgent pioneered a decade ago," said Dave Balter. "YouTube amplifies word-of-mouth marketing to reach millions, and Grapevine has figured out what few have been able to achieve -- how to measure ROI and prove actual results in sales lift. I'm excited to be working with Brendan and his team as they lead the charge to unlock this powerful new marketing channel."

Learn more about Grapevine for brands and YouTube stars at Grapevinelogic.com

SOURCE Grapevine