Luxury Ad Network Halogen Network Got $5 Million
This story was written by Rafat Ali.
Halogen Network, a relatively-small online ad network aimed at luxury market, received $5 million in second round, from Kohlberg Ventures and angel investors. The San Francisco-based site, which runs on just over 50 sites, is aimed at marketers wanting to reach niche wealthy audiences beyond the traditional sites like NYTimes.com or WSJ.com. Most directly in startups, it competes with the likes of Martini Media Network, which launched in fall last year, also aimed at luxury audiences.
But of course the wealthy users have been affected as much by the downturn, and competition in any of lifestyle ad network (including Glam Media) is going after similar kinds of dollars. The company's now trying to define luxury beyond just rich audiences to socially and creatively conscious, as it defines here.
The round was closed in late 2007, but not sure why they chose to announce it now. Also wondering how much out of that money it has left now. Is this is a cry to get attention and possibly get more investors roped in, or least for them to listen in? Their somewhat flimsy reasoning: "We wanted our partners, publishers and clients to know that we have the resources and commitment to continue to invest and grow through the current environment." Some more details on VB here.
By Rafat Ali