In an interesting acquisition deal, SqueezeCMM, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that helps content marketers assess the ROI of their investments, has been acquired by one of its own customers.
Digital Journal Group (DJG), a Toronto-based organization that invests in marketing, media, and technology companies, has acquired SqueezeCMM, adding it to DJG’s portfolio of companies. SqueezeCMM is Toronto-based and a HIGHLINE portfolio company (disclosure: BetaKit’s East and West Coast offices are housed in HIGHLINE’s Vancouver and Toronto co-working spaces).
SqueezeCMM is also releasing a new version of its content managing platform, which was co-developed with DJG.
Along with the acquisition news, SqueezeCMM is also releasing a new version of its content managing platform, which was co-developed with DJG. New features will include real-time response capabilities via alerts or predefined rules, prioritized and contextual performance metrics, and integration options with adtech and retargeting platforms, among others.
“Content marketing data is often locked in many different platforms because so many channels use content, and that’s a key reason why marketers struggle to measure performance,” said Jen Evans, SqueezeCMM co-founder. “Critical data sits in adtech, search, web, publishing, marketing automation, email, native and social media silos that are not connected or related. Marketing executives want this data combined and turned into actionable insight.”
DJG will lead product development with SqueezeCMM’s founding team, and deploy the product across its businesses. At the same time, SqueezeCMM will continue to operate as a separate brand, and the founders will retain an active role in continued growth and development. Existing costumers will be transitioned to SqueezeCMM’s new platform over the coming months.
“SqueezeCMM releases content marketers from being tied to a single platform for metrics,” said SqueezeCMM co-founder Adam Tanton. “We used to be about URLs, but SqueezeCMM’s new API and analytics engine will allow us to create more value for B2B clients by ingesting and classifying search, web, email, marketing automation, social publishing and data from other platforms that exist in enterprise marketing operations today.”
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 86 percent of 5,000 marketers spanning various industries reported that they use content marketing, but only 21 percent of B2B marketers consider themselves successful at tracking ROI. SqueezeCMM is hoping to fill this gap with their new platform.
“Content marketing performance measurement is a huge problem for CMOs today, and many of the tools available to marketers just don’t cut it; they’re basic click-tracking tools, or they just measure engagement or reach,” said Chris Hogg, a partner in DJG. “They don’t track leads, and data is often bot-infested and not validated. Content marketing needs trusted cross-platform performance metrics and analytics that do more, so SqueezeCMM has the opportunity to lead a whole new category of marketing technology.”