Mumbai-based content marketplace startup Spiral Content Solutions Pvt Ltd will be unveiling its second product ScatterX in January 2016. ScatterX is a content recommendation engine which allow brands to syndicate content onto their websites.
The ScatterX model will work like this. A fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, which runs a website for its coffee brand, for instance, finds an article on 'Four ways to use leftover coffee' through the recommendation made by ScatterX. The company then purchases the article from ScatterX and uploads it on its own site.
“ScatterX adds layers to our first creation Scatter, an ad wrap product that allows a brand to use relevant content to advertise,†says Rajan Srinivasan, founder and CEO, Spiral Content Solutions Pvt Ltd. “Next we plan to start a commission-based model. Under this, depending on what kind of content a brand requires, we will have freelancers including content creators, designers, etc., on our platform creating tailor-made content.â€
Scatter, the ad wrap product, allows a brand to pick up content from those sites or blogs which are the company's partners. For example, a shampoo brand which has an account on Scatter can access content related to its product category. The brand can then buy any such content and the web page where the content is visible has the brand’s advertisement.
“Instead of charging on the basis of number of words in an article, we bill a brand for the number of articles purchased. We further share the revenue with publishers for all the content purchased,†adds Srinivasan.
Media company The Indian Express (P) Ltd, which publishes English daily The Indian Express and business daily The Financial Express, recently invested an undisclosed amount in Spiral Content Solutions. The content solutions firm is looking to raise its first seed fund next year in April 2016.
Without divulging the exact amount the company is looking to raise next year, Srinivasan says the fresh funds will be used for expansion which includes recruiting more staff and creating a strong position in the international market apart from getting more advertisers and publishers on to the platform.
Horlicks Women, Club Mahindra, Maruti, Gionee, ICICI Lombard, Bharti AXA and Kotak Securities are some of the brands using its products. The list of publishers on the platform includes India Today, Indian Express, IBT Media, Business Today, Khaleej Times, OneIndia, Rolling Stone, Man’s World and Gizbot.
Spiral Content Solutions was founded in 2014 by former IBNLive CEO Rajan Srinivasan and his former colleagues at Network18. Srinivasan had left Network18 Media & Investments Ltd in 2013. The other partners in the startup include Network18's former COO, Mahip Singh, and former CTO, Pratik Poddar.