Hippoc’s web-based platform can predict the cognitive impact of an ad before it goes live.
Montréal-based startup Hippoc is revealing $3 million CAD in seed, equity funding that it raised last summer as it looks to carve out space for itself in North America for testing ad campaigns using neuroscience.
The use of neuroscience in marketing communication is referred to as ‘neuromarketing.’ It collects cognitive data from consumers based on how they perceive advertisements. This tech segment has been around for a couple of decades, and is based on existing marketing content or simulations under research studies. Hippoc aims to help digital marketers determine the success of their campaigns, before they go live.
Hippoc raised its $3 million funding round from Colvest Holdings and Distinction Capital, the private investment fund of CGI founder Serge Godin. This represents the company’s total funding to date.
Hippoc claims that its platform has thousands of users, and its client base is growing “exponentially.”
Founded by Jean-Maxime Larouche (CEO) and Kévin Combe (CRO) in 2019, Hippoc’s web-based app uses artificial intelligence and neuroscience to predict the cognitive impact of an ad prior to its publication. The predictive results come from tests carried out on a replica of the average human brain, and are sent to marketing specialists to validate the effectiveness of their ads.
Hippoc’s dataset comprises information from populations in Canada, the United States, and Europe between the ages of 10 and 60 years old. The participants were exposed to thousands of images, and measurements of attention and memory were taken using eye tracking or a standard memory test. Hippoc says that the results showed that although consumers differ in terms of sociodemographics, there is consistency across all people for both memory and attention.
Combe said that beyond clicks and mouse movements, it is the ad’s design that people look at and remember, and it is also the ad’s design that plays “an essential role in the purchasing decision process.”
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“This is what Hippoc enables advertising and marketing professionals to pre-measure,” Combe said.
Hippoc claims that its platform has thousands of users, and its client base is growing “exponentially.” Its clients include Canadian marketing and advertising agencies Glassroom, BleuBlancRouge, and Adviso.
According to Hippoc, the funds are being used to expand its business in North America as well as Europe. It has collaborations with marketing and advertising agencies underway in New York. The company also plans to develop integrations with advertising platforms like Google and Facebook, as well as new applications to analyze different types of content, such as emails, blogs, and GIFs.
Featured image from Hippoc.
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