Back in 1999 I started a company called DigitalHound…we primarily targeted media companies who were paralyzed with fear after MP3s hit the scene.  It was a long drawn out sales cycle as the major labels were hunkered down waiting to see what was going to stick.  Because of the sales cycle we also offered ancillary “e-Insight” services, which allowed major companies to understand how their brand was interacting with and being perceived on the Internet.  This was right around the time the Cluetrain Manifesto hit the scene so it was a service that a good number of our clients were interested in.

While it was an interesting business it never blossomed into a sizable part of what we were doing.  Over the years I have watched a whole slew of companies come and go in the space, with only a few exhibiting sticking power, Cyveillance being one.  So I was a bit surprised when I recently heard of a company in Singapore called Brandtology that just raised €1 million from Walden International’s Seed Ventures IV.

While the online format (message boards vs. twitter),access modalities and time-frame (historic vs. real-time web) are different today than they were in ‘99 the consumer conversations remain the same, and on the surface Brandtology’s offering is an incremental improvement over passive services from 10 years ago.  I think what is most needed in this area are tools that allow companies/brands to reach out and proactively engage with consumers in culturally sensitive and contextually relevant ways.

I’m not sure if the money still flowing into the space is a testament to the unmet need for these types of services or to the short-term memories of some investors in the space.  Either way it will be interesting to see if Brandtology will become just another relic in the brand intelligence junk yard or a company that redefines the space.

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