The consumer loyalty company, which is backed by energy company ITC Holdings, has entered into a strategic alliance with the multinational Aeroplan, while securing a further round of funding.
US-based consumer loyalty company Cardlytics signed a strategic alliance agreement with Canada-based loyalty management company Groupe Aeroplan on Thursday, and closed $33m in funding from existing investors including the US-based energy transmission company ITC Holdings.
As well as ITC, venture capital firms Canaan Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, TTV Capital and Kinetic Ventures all participated in the round. All five were involved when Cardlytics secured $18m in its August 2010 series B round.
Canaan, Polaris and TTV funded Cardlytics’ series A round to the tune of $5m, in June 2009, Canaan and Polaris having previously invested $3.4m of seed funding, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Rupert Duchesne, president and chief executive officer of Groupe Aeroplan, said: "We heard first-hand from Cardlytics’ bank and merchant partners about the impact that Cardlytics’ transaction-driven marketing TM is making. Banks and their customers are benefiting from great rewards programs but the biggest impact is on the merchants, who are able to leverage market insights, targeting and measurement that is ground-breaking. We are very excited to take this global."
Groupe Aeroplan and Cardlytics operate in a broadly similar sphere. Groupe Aeroplan operates a number of consumer loyalty systems internationally including Calson Marketing in Canada, and Nectar in the UK And Italy. Cardlytics operates by placing advertisements and offers in bank statements which correspond to customers’ purchasing history. The capital will fund international growth.
