Canadian entrepreneur and investor Anthony Lacavera is getting into advertising, as a partner and investor in performance marketing agency King Street Media.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and Lacavera will not play an operational role, but King Street Media—which launched in late 2017 and now has 15 full-time staff—said that his investment will allow for a “dynamic phase of growth and expansion.”
The investment will be made through Globalive, the venture capital firm founded by Lacavera, who is best known for launching Wind Mobile in Canada which was acquired by Shaw in 2015 and then rebranded as Freedom.
“We specialize in growing founder-led businesses and startups from $1 million to $20 million+ using a holistic, consultative approach, that includes a technology-driven project management system, and strategic talent implementation,” said King Street Media managing partner Anthony Chiaravalloti.
“Many agencies are focused on servicing large corporations, and are notorious for using legacy technology, systems and frameworks,” he said. “With this investment from Globalive, King Street Media will be able to scale its service offering for startups and innovative businesses/organizations, using the latest technology in marketing and talent/human resources.”
There has been growing interest in performance marketing in recent years as brands and performance focused agencies leverage big data and technology to reach consumers with highly targeted tactical advertising.
“I believe a marketing plan should look more like an accounting cashflow statement or allocation of a diversified investment portfolio, rather than an artistic mood board or creative brand idea,” said Chiaravalloti on his Linkedin.
However, King Street Media also places an emphasis on the content and creative being used because the competition for attention is rising, forcing brands to create higher volumes of quality content, added Mark Simone, partner and director of accounts.
“Creative is the great differentiator… We’ve seen that content is every bit as valuable as who [is seeing it] and where advertising lives,” he said.
“The ability to produce strong creative is a key component in a brand’s ability to scale. That’s why we’re combining technology, custom processes and systems, and creative talent to enable strong ad performance.”
In the last year, King Street Media also undertook a brand makeover and launched “CreatorClub,” which it describes as a one-stop hub for content creation that “connects brands with creators, and provides access to a fully-equipped studio space.”
