Tagman is one of the quiet success stories of the European ad-tech sector. Its universal tagging technology is being used in a number of high-profile US and European agencies, as well as some of the largest e-commerce players on the web. Tagman recently raised $1.3 this month in new funding to further expand its business in the US and European markets. Jon Baron, General Manager and co-founder of Tagman, spoke to ExchangeWire this week about tracking the complete user journey, the state of display market, and how Tagman's technology can be used for better re-targeting.

Tagman has established itself as the "universal tag" company. How would you differentiate yourself from bigger competitors in the space?

JB: Our differentiation is that we are a dedicated and independent tag management system. Dedicated means tag management is all we do – it is not a mere platform for delivering a core service like ad serving or site analytics. Independent means we are able and willing to develop a solution that enables advertisers and agencies to switch tags in and out of a site in seconds – in other words, switch between different ad servers, analytics providers, behavioural networks etc. at will. You can see how enabling such a level playing field might not be in the interests of the incumbent providers, but actually we enable advertisers to get the best out of those solutions by truly understanding the complete user journey. When an advertiser or agency can add a new tag in seconds, tag providers are able to get in to a new client much more easily and show what they can do. We think that makes TagMan a genuine game-changer.

You recently inked a big deal with Boden. Can you give more of an overview on the new partnership?

JB: It’s a classic deal for TagMan – an international business focused on its e-commerce capabilities, which means it is looking to make its online marketing as smart as possible. Since SEO, paid search, affiliates and display networks are crucial to its success, Boden knows that understanding how they work together, which channels really contribute to a sale and being able to switch tags in and out seamlessly are a true no-brainer.

Hence Boden is using TagMan for complete tag management across all its sites in the US and Europe and uniting data reporting from all the tags that used to be housed on those sites through our universal tag and interface.

They’re a great business, very sharp online and just the kind of client TagMan loves working with.

Tagman is well established in both the US and Europe. Do you think the European market is still a big opportunity?

JB: Absolutely. There’s plenty of work to do in the UK and the other major European markets but we understand and respect the opportunity in the US. The market Stateside is ahead in terms of scale and sophistication and thus derives even greater benefits out of the efficiencies TagMan delivers. They also tend to use more of TagMan’s advanced applications, for example in re-targeting. But, wherever they live, most e-commerce businesses face the same barrier to smarter marketing – that is the amount of tracking tags on their pages, the difficulty of making changes to those tags and the fact that they don’t talk to each other. TagMan takes all that pain away and allows them to get back to making marketing decisions. It’s a story that looks just the same wherever an advertiser is based.

Did Tagman secure most of its recent $1.5 million funding in Europe. Do you think it is difficult for start-ups (particularly in ad-tech) to access funding here in Europe?

JB: The funding was sourced through two angel networks based in London, but the angels in those groups had vast experience in both the US and Europe. I think the borders are dropping very fast and we expect we could have gained the deal in either market, it’s just that Cambridge Angels and London Business School E100 got to us first! The cross-market experience among the lead investors was a key factor in our accepting the deal.

Where do you see the big growth areas for Tagman in 2010?

JB: We’ll see growth in the same places that have seen us get to this point, that is in large e-commerce advertisers seeking as much efficiency from their online marketing as possible. Agencies keen to be able to move tags in and out of their client sites and drive better campaigns through a true understanding of customer journeys are helping too.

Does Tagman see continued growth for its technology within display advertising? Can you explain how a trader on the buy-side might best use Tagman’s technology to improve campaign performance across exchanges and other automated platforms?

JB: Absolutely. Display for us is one of the unsung heroes – alongside SEO – when it comes to our understanding of how they drive online engagement and sales. First, by understanding the complete customer journey, buyers and planners can gauge the true value of their display campaigns and adjust their media plans – and buying strategies – accordingly. But, at a more advanced level, re-targeting is so much more straightforward using a system that enables a single user ID. With TagMan on advertiser sites, pixels can be fired against any rules the buyer wants to set, enabling very advanced segmentation and a unified data set.

How do you see the display market developing in 2010?

JB: We’re expecting the commoditisation of display inventory to bottom out this year. Though there’s probably some way still to go, trends such as the demographic targeting available through social networks like Facebook and the higher profile and understanding of exchanges and behavioural targeting should see agencies driving much greater results from display campaigns. In the end, consumer attention is only going to shift evermore to the web and away from traditional display media. As long as media-owners are able to invest in great content and systems that enable relevant, non-interruptive advertising alongside it, online display should gain ground.

Nonetheless, there is a large cloud – the shift to opt-in only cookies being driven in both the US and Europe. Unless a solution can be found to enabling simple opt-in and an informed understanding among consumers of what cookies mean to their online experience, we will all have to go back to the drawing board about how web content is funded.