RootsRated.com, the Chattanooga-based outdoor media platform, has secured a total of $2.5 million in a recent Series A funding round.
The investment positions the company for growth as a content engine and delivery platform for the outdoor industry, with early adoption in the travel and healthcare industries. RootsRated will use the investment to continue to develop its proprietary turnkey content licensing software and custom content solutions for brand and retail partners.
Several leading CEOs from the outdoor industry have participated in the investment, recognizing that effective storytelling that is capable of reaching consumers in localized and personalized contexts across all devices and channels is critical to deeper customer engagement.
“Brands and retailers are under a tremendous amount of pressure to create and distribute engaging content,” said RootsRated Founder and CEO Fynn Glover. “When content achieves relevance on a personal and local level, it is more useful for the consumer and can provide fuel for the modern marketer to build awareness and generate leads. The challenge for most brand marketers is that the time required to create and distribute content that achieves the right mix can be overwhelming.“
We’re establishing a network of expert outdoor content creators and delivering localized content to brands and retailers to help them think and function as publishers on a turnkey basis.”
RootsRated is a platform that connects people and brands with original content about the best outdoor experiences, handpicked by local outdoor experts and written by professional writers. RootsRated provides sponsored content and subscription-based content licensing to major brand partners in the outdoor, travel, and healthcare industries, including Marmot, Merrell, Outdoor Research, Utah Office of Tourism, BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama, and OrthoCarolina. As brands come under increasing pressure to act as publishers, RootsRated empowers marketers to engage in localized conversations through content that informs and inspires a healthy, outdoor lifestyle. Founded in 2012, the company is one of the fastest growing media platforms in the outdoor vertical.
