deal united has concluded its latest round of financing with outstanding results. Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and Venture Incubator have invested a hearty seven-figure sum in the Munich-based online rewards platform. deal united helps providers of software, online games, social networks and online shops to optimize monetization. We have already established ourselves as Europe’s leading online rewards platform for monetization of digital and virtual goods.

deal united’s concept is aimed at improving turnover and conversion rates for online merchants. Only around one percent of people using a software test version are actually willing to purchase the full version — the majority decide to stick with the free downloads. The monetization rate is similarly low for social networks and the sale of premium features or virtual currency in online games. By integrating deal united’s solutions into their websites, online businesses can convert users into paying customers by offering them attractive rewards such as vouchers or free products (e.g. software or virtual currency). This is made possible through cooperation with top advertising partners.

“The deal united concept has already proven very successful and has been implemented by many well-known partners,” said Jan Borgstädt, Principal at Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments. “The approach has had great success in the areas of software, gaming, social networks and retail. deal united is able to provide solutions to these markets of the future which have a particularly strong demand for new monetizing concepts.”

Daniel Gutenberg, General Partner at Venture Incubator, also sees a bright future ahead for deal united. “Through the use of innovative marketing solutions, deal united has created a cross-selling arrangement which benefits all stakeholders — even the end user. In our opinion, this is one of the great strengths of the deal united solution.”

Jarg Temme, deal united CEO, is extremely pleased that the company can expand internationally following the latest round of financing from new investors. “Venture Incubator is a strong partner for us with a lot of experience in eCommerce, and we can benefit greatly from this expertise in the future. As Europe’s leading media and services company, we are also thrilled that Bertlesmann Digital Media Investments is on board with us and that they have seen the potential of our business. Our full focus in now on  international expansion and on extending our position as Europe’s leading provider of ad-funded solutions for monetizing digital goods.”

deal united currently offers two successful marketing solutions for online businesses: Pay4You and Incentive Deal.

With Pay4You, the customer gets a free product like software, virtual currency or membership in a social network if they buy merchandise or coupons from one of deal united’s advertising partners. With Incentive Deal, shoppers who are undecided about purchasing are offered a shopping voucher to use with one of deal united’s advertising partners if they decide to go ahead with their original purchase. This is an added incentive to purchase a previously viewed product or increase the value of their shopping cart.

More than 500 online businesses, including Avira, Deutsche Telekom AG (Softwareload), DivX, GData, libri.de, Owlient, Red Moon and Upjers, have successfully implemented these free solutions for monetization. The partnerhips extend from German-speaking countries to other European countries including Great Britain, France, Spain and Italy. In terms of advertising partners, deal united works with well-known companies such as buecher.de, myToys, Neckermann, OTTO and Tchibo. deal united provides these companies with targeted new customers on a cost-per-order basis.

About deal united:

Since 2008, deal united has been linking merchants, advertisers and internet users in a mutually profitable way that supplies merchants with revenue, advertisers with new customers and users with the opportunity to get virtual credits or actual products for free. In collaboration with over 500 merchants — from game developers to online shops — and more than 2,000 advertisers, deal united reaches millions of users.

About Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI):

BDMI is a strategic venture investor focused on innovative digital media technologies, products and distribution channels across the globe. They look for opportunities to accelerate growth through BDMI’s financial and management resources and close connectivity with one or more Bertelsmann divisions. BDMI is a subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG. With consolidated revenues of over €15.4 billion (U.S. $21.4 billion), Bertelsmann AG is an international media corporation encompassing television (RTL Group), book publishing (Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), media services (Arvato) and media clubs (Direct Group) in more than 50 countries. For further information, visit www.bdmifund.com

About Venture Incubator:

VI Partners is a Swiss venture capital firm that supports university offshoots and other promising startup companies with capital, coaching, consulting and networks. Via their current “Venture Incubator” fund, VI Partners invests “Smart Money” to turn promising technology-based ideas for products and services into successful businesses. Venture Incubator was established by McKinsey & Company and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ), and started operations in 2001. It now manages an investment fund of 101 million Swiss francs with investors representing 10 blue chip enterprises from industry and finance. Website: www.vipartners.ch