Irvine-based Brand Affinity Technologies Inc., an advertising startup with technology that aims to automate celebrity endorsement deals, said Monday it bought La Jolla-based Beelya for undisclosed terms.
Privately held Beelya strikes licensing deals with professional athletes and sells what’s known as virtual sports memorabilia.
The items, such as limited edition footballs, are bought and given as gifts by members of big online social networks, such as Facebook and Second Life.
The company said it has agreements with over 100 sports stars, including Brett Favre, Johnny Damon and Matt Hasselbeck.
A percentage of Beelya’s sales go back to the athlete, or to charities of their choice, the company said on its web site.
Brand Affinity Technologies was started in 2007 by local technology startup veterans Ryan and Chad Steelberg.
The company runs a specialized database that hooks up advertisers and marketers with celebrities and athletes in order to do endorsement deals.
Ryan Steelberg is chief executive officer and brother Chad Steelberg is chief technology officer.
Brand Affinity said it has some 3,000 athletes in its database.
It is backed by some private equity firms and by the Netherland’s Ad Pepper Media International NV.
The Steelberg brothers also have a stake through their family investment fund, Newport Coast Investments, which they started in 1999.
The Steelbergs, who were raised in Newport Beach, have a long reputation for starting innovative technology companies and selling them at their peaks.
They started Brand Affinity after their most recent venture, dMarc Broadcasting Inc., was shut down by parent company Google Inc. last year.
Started in 2002, dMarc offered software and computers to radio stations that wanted to send targeted messages to listeners via radio waves.
The system allows stations to more easily schedule and deliver ads and keep track of when they air.
In 2006, Google paid an initial $102 million for dMarc, with provisions that it could pay up to about $1.2 billion if goals were met. It’s still unclear how much Google ended up paying in total.
Search kingpin Google decided at some point to shut down an unprofitable part of its radio advertising business that was built around technology from dMarc.
Both Steelbergs worked for Google until mid-2007. They started Brand Affinity shortly after.
DMarc was the Steelbergs’ fourth major venture together—and the second they sold to a big tech name that later closed the business.
In 1999, they sold AdForce Inc., a Web advertising company they started in Costa Mesa in 1995, to CMGI Inc. for $500 million. CMGI, now ModusLink Global Solutions Inc., closed AdForce in 2001.
