We missed this earlier: Kolkata based Tookitaki, a social targeting and ad optimization platform, has raised $200,000 from a group of investors including Blume Ventures, India Internet Group, Harvard Angels and Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) Ahmadabad, reports Techcircle. Started by Abhishek Chatterjee and Jeeta Bandhopadhyay in 2010, the company claims that its technology queries millions of data points from social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, among others to find purchasing patterns of consumers on the web. Based on this data, consumers are grouped to map behaviourial patterns in real-time using machine learning techniques for clients to target these groups with ads on different online platforms. However, the cost of their services is not clear. The company's present clientele includes CouponRani, Done By None, Craftvilla.com, among others, as per its website. Our take: Online advertising is still seen as second to offline ads where the returns on investment is still considered to be higher. This is more so with online ads placed based on the bidding system where there is still a lack of clarity on returns on investment. This technology could help consumer brands with clearer picture of what is happening online, and perhaps buy "audience" instead of buying pageviews. Real-time analytics on consumer behaviour could help brands optimise on their ad budgets. Other players in this space: In July 2013, Mumbai-based digital and social media agency Gozoop had acquired Mumbai-based social media agency Red Digital for an undisclosed amount. In June 2013, social Media analytics startup Parakweet had raised $2 million in an angel funding round from Scott…
