Aditive turns icky boring ads into content you may actually enjoy

Marketing startup Aditive received funding for its platform that makes advertising more fun for consumers.

According to the SEC filing, the company raised $3.3 million in equity financing. The investors have not yet been disclosed

Ads tend to be a necessary evil for consumers, a nuisance to endure while being entertained, or a peripheral item on the side of a web page. Aditive gamifies advertising so consumers are incentivized to engage with the content beyond passive viewing.

It’s like getting kids to eat their vegetables. You have to make it fun.

This model makes use of virtual currency, coupons, sweepstakes, social networks, and so on to draw users more deeply into marketing campaigns and reward them for buying and sharing offers with their friends. The solutions are intended to match brands’ advertising goals.

Examples of Aditive strategies are “Buy with a Friend” promotions, where people have to rally their social circles to activate a deal, or scavenger hunts in which people hunt through display ads and site content to find game pieces.

The company rebranded from ShopSocial, which launched in 2010 and previously raised $1.2 million from Metamorphic Ventures and X/Seed Capital in 2011. It has offices in San Francisco and New York.