In cities like Cincinnati where marketing is king, “you are what you buy” is a familiar phrase. But the minds behind
Strap, the Brandery-born human data intelligence startup, believe that “you are what you buy” and “you are what you tweet” are hardly relevant in today’s marketplace.
“We say you are what you
do,” says Patrick Henshaw, COO at Strap, “whether it’s an activity, the food you eat, body metrics, sleep metrics. With that data, we can paint a more precise picture (for our clients).”
Strap’s approach to human data recently earned it a visit from
Mondelez International, the global snack food leader. In June, Strap applied to be a part of Mondelez’s
Shopper Futures Program, an initiative that brings together entrepreneurs and leading retailers to improve the customer experience. Last week, Strap announced that it’s been accepted into the program.
Strap will be using its human data intelligence platform to pitch a branding/marketing strategy for Trident, one of Mondelez's major brands.
Mondelez officials will visit Cincinnati this week as a part of an immersion tour. The Strap team will then have 90 days to come up with a pilot campaign for Trident. Convenience store Kum & Go will be Strap's acting retail partner for the project.
Strap’s technology integrates with smart phones and wearables to passively collect data ranging from a person’s physical activity to their sleeping habits. Strap can then offer data science to the brand to help them support their mission.
“And the data is not tainted by your social habits,” Henshaw says.
Strap has been an active part of the
#StartupCincy movement for a couple of years now. Since graduating from The Brandery, the startup has moved into
84.51° in downtown Cincinnati as one of their Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, joining fellow Cincy startups
Hello Parent,
Casamatic and
HireWheel. Strap also has a presence in San Francisco to better service existing clients.
“We’re wherever our customer is,” Henshaw says.
Though Strap is growing rapidly and this work with Trident will only propel them further, the company is still rooted in Cincinnati.
“You don’t have to head out to San Francisco to find innovation,” Henshaw says. “We love being a part of the movement that is proving that there is innovation outside of Silicon Valley.”
In Cincinnati, Henshaw and his Strap colleagues also act as mentors for The Brandery, UpTech and Ocean. Henshaw sees these mentorship programs as a great way to help budding companies avoid the pitfalls of the startup journey.
“A 30-minute conversation could have saved me two months when we started,” Henshaw says.
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