Overview
Established in 2022 by a diverse team of venture capital, technology, and construction experts, Zacua Ventures is a global venture capital fund focused on early-stage technology for the construction industry. The VC aimed to swiftly establish itself as the foremost global venture capital firm focused on early-stage construction technology, and to gain visibility and recognition among potential investors and technology startups.
Situation
Upon the final close of its inaugural $56M fund, Zacua tapped Antenna Group to introduce the fund and build buzz across U.S., UK and EU press and raise awareness of its mission and investment strategy. The Zacua team wanted to secure coverage that emphasised why the fund’s investment approach was particularly beneficial amid economic uncertainty, underscored the value of Zacua’s LPs, and attracted interest from potential investors and early-stage contech startups. Early in the process, Antenna discovered that certain details about Zacua’s inaugural fund had been disclosed publicly — presenting an unforeseen challenge.
Approach
Antenna quickly pivoted the pre-developed media strategy to maximise announcement coverage. Antenna strategically incorporated news of one of Zacua’s recent seed investments to generate additional news value and amplify the official funding announcement. Exclusive interviews with Zacua’s founders were also offered — emphasizing details of the fund and strategy that would resonate most with tech and real estate reporters. Finally, to maximize exposure on both sides of the Atlantic, media storylines were developed that highlighted the most relevant messages for each region. For instance, European outreach emphasized the founders’ past experience and deep knowledge across the UK construction and tech industries.
Results
Over a period of eight weeks, Antenna’s wide distribution of the announcement garnered approximately 20 pieces of original article coverage. Included in the coverage were mentions in widely-read business, real estate, and technology trade publications — including Fortune Term Sheet, Built Worlds, Venture Capital Journal, Axios, and the Commercial Observer. Antenna also help secured exclusive coverage of the announcement in TechCrunch. The article, placed in one of Zacua’s priority publications, emphasized the firm’s key messages and highlighted its global reach. Antenna’s Europe team also secured Zacua an opportunity to publish a contributed article in a prominent UK construction publication. Ultimately, the widespread media attention cultivated by Antenna throughout the announcement process elevated awareness of Zacua as a firm, establishing a foundation the company can build upon with future milestone announcements.
