Company
About Us
The genesis of BlueZoo’s audience measurement technology began in 2013 when Jan Willem Korver set out to find a measurement solution to counter the surge in the invasive use of cameras to count and identify people. Korver successfully customized an off-the-shelf wireless router to demonstrate how Wi-Fi probes, sent spontaneously from smartphones, could be used to measure human occupancy of a space.
BlueZoo’s first customers were in the out-of-home (OOH) advertising industry. Advertisers buy OOH advertising media based on the number of impressions multiplied by a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) ranging from $2 to $16. JCDecaux, the world leader in OOH advertising, was the first to use the service, measuring impressions, reach, and frequency for street furniture in Hong Kong.
Today, BlueZoo’s largest market is in-store retail media networks (RMN). Retailers use BlueZoo to count impressions delivered by signage, most often digital signage, used in stores to promote products sold in the store. Media time rented to brands and advertisers is generally acknowledged to provide the highest-margin revenue stream in retail today.
BlueZoo’s newest market consists of municipalities that use BlueZoo’s occupancy measurement products to track use of city resources and to provide data to plan for infrastructure renewal and expansion. These smart cities demonstrate that data driven strategies are in demand across the globe. Cities embrace accurate data as a resource to permit tax dollars to deliver maximum benefit to tax payers.
BlueZoo has deployed many thousands of sensors to hundreds of customers in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Customers include JCDecaux, Sodexo, and Executive Channel Network, as well as three of the top-ten retailers in the United States. Our technology is protected by 7 US patents and our products are GDPR-compliant and audited biennially by ePrivacy, a leading European privacy specialist, based in Hamburg, Germany. BlueZoo is based in Menlo Park, California, and is funded by Fusion Fund.
Advisory board
Neil Eddleston
Out-of-Home Advertising
Neil is a respected leader in global out-of-home (OOH) advertising, having founded Runor Data Consulting Ltd. after nearly three decades as Managing Director, Marketing at JCDecaux OneWorld, the global sales and marketing division of JCDecaux Group.
He brings deep insight into the evolving needs of advertisers, municipalities, and media owners, making him a key advisor as BlueZoo scales operations in Europe and Asia.
Jeff Hayman
Insurance
Jeff is a seasoned leader in global insurance and risk management, having held senior executive roles at Sompo Holdings, Zurich Insurance Group, and AIG, among others.
With more than four decades of experience, he offers strategic insight into enterprise risk and operational resilience, guiding BlueZoo’s efforts to bring real-time occupancy data to commercial general liability insurers and transform risk assessment across the industry.
Mike Hiatt
Retail Media & Digital Signage
Mike is a veteran in retail media and digital signage, with leadership roles at Walmart, Triad Retail Media, and Sam’s Club, where he pioneered in-store media strategies and helped shape the future of retail media networks.
His expertise at the intersection of technology, shopper engagement, and media makes him a valuable advisor as BlueZoo expands its privacy-first audience measurement solutions in retail and digital signage.
Tad Shepperd
Retail & Foot Traffic Analytics
Tad is an accomplished leader in retail and retail data management, with senior roles guiding operations, strategy, and analytics across multiple organizations.
His track record of leveraging data-driven insights to optimize customer experiences and business performance positions him as an essential advisor to BlueZoo as the company advances its privacy-first audience measurement solutions in retail environments.
Leadership
Bill Evans
CEO
Bill served as CEO of Arkeia Software and of Parascale, Inc. He previously worked in senior management roles as SVP of the International Business Unit at Gateway computer and General Manager of Small Business Solutions at Western Digital.
Bill was an early employee of Red Brick Systems and Blue Martini Software, which executed IPOs in 1996 and 2001. Bill holds an MSEECS from MIT and an MBA from Harvard.
Jan-Willem Korver
CTO
Jan-Willem co-founded BlueZoo, and was the original developer of BlueZoo’s Wi-Fi sensing technology. At the age of 22 he co-founded MarketGraph which delivered computer graphics solutions to the broadcasting industry and was subsequently acquired by FL Media.
Later, Jan-Willem pioneered embedded systems for interactive television and digital signage. Jan-Willem studied computer science at Utrecht University and economics at the University of Amsterdam.
Angie Deacon
CMO
Angie leads marketing and demand generation at BlueZoo. With more than 20 years of leadership in high tech marketing, Angie has both hardware and software experience. Angie has held CMO and VP Marketing positions with HP, Baan, Blue Martini Software, and Unwired Software.
Independently, Angie has also consulted as a marketing expert for over 75 hardware and software companies around the globe. Angie holds a BA from Northwestern University in Economics and an MBA from Stanford University.
Frederic Renard
SVP, Worldwide Sales
Prior to joining BlueZoo, Fred founded and led a number of successful startups, including VEO and Arkeia Software, the leading developer of enterprise backup software and appliances.
Between startups, Frederic worked for Apple Computer and managed channels for small business storage solutions at Western Digital. Fred holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Lincoln International Business School.
