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Socialbakers Appoints James Bodha as CFO

Otilia Otlacan — Fri, 24 May 2013 17:16:44 +0000

Strengthens team by bringing outstanding track record and deep expertise as a successful CFO of dynamic technology businesses

PRAGUE – Socialbakers, the global provider of analytics platforms that allows brands to measure, compare, and contrast the success of their social media campaigns, today announces the appointment of James Bodha as Chief Financial Officer.

Bodha joins Socialbakers from Myriad Group AG, a leading provider of global social messaging services listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. He will report to Jan Rezab, Socialbakers’ CEO, assuming responsibility for all financial, commercial and legal operations.

Bodha brings to Socialbakers over twelve years of experience in senior financial leadership roles within global, growth technology businesses held in public, venture capital and private equity ownership. During his time at Myriad Group, he oversaw the consolidation of three substantial businesses to create a market leader in social messaging, including the acquisition of Synchronica Plc., an AIM/ TSX dual listed mobile social platform provider.

Prior to joining Myriad Group, he was Chief Financial Officer at Aircom International, a mobile network software provider and Magic4, a mobile phone messaging software provider.

“James brings to Socialbakers an outstanding track record and deep expertise as a serially successful CFO of dynamic technology businesses,” said Rezab. “In particular, his knowledge of establishing and growing profitable and sustainable global, multi-site operations will be invaluable in helping Socialbakers accelerate its growth worldwide.”

“Socialbakers is a truly international company with a market leading social media analytics platform and an outstanding client base of the world’s biggest brands,” adds Bodha. “I am excited to be joining such an ambitious, highly talented team and look forward to helping the company scale operations to achieve its aggressive growth strategy.”

About Socialbakers:

Socialbakers.com is a user-friendly social media analytics platform, providing the only global solution that allows brands to measure, compare, and contrast the success of their social media campaigns with competitive intelligence.

Since 2009 Socialbakers has continuously developed innovative tools for companies to measure and maximize the effectiveness of their social marketing campaigns across all major social networks. With more than 160 employees located in 10 offices worldwide, Socialbakers is one of the world’s fastest growing social media and digital analytics company.

Martini Media Study Reveals 95% of UK Marketers Will Increase Digital Marketing Spend in 2013

Otilia Otlacan — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:00:45 +0000

Luxury Marketers Will Specifically Increase Use of Video and Rich Media to Engage Customers

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and NEW YORK, NY and LONDON - Martini Media, a global media and advertising company, released findings of its UK brand marketer study, which was conducted in conjunction with iMedia UK. The study, which took place during March and April 2013, surveyed 226 marketing professionals, including both brand advertisers (43%) and agencies (57%). The survey aimed to determine where brands are prioritizing marketing efforts in 2013 and beyond — particularly those marketers targeting affluent consumers.

Key findings include:

95% will increase their digital marketing spend in 2013
84% agree they can research consumers by aggregating niche sites to target their ideal audience
75% of marketers believe high impact ads can breakthrough as much as TV and print
71% use digital for building brand awareness
63% will increase social media efforts
48% of total budget will go to digital

Nearly half the marketers surveyed represented a product or service geared to high net-worth audiences. Of these marketers, 69% were focused on targeting general consumers, 43% on high-income consumers, another 43% business decision makers and 32% were targeting CEOs or other executives. Those brands that identified themselves as targeting high-income consumers anticipate spending more than twice as much on video and nearly twice as much on rich media, compared to mass-market brands.

“Our UK study revealed results that are right in line with what we’re seeing at Martini — luxury brands need a big, beautiful canvas to showcase their products and they’re turning to digital as the medium for delivering these highly engaging ads,” said Skip Brand, Martini Media’s CEO. “As digital investments increase, it’s clear that standard display just isn’t cutting it. We can expect to see standard display spending continue to decrease as brands turn to rich media, social, video and mobile to effectively connect with their audience.”

According to recent research from Forrester, Britons will lead innovation in brand marketing, particularly since many marketers have display advertising in excess of EUR 1 million. UK marketers are also more concerned about brand awareness than other marketers in Europe, and as a result “favor opportunities for reach and interactivity.”

This is consistent with findings in Martini Media’s study. While traditional DR objectives like customer acquisition remain a top priority for nearly three-quarters of the marketers surveyed, branding efforts are close behind. Building positive brand association (71%) and building awareness of specific products/services (60%) are key goals trying to be achieved through digital marketing initiatives.

“Brands across the board see the value of digital, not just as a direct response mechanism but as a brand building tool,” said James Drake-Brockman, Head of EMEA – Digital Marketing, DMG. ”The fact that 71% of respondents use it for this purpose shows the continuing shift in attitudes of advertisers and agencies, which ties in with the increase in platforms and opportunities available for them to target consumers. It’s clear the market is continuing to grow in strength and importance with nearly all respondents expecting to increase their digital marketing spend in 2013.”

To review key findings from the study, click here to view the infograph.

About Martini Media:
Martini Media is the digital media and content platform for engaging the audience with the most money and influence online. With more than 1,000 publishers organized across multiple lifestyle and business verticals, Martini Media has helped the world’s leading brands reach over 125 million consumers across the globe that invest in their passions at work and play. Martini Media’s full-service marketing capabilities encompass display, video, mobile, social, and audience targeting to effectively engage the most valuable audience online at scale. Since 2008, Martini Media has been the premier media destination where influence meets affluence. Headquartered in San Francisco, Martini Media has offices in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and London. Visit www.martinimediainc.com to learn more.

4 in 10 Marketing Executives Unprepared to Meet Objectives Due to Lack of Funding and Internal Inefficiencies, Accenture Study Finds

Otilia Otlacan — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:00:34 +0000

Investment in digital marketing and analytics set to rise

NEW YORK - Four in 10 top marketing executives say they are not well prepared to meet their objectives, citing a lack of funding and inefficient business practices as the main impediments to improved performance, according to global research by Accenture (NYSE:ACN). The research also reveals a growing commitment to digital marketing and analytics capabilities to tackle an increasingly complex customer environment.

“However, improved performance will require more than new digital and analytics talent. The challenge of digital transformation is how to implement beyond marketing and across the entire enterprise.”

According to the Accenture Interactive report, Turbulence for the CMO, 70 percent of the executives believe that corporate marketing will undergo a dramatic overhaul within the next five years and that their organizations must create a digital direction that will help them achieve higher revenue and increase market share.

“Marketing executives are growing increasingly concerned that tight budgets and the lack of a clear strategy for implementing digital technologies – are hurting their company’s ability to compete in the digital age,” said Brian Whipple, global managing director of Accenture Interactive. “There is a clear performance gap between the demands of the marketplace and the ability of marketing organizations to apply the digital technology talent required to be more effective.”

The report shows that the need for change is being driven by increasingly demanding customers who expect more relevant interactions with brands. According to survey respondents, consumers’ expectations for relevant, targeted experiences are having the greatest long-term impact on marketing strategy (65 percent).

Rising Investment in Digital Capabilities

As a response to these issues, significant steps are being taken to close the digital performance gap. The survey results show that two-thirds (66 percent) of marketing executives will be allocating at least one quarter of their budget to digital marketing next year, and nearly one-quarter (23 percent) say that more than half of their spend will be on digital marketing.

The survey shows that marketing executives also plan to invest more in their analytics capabilities, which are especially useful as the demand for multichannel marketing continues to increase. To help retain and grow their customer base, nearly half (48 percent) of the executives say they will spend more on managing customer data, 40 percent will increase budget spend on web analytics and 39 percent will spend more on marketing analytics. They are also taking a closer look at their use of marketing channels, ranking in-person contact with front-line employees, corporate website, media coverage and social media as the most important channels.

In order to obtain the greatest results, marketing executives say they are looking for more innovators – both by adding to their full-time staffs. Half of the executives said they would begin an internal reorganization to become more digitally focused, and more than half said they would be hiring more people with the necessary digital skills (52 percent) or providing their existing staff with digital training (55 percent).

“The growing investment in digital capabilities will help marketing executives improve their understanding of changing consumer needs and manage multiple channels,” said Whipple. “However, improved performance will require more than new digital and analytics talent. The challenge of digital transformation is how to implement beyond marketing and across the entire enterprise.”

Improved internal and agency collaboration

While a majority (55 percent) of marketing executives said they were satisfied with the level of collaboration with their outside agencies, there is a disconnect between their expectations and results. Only one-third (36 percent) of marketing executives said that their agencies execute flawlessly, and 36 percent said that the agencies are not able to deliver what they promised. Additionally, only 44 percent said that agency partners help marketing executives transform their marketing organization, which is a clear goal for marketing executives in 2013.

The study indicates that for many marketers, improving collaboration between business units can help them achieve their targets. Nearly one in five executives (19 percent) said that inefficient business practices currently hinder their ability to improve marketing performance and return on investment, while 17 percent said a lack of funding hurts these efforts.

Learn more at: www.accenture.com/cmo_insights.

Methodology

The 2012 CMO Insights Survey is the third in a series of global surveys sponsored by Accenture aimed at understanding the opinions, challenges and points of view of senior marketing executives from around the world. The results are based on 405 surveys across 10 countries with senior marketing executives. All respondents are from companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenues, with companies in France Australia, Singapore and Brazil all having an annual revenue of at least $500 million. Accenture conducted an online survey in August and September of 2012.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 261,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Accenture Interactive helps the world’s leading brands drive superior marketing performance across the full multichannel customer experience. Working with over 4,000 Accenture professionals dedicated to serving the marketing function, Accenture Interactive offers integrated, industrialized and industry-driven marketing solutions and services across consulting, technology and outsourcing powered by analytics. Follow @AccentureSocial or visit Accenture Interactive.

PunchTab Study Reveals Secrets to Motivating Moms with Rewards

Otilia Otlacan — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:00:19 +0000

Survey shows 81 percent of moms respond positively to brands when offered rewards; more than one-third are motivated by non-financial rewards such as elite status or early access to products

Palo Alto, Calif. – Loyalty and engagement platform PunchTab today shared results of a survey of over 600 moms that offers new insights into what works to motivate engagement and purchase from this high-value audience segment. The data shows that 81 percent of moms will engage more with a brand when offered some type of reward, and that rewards can work to increase a brand’s social following, boost positive word-of-mouth and to driving more sales. The study also reveals that some non-financial incentives – such as elite status or early access to products – can be very effective behavior motivators.

“Moms are the most critical demographic segment for many brands. They are the primary decision makers when it comes to household purchases and influence $2.4 trillion in spend every year. Everyone wants to engage this audience segment. The question is: what motivates moms to take action?” said Angela Sanfilippo, CMO at PunchTab. “This study offers definitive evidence that providing moms with the right incentives can boost word-of-mouth and drive sales across a company’s entire brand portfolio.”

Key findings of the survey include:

1. Moms will engage more with a brand when offered a reward.

PunchTab’s survey shows that 81 percent of moms will engage more with a brand when a reward is in place. Rewards are most effective at driving participation in surveys and polls, with 72 percent saying they would take a survey or poll if provided with an incentive. Rewards can also help with building a customer database: 59 percent of respondents say they would sign up for regular email updates when a reward is offered, and 41 percent say they would share personal details and purchase behavior.

PunchTab data also shows that rewards can be effective at driving word-of-mouth amongst moms. According to the study, 41 percent of moms will post a review when offered a reward, and 50 percent of moms on Facebook say they would be willing to share brand content on Facebook. Increasing positive word-of-mouth through rewards can lead to more sales: studies show that more than half of moms rely significantly on the online recommendations when making purchase decisions.

2. Rewarding moms for following your brand on social channels can boost sales.

The study shows that rewards can motivate moms to follow a brand on social channels. Over half (57 percent) of moms on Facebook say they will “Like” a brand’s page on Facebook when offered a reward; 50 percent of moms will follow a brand on Pinterest and 52 percent of moms will follow a brand on Twitter when offered a reward.

Social followers will take a number of other social actions to promote your brand when incentivized. 92 percent of moms who say they would be willing to “Like” a brand on Facebook when offered a reward, say they would also be more likely to share brand content, post reviews or purchase additional brand products if incentivized. This number jumps to 98 percent for Twitter and 93 percent for Pinterest.

3. Moms are motivated by more than just financial rewards.

The study shows that while financial rewards are highly valued by moms, the VIP treatment can also be a strong motivator. 67 percent of respondents say they would be interested in receiving perks associated with elite status, such as free shipping or branded merchandise. More than one-third of moms indicate they would value incentives that offered them exclusive access to a brand, such as being able to buy new products ahead of the general public (39 percent), being able to influence a brand’s future products (38 percent) or getting advanced notification of new products (36 percent).

When it comes to financial rewards, some are more highly valued than others. Free products and services from the brand are the most popular incentives, with 83 percent of respondents saying these would be effective motivators, followed closely by receiving gift cards from popular retailers (82 percent). Discounts and coupons are also valued by moms, with 60 percent saying they would take an action in return for a discount or coupon to use on the future purchase of a brand product.

Doing good is also a strong motivator, with 58 percent of moms saying that they would want a brand to make a donation to charity on their behalf as a reward.

While gamification strategies such as leaderboards and badges have historically been popular, the data shows these types of “social recognition” programs are the least effective at motivating behavior. Only 6 percent say they would be interested in being rewarded with badges, and less than one-quarter (23 percent) says they would appreciate recognition for their contributions.

4. Umbrella loyalty programs can be effective at increasing trial and purchase.

While many companies focus their loyalty programs on single brands, the data shows parent companies of brands would be wise to consider developing umbrella loyalty programs that take advantage of moms’ loyalty to specific brands to increase purchase of other products in the company’s portfolio. 73 percent of respondents say that they would be interested in a loyalty program for a parent company, with 59 percent of all moms in the study saying they would buy other products from the parent company if doing so resulted in more loyalty points.

More than half (52 percent) of moms would also be willing to take a social action in return for a discount or coupon to use on a future purchase from a brand’s broader family of products.

Almost half (46 percent) say they would switch from a competitor’s product to a brand or parent company product in order to earn loyalty points, assuming equivalent product quality.

Digitally Engaged Moms Research Methodology

The Digitally Engaged Moms study was conducted by PunchTab, a multi-channel loyalty and engagement platform that enables agencies, brands and enterprise organizations to incentivize user behavior. This survey was fielded online, between April 18, 2013, and April 22, 2013, and sent to a random sample of moms between the ages of 18-44. There were 647 total responses from moms across the United States. 54% percent of respondents were moms who also work full-time outside of the home, with another 18% also working part-time outside of the home. The household income of 57% of respondents was greater than $50,000, with 21% between $25,000 and $50,000 and 22% less than $25,000. PunchTab asked what channels moms use, what actions they would take in exchange for earning loyalty points, and what rewards they would like to receive for points earned in the program. In addition, PunchTab combined secondary research from multiple sources around channel usage and various motivations for interacting with brands.

About PunchTab, Inc.

Founded in January 2011, PunchTab is a multi-channel loyalty and engagement platform that enables agencies, brands and enterprise organizations to incentivize user behavior and drive business success. PunchTab’s customers use the company’s flexible solutions to deepen audience engagement and build awareness by leveraging everything from social sharing and UGC and awareness campaigns to sophisticated B2E and B2B programs. PunchTab offers both an out-of-the-box product and a fully customizable, white-labeled solution that can reward any action with virtual, social and real-world rewards. For more information, please visit www.punchtab.com.

Lithium Launches New Analytics Product for Measuring and Improving Social ROI

Otilia Otlacan — Wed, 08 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Lithium Social Intelligence™ Provides Deep Insights into Customer Engagement across Communities and Social Networks

Lithium Network Conference

SAN FRANCISCO - Lithium Technologies, the leader in Social Customer Experience, unveiled Lithium Social Intelligence™ a next-generation analytics product designed to help brands measure social ROI and improve the performance of social customer programs. Lithium Social Intelligence uses a unique combination of social science, real-time performance metrics and native web analytics to give brands unprecedented insight into customer engagement across both online communities and social networks.

“We mine insights for our customers from more than 10 years of historical data, and we capture new information each month from nearly 100 million active monthly users”

“Many brands struggle to measure the true business impact of social customer engagement, leading to missed opportunities and ineffective strategies that don’t move the needle for their business,” said Lithium President and Chief Executive Officer Rob Tarkoff. “Lithium Social Intelligence is the first product that gives brands the tools they need to prove the value of their social customer investments.”

Dozens of major global brands are already using Lithium Social Intelligence to gain accurate insights and achieve real business results including Autodesk, Cisco, TomTom and many others.

Autodesk Vice President Customer Service & Support Creighton Hoke said: “The mission of Autodesk’s Global Customer Support and Operations team, is to help people imagine design and create a better world by providing rapid, accessible, and relevant support to a rapidly-expanding, passionate, global audience of designers, architects, engineers, and ‘makers.’ Lithium, as a Best in Class technology platform for engaging and hosting our global community, is central to this effort. Enabling and supporting thousands of community conversations every month, Lithium helps us engage key contributors inside the company and beyond it; recognize their efforts, and identify, amplify and share the trusted content that their conversations create and shape.”

Advanced Capabilities, Unmatched Insights

Lithium Social Intelligence uses a state-of-the-art big data architecture that allows brands to analyze billions of monthly social interactions, delivering results in seconds. It operates in the cloud at web scale, using advanced algorithms developed by in-house social scientists to help brands focus on the key metrics that matter.

“We mine insights for our customers from more than 10 years of historical data, and we capture new information each month from nearly 100 million active monthly users,” said Rob Tarkoff. “No one is better positioned to provide leading brands with the knowledge they need to develop effective strategies for driving real ROI through social customer engagement.”

With Lithium Social Intelligence, managers are able to drill down into detailed metrics for individual conversation threads and analyze real-time performance data for each employee who engages customers on Twitter and Facebook. Data can be delivered anywhere, anytime in a variety of formats tailored for desktops, mobile devices or command center displays.

Dozens of capabilities in Lithium Social Intelligence enable companies to prove business impact and increase social engagement. Key features include:

Community Health Index™ – advanced technology developed by Lithium’s in-house team of social scientists provides a unique measure of community health through a single index value –comprised of six key engagement factors and similar to a credit score.
Native Web Analytics – Lithium is the first provider of online communities to combine traditional web traffic metrics with community engagement metrics for deeper insight into the highest performing content and authors.
Benchmarking – Lithium aggregates more than 10 years of data from hundreds of Lithium Communities™ customers to help brands compare performance on key metrics.
Mobile Metrics – brands can measure the increase in reach and impact that comes from interacting with Lithium Communities over mobile devices.
Monitoring – tuned for insights that help brands determine where and how to engage, Lithium provides historical data on customer conversations across social channels.
Role-Based Engagement Reports – designed to maximize productivity, Lithium provides each member of a social engagement team with personalized reports on performance against SLA targets.

Lithium Social Intelligence is designed to work in combination with Lithium Communities, Lithium Mobile™ and Lithium Social Web™, and is a key part of the Lithium Social Customer Experience Platform™ –the first integrated suite for engaging customers through on-domain and public social channels.

About Lithium Technologies

Lithium helps companies unlock the passion of their customers. Lithium software powers amazing Social Customer Experiences for more than 400 iconic brands including AT&T, BT, Best Buy, Indosat, Sephora, Skype and Telstra. Lithium helps companies grow brand advocacy, drive sales, reduce costs and accelerate innovation to create social communities that redefine the customer experience. For more information, visit lithium.com, or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and our own community – the Lithosphere. Lithium is privately held with corporate headquarters in Emeryville, Calif. and offices in Europe, Asia and Australia.

eCampaignPro Releases Marketing Trends within the Real Estate Industry, Surveys Thousands

Otilia Otlacan — Thu, 02 May 2013 07:00:50 +0000

SARASOTA, Fla. - eCampaignPro, the leading provider of self-service real estate email flyers and email marketing products for real estate professionals recently released a comprehensive report of marketing trends and predictions for real estate industry professionals after surveying thousands of its past and current customers in September 2012.

“Ultimately, these results will inform our future endeavors here at eCampaignPro.”

eCampaignPro, who has been serving real estate professionals for the last decade, polled their valuable customer base to gather insight on marketing trends, past and present. The survey, conducted in the fall of 2012, asked clients about all types of marketing, online and offline, to see what forms were favored by the surveyed population. The data was then analyzed and compiled into a report outlining marketing trends based on the responses from brokers, agents, mortgage lenders and service providers to the industry including home inspectors and stagers.

“It was important for us to get a real time view of marketing trends,” says Robert Dodd, founder of XL Technologies, the parent company of eCampaignPro. “What we found is that the way we communicate is changing. Digital options are increasingly popular and real estate professionals are not afraid to try new things.”

In terms of most used marketing tools used within the last six months of the surveyed population, eCampaignPro discovered email campaigns, social media (Facebook, Twitter), promotional mailers and featured listings to be the most popular. Real estate professionals listed networking, email campaigns and online featured listings as the most effective tools for marketing while print listings and print advertising were found to be the least effective, according to the survey results.

“This report not only helps our customers learn about what works in terms of real estate marketing, but it allows us to interact with this feedback,” says Dodd. “Ultimately, these results will inform our future endeavors here at eCampaignPro.”

Real estate professionals cited new frontiers to try in 2013 including use of the social video tool, YouTube, and digital networking through Facebook and blogging.

The complete findings have been published in a comprehensive 13-page report which eCampaignPro has made available in a downloadable PDF. The report can be found on eCampaignPro’s website for real estate professionals, here.

About XL Technologies

Based in Sarasota, Florida, XL Technologies, LLC is a privately held company founded in 2001 by a team of highly experienced professionals with backgrounds in sales, marketing, technology, finance and real estate. Having developed some of the world’s most advanced web-based applications, we continually expand our line of products and services while improving our highly regarded “Uncompromising Support”- a term we coined to describe our unique level of technical and customer support.

Mixpo Appoints Salim Hemdani as Vice President of Software Development

Otilia Otlacan — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:00:28 +0000

SEATTLE, WA - Mixpo, the leading cloud-based video marketing platform, today announced that Salim Hemdani has joined Mixpo in a newly created position of Vice President of Software Development. Salim brings over 15 years of experience in software development, digital marketing, and platform strategy and will be focused on driving innovative and market-driven solutions for Mixpo’s core software development initiatives.

CEO Anupam Gupta says, “Salim’s wealth of experience and industry knowledge will help drive innovation of our core software platform to make advanced technology simple and accessible to our customers and partners. Salim will play a key role in driving rich cross-screen solutions for agencies and publishers, based on the latest software technologies, digital experiences, and client needs.”

Before joining Mixpo, Salim was CTO of Avalara and spent over eight years developing and deploying cutting edge digital experiences at Razorfish. At Razorfish he drove innovative tech-driven marketing solutions for Fortune 500 brands, working with clients including Microsoft, AT&T, Nike, DELL, Nintendo, Best Buy, MillerCoors, Costco and Levi. Salim managed the Creative, UX, Delivery and Technology disciplines for the Microsoft business and also acted as executive sponsor for all digital experiences executed by his team. He holds an Executive MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology in India.

Salim’s mantra is simple: engineering enables experiences. He excels in producing digital experiences unconstrained by technological limitations, fostering holistic solutions that align with customer and brand needs, and driving product and engineering teams to solve hard client problems through a unique blend of expertise, adaptability, and agility.

“Video advertising is a rapidly growing market and I am very excited to be part of the growing Mixpo team,” says Salim. “I am a technologist at heart with a passion to drive business and I hope to be part of the Mixpo team that will take our products to the next level. Mixpo provides an easy, scalable and fast self-serve platform which builds cross-screen video experiences that grow our client’s businesses.”

To learn more about Mixpo, please visit: http://www.mixpo.com/

About Mixpo
Mixpo is a cloud-based video marketing and analytics platform. We help media companies efficiently build differentiated cross-screen video ad products that command a premium. We also help brand marketers leverage any form or source of video content to maximize brand impact across screens and gain meaningful performance insights. Mixpo’s platform delivers the broadest and deepest array of video engagement reports available so media companies and brand advertisers can readily plan and act on use of online video with informed confidence. In 2013, we were selected by Forbes as one of America’s Most Promising Companies.

Mixpo, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Seattle, with offices in New York, Boston, and Victoria BC.

Myspace Partners With Gucci On New Gucci Sync

Otilia Otlacan — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:00:27 +0000

New Timepiece Launches With Music-Focused Digital Platform on Myspace

GUCCI partnered with Myspace, a place where people connect, discover and share to create an online community for the new GUCCI SYNC, a timepiece made for a connected, young music-loving audience.

The GUCCI SYNC Myspace profile taps into the site’s sleek new platform, focused on music and discovery by featuring a special Myspace-produced GUCCI SYNC video, which depicts real-world connections based on music and the creativity inherent in youth culture. The profile will also feature a multimedia mix of dynamic artists – including Gothic Tropic, Plum and Austin Brown.

GUCCI seeks to champion emerging talent and will collaborate with Myspace to help promote new artists via a specially curated list of musicians. Artists highlighted within the GUCCI SYNC profile will contribute to the SYNC music mix, as well as serve as ambassadors for the watch.

Available in two sizes, XXL (46mm) or large (36mm), GUCCI SYNC comes in four colors: white, red, black and blue. Each colored dial displays Gucci’s iconic interlocking ‘GG’ symbol. The Gucci logo is etched around the stainless steel case at 9 o’clock and also appears on the dial at 12 o’clock.

Breaking away from brick & mortar sales platforms, GUCCI SYNC will only be sold through online channels. For more information about Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry, please visit www.gucciwatches.com

The GUCCI SYNC community can be found on Myspace at https://new.myspace.com/guccisync

GUCCI SYNC will be available for pre-order from Amazon.com at amazon.com/guccisync, beginning April 24th, 2013 and will be available to ship from Gucci.com and Amazon.com at the end of August 2013.

About Myspace:
Myspace (new.myspace.com) is a place where people come to connect, discover, and share. Showcasing artists and their work, the site gives people access to 53 million tracks and videos—the world’s largest digital music library. With roots in music and social, the platform is built to empower all artists—from musicians and designers to writers and photographers—helping them connect with audiences, collaborators, and partners to achieve their goals. Through an open design, compelling editorial features, and analytics-based recommendations, Myspace fosters a creative community of people who connect around mutual affinity and inspiration for the purpose of shaping, sharing, and discovering what’s next.

PunchTab Allows Developers to Build Rewards and Gamification Into Any Android App

Otilia Otlacan — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:55:48 +0000

PunchTab Loyalty and Rewards SDKs Now Available for Both Android and iOS platforms; Developers Can Use the Free Toolkits to Offer Incentives That Increase User Engagement

PALO ALTO, CA – Loyalty and engagement platform PunchTab today released a free Android SDK that will allow Android developers to attract and retain more users by adding customized loyalty and reward programs to any mobile application.

While many mobile game developers already use game mechanics such as points to reward user activity, most other app developers have been slow to apply this approach — there simply hasn’t been a turnkey way for them to do it. Now, developers who want to increase app usage and engagement can now use PunchTab technology to incentivize desired actions, such as sharing the app, using the app on a regular basis, or hitting certain levels in the app. Users who complete these actions can be rewarded with points that are redeemable for a number of different virtual, social, and real-world rewards.

“With the competition for users’ attention at an all-time high, app developers need every viral advantage they can get,” said PunchTab Founder Mehdi Ait Oufkir. “We created this SDK with simplicity in mind. It’s just a 2-step process: drop in the library and annotate your code, and you’re done. Your app is reward enabled.”

This solves a major problem for developers: acquiring and retaining users in a hyper-competitive environment. There are now around 800,000 apps in Apple’s App Store and more than 750,000 for Android, making it difficult to attract new users. Getting people to download an app is also just the start. According to Appcelerator, 80 percent of mobile apps are used only once and then abandoned. Individual app usage is also on the decline, with the average app being used only 3.7 times per week, down from 6.7 times per week in 2009, according to Flurry. This may be due to the number of apps people have on their devices. According to Nielsen, the average user now has 41 apps on their smartphone, up 28 percent from 2011.

“With features like reward-enabling daily visits, adding a PunchTab loyalty program to Android apps would mean more users coming back more often. In a competitive market where app abandonment is a significant challenge, PunchTab’s SDK can be a game changer,” said Pradeep Elankumaran, Co-founder & CEO of Kicksend.

PunchTab is also available for the iOS platform. For more information on PunchTab’s developer kits visit www.punchtab.com/developer.

About PunchTab, Inc.

Founded in January 2011, PunchTab is a multi-channel loyalty and engagement platform that enables agencies, brands and enterprise organizations to incentivize user behavior and drive business success. PunchTab’s customers use the company’s flexible solutions to deepen audience engagement and build awareness by leveraging everything from social sharing and UGC and awareness campaigns to sophisticated B2E and B2B programs. Unlike solutions that are either high priced and heavy on consulting services, offer one-size-fits all rewards or only provide rigid templates, PunchTab offers both an out-of-the-box product and a fully customizable, white-labeled solutions that can reward any action with virtual, social and real-world rewards. For more information, please visit www.punchtab.com.

Bizo Data Solutions Fuels Performance of B2B Marketing Technology Stack

Otilia Otlacan — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:00:36 +0000

Expanded platform from business audience leader enables brands to power top marketing technologies with business demographic data

SAN FRANCISCO – Bizo, the global leader in business audience marketing, today announced the launch of Bizo Data Solutions, an extension of the company’s existing digital marketing platform that now enables B2B companies to better understand and more efficiently engage target audiences across their entire marketing funnel. Bizo Data Solutions integrates with a company’s existing marketing technology “stack,” allowing marketers to use Bizo’s demographic data on over 120 million business professionals (85 percent of the U.S. business population) to get more value out of their marketing programs and other technology investments. Bizo Data Solutions currently supports a number of top digital marketing solutions and channels, including Adobe® AudienceManager, Salesforce, Eloqua, BlueKai, [x+1], Google Analytics and more.

“In the past, we primarily used Bizo’s audience data to run full-funnel display campaigns for clients, and we’re now moving behind the firewall to weave our data into existing CRM, content management, web analytics and marketing automation systems,” said Russell Glass, CEO of Bizo. “With Bizo Data Solutions, marketers will have unprecedented ability to nurture and convert prospects at scale through the entire marketing funnel.”

While marketing programs and the disparate systems that enable them are generating and capturing huge quantities of audience data, the “siloed” nature of many of these programs means there is no easy way for systems to share information to optimize the overall marketing effort. For example, while CRM or marketing automation systems can capture leads driven by display campaigns, a marketer has not been able to map display ad creative and messaging to email marketing nurture paths or sales pipeline stages. Furthermore, measurement of what is actually driving success has been largely out of reach.

“Our research shows that B2B marketers will increase their advertising and marketing digital spend by almost 11 percent to $65.9B in 2013,” said Chuck Richard, vice president and lead analyst at information and marketing industry research firm Outsell, Inc. “Yet, 78 percent of marketers also report a key barrier to optimizing this investment is the difficulty they have evaluating the effectiveness of their marketing programs. This data point underscores the need for solutions that break down silos, allowing for more accurate attribution and tighter program integration.”

Bizo Data Solutions allow marketers to eliminate information silos and make better use of their data to nurture and convert new customers. By integrating Bizo Data Solutions with their existing CRM, marketing automation, web analytics, content management, data management platforms and media channels, brands can now:

· Identify which audiences are visiting their websites, landing pages and social channels;

· Engage website audiences with personalized content, messages and offers;

· Segment and nurture known prospect audiences with targeted display and social ads;

· Use precise business demographic targeting to power online social, display and video campaigns;

· Perform rich program attribution with audience engagement metrics across channels.

Bizo Data Solutions integrates with many of the top marketing technology platforms, including specific integrations with:

· Adobe AudienceManager, part of Adobe Marketing Cloud – Customers can use Bizo data to better understand how their marketing programs are performing and to reach their desired audience.

• Eloqua (AdFocus) – Enables customers to manage targeted, personalized display ads from within Eloqua to nurture known and anonymous prospects.
• Salesforce – Gives customers the ability to target online display ads to prospects that are already in a CRM or marketing automation system. This solution is available for any in-house prospect database.
• BlueKai – Allows marketers to access Bizo data for analytics, site personalization and modeling, as well as targeted advertising on their preferred media partners.
• [x+1] – Connects marketers’ data with their execution channels, including ‘owned’ media, ‘paid’ media, and CRM using [x+1]‘s Origin DMP.
• Google Analytics – Enhances analysis with knowledge of visitors’ business demographics: company size, industry, job function and seniority.

Enterprise marketers benefit from Bizo Data Solutions partner integration

“Relevancy will always rule in online marketing, and what drives relevancy is exceptional data,” said Chris Robison, senior director, Advertising Solutions at Adobe. “By integrating Bizo data with our existing first- and third-party data, Adobe AudienceManager enables customers to better understand the business demographics of their online visitors and ultimately empowers them to provide the right message at the right time to drive greater conversions.”

“The launch of Bizo Data Solutions reaffirms that a new era of B2B marketing has finally arrived,” said Steve Woods, CTO of Eloqua. “Companies can now reach and nurture their target audiences with precision at every stage of the marketing funnel, from brand awareness to sale to customer renewal, with exactly the right message at the right time. What’s more, modern marketers now have unprecedented insight into the value of every one of these marketing touches, from display ads to emails.”

“Bizo Data Solutions adds an additional layer of richness to our offerings,” said Omar Tawakol, CEO of BlueKai. “In order to reach and convert their online prospects, today’s data-driven marketers require high quality 3rd-party data, and Bizo fills this need with the breadth and depth of its business demographic data.”

“Knowing your target audience inside and out—and messaging to them accordingly—is what drives real business results,” said David Skinner, senior vice president, corporate and business development at [x+1]. “Our integration with Bizo Data Solutions brings a new level of reach and targeting precision to B2B marketers not possible before.”

About Bizo
Bizo is how B2B marketers identify and reach their target audiences online. Fueled by Bizo’s audience of more than 120 million professionals around the world, including more than 85% of the U.S. business population, the Bizo Marketing Platform can precisely target business people by specific business demographic criteria. Bizo’s customers use the platform’s data management and targeting capabilities to reach audiences anywhere they travel online and engage those that come to their websites, landing pages, and social channels. Bizo has earned the confidence of more than 600 SMB marketers and large global brands including AMEX, Mercedes Benz, Monster, Salesforce.com, Porsche, Microsoft, AT&T, and UPS who use Bizo to impact every stage of their sales and marketing funnels.

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