Tealium Continues to Lead in CDP Buyer’s Landscape

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August 14, 2018

Tech Firm Uses Power Bi Embedded to Empower Businesses with Easy-To-Use Prescriptive Analytics

Technology firm River Logic offers an advanced analytics platform to help its customers optimize their businesses end to end through prescriptive analytics. To make its platform more usable across organizations, enhance visualization, and build customer trust, River Logic deployed Microsoft Power BI Embedded. The firm gained world-class visualizations without spending time on development, plus enhancing its platform boosted customer efficiency and ROI.

Power of prescription

Consider your typical commodity trader. She needs to make significant trade decisions based on more than a gut feeling or standard rules. She needs to be able to make decisions based on a large body of variables, constraints, objectives, and business realities. With the many tradeoffs across her company’s value chain, it’s crucial that she use a form of analytics that not only prescribes her the best path forward, but lets her see how every decision might impact key performance objectives.

Business solutions firm River Logic goes beyond predictive analytics (which forecasts what may happen) to prescriptive analytics (which recommends actions a business should take). The firm offers optimization modelling and advanced scenario analysis to its customers for solving complex business problems, supporting faster, better decision making across a range of industries, including manufacturing, energy, mining, utilities, and government.

Also Read: VisitBasis Releases New Integration API

Organizations use River Logic’s technology to model their end-to-end value chain, including areas such as sales, marketing, financial performance, operations, logistics, sourcing, and more. The firm moved its platform onto Microsoft Azure in 2015, a seamless transition that did not require River Logic partners and customers to do any retraining or retooling.

Enhanced visualization without development costs

In 2017, River Logic wanted to update its platform in Azure to ensure that business users could easily access and visualize data from optimizing dozens to thousands of scenarios—which historically was a black-box process to anyone besides data scientists. The firm sought to bring an application experience to customers that they could use to achieve widespread adoption of optimization-based prescriptive analytics across many use cases and non-technical roles in their organizations. And it knew that delivering a world-class scenario visualization and analysis experience within the platform was crucial to achieve this.

River Logic considered building its own visualization features, but it did not want to forgo any of its optimization modelling functionality or a great user experience. With Azure already in place, River Logic deployed Microsoft Power BI Embedded so its developers could focus on core platform needs instead of building, maintaining, and updating a data-visualization solution.

Also Read: SessionM Recognized by Gartner for Customer Data Platforms for Marketing and Mobile Marketing Platforms

“We realized that if we used Power BI Embedded, we wouldn’t have to invest in building from scratch, which saved us a tremendous amount of time and effort,” says Peter Bull, Chief Technology Officer at River Logic. “Whether to ‘build versus buy’ is not a one-off decision—it impacts the developers continually.”

River Logic was able to quickly update its technology, and customers began using the visualizations almost immediately, making it easier for them to get answers. “With Power BI Embedded, we achieved a faster time-to-market because we minimized development effort and focused on creating core capabilities and high-quality inputs,” says Nari Viswanathan, Vice President of Product Management at River Logic. “With our small dev team, we couldn’t have made such quick progress without Power BI Embedded.”

Improved ROI for customers

One of River Logic’s customers is a Top 5 Global Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) company that manages several hundred brands globally, including thousands of SKUs. Despite the company’s achievements and its use of the full SAP suite and many other supply chain tools, it was unable to answer the question that plagues so many manufacturing companies: “Given latest demand and considering all our capacity, throughput, labor, and inventory pre-build constraints, as well as their impact on fixed and variable costs, what is the optimal production line for a given SKU per month?” The company needed a technology and process that balanced factory capabilities, capacity, and costs for a dynamic volume allocation at the lowest total network cost.

The River Logic solution simplified the problem by highlighting the most relevant inputs and outputs through its scenario-management user experience that relies on Power BI Embedded for highly detailed scenario analysis and visualization.

The Top 5 Global CPG company was able to move from a once-a-year planning cycle to a rolling monthly planning process. Before River Logic, planning time took several weeks; after, it decreased to one day. This drastic increase in efficiency helped improve the reaction time and quality of decisions when the company was faced with demand and cost volatility for that period. The company improved tactical decision making when unplanned events occurred, and furthered its strategic planning by guiding contract negotiations on procurement, labor, and transport. In addition to its enhanced decision-making agility, the Top 5 Global CPG company saw a radical initial savings in cost of goods.

Also Read: Veritone One Signs Agreement to Acquire Performance Bridge Media, Will Expand Market Share to over 25% of All Us-Based Podcast Ad Revenue

“We’re helping our customers realize a much higher ROI with prescriptive analytics because we’re able to show key decision makers the best path forward,” says Shannon Kearns, Director of Marketing at River Logic. “Now, our customers don’t need to rely on a PhD or data scientist in order to run optimization scenarios or analyze the results. Thanks to Azure and Power BI Embedded, they have a familiar, interactive, and highly detailed user experience to see the ‘why and how’ of every optimization run.”

Increased trust and democratization

River Logic has achieved its goal of making its solutions more accessible for a variety of business users, which helps democratize prescriptive analytics. Providing a more comprehensible platform and more interactive experience ultimately builds customer trust.

When a commodity trader or other business user first hears about prescriptive analytics, she might not know exactly what that means, but she can understand the visualizations. Now, Power BI

Embedded visualizations and dashboards are the first things that the River Logic sales team shows potential customers in its initial demos, including different scenarios, real-time data charts, and improvements in performance.

“We’ve made Power BI Embedded an anchor to our sale cycles,” says Viswanathan. “It’s a friendlier way to introduce companies to the power of prescriptive analytics, and it’s been highly effective for connecting to customers and closing our deals.”

TechBytes with Tal Shoham, COO Mobile at ironSource

By

Sudipto Ghosh

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August 14, 2018

Tal Shoham
COO Mobile, ironSource

Given the rapid transformation in programmatic advertising technologies, businesses are preparing for further disruptions in the mobile adtech industry. We spoke to Tal Shoham, COO Mobile at ironSource, to better understand the core tenets of modern mobile monetization technology and how it can improve in-ad experience.

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Tell us about your role at ironSource and the team/technology you handle.

As the COO of ironSource’s mobile division, my focus is on building a long-term vision for product and the business as we grow our market share with app and game developers worldwide. My goal is to ensure both our product roadmap and business strategy are targeted towards continually providing concrete added value to the global developer community – whether that’s global gaming behemoths, the hottest hyper casual studio to break into the charts or an indie developer producing great apps out of a co-working space.

What are the core tenets of your mobile monetization technology?

Our goal at ironSource is to offer our developers the technology with the greatest number of options for maximising the value of their inventory and managing their monetization effectively. As part of that, we offer both an in-app ad network covering all major ad units – including rewarded, video, display and native – and a robust mediation platform which gives app developers access to all the available options, programmatic, traditional waterfall, or both at the same time. At its core, our approach to mobile app monetization is very data-driven. Especially as ad monetization becomes an increasingly important revenue stream for developers, we believe that the more data they can easily access on the performance of ads inside their app, and how different segments of users interact with ads – the better. This is particularly important in an era of increasingly sophisticated interactive ad units. The creative revolution we’ve seen happen over the last couple of years means data has become an even more critical part of both monetization and user acquisition strategies.

How would in-app data platform benefit advertisers and publishers? How would it improve in-ad experience?

Our In-Ad Data Platform is unique in the industry, and in many ways in the history of advertising, in that it gives advertisers access to analytical and performance data that’s never been available before, giving them insight into how their ads are performing beyond the impression and the click. The rise of interactive ad units like playable and interactive video ads have transformed the ad from being a part of the funnel into a funnel in and of itself. Because of that, there is a wealth of data to look at and optimize for in terms of what’s happening inside the ad itself.

A useful way of thinking about it is optimizing the user experience inside an app. Similarly, with our in-ad data platform, we can look at how users are interacting with different touchpoints inside our interactive ads, and then optimize the ads for maximum user engagement and enjoyment. Imagine an ad for a car racing game which gives users the option to choose different racing car models to test drive, different race tracks etc. With the data in our platform, we’re able to see how many users choose to initially engage with the ad, what percentage continue engaging throughout the ad, at which points users drop off, how many users who win the mini-game will go on to install the app or vice versa, and at which points in the ad they are most likely to click to install. Based on this data we’re then able to optimize the ad experience so that users stay engaged and interacting for longer.

This is creative optimization like we’ve never seen before, which is incredibly exciting. This is the first time you have an ad product that everyone is happy about – users enjoy engaging with an ad, developers are happy because they’re making money on ads within their apps and games, and advertisers are happy because they’re able to run ads that see amazing performance and generate positive brand recall.

Please provide us with a sneak preview of the “interactive video ads funnel”? What are the key pillars of this funnel?

The funnel essentially gives a complete snapshot of where drop-off points are within an ad, highlighting the pull effect of the creative on users throughout the experience. It also allows us to see where users typically exit the ad to install the advertised app or game, and how often users who win in a playable ad will go on to install, and how this ratio differs across different game categories. These new metrics allow for much deeper creative optimization and analysis that goes far beyond the current industry standards of measuring volume of impressions, CTR and CVR.

Given the rapid transformation in programmatic advertising technologies, how do you prepare for further disruptions in the mobile adtech industry?

We keep our focus on providing value to our clients – whether that’s developers looking to monetize or advertisers looking to run user acquisition or brand awareness campaigns. For example, in the in-app ecosystem, programmatic brings with it a unique set of challenges which won’t necessarily equal more revenue for developers in the immediate future. That’s why our mediation platform allows them to build their ad tech stack with maximum flexibility, including both programmatic and non-programmatic options. While we’re still preparing for a fully-RTB ecosystem long-term, our focus is on ensuring that value for our clients stays high in the short term. Every product development we pursue has to equal more value for our clients – regardless of what is currently creating buzz in the industry.

What are the opportunities and risks you foresee in the way mobile customer data is shaping up, over the next ten years?

It’s an exciting time for mobile advertising because the data we have at our fingertips allows us to completely optimize the in-ad experience. With that ability, we can ensure that ads are not only unobtrusive, but that they’re actually enjoyable, and fully personalized. I think over the next 10 years, we’ll see a revolution in the ad experience which will lead to a shift in user perception around ads.

Thanks for chatting with us, Tal.

Stay tuned for more insights on marketing technologies. To participate in our Tech Bytes program, email us at news@martechseries-67ee47.ingress-bonde.easywp.com

Mavenlink Introduces Mavenlink M-Bridge, the First Professional Services-Centric Integration Platform

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August 14, 2018

Mavenlink Introduces Mavenlink M-Bridge, The First Professional Services

Mavenlink M-Bridge Provides Simplicity and Extensibility to Help Services Firms Facilitate their Unique Business Process

Mavenlink, the leading provider of cloud-based software for the modern services organization and G2 Crowd Leader, revealed the launch of Mavenlink M-Bridge, an unprecedented domain-specific integration platform that enables professional and marketing services organizations to quickly and thoughtfully connect key apps with their operational system of record, to support effective business execution.

Mavenlink M-Bridge is an OpenAPI-based integration platform that allows service-centric organizations to eliminate silos and disconnected processes by simply integrating key apps, like CRM, ERP, HCM, office productivity, workstream collaboration, and document sharing with their core operational system of record, Mavenlink. Using Mavenlink M-Bridge, services organizations gain the ability to extend operational processes in a simple and highly extensible way through pre-built integrations with popular solutions—like Salesforce, NetSuite, Intacct, Quickbooks, Jira, Google G-Suite, and Slack—as well as through a flexible API and a set of comprehensive developer tools provided online.

Also Read: Napkyn Analytics Launches Data Stack Licensing

“With the speed and complexity of services work today, it is increasingly challenging to operate within a fragmented business environment,” said Roger Neel, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Mavenlink. “Many firms today have deployed a sea of applications in an attempt to propel their business, and in the process they’ve created a significant number of gaps in databases, processes and systems which are actually slowing the business down. With Mavenlink M-Bridge, services organizations are able to eliminate silos, streamline processes, and operate with greater business agility.”

To simplify integration and minimize related investments, Mavenlink M-Bridge eliminates the need for costly middleware or third-party integration platforms. Due to Mavenlink’s open, API-first approach, Mavenlink users have the flexibility to configure integrations to desired process flows and data synchronizations leveraging desired coding languages, as opposed to working with a proprietary coding language or constrained set of available API endpoints as many traditional platforms exhibit.

Also Read: Artesian Enables BT Local Business to Accelerate Sales Orders

“In addition to leveraging Mavenlink’s pre-built integrations with Google G-Suite and Slack, we deployed custom integrations with Microsoft CRM and Microsoft Dynamics,” said Ivan Todorov, EVP of Operations and Strategy at AMP Agency. “The integrations went very smoothly, thanks to the Open API’s and developer tools that Mavenlink provided.”Mavenlink M-Bridge offers a number of best-in-class features, including:

Pre-built Integrations. Services-centric integrations that provide quick and easy connectivity to CRM, ERP, HCM, business productivity, and workstream collaboration applications, contextually designed to facilitate services business performance and value. These integrations also provide dynamic connectivity to API specifications.

Management Console. A single, dynamic web interface for users to administer all aspects of Mavenlink M-Bridge in the cloud, including underlying integration flows, and more. Having this level of access into integration connectivity, configuration, and status gives users more control and visibility into their systems, and speeds troubleshooting.

Developer Tools. An interactive API usage catalog, and robust digital style guide for UX design make it easy to create integrations with reusable components, and build connectors with endpoints in Mavenlink.

Also Read: Animoto Showcases Real Estate Brands Embracing Video on Facebook

Mavenlink API. Mavenlink’s OpenAPI extends the platform by allowing end users to build applications leveraging their preferred coding language. Because Mavenlink has taken an API-first design approach to its product, users are able to build apps and integrations that connect with almost any endpoint in Mavenlink.

“Mavenlink’s API is amazing,” said Kim Bernall, Product Manager at Talisys. “It’s flexible and well documented. By leveraging the API, we have been able to bulk modify assignments on 1000s of tasks at a time, as well as automate some tasks. The flexibility of the API has allowed us to mold Mavenlink to the way we operate, which has helped with user adoption and saved us countless hours of administrative time.”

“Integration between Salesforce and Mavenlink is seamless and setup was as easy as selecting a few options to get it turned on,” said Amanda Davenport, Operations Analyst at Novo Group. “Connecting Mavenlink with Salesforce has helped our firm get our service delivery and sales teams better aligned, and much more effectively forecast resource needs according to what’s coming in the pipeline.”

SaaS and Cloud Industry Leader Don Cook Joins 7SIGNAL as Chief Marketing Officer

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August 14, 2018

SaaS and Cloud Industry Leader Don Cook Joins 7SIGNAL as CMO

Veteran Enterprise Technology Executive Joins One of Cleveland’s Fastest Growing Companies

7SIGNAL, a leader in enterprise cloud Wi-Fi Performance Management, announced that technology veteran, Don Cook, has joined the company as the chief marketing officer.

Don Cook

Cook brings more than 15 years of global marketing leadership experience and a proven track record of driving innovation, market adoption and growth across the technology and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) industries. Cook’s omnichannel strategies have supported growth initiatives, served as a platform for international expansion and driven demand for new product launches leading to millions in sales; venture capital and equity investments; and over $1 billion in acquisitions.

Cook’s approach to marketing has helped to lead industry visionaries Learn.com, Taleo Corporation and iCare in the disruption of their respective industries.

Also Read: Circular Edge Celebrates 15th Anniversary at JD Edwards INFOCUS with Customer Success Stories & Innovations

By joining the team at 7SIGNAL, Cook is reunited with the company’s CEO, Tom Barrett. The two worked closely together at Learn.com, where Barrett served as General Manager. Learn.com was acquired by Taleo Corporation for $125 million in 2010.

“Don is a demand-focused marketing innovator who understands product positioning and delivering a marketing message that resonates with target audiences. He’s also a person I trust and someone others look to as a marketing thought leader,” said Barrett. “As 7SIGNAL continues its upward growth trajectory, we looked for a leader who could help us drive demand and ensure sales and marketing are aligned.

Also Read: Queue Brand Communications Announces New Senior Partner and VP of Digital Services, Marko Vukasinovic

After supporting the sale of Taleo Corporation to Oracle for $1.6 billion in 2012, and prior to joining 7SIGNAL, Cook co-founded iCare and proudly served as an administrator at Broward College. He has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from West Chester University and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Global Marketing Management at Boston University.

7SIGNAL is a leader in enterprise cloud Wi-Fi performance management. Founded by wireless networking pioneers, the company delivers applications that continuously diagnose the stability of its subscribers Wi-Fi networks. 7SIGNAL applications are designed for the world’s most innovative organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies and are currently deployed at Booz Allen Hamilton, IBM, Kaiser Permanente, University Hospitals and over 100 other sites.

Interview with Robert Seo, CEO US, Buzzvil

By

Sudipto Ghosh

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August 14, 2018

Interview with Robert Seo, Founder & CEO at Buzzvil

[vc_wp_text]“CMOs are seeing a record number of users opting-in for lockscreen content, and marketing strategies in turn are including that most-often used area of a device.”[/vc_wp_text]

[easy-profiles profile_twitter=”https://twitter.com/trobseo?lang=en” profile_linkedin=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/trobseo/”]

Tell us about your journey into technology. How did a US Marine take to entrepreneurship?

I joined the Marine Corps when I was 18 because I wanted to serve and to challenge myself to grow. I got what I wanted and more through my training and my time with a light armored reconnaissance unit. Since then, I’ve always been placing myself in challenging situations because I love the growth and learning that comes from pushing yourself.

In between my stint in the Marines and my current role, I spent time in finance at UBS Investment Bank and Goldman Sachs. It was after my MBA internship with a fund in Singapore that I decided to become an entrepreneur because I felt that I’d be able to learn more by starting my own company.

What is Buzzvil, and how does it fit into a CMO’s tech stack in 2018?

Buzzvil is the largest lockscreen advertising platform in the world. It enables Android app publishers to improve their monetization, engagement and retention. For CMOs, it’s a high impact ad unit that actually reaches users on their most intimate screen, the lockscreen.

More advertising dollars are being shifted toward mobile – and at the same time mobile ads are delivering less user engagement. Mobile marketers are turning to the lockscreen as the next place to interact with users. CMOs are seeing a record number of users opting-in for lockscreen content, and marketing strategies in turn are including that most-often used area of a device. As marketers add incentives such as lower service costs and other rewards for engaging lockscreen content, they are seeing a significant boost in customer engagement.

What are the core tenets of your business development model in mobile advertising ecosystem?

You have to start with a product you truly believe in. That’s the foundation of our business development model. From there, we’re not just aggressive about getting in front of publishers, but getting in front of them with an illustration of what a partnership would look like and the value that they would get from it.

Tell us more about your partnership with Google on putting the first lock-screen apps back into Google Play Store?

Google Play in late 2017 changed their terms and policies around apps that impacted users’ lockscreens, including SDKs such as ours. We worked closely with Google to develop apps that met their policy and allowed users to download the lockscreen content they wanted. We were, of course, concerned that users wouldn’t come back to new lockscreen apps, but to our surprise, the brands that supplemented their apps with new Buzzvil lockscreen apps immediately began seeing more user engagement than ever. The growth of new registered users shot up 200% and with a retention rate increase of 30 percent.

What are the challenges to modern-day mobile advertising?

Viewability and fraud are challenges that are slowly being overcome in mobile advertising. Buzzvil addresses those both. Buzzvil products, as lockscreen content, don’t interfere with a user experience the way in-app video, for example, can cause a viewability issue. And as we have a unique slide gesture, we don’t see users making the accidental clicks on content, which can be an issue for other types of advertising.

How does AI fit into your advertising and content technology offering? What are your major differentiators in the tech-heavy ecosystem?

We have a content hub within our product, similar to Apple News, and we implement AI to determine what news to show our users. As this directly affects their experience with our apps, we want to make sure it’s the most relevant to them.

Our biggest differentiator is our win-win-win business model. Advertisers reach opted-in users who want to see their ads, publishers get increased monetization and retention and users get relevant rewards. It’s a very difficult model to make work, but we’ve found a way to do so over the last 6 years.

How do you prepare for an AI-centric world as a business leader?

Invest in people. We’ve been lucky to have AI-trained engineers from Stanford and other top schools on our team – and the technology may change – but people are at the core of what we do.

What are your predictions on the most impactful disruptions in mobile video and premium programmatic technologies?

The biggest disruptions will be within the infrastructure. 5G will really improve the video experience, pave the way for devices with increased screen sizes, or even create a different alternative to a smartphone – all of which will drive the industry forward.

What startups in the technology industry are you watching keenly right now?

Buzzvil, and the work we do with our partners, has 100% of my focus

What marketing and sales automation tools and technologies do you currently use?

While Google and Microsoft tools are behind most everything we do, when it comes to marketing and automation, we turn to Salesforce.

Could you tell us about an outstanding digital campaign?

Buzzvil’s role in the launch of a four-part, full-funnel strategy for the series premiere of NBC’s Chicago Justice was a standout moment for our company.

We set out to help NBC do a full takeover of the Oscars, introducing the new show to mobile users at the time when the entertainment category was prominent.

It involved a week of targeted lockscreen units, reaching users during the particular time of their day when they actually browse and engage with mobile content. Further, we retargeted users with a message to add a calendar reminder for the premiere of the show to their phone

For the full-takeover during the day when the show premiered, we included tiered creative and exclusivity for NBC across the entertainment/tune-in vertical. The campaign delivered 11 million impressions, 1.4% CTR, over 24,000 calendar reminders set, and a 92% lift in awareness with 55% lift in tune-in consideration.

How do you inspire your people to work with technology?

Inspiring people to work with technology is not something that has been a problem! We provide good reasons to work at our company, where people are surrounded by good teammates, and they are inspired.

One word that best describes how you work.

Focused

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

I like to think that if you have the basics, a computer, Gmail, and Microsoft Office, then you can do anything. The will to succeed will trump any other additional tools.

What’s your smartest work-related shortcut or productivity hack?

This isn’t a hack, but fostering a great group of people around you whether it’s your team, friend network or investors will speed up anything you need to get done.

What are you currently reading?

I read the Wall Street Journal daily. Weekly, I read the Economist, and at any given time I’m reading a book about history, psychology, sociology, economics or strategy.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

My mother always told me to be generous to others. She taught me that by giving to others, the generosity naturally comes back to you, somehow. But not if you focus on receiving, just focus on giving.

Something you do better than others – the secret of your success?

I’m resourceful, I never quit, and I’m tenacious.

Tag the one person in the industry whose answers to these questions you would love to read:

Elon Musk

Thank you, Robert! That was fun and hope to see you back on MarTech Series soon.

[vc_tta_tabs][vc_tta_section title=”About Robert” tab_id=”1501785390157-b58e162d-0ae25a4b-c27aca64-108e51b0-80edaf37-bd3d357a-6c46d712-3b68db8f-23cb5d77-6777″]

Robert was born and raised in Maryland and went to UMD for undergrad. He joined the US Marines while still studying and in 2003, took a year off to serve with a light armored reconnaissance unit. After his deployment, he received his Bachelors in Economics with a Minor in Math and moved to NYC to work at UBS in investment banking. After a few years, he moved to South America for a year to learn Spanish and to complete an Ironman Triathlon (3.9km swim, 180km bike and 42km marathon). He came back to NYC and worked at Goldman Sachs in their Principal Strategies Group investing around the world and across various industries before receiving an MBA from the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania). After graduation, he moved to Korea for a year to look for startup ideas and moved back to NYC as the CEO and cofounder of Slidejoy. Slidejoy was acquired by Buzzvil last year. Robert is currently the US CEO of Buzzvil.

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Buzzvil logo
Buzzvil was founded in 2012 to develop a more natural and effective advertising platform on mobile. Since then, Buzzvil has grown to become the largest lockscreen advertising platform in the world and has enabled millions of users to connect on mobile through the most intimate and frequently accessed screen – the lockscreen. Buzzvil has four global offices and 80 employees. Buzzvil’s BuzzScreen’ is its main service, an SDK service that enables third- party applications to deliver lockscreen advertising features,. The company additionally offers its own lockscreen reward applications ‘HoneyScreen’ and ‘Slidejoy.’

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[mnky_heading title=”MarTech Interview Series” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fmartechseries-67ee47.ingress-bonde.easywp.com%2Fcategory%2Fmts-insights%2Finterviews%2F|||”]

The MTS Martech Interview Series is a fun Q&A style chat which we really enjoy doing with martech leaders. With inspiration from Lifehacker’s How I work interviews, the MarTech Series Interviews follows a two part format On Marketing Technology, and This Is How I Work. The format was chosen because when we decided to start an interview series with the biggest and brightest minds in martech – we wanted to get insight into two areas … one – their ideas on marketing tech and two – insights into the philosophy and methods that make these leaders tick.

Minute.ly Launches First Real-Time AI Video Analysis Platform for Live Streams Broadcasts

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August 14, 2018

Minute.ly Launches Real-Time AI Video Analysis Platform for Live Streams

Minute.ly AI Live Stream Technology Analyzed 2018 World Cup Games, Resulting in Double-Digit Growth for Live Stream Consumption

Video optimization platform Minute.ly announced the launch of a new product in their suite of video tools aimed at analyzing live broadcasts and streams in real time. The company uses AI technology to monitor live stream broadcasts and automatically generate video previews in real time to increase video engagement with consumers and, ultimately, video revenue.

The company’s platform was recently used by the top broadcasters for 2018 World Cup Russia online coverage. During the live stream of the games, the company successfully drove engagement and hundreds of millions of game views by automatically generating teasers and highlights in real time, resulting in a 13% increase of new users to the live stream.

Also Read: Video Ads on Connected TV and Premium Publisher Properties Have Best Performance, Reveals Extreme Reach Q2 Report

“Our product is the first of its kind that monitors video in real-time and is able to analyze content to provide key moments and promote those moments instantaneously,” said Amit Golan, CEO and Co-Founder of Minute.ly. “As video strategy becomes increasingly expensive, it is vital for publishers to focus on optimizing their video efficiency. We couldn’t be more thrilled about the response to our platform, and we look forward to expanding our services across our publishing partners’ content verticals.”

The platform is the first on the market to showcase a user-facing technology that increases the number of video views and creates a new video-based revenue stream. The company’s technology is currently deployed in dozens of sports, news and entertainment websites, including some of the most visited sites in the US, and is demonstrating an increase in video profitability up to 37% based on program size.

Also Read: VideoAmp Strengthens Engineering Team, Names Josh Nisenson as New SVP of Engineering

“Through our first of its kind deep video analysis and crowdsourcing technology, we automatically discover what pieces of content truly engage users through real time personalized experience,” added Golan. “We can identify and create the most engaging previews to drive user engagement.”

Minute.ly has launched several products already including Smart Video Preview, which generates the most effective five-second teasers that increase click-through-rate (CTR) by an average of 300%, and Top Videos, which automatically aggregates top performing video articles and presents internal video recommendations to the end users.

Amazon’s Prime Day ‘18 Witnessed 3x More Sales Than Usual

By

Viraj T

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August 13, 2018

Amazon’s Prime Day ‘18 Witnessed 3x More Sales Than Usual

Prime Day Was a 36-Hour Marathon Showcasing Amazon’s Willingness to Dominate the Market. Experts Concluded That Amazon Seems Especially Interested in Private Label, Grocery, and Home Improvement

Amazon said that its PrimeDay’18 saw 100 million products being sold. This 36-hour event is now being dubbed as the biggest worldwide shopping fiesta.

Analysts confirmed that products sold via Amazon saw a 3x surge than sales during normal days. Here is a list of product categories that saw huge spikes in sales during Prime Day:

Electronics – 215%
Home improvement – 200%
Beauty products – 186%
Pet-related products – 134%
Grocery – 108%

Analysts Observe Sales Figures Post the Prime Day

Key Insights on Amazon’s Sale Structuring

Prime Day patterns are conclusive to indicate how Amazon is pitching its products to customers. Here are the details pertaining to the e-commerce giant’s highest selling product categories on Prime Day.

Also Read: When People Shop Online, They’re Most Likely to Start on Amazon

Alexa

Amazon appears to be pretty serious about selling self-manufactured electronic products. Alexa, Amazon’s Voice-Assistant Platform was heavily discounted on Prime Day. And it paid off!

Sales of Cloud Cam, an Alexa-integrated device shot up by 1,386%. This figure is 15 times more than what this device would sell on normal days. One of the main reasons for this surge seems to be the pricing of the Cloud Cam. Originally priced at $119.99, Amazon sold it at a flat discount of 50%. The product was sold at $59.99 during Prime Day.

Other electronic bestsellers were –

Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD
The Alexa Voice Remote

Prime Day Sees a ‘DIY’ Shopping Frenzy

Brands that sell home improvement products made a killing. With almost all brands seeing a 3X surge in sales, some brands broke sales records by seeing a 30-40x rise in sales. Brands that did significantly well were:

Etekcity (+4,108%)
IGotTech (+3,670%)
Nexx (+3,096%)
GunVault (+2,923%)
GerberGear (+2,718%)

Wag –Amazon’s Penetration into The Pet Food Market

Amazon discounted 5 lb bags of its flagship product, WAG dog food. They also announced a heavier 40% off on this product if customers enrolled in Amazon’s ‘Subscribe & Save’ program. Such aggressive pricing strategies ensured that WAG skyrocketed in sales in the pet food segment. Amazon awarded itself the ‘Amazon Choice’ badge in the pet food segment.

Also Read: Could Amazon Have Done Better on Prime Day?

Amazon Grossing from Groceries

Whole foods online stores were involved in Amazon’s Prime Day. Amazon issued $ 10 vouchers to customers for the purchase of goods worth $10 in these stores. The duration of this incentive program was set between July 11 till the end of Prime Day.

Amazon again aggressively marketed its entry into the online grocery segment. This move doubled grocery sales for the e-commerce giant than normal days.

Here is a list of five companies that did the best—

Izze (+808%)
Similac (+688%)
McCafe (+605%)
RxBar (+556%)
Quaker (+337%)

US Versus the UK; Which Country Did Better?

Taking hints from the UK Prime Day, Amazon can achieve even better sales in the U.S.A, at least in a few segments.

For example, US grocery sales fell behind when compared with that of The UK (+153% UK vs +108% US).

Also Read: Amazon Versus Google Search: Who Is Winning the Battle and How?

Significant Observations

Cleverly manufactured events like Prime Day are gaining popularity among the masses. Surprisingly, most such sales drives are not even occurring during months that are traditionally marked as shopping seasons.

Hence, brands that wait for seasonal peaks to sell their products will lose ground. Days like ‘Prime Day’ are great platforms for enterprises to showcase their products. Enterprises and brands will only learn about shopping patterns when they sell their products and experiment with their strategy.

Brands should not always and necessarily wait for holiday seasons. If brands lose customers then it is an uphill task for companies to get their customers back.

Also Read: Amazon Could Completely Move out of Oracle’s Database Software by 2020!

How Your MarTech Stack Fails to Serve the Customer

By

Eric Holtzclaw

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August 13, 2018

In the older days of marketing, back in the early 2000s, a few brave CMOs invested in some rudimentary tools designed to help better manage their campaigns and audiences. These hardy pioneers sought to organize, analyze and improve performance, and thus created the first marketing technology stacks- integrated systems that brought order, unlocked targeted campaigns, and personalized messages for better results.

Considering how far the marketing industry has come in the past few years is similar to comparing that of quill and parchment paper writing to the evolution of the first printing press. The changes have been particularly rapid. In 2011, there were approximately 150 companies offering marketing technology. That number has now ballooned to more than 6,800 technology-based tools including digital advertising, content marketing, marketing automation, social media, data analytics and many more.

Marketers became stack managers

Somewhere along the way, marketers became stack managers: shadow IT experts who spend more time on technology implementation than messaging, creative development or customer research. Marketing technology budgets now commonly exceed IT budgets and overall marketing software spending is projected to exceed $32 billion this year alone.

For some, the job is now “nothing but the stack.”

Marketers today face unprecedented pressure to build and manage stacks. Technology and software companies are desperate to control as much of the stack as possible. Internal technology teams are desperate to maintain their seat at the table. And all too often, customers and prospects suffer as a result.

In part, this is due to fierce competition among a few major software players vying for ultimate control of the marketing stack. They envision a walled garden of orchestrated platforms – their platforms – and as a result, have little incentive to build in a way that enables sharing and communication with competitive or ancillary products.

Also Read: A CMO’s Top Three Priorities: Hyper-Growth, Hyper-Growth and Hyper-Growth

Computing Customer Preference

This problem is most apparent in the collection and distribution of customer and prospect consent and preferences – likes, dislikes, channels of choice, topics of interest and so on. Almost all of these marketing technology systems and frameworks that comprise the almighty stack collect and store preferences. However, their functionality is limited, and few of them are designed to communicate with other technologies or contribute to a holistic customer record.

As a result, customer consent and preferences stored in a sales CRM system never migrate to customer support, marketing or third-party providers. For example, explicit permission to contact a cell phone – absolutely vital for compliance purposes – lives inside an ESP that can’t interface with the marketing automation solution.

When asked, many enterprise clients often guess that their customer preference information flows through four to six separate, disconnected technologies. Through subsequent analysis, an average of 12-14 distinct systems are revealed- more than double their estimate, as well as clear evidence of deep compliance and customer experience challenges.

All of this makes sense considering each system is better at one thing than another.

The Myriad Stack

If an organization is using Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics or SAP, they want to track their customers from a “sales” perspective – the classic customer relationship management (CRM) solution. These platforms are geared to enable sales organizations with the information they need to do their job – understand the customer across the lifecycle and achieve insight into what the customer has bought – or could buy – from the company.

Also Read: Five Things That Marketers Need to STOP Doing in 2018

Preference and compliance requires maintaining history – the ability to look back over time as the customer changes from one preference choice to another. With the forward-looking bias of these platforms, use of a CRM-oriented system can leave you with an incomplete picture of the customer and lacking the information you need to answer a compliance inquiry.

If an organizations implements an outbound email service provider like IBM Watson Marketing (formally Silverpop), Oracle Responsys or Oracle Eloqua the primary goal is to send communications to the customer to move them further along in the buyer journey, based on scoring, behavior or company objectives. While these systems extensively cover email as the primary form of communication, the customer is likely engaging with the company across multiple channels. These systems are not incented, nor built, to provide interconnectivity between all of the touchpoints and systems each customer encounters.

Customers expect that when they provide a preference across one channel, the result is shared across the organization. Frustrations exist when the customer feels like they aren’t heard. Preferences shared to one system should easily propagate across all of your outbound communication platforms with a clear understanding of the source of the change.

Also Read: 5 Marketing Technologies Every CMO Should Have in Their Stack

If the organization is counting on the customer identity access management system like SAP (formally Gigya), Janrain or LoginRadius to solve the problem, they need to look only to their primary purpose to understand why they fall short. These systems are built to provide the customer with easy access across the enterprise and to more deeply understand them (from third party sources, for example). The power in an effective preference management implementation is found in an ongoing conversation with the customer as their desires change for how and what they receive in communications across all of the company’s channels.

Combination of Technology and Process

A complete picture of your customer requires more than just the information you’ve collected from them to date. It also requires that they have seamless access to update their profile data and their preferences as their situation changes. It is not a “point in time” collection. It is a combination of a technology approach with a built-in process that considers the customer and their ability to participate in the preference conversation in an ongoing fashion.

Also Read: Why CMOs Need to Know About Stack Fallacy

What is the biggest problem marketers are facing today with these technological systems?

None of them are built with direct customer interaction in mind for the management, maintenance and collection of preference data or to provide compliance support across the enterprise.

Enterprises are always hopeful to find one system that can solve all the needs of the marketing stack, but often forget it is called a “stack” for a reason. Each component solves for a specialized and specific marketing problem. It’s important to consider the original heritage of any system a business might be considering.

Also Read: Buy versus Build: What Should You Really Do with Tech Stack?

75% of High Performing Brands Conduct Advanced Analytics, Study Finds

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August 13, 2018

75% of High Performing Brands Conduct Advanced Analytics, Study Finds

The Report, Published by Customer Data Platform, Lexer, Has Revealed High Performing Brands Use Data Much More Often

The finding comes from the 2018 Data Culture Study, an industry report on the challenges marketers face in operationalizing data to improve the customer experience. The report, published by Customer Data Platform, Lexer, has revealed high performing brands use data much more often.

Key findings include:

Over 75% of high performing brands have in-house analytics and insights.
Low performing brands are more likely to outsource marketing to an agency.
60% of high performers use external data to enrich their customer understanding.
Nearly all brands are investing in data as a strategic priority.

Also Read: Drift Launches Intel to Eliminate Friction for B2B Buyers

Lexer President, David Chinn said companies extracting value from data were characterized by the accessibility of their data and the ability to perform advanced analytics and resource effectively.

Implementing a Customer Data Platform is one way to ensure that business users can access and utilize data

DAVID CHINN

“Top performing companies were much more likely to have a single customer view, analytics teams in-house, a larger data set and license external data,” he said.

“We also found the top 3 channels for high performing brands winning with personalization are email, paid social and site.”

While many companies feel they are failing to capitalize on the full potential of their data, Chinn said 80% are investing in customer data projects in 2018.

Also Read: Intercom Unveils New Code-Free Custom Chatbot Design for End-To-End Sales Acceleration

“Implementing a Customer Data Platform is one way to ensure that business users can access and utilize data,” he said.

For companies looking to accelerate their data culture, Chinn said success depends on:

Unifying raw, disparate data in a single customer view
Distilling unified data into easy and actionable customer profiles
Enriching customer data with external data sources for deeper insight
Empowering data champions to promote projects as a core business interest
Providing tools that make data accessible and actionable for business users

Data-Driven Marketers in High Demand and Short Supply, New Research Finds

By

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August 13, 2018

Data-Driven Marketers in High Demand and Short Supply, Research Finds

The CMO Club and Signal Conduct Study of CMOs and Heads of Marketing from Diverse Industries to Identify List of Must-Have Marketer Attributes

The chief marketing officer of tomorrow is as much a technologist and entrepreneur as she is the source of the Big Idea, according to findings included in a new report, The CMO Club Solution Guide: The Quest for the Perfect Identity-Driven Marketer.

Analyzing responses from CMOs and heads of marketing across a broad range of B2C and B2B brands, The CMO Club and Signal found that more than three-quarters of marketers are responding to surging demand for highly personalized customer experiences by taking steps to implement identity-driven marketing efforts that are contextually relevant and consistent throughout all touchpoints. These findings echo the August 2018 Winterberry Group report Know Your Audience: The Evolution of Identity in a Consumer-Centric Marketplace, which states that US marketers will invest nearly $900 million in 2018 on services and solutions dedicated to solving exclusively for identity — an investment expected to eclipse $2.6 billion in 2022.

Also Read: The Arsenal of the Twenty-First Century CMO( Infographic)

This groundswell is accelerating demand for marketing professionals with the skills and talents to flourish in marketing’s identity-driven future. Marketing innovators of tomorrow must extend their mindset beyond traditional creative thinking to develop a deep understanding of how to leverage technology and data, said the report, which includes insights culled from in-depth interviews with senior marketing leaders from major brands including ASOS, Barnes & Noble, Food Lion, La Quinta, Lee Jeans, Sky Betting & Gaming and Starbucks. “Strategic thinking” and “proven innovation in other fields,” among other characteristics, are also vital to building and executing effective 1:1 customer engagement strategies, experts added.

“In the era of the data-driven marketplace, consumer engagement needs to be faced head-on if brands are to succeed,” said Pete Krainik, CEO and founder of The CMO Club. “Having the right technology and tools are part of a CMO’s job, but how to use those tools to build an effective strategy and team relies heavily on the talent that today’s CMO must possess. This new study we’ve developed reveals the fundamental skills and insights on how CMOs are perfecting their teams with the right mix of creativity and tech-savvy that drives consumer engagement and ultimately increases revenue.”

Also Read: Interview with John Lim, Founder and CEO, linknexus

But The CMO Club and Signal found a scarcity of professionals with the talents and expertise to drive identity-powered marketing forward. More than half of CMOs are struggling to fill expertise gaps in personalization technologies, the survey found; expertise in measurement and analytics, multi-touch attribution, and media mix optimization is also in short supply, according to 48.9% of respondents.

The complexity of sourcing data-driven talent is compounded by other obstacles facing modern marketing organizations. More than half (51.4%) of CMOs cited “technological integration” among their biggest challenges, with budgetary constraints (61.1%) and data silos (36.1%) also commonplace frustrations.

“Traditionally, marketing departments were siloed into mass marketing and known user marketing, with one side hardly talking to the other. Those divisions no longer make sense,” said Mike Sands, CEO of Signal. “Mass marketing and 1:1 marketing are now the same discipline, and this new survey shows that the CMOs must now borrow the best from both worlds to succeed in today’s environment.”

VisitBasis Releases New Integration API

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August 13, 2018

VisitBasis Releases New Integration Application Programming Interface

The New Application Programing Interface Allows VisitBasis to Communicate with CRM, Accounting and Other Software

VisitBasis, the software company from Hallandale Beach, Florida, has just announced the release of a new integration API for its namesake mobile merchandising solution.

API, or application programming interface, is a digital key that allows different software to talk to each other and share resources such as databases. In the case of VisitBasis, the new integration API eliminates manual import/export of critical pieces of information – such as location and territory tables – and allows its subscribers to reuse data already stored in their existing CRM and/or billing/accounting systems, as well as create custom scripts for the integration.

Also Read: The Arsenal of the Twenty-First Century CMO( Infographic)

“We already provided APIs for integrating with query and reporting solutions”, says Sergey Gorbunov, CEO of VisitBasis. “With this new integration API, database information can be shared between our software and outside solutions, doing away with duplicate efforts, user errors, and lag time on updates.”

VisitBasis is a B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) company specialized in the development of cost-effective, cutting-edge, and comprehensive mobile solutions that aim to increase sales and reduce costs, improving the bottom-line of businesses that rely on field professionals. The key benefit of VisitBasis mobile merchandising app is to optimize retail execution, merchandising, field marketing, mobile data collection, retail audits, territory management, sales rep planning, tracking sales, mobile staff management, electronic product catalog, sales enablement, among others, especially in the consumer product goods (CPG) and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industries. Other VisitBasis products include VisitEye and Pocady.

Brainshark’s AI-Powered Engine for Sales Coaching Wins Gold Stevie® Award in 2018 International Business Awards®

By

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August 13, 2018

Brainshark Machine Analysis Recognized as a ‘Spectacular Tool for Enhancing the Development Process for Sales Reps’

Brainshark, Inc., delivering SaaS-based sales enablement and readiness solutions, today announced that Brainshark Machine Analysis is a Stevie® Award winner in The 15th Annual International Business Awards® (IBAs). Brainshark’s new, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered engine for improving sales coaching received gold – the highest category honor – for “Best New Product of the Year: Corporate Learning/Workforce Development Solution.”

This marks the sixth consecutive year that Brainshark has been honored in the IBAs, with the company having won more than 20 Stevie Awards for helping customers dramatically improve sales effectiveness and results.

The IBAs are the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small – are eligible to submit nominations. The program received more than 3,900 nominations this year, with entries from a record-breaking 74 nations and territories.

Launched in June, Machine Analysis builds off Brainshark’s award-winning sales coaching solution, which lets managers send their reps video-based assignments (e.g., “Please provide a two-minute video of how you’d pitch this new product”) and provide feedback. Machine Analysis now processes the video submissions – generating an overall score and rapid, automated insights about reps’ ability to stay on-message, emotions and personality traits exuded, use of filler words and more. The AI-based engine gives objective feedback on intangible qualities that often influence buyers’ perceptions, while augmenting managers’ comments and helping them home in on reps who may need the most guidance.

Feedback from IBAs judges included:

“Spectacular tool for enhancing the development process for sales reps. Incredibly detailed-oriented and innovative. Would be useful for all companies who have sales teams.”
“An exciting addition to coaching feedback and a great way to help sales representatives succeed in the field.”
“The innovation is incredible.”
“Great use of video learning with automated scoring analysis. A nice feature to have a safe environment to get feedback.”
“A truly impressive product; it is so cool.”
“Great to see AI being leveraged in an innovative and creative way.”
“AI in use for coaching and training is breaking new grounds.”
“Innovative product which reflects the latest technological developments and enables implementation at scale.”
“This software is clearly next-gen in terms of using AI to realize benefits. It is user-friendly in terms of how it’s set up.”
“Good product and a great initiative to connect need with current technology. High on innovation.”
“Extremely useful and impressive solution. Companies should give importance to AI for their future success.”
“Extremely impressive, with a great deal of future opportunities.”

This award comes on the heels of other recent honors for Brainshark – including wins in The 2018 American Business Awards® and 2018 Customer Sales and Service World Awards®. Last month, Brainshark was named among the “Best Sales Enablement Solutions for Building Better Sales Brains” by technology research firm Amalgam Insights.

“We’re always asking ourselves: ‘How can sales managers and sales reps do their jobs better?’ ‘How can we enable them and foster success?’” said Brendan Cournoyer, Brainshark’s vice president of marketing. “Machine Analysis was born from that mentality – with companies now benefitting from strengthened and streamlined video coaching. This exciting honor from the Stevie Awards underscores Brainshark’s commitment to solving sales challenges and applying innovative technologies to drive better sales performance.”

Truvid Unveils New Security Partnership with Protected Media to Ensure Quality within the Online Video Marketplace and Safeguard its Partners

By

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August 13, 2018

Ensuring Content Distributors and Video Media Quality Are Maintained

Truvid, the online video content SAAS platform, announced their new partnership with Protected Media, leveraging their cyber security-based fraud detection and prevention solutions, to identify and mitigate advertising fraud.

The new partnership comes on the heels of ongoing security challenges in the video ecosystem, where ad fraud stands at an estimated $19 billion, with the World Federation of Advertisers projecting that fraud will cost the industry $50 billion by 2025.

Also Read: Video Ads on Connected TV and Premium Publisher Properties Have Best Performance, Reveals Extreme Reach Q2 Report

Truvid’s end to end solution combined with its proactive stance on website and content protection in its private marketplace, has enabled its partners to maximize their monetization and keep campaign results genuine.

Adding an additional layer of protection to all video inventory integrated with truvid’s rigorous standards, including sophisticated evaluation of legitimacy of ad impressions with data verification, will eliminate counterfeit inventory and ensure that media quality and value are maintained.

Truvid’s unique focus on its prestigious agreements with top tier content distributors has facilitated its long term measurements for transparency and data protection. As one of truvid’s most valued assets, content distributors can be reassured that their videos are running in a safe and engaging ecosystem.

Also Read: VideoAmp Strengthens Engineering Team, Names Josh Nisenson as New SVP of Engineering

“We’re utilizing state-of-the-art cyber security technologies to bring trust and confidence back to our media owners, content distributors and advertisers alike,” said Roee Lichtenfeld, CEO of truvid.

“With truvid’s comprehensive capabilities focused on our media and content owners, this partnership will restore value in the video ecosystem and ensure all traffic and ads on our marketplace are viewable and transparent.”

“We are pleased to partner with a platform like Truvid who are aligned with our mission to improve transparency across the entire digital advertising market, especially for content distributors,” added Amichai Zuntz, Protected Media’s EVP Sales. “Protected Media provides a host of cyber security solutions to protect all of the variety of players in the complex ad tech ecosystem from ad fraud.”

Veritone One Signs Agreement to Acquire Performance Bridge Media, Will Expand Market Share to over 25% of All Us-Based Podcast Ad Revenue

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August 13, 2018

Veritone® One Signs Agreement to Acquire Performance Bridge Media, Will Expand Market Share to over 25% of All Us-Based Podcast Ad Revenue

Veritone One, a subsidiary of Veritone, Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Performance Bridge Media, a leading and long-standing podcast agency. The acquisition will make Veritone One, a performance-based media agency, one of the largest entities to offer comprehensive, podcast and radio solutions, helping clients efficiently acquire new business at scale while building their brands. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the next several days.

Performance Bridge Media, with its historic knowledge of podcast campaign performance dating back to 2002, possesses unique insight into one of the fastest growing segments of the estimated $221 billion US Advertising Market. This insight will be leveraged by Veritone and supplemented with the company’s aiWARE artificial intelligence platform, greatly enhancing the combined agency’s highly specific ad tracking and podcast targeting capabilities for brands. Performance Bridge Media had 2017 net revenues of $3.7 million.

Also Read: Yext For Events Arrives to Transform the Way Businesses Connect to Customers

Ryan Steelberg, President of Veritone One, said, “Podcasts are primarily original content that offers compelling, personalized edu-tainment, much as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have demonstrated with video entertainment programming. In the United States, an estimated 73 million people listen to podcasts every month, a 25% increase from 2017, making podcasting an extremely attractive and scalable segment for advertisers.”

In a Q1 2018 study conducted by Nielsen, 69% of all podcast listeners agreed that podcast ads made them aware of new products or services. The study also revealed that podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media, and are more likely to own a smart home device such as Amazon Echo, Google Home or Apple HomePod. Specifically, the trend of mobile devices as the primary listening device in the home or on the road is shifting to these smart home devices, which are owned by 43 million people, approximately 18% of the US population of adults 18 years and older, and the technology powering those devices is expanding into automobiles, the second most common place for listening to podcasts, after the home.

Also Read: Facebook Tops YouTube as #1 Channel for Video Content, According to a New Survey From PROMO by Slidely

Steelberg stated, “As industry leaders in performance-based advertising, we are constantly looking to leverage the opportunities of today and tomorrow. Acquiring Performance Bridge Media will allow us not only to continue to execute on the rapidly-growing podcast opportunities of today, but also to expand into the exciting growth opportunities offered by tomorrow’s voice technology innovations, which will amplify both listener and brand experiences for on-demand media via smart home and other connected devices.”

The consideration paid by Veritone in the transaction was $6.0 million, plus a contingent earn-out of up to $5.0 million based on Performance Bridge Media’s revenues for calendar year 2018, with such consideration being payable primarily in Veritone common stock.

Recommended Read: RTB House Wins Silver Stevie Award for Innovation

Arista Networks and Nevion Partner to Provide Media Network Solutions for Broadcasting

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August 13, 2018

Arista Networks and Nevion Partner to Provide Media Network Solutions for Broadcasting

Joint solution to be demonstrated at IBC2018

Nevion, the award-winning provider of virtualized media production solutions, announced it is partnering with Arista Networks to provide media networks solutions for the broadcasting industry.

Arista and Nevion have developed a joint solution that features a close integration of Nevion’s orchestration and SDN control, VideoIPath, with Arista’s Extensible Operating System (EOS) which will be demonstrated at Arista’s booth (8.E30) at IBC2018 in Amsterdam, 13-18 September, 2018. The partnership also allows Nevion to act as a reseller of Arista software driven cloud networking solutions.

Marketing Technology News: Adobe Named a Leader in Gartner 2020 Magic Quadrant for Personalization Engines

Andy Rayner, Chief Technologist at Nevion explains: “The broadcast industry is experiencing the coming together of broadcast-specific requirements and standard IP networking technology. In particular, live-production needs a very low latency, 100% reliable, high-bandwidth transport of video, audio and data signals across both LANs and WANs. Our joint solution delivers on this.”

As part of the partnership, Nevion’s award winning VideoIPath SDN control has been extended to include support for Arista’s EOS OpenConfig API. This allows VideoIPath to create deterministic connections across IP local and wide area networks, including the redundant paths, as well as to manage bandwidth – ensuring the performance required in live video broadcasting. VideoIPath also controls Nevion’s software-defined media nodes, Virtuosos, which provide the special broadcast media transport and processing capabilities of the overall joint solution.

Marketing Technology News: Everest Group Recognizes Whatfix as a Leader in Digital Adoption Platforms PEAK Matrix Report 2020

Ed Chapman, VP of Business Development at Arista concludes: “The combination of Nevion media orchestration and Arista’s EOS media and entertainment specific APIs delivers the control, reliability and scalability required for today’s high definition/4K broadcast networks.”

Marketing Technology News: US Cloud Gaming Market Stands to Generate Nearly $3 Billion in Annual Subscription Revenue

SessionM Recognized by Gartner for Customer Data Platforms for Marketing and Mobile Marketing Platforms

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August 13, 2018

SessionM Recognized by Gartner for CDP for Mobile Marketing

SessionM Named in 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Mobile Marketing Platform and Gartner Market Guide for Customer Data Platforms for Marketing

SessionM, the leading customer data and engagement platform, announced that it has been cited in Gartner’s July 2018 Magic Quadrant for Mobile Marketing Platforms report as well as Gartner’s Market Guide for Customer Data Platforms for Marketing.

.@SessionM recognized by @Gartner_inc for customer data platforms for marketing and mobile marketing platforms

SessionM is uniquely positioned to help brands manage, organize and enrich customer data and act on it in real time within the same platform.

Also Read: SessionM Delivers New Salesforce Integration to Transform How Global Brands Deliver Real-Time, Personalized Experiences

According to Gartner’s Market Guide for Customer Data Platforms for Marketing, “Marketer interest in CDPs continues to accelerate. In the first half of 2018, Gartner client inquiries pertaining to CDPs doubled when compared with the same period of the previous year. The reasons are clear: Fifty-two percent of marketing leaders responsible for data and analytics said data management, data integration and formatting are among their most time-consuming activities. Messy, siloed data is still a major marketing problem, and CDP vendors are seizing the opportunity to address it.”

SessionM allows global brands to have access to relevant customer data at their fingertips to anticipate a customer’s needs and deliver the right personalized experience at the right time. The platform pulls together customer data from throughout an organization into one holistic profile for each individual customer, keeps that profile constantly updated in the cloud, determines the next best customer experience – whether that’s a personalized offer, reward, content or some other kind of experience – and then delivers that experience either natively through its platform or by orchestrating the engagement though other systems and channels.

Also Read: What’s Cooking at Salesforce? SessionM’s 23.8 Million Series E Funding Led by Salesforce Ventures

“Data needs to be at the core of marketers’ interaction with customers and being able to seamlessly integrate multiple data sources into a holistic profile is invaluable to today’s global brands,” said Lars Albright, co-founder and CEO of SessionM. “Built with this data-centric capability in mind, our platform allows our global customers to inspire loyalty and increase frequency, spend and satisfaction.”

According to Gartner, “Hype around customer data platforms (CDPs) is at an all-time high. Inquiries from Gartner clients on the topic doubled between the first half of 2017 and the first half of 2018.”²

“To us, being included in both Gartner reports is a testament to the all-encompassing solution our team has created to deliver the most impactful customer experiences wherever customers engage. We’re excited and believe that we’ll continue to innovate with the world’s biggest brands as they leverage data to deliver unique and personalized experiences to foster deeper brand loyalty,” said Albright.

J.D. Power And Nielsen Transform Auto Advertising With The Launch Of The Nielsen Auto Cloud

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August 13, 2018

J.D. Power And Nielsen Transform Auto Advertising With Nielsen Auto Cloud

Alliance Delivers Improved Auto Advertising Effectiveness and Measurement

Nielsen launched the Nielsen Auto Cloud fueled by J.D. Power, a robust marketing and measurement platform that combines the power of the Nielsen Marketing Cloud with J.D. Power’s world-class car-buyer intelligence and insights. This next-generation cloud technology provides automotive advertisers, agencies and media owners direct access to audience data from Nielsen with buyer insights from J.D. Power, as well as omnichannel advertising and campaign measurement capabilities to help improve marketing performance.

For the first time, automotive marketers can target audiences and personalize their advertising messages based on a diverse set of criteria such as car features and styles, buying stage, brand affinities, as well as media engagement, geo-location and device type using data from Nielsen and J.D. Power. Clients now have the ability to plan and activate these car-buyer audiences across TV and digital. Additionally, built-in campaign measurement and optimization capabilities help clients instantly adapt to changes in buying behavior leading to better marketing return-on-investment.

Also Read: Nielsen’s Connected Partner Program Becomes The Industry’s Largest Curated Partner Community For FMCG Retailers And Manufacturers

“The Nielsen Auto Cloud gives us incredible access to granular data from Nielsen complemented by insights from J.D. Power, allowing us to create high-value audiences for our clients,” said Arun Kumar, Global Chief Data & Marketing Technology Officer, IPG. “With this, we will strengthen our Audience Measurement Platform, improving our ability to target car-buyers based on a variety of criteria including their preferred brands, car models, styles and features. That means better performing media investments for our auto clients, more innovative marketing solutions, and ultimately, better consumer experiences.”

The Nielsen Auto Cloud provides marketers with exclusive access to the intelligence and insights derived from J.D. Power’s unique vehicle sales data. These car-buyer insights, coupled with Nielsen Data Management Platform (DMP) technology and Nielsen’s gold-standard media and purchase-based audience data, enable auto advertisers to reach consumers with greater precision across all media channels.

The Nielsen Auto Cloud’s always-on frequency management and in-flight analytics capabilities enable clients to proactively measure and control how often and what types of ads people see throughout the life of a campaign. Additionally, clients can leverage established Nielsen planning and measurement solutions, including multi-touch attribution (MTA) and marketing mix modeling (MMM), to measure the efficacy and return-on-investment of their marketing spend.

Also Read: Nielsen Launches Local Media Impact, A New Cross-Platform Media Planning Solution

“Nielsen and J.D. Power are ushering in a new era for the auto industry,” said Bernardo Rodriguez, Chief Digital Officer, J.D. Power. “We’re empowering auto marketers with immediately actionable intelligence…whether for consumer insights, cross-media planning and targeting, or campaign measurement.”

“We are thrilled to launch this game-changing automotive solution with J.D. Power. The Nielsen Auto Cloud’s combination of data, technology and measurement capabilities is unique to the auto advertising world,” said Damian Garbaccio, EVP at Nielsen. “Auto marketers can now be more responsive to changes in buying behavior, more personalized with their advertising and content, better at measuring outcomes, and—ultimately—more efficient with their media investments.”

A CMO’s Top Three Priorities: Hyper-Growth, Hyper-Growth and Hyper-Growth

By

Roger Barr

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August 13, 2018

A CMO's Top Three Priorities: Hyper-Growth, Hyper-Growth and Hyper-Growth

Times are changing. And quickly. Every year it seems CMOs are having to change tack in order to meet CEO expectations. Right now this pressure filled environment is all geared towards growth – but how can marketers balance their many responsibilities while also ensuring growth is quickly achieved and sustained?

Stacking up responsibilities

The introduction of GDPR earlier this year has had a profound impact on CMOs. In many instances, marketers have been handed responsibility over data interpretation, and have to also ensure transparency with customers is maintained within this new permission based marketing world.

This means CMOs must create a value exchange that appeals to each customer’s specific needs. And for today’s consumers, added value comes from the flexibility to interact with a brand via multiple channels – including social, online, phone, apps and desktop.

Navigating through this complex marketplace, ensuring customers can be interacted with via a multitude of channels, while remaining GDPR compliant and effectively analysing data creates a challenging and fragmented environment for CMOs. But one that is also critical to grasp in order to meet those demands for hyper-growth.

Also Read: Six Ways CMOs Can Keep Pace with Technology Innovation

Tapping into tech

Technology has been a fundamental contributor to this diversification of marketing. As of April 2018, there were reportedly 6,829 martech tools available – which is up 27% on the previous year. Using these tools, we can now analyse how every marketing function contributes to creating new business leads, scale and ROI.

Additionally, accessibility to tools is better than ever before from a cost perspective. Ubiquitous products like Google Marketing Platform, which includes widely used platforms such as Google Analytics and Google Data Studio, are free to use up to a point. Low-cost marketing solutions enable smaller brands with limited budget to analyse the impact of marketing on business success, boost customer engagement and deliver more relevant experiences.

Also Read: The Next Power Couple: How the CMO and CCO Together Can Nail the Customer Experience

Continuous re-skilling

Digital training is essential for marketers working in today’s tech saturated environment, especially since they are expected to already have grasped the skills necessary to navigate their way through tech. Yet often, many haven’t been supported with the necessary training to do so. The extent of this skills gap is proven via government estimates that show the digital skills costs the economy £63 billion a year.

In order to bridge this gap and ensure CMOs have the skills to continue succeeding, organizations must invest in training courses and external support from those experts in tech such as agencies or consultancies that can educate CMOs and marketers on how to diversify their capabilities using digital.

Also Read: Top Efficiencies Gained by CMOs While Procuring and Managing Agencies

Embracing today’s change for tomorrow’s success

CMOs have undoubtedly had more complexities added to their roles. But despite the challenges this creates, they must embrace it. Using the plethora of tech tools available to analyse the broader business success linked to every marketing move, CMOs can create engaging and creative marketing initiatives all the while ensuring that marketing activity helps ensure growth.

When this balance is achieved, CMOs will be on track to help fulfil broad business goals and will themselves benefit from profound career success.

Also Read: Top Five Reasons CMOs Need to Digitize Marketing Events

New Research Identifies Top Advertising, Marketing, Social Media Companies in Key Industries

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August 13, 2018