The Event Headliners Include Speakers From Evernote, Beachbody, Facebook, Microsoft
Tealium, the leader in real-time customer data solutions and enterprise tag management, has confirmed its line-up at Digital Velocity San Francisco.
Digital transformation leaders to headline Digital Velocity San Francisco
Taking place at Pier 27 on October 18th and the Grand Hyatt Hotel on October 19th, the two-day event will bring together industry influencers to explore the power of data – sharing ideas, advice and best practice on how businesses can elevate customer experience by embracing the new digital economy.
Keynote speaker sessions include:
Gerry Campbell, Chief Technology Officer, Beachbody, will share the story of how the billion-dollar fitness empire forged a new, transformative path in the face of changing customer behavior, and expectations
Andrew Malcolm, Chief Marketing Officer, Evernote will explain why marketers need to make data their best friend, sharing advice from his experience managing the marketing for two start-ups now valued at over a billion dollars
Fatemeh Khatibloo, Principal Analyst, ForresterResearch will share her recommendations on how marketers can prepare for the changing global privacy environment, including the imminent arrival of the General Data Protection Regulation
Steve Setzer, Program Manager, Marketing Operations, Facebook will share advice on how marketers can future-proof their analytics strategy
There will also be a series of educational sessions and roundtable discussions on topics such as data governance and privacy, identity resolution, data storytelling, and actionable business intelligence.
“The speakers at Digital Velocity have all harnessed the power of data to transform their businesses and are passionate about sharing these insights with their peers”, said Jeff Lunsford, CEO of Tealium. “Today’s most successful companies are engaging their customers on an individual level and they’re able to achieve this by using data in real time. Digital Velocity San Francisco aims to provide marketers, analysts, and developers with the tools they need to thrive in this customer-at-center era.”
Company’s Latest Product Innovation Marks the Industry’s First Video Ads with 3D Effect Available for Advertisers at Scale
Teads, the inventor of outstream advertising and the No. 1 video advertising marketplace in the world by unique visitors, according to comScore, announced the release of inRead 3D, the company’s latest video format which leverages depth of field perception to create a 3D effect for any video creative.
This new format is powered by Teads Studio, the company’s in-house creative strategy platform, which is dedicated to helping brands and their agencies build more engaging video ads through interactivity, dynamic creative optimization, advanced analytics and by injecting elements of artificial intelligence into video ad campaigns.
Teads’ inRead 3D format is well-suited for branding, and delivers an eye-catching effect that will drive high engagement with users. Teads’ sales design team can build the 3D effect for brand clients using existing video creative or the client can provide their own video with a 3D effect to be inserted into Teads’ inRead ad slot. inRead 3D will be sold in the same way as the standard inRead product and is available on a CPM, vCPM and CPCV basis.
“Teads led the way for innovation in video advertising with the launch of our inRead format several years ago and we have not stopped looking for ways to empower brands to engage consumers with stunning, impactful and highly dynamic creative in premium editorial environments,” said Bertrand Quesada, CEO, Teads. “inRead 3D is the next of many advancements that brands can expect from Teads as we continue our mission to inject creativity into advertising.”
eMAM Support For Adobe Premiere Pro CC And Adobe Indesign CC Will Be Showcased At IBC 2017.
Empress Media Asset Management, LLC (Empress) will showcase the upcoming release of its flagship eMAM™ platform featuring integrations with Adobe® Premiere® Pro CC and Adobe InDesign® CC, part of Adobe Creative Cloud at IBC 2017 in booth 7D05. eMAM is a Media Asset Management system offering customers a feature-rich online digital library with best-of-breed integrations for a complete workflow process solution. eMAM unites different on-premise and cloud storage and archive systems, in different locations into a unified workflow with a single web or tablet-accessible interface.
Adobe Premiere Pro CC is a market leading video editing system, and a key component of Adobe Creative Cloud®. The release of Adobe Team Projects allows users to collaborate across locations on the same project files. Users can sync changes and share updates as needed. The eMAM extension panel inside Adobe Premiere Pro CC shows all of the available projects, categories, and individual assets-regardless of location. Video editors can search and browse the content, pulling only required native resolution media to local storage for editing. They can also export media and sequences from Adobe Premiere Pro CC back to eMAM for review and approval, email and social media sharing, digital delivery, and archiving. eMAM users worldwide can collaborate with editors by creating projects, adding media, marking, subclipping, and rough cut editing directly from the tablet or web interfaces. Additional features include intelligent archive/restore, project and file versioning, mezzanine/proxy edit support, media localization, and now-team project support. The eMAM system extends a Team Project environment with support for non-technical users, for remote users, for media management and sharing, and for any type of cloud system.
Adobe InDesign® CC is the industry-standard layout and publishing app that lets users design rich digital and print experiences, from eBooks and electronic magazines, to books, brochures, and whitepapers. The InDesign panel can track graphics elements used inside the InDesign documents and store them in one or more storage locations managed by eMAM for easy collaboration. Designers can now find the best graphical elements regardless of where they are stored by using the powerful search tools or the hierarchical category structure in the eMAM library. Check-In, Check-Out and Versioning makes it easy for multiple designers to work on the same project. The Export option in the panel makes the review and approval and final delivery processes seamless by automatically making PDF copies. Completed projects can be safely archived without affecting other documents.
David Miller
David Miller, COO of Empress commented, “We are excited to expand our combined system to support more media workflows and to now include graphics workflows, empowering creative teams to maximize the value of their digital assets throughout the organization, crossing traditional departmental boundaries.”
Sue Skidmore
“Creating different deliverables, often from the same set of core assets, is increasingly becoming the norm with digital media,” said Sue Skidmore, head of partner relations for professional video at Adobe. “eMAM support for Adobe video and design applications shows how integrated workflows can simplify production and delivery of content for any company in any industry.”
G2 Crowd Finds Salesforce CRM And Hubspot CRM Tie For Top Satisfaction Rating And Salesforce CRM Earns Highest Overall Market Presence Score
G2 Crowd, the world’s leading business software review platform, today released the Fall 2017 CRM Software Grid® report to help businesses make the best CRM technology buying decision. Salesforce CRM, HubSpot CRM, Pipedrive, and Zoho CRM were named Leaders in the report, receiving a strong customer satisfaction score with a large market presence.
Freshsales, ProsperWorks CRM, Nimble, PipelineDeals, Less Annoying CRM, Base CRM, Salesnet, Nutshell, Pipeliner CRM, OnePageCRM, Workbooks.com, bpm’online, Salesflare, amoCRM, InfoFlo Software, Bullhorn CRM, Vtiger CRM, Redtail CRM, Salesbox, Relenta CRM, Insightly, Prophet CRM, Membrain, Contactually, Really Simple Systems, Maximizer CRM, NetHunt CRM, Efficy CRM, Cosential, Close.io, iSEEit, and LeadSquared CRM were named High Performers in the report, earning strong customer satisfaction marks with smaller market presence scores. Salesforce CRM and Hubspot CRM tied for the highest overall satisfaction score while Salesforce CRM earned the highest overall market presence score.
This report also breaks down the CRM category, based on market presence and customer satisfaction score, for Small-Business, Mid-Market, and Enterprise reviewers. At the small-business level, Pipedrive and ProsperWorks CRM tied for the highest overall satisfaction score and Salesforce CRM earned the highest overall market presence score. In the mid-market segment, Salesforce CRM received the highest overall satisfaction score and earned the highest overall market presence score. Finally, at the enterprise level, Salesforce CRM earned the highest overall satisfaction score and the highest overall market presence score.
The Grid® leverages customer satisfaction data reported by authenticated users along with vendor market presence determined from social and public data. Based on a combination of these scores, each software solution is categorized as a Leader, High Performer, Contender or Niche.
Key Findings:
Integration issues — Many users discussed the lack of integration between CRM solutions and third-party services; some users mentioned that the tool they used didn’t have the ability to support APIs, either. Users said that they struggled when they wanted to sync customer information and data with other tools such as marketing automation or applicant-tracking systems. Many users explained that the biggest hurdle when utilizing CRM solutions—aside from the expected learning curve—was the difficulty in customizing them to work well in their environment.
Difficult-to-use interface — The majority of users mentioned that the interfaces of CRM solutions are outdated and clunky. Some of the users admitted that that dislike may be minor, but others explained that an unintuitive UI makes the tool difficult to use. Users said that the solution’s layout can be scattered and unintuitive, which results in an unnecessary number of steps to follow to simply input or pull data. Users said that when they’re faced with an excess of options, it becomes difficult to train new users and makes reporting and tracking data cumbersome.
Jetlore, the leading AI-powered customer data platform for top-tier retailers and beyond, announced that Montse Medina, co-founder and COO, has been selected as a finalist for a Stevie Awards for Women in Business in the Female Executive of the Year—Business Products category for companies with more than 11 but less than 2,500 employees. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world’s preeminent business awards for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run. Finalists for 2017 were announced, and the Stevie Award winners will be announced on November 17 in New York.
After graduating at the top of her class in Spain with a degree in Aeronautics, Montse worked as a researcher in China before moving to the United States to pursue her PhD in Computational and Mathematical Engineering at Stanford University. During her three years at Stanford, Montse received two full fellowships from Stanford University and the WSDM 2011 Best Student Paper Award. She took leave from the PhD program and started Jetlore in 2011.
As COO, Montse’s responsibilities range from developing business strategies, serving as Jetlore’s chief financial officer, overseeing data science projects, building predictive statistical models and acting as the GM of Jetlore in Spain and Latin America. Montse is currently a board member at COTEC, where she discusses innovation trends alongside the King of Spain, government officials, and several CEOs from Spain’s top 35 companies. Under Montse’s leadership, Jetlore’s Spanish and Latin American client roster has grown to account for more than a third of Jetlore’s total revenue.
“I am thrilled to be named a finalist for such a prestigious award,” says Medina. “I am a passionate innovator with a commitment to making Jetlore not only one of the best software companies in the world, but one of the best companies in the world. Thank you to the Stevie Awards’ judging panel for honoring me with this designation among so many incredible women. I am humbled by your recognition.”
Fastest Growing Data-As-A-Service Platform Teams Up With Premier Data Integration Platform To Allow Users To Enrich, Clean And Grow Their Contact Database To Improve Their Overall Marketing Strategy
Synthio, formerly known as Social123, the fastest growing data-as-a-service platform, announced its partnership with TMMData, a premier creator of flexible data integration and data preparation platform Foundation. The relationship aims to give enterprises access to over 180 million contacts worldwide with all data managed through one platform.
Synthio’s platform automates data cleansing, standardizing and synthesis. Their global contact database empowers international organizations to enrich existing data, gain net-new contacts and enhance their ABM strategy. With CRM and MAP integration, Synthio’s platform provides marketing and sales professionals with a competitive edge.
This partnership provides TMMData’s users with access to Synthio’s robust platform where they can enrich existing contacts and gain net-new contacts. Users can also integrate Synthio’s data with hundreds of pre-built applications and data source connectors through TMMData’s platform.
Aaron Biddar
“TMMData’s platform and Synthio’s accurate contact data together create a dynamic partnership that synthesizes our strengths to provide end users with the best data possible,” said Aaron Biddar, CEO, Synthio. “We look forward to providing their users with accurate contact data to use with TMMData’s multiple APIs.”
Darren Wagner
“Organizations adding thousands of new contacts need to efficiently manage and integrate that data with other best-in-class analytics and business intelligence tools, which is why this partnership is a natural fit,” said Darren Wagner, CMO, TMMData. “We’re excited about the seamless connectivity that this partnership will enable for our mutual users through Synthio’s global contact database.”
New Artificial Intelligence, Data Lake And Data Integration Capabilities Accelerate Business Insights, Enabling Customers To Drive Better Business Outcomes From Data
Oracle announced three major enhancements to Oracle Big Data Platform Cloud. The new services deliver critical capabilities essential to Big Data projects, and enable customers to simplify and accelerate data-driven business outcomes while making it easier for them to leverage adaptive intelligence in their own applications and services.
Big Data projects are critical to innovation, but can be challenging to execute due to complexity and the gap in skills required to coordinate all the necessary pieces. To help customers address these issues and more easily manage the entire Big Data lifecycle, Oracle is announcing integrated Big Data services in Oracle Cloud Platform.
“Big Data initiatives are an important part of growing an organization, but the process is still complex and challenging for everyone involved,” said Greg Pavlik, senior vice president and CTO, Oracle Cloud Platform. “By delivering an end-to-end, unified platform that simplifies and accelerates Big Data analytics projects in the cloud, we are minimizing challenges and helping customers increase their rate of success. Our vision is to empower our customers to analyze any type of data from any source for everyone.”
Zendesk CFO Brings Saas Expertise, Proven Management Acumen To Smartsheet Team
Smartsheet, the world’s leading SaaS platform for managing and automating collaborative work, announced the appointment of Elena Gomez to its board of directors. Gomez, CFO of Zendesk and former senior vice president of finance and strategy at Salesforce, brings to Smartsheet deep experience in growing profitable SaaS companies.
Mark Mader
“Elena combines significant knowledge of the SaaS business model with a proven ability to partner with senior business leaders,” said Mark Mader, CEO of Smartsheet. “Her experience in optimizing growth across enterprise sales and multiple products will serve us well as we continue our rapid growth in the work management and automation market.”
Gomez’s appointment follows a $52.1 million Series F funding round for Smartsheet earlier this year and a period of significant momentum in which Smartsheet’s revenue increased by more than 60 percent year-over-year in each of the past five years.
Elena Gomez
“Smartsheet is among a small handful of true SaaS innovators; they face both a rapidly growing and constantly evolving landscape,” Elena Gomez said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to work with Mark, the rest of the board, and the senior leadership team to help guide the company’s next stage of growth.”
Gomez has served as Chief Financial Officer at Zendesk since May 2016. Prior to that, she served in a number of senior roles at Salesforce, including senior vice president of finance and strategy, senior vice president of go-to-market distribution, and vice president of sales and support and marketing finance. She previously held senior roles at Visa and Charles Schwab. Gomez holds a B.S. in business administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.
Study Commissioned by TAG Highlights Progress from Industry Campaign to Protect Brands and Tackle $2.4B Piracy Problem
The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), an advertising industry initiative to fight criminal activity in the digital advertising supply chain, released a new study – “Measuring Digital Advertising Revenue to Infringing Sites” – showing the impact of industry efforts to reduce ad-supported content piracy. The study found that anti-piracy steps taken by the digital advertising industry have reduced ad revenue for pirate sites by between 48 and 61 percent, notable progress against the $2.4 billion problem of infringing content.
Among the study’s findings:
Digital ad revenue linked to infringing content was estimated at $111 million last year, the majority of which (83 percent) came from non-premium advertisers.
If the industry had not taken aggressive steps to reduce piracy, those pirate site operators would have potentially earned an additional $102-$177 million in advertising revenue, depending on the breakdown of premium and non-premium advertisers.
Ongoing industry efforts against piracy have therefore reduced the advertising revenue of pirate sites by 48 to 61 percent.
“We have not won the war against ad-supported piracy, but the battle is joined, and we are making good progress,” said TAG CEO Mike Zaneis. “The collaborative efforts of hundreds of companies using TAG-validated providers of anti-piracy tools is cutting off the revenue for the criminals who profit from stolen content and reducing their incentive to distribute it. Despite the advances made, there is more work to be done, as companies work together to protect their brands against the interrelated challenges of ad-supported piracy, fraud, malware, and lack of transparency.”
TAG commissioned Ernst & Young LLP’s Media & Entertainment Advisory practice to perform a benchmarking study of the US market, with two objectives: estimating the annual revenue that piracy operations earn from digital ads served linked to copyright-infringed content and estimating the financial impact of the quality control steps taken by the digital ad industry to address this area. EY conducted this study independently on behalf of TAG between July 2016 and July 2017. The data used in the study were provided by various digital advertising ecosystem participants.
“This critical study demonstrates the progress we have made in stopping the flow of ad revenue to pirating sites,” said Senator Orrin Hatch, Co-Chair of the International Creativity and Theft-Prevention Caucus. “But it also shows that we still have much work to do. Online pirates plunder millions of dollars from American businesses each year, denying content creators the full benefits of their work. Blocking all ad revenue to pirating sites will reduce their prevalence by making their illicit activities less profitable. My friends in the online advertising community should take heart; this report shows that we are gaining ground in the battle against online piracy. We need to intensify our efforts, however, if we are to eradicate this illegal practice once and for all.”
“For years, the International Creativity and Theft-Prevention Caucus has advocated ‘following the money’ to identify and cut off revenue streams to websites that profit from digital piracy,” said Representative Adam Schiff, Co-Chair of the International Creativity and Theft Prevention Caucus. “As part of that effort, the Caucus helped push the online advertising community to take decisive action and to keep high profile American brands from unwittingly funding online criminals, an effort which led to the creation of the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). The study recently completed by Ernst and Young on behalf of TAG shows that those efforts are bearing fruit, and that voluntary efforts by advertisers and agencies kept well over $100 million out of the pockets of pirate sites last year alone. It also demonstrates that we have more work to do, as over a $100 million in digital ad revenue nonetheless flowed to the owners of these sites. With continued efforts by all stakeholders, I am confident we can continue to make progress to protect the intellectual property of content creators.”
Since early 2014, TAG has built a robust anti-piracy program with industry leaders to address this complicated issue, including a seal program, anti-piracy pledge, information sharing, and engagement with law enforcement. Among the elements of TAG’s anti-piracy efforts:
Sixteen companies have now earned the TAG “Certified Against Piracy” Seal, an assurance that the anti-piracy services provided by those companies meet stringent requirements and industry best practices. Seal recipients include ten companies approved by independent auditors and six that underwent a self-attestation process.
More than 50 leading brands and advertising agencies – including all four of the world’s largest ad agency holding companies – have signed the TAG anti-piracy pledge to take “commercially reasonable steps” to reduce ad supported piracy, such as working with companies that have received TAG’s Certified Against Piracy seal.
As the first and only Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) for the digital ad industry, TAG activates its network of hundreds of compliance officers to address emerging threats, respond to incidents, and promulgate best practices.
TAG works closely with law enforcement officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and Department of Justice to help them learn about intellectual property theft and other criminal activity in the digital ad space.
John Montgomery
“This represents real progress,” said John Montgomery, EVP Global Brand Safety, GroupM. “Many people have put a lot of hard work into getting us to this stage, and these findings will surely encourage the entire digital sell- and buy-sides to divert advertising away from IP infringing sites so that we can protect content creators and brands from this type of fraud.”
David Green
“NBCUniversal is pleased to see so many reputable brands making substantial progress keeping their advertisements off copyright infringing sites,” said David Green, VP of Public Policy for NBCUniversal.“Advertisements on infringing sites harm creators, consumers, and the brands that unintentionally associate their products with criminal behavior. We look forward to our continued work with TAG to cut off advertising revenue for the operators of these sites.”
Ruth Vitale
“As representatives of the creative community active in alerting brands when their ads appear on infringing sites, we commend advertisers, ad agencies, and ad networks that take effective action to ensure good ads don’t appear on pirate sites, cutting off revenue to those sites,” said CreativeFuture CEO Ruth Vitale. “We urge everyone in the advertising ecosystem to increase efforts to protect not only the reputation of brands, but also the millions of creatives who contribute so much to our society and economy.”
Deltek To Pay $9.00 Per Share. Transaction Valued At Approximately $70 Million
Onvia the leading provider of sales intelligence and acceleration technologies for businesses selling to the public sector, announced that it has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Project Diamond Intermediate Holdings Corp, the parent entity of Deltek, and Deltek, the leading global provider of enterprise software and information solutions for government contractors, professional services firms and other project-based businesses. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, Project Diamond Intermediate Holdings Corp will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Onvia common stock for $9.00 per share in an all-cash tender offer. The purchase price represents a 100% premium to Onvia’s last closing stock price of $4.50. The value of the transaction, which was unanimously approved by Onvia’s Board of Directors, is approximately $70 million.
“We are extremely pleased with this transaction, which we believe is a winning proposition for all of our stakeholders,” said Van Skilling, Chairman of Onvia, and Russ Mann, CEO of Onvia. “The transaction represents a substantial cash premium to our stockholders and follows a robust process and comprehensive review of strategic alternatives undertaken by our Board of Directors earlier this year.”
Russ Mann
“Further,” said Mann, “Deltek is a large and highly regarded firm in the enterprise software and solution space for project-based businesses, with complementary product and services offerings to Onvia’s. As part of Deltek, we intend to focus on innovating and expanding our data and product offerings, which will benefit our customers, employees and partners.”
Today Principals from DemandBridge and e-Quantum, Inc. announced that they will be merging the two companies, effective immediately. The announcement was made on stage at the PSDA Technology Summit held in New Orleans. The new company will retain the DemandBridge name.
e-Quantum, Inc.
DemandBridge and e-Quantum, Inc. have been providing premier Distributor Management software for more than 30 years. Together, the two companies bring more than 60 years of experience and growth within and beyond the Independent Print Services Industry. The new, independent company will be led by current DemandBridge CEO David Rich, who himself brings more than 35 years of Enterprise IT experience. He will combine the vision, talent, technology prowess and investments of both organizations in order to remain vital and competitive in the marketing automation software industry. Together, the new company will evolve and transition its products to leverage DemandBridge’s presence on the Microsoft Azure Cloud and to integrate technologies in the pipeline—from Microsoft PowerBI and Cloud Foundry, to other digital marketing technologies planned for 2018. The combination and strategic focus will offer the scale, strength and flexibility to help customers and partners succeed with minimal disruption and the same/improved level of customer service.
Top Efficiencies Gained by CMOs While Procuring and Managing Agencies
The landscape has changed for marketers, increased budgets and responsibilities is driving the need for greater operational efficiencies that move budget into results more quickly
Over the past three years, CMOs have reported an increase in spend that is expected to continue into next year. According to the Gartner CMO Spend Survey from 2016-2017, there has been an upward trend in marketing budgets for three years in a row, rising from 11% to 12% of revenue in the last year alone.
In step with the increase in revenue, the role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and subsequently, the marketing department has grown exponentially over the past decade, transforming from a “top-of-the-funnel” function to a strategic cross-business necessity. With these added budgets and responsibilities, CMOs are under increased pressure to perform better and more quickly to deliver results that move the needle forward.
One area where digital tools provide greater efficiencies for brands, (and agencies), is in the often draconian process of procuring and managing agencies. The traditional agency search can take weeks, if not months, while burdening in-house resources with extra responsibilities. Further, lengthy agency searches impact time-to-market which can stall campaign ROI. Once, the agency is retained, day-to-day management of activities and results can become onerous for brands with complex, multiple touch point campaigns. The good news is there are online tools that greatly reduce this burden.
Top Digital Tools to Source and Hire Agencies Faster
There are two digital tools that facilitate agency selection and management: directories and eCommerce solutions.
Directories: Online directories provide expansive insight into the agency landscape. There are a few top directories, such as Agency Spotter and Clutch that allow brands to see how the agency functions, read reviews and determine high-level expertise. This enables you to shortlist and start the lengthy RFP process to find a proposal that fits your specific criteria. Directories can help cut down on some of the information gathering required to find the right agency, but still require time investment before you see your budget working towards results.
eCommerce Solutions: eCommerce solutions, popular in the freelancer space with sites like Upwork, are now available for the agency market. Within the eCommerce ecosystem, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools such as Oodi, offer a digital system for brands to procure, manage, and pay highly-vetted agencies all from one place. Conversely, agencies enjoy improved deal flow and swifter payment.
Source: Oodi, 2017
In addition to delivering efficiencies in the selection process, the SaaS system manages payment and milestone delivery throughout the project to ensure greater control of the campaign. In the fast-moving digital economy, time to market and tight project control are often the currency of the realm which allows marketers to swiftly adapt to market fluctuations.
Both directories and SaaS solutions provide time and cost savings at varying points through the process of procurement, but the SaaS model offers more comprehensive efficiencies with its soup-to-nuts approach. With this system, procurement, management, milestones, and payments are all managed from one single entity. The upside is a swifter and more controlled spend of resources throughout the life of the campaign.
Top 4 Efficiencies
Brands that have begun to source agencies and marketing services through SaaS environments are seeing increased efficiencies and cost reductions that power their marketing campaigns.
Reduced Time to Hire an Agency
The average time to hire an agency can range from 3-12 weeks depending on the service. The more complex the service is, the more time it will take to compile vetted agencies, pricing, case studies, and more. Directories and SaaS solutions typically pull together these critical data points on each vendor or service across the marketing spectrum, thus, eliminating the time spent gathering this information.
Reduction in Overspending
While Directories typically do not offer clear service pricing, SaaS solutions do. This transparent and up-front pricing give CMOs the information they need to plan budgets and spend immediately. Further, with a clear scope of work on these sites brands are less likely to underestimate costs when they hire agencies through these tools.
Faster ROI on Marketing Investment
Sourcing the right agency is only as good as the ability for the agency to deliver. The SaaS solution includes built-in project management features to enable brands and agencies to stay on schedule and budget while pursuing defined milestones. Brands can keep their marketing funds safe until their agency delivers, which also gives agencies a clear incentive to deliver what they promised within the agreed upon timeframe.
Reduction in Legal Fees Should Issues Arise
As with any project, things can go awry. While we hope they don’t, it’s important to remain protected in the case of a dispute. The SaaS solution offers free dispute resolution services to mitigate issues between brands and agencies when they arise. With legal fees being $500/hour or higher, the cost savings speaks for itself.
Both Directories and SaaS tools provide access to most, if not all of the necessary information to narrow down a shortlist of agencies for marketing services. Directories are great when you have an internal RFP process that you must follow. However, only SaaS tools provide clear insights into pricing and time estimates so brands can hire their agency with a few clicks. The more advanced SaaS systems also include “compare” functionality to allow brands to build a shortlist for further review. What could take an in-house marketer weeks to build, is done in minutes.
Further, the SaaS solution combines procurement efficiencies with campaign management and payment tools to allow for 360° experience designed to allow CMOs to get their funds working to achieve results faster. They also free the CMO from relying on his or her personal network to easily find new agencies with fresh ideas and insights.
Vice President Of Customer Experience Consulting At Confirmit Makes The List Of Top Ranking Cx Industry Executives
Shelly Chandler, CCXP, Vice President of Customer Experience Consulting at Confirmit, has been named a winner of the 2017 CX Impact Awards by the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).
The CX Impact Awards are a part of Customer Experience (CX) Day, a global day celebrating the organizations and people who are delivering great experiences to customers. The program recognizes individuals that exemplify excellent Customer Experience and make a profound impact on their organization and its customers. From frontline employees to senior leaders, these awards showcase professionals from all backgrounds and industries who have successfully led or supported Customer Experience (CX), Voice of Customer (VoC), or other initiatives in pursuit of specific customer experience goals within his or her organization on behalf of clients.
Shelly Chandler
“Customer Experience is reaching its zenith – the industry has learned and achieved so much, and yet there is still significant room to grow,” said Chandler. “It is essential that those with successes share their methods to inform others’ strategies. Executives, take note: a long-term investment in Customer Experience will produce results – support transformational change and instill trust your customers!”
The award recognizes Shelly for not only knowing the value of integrating technical solutions to support a complete CX program, but also providing guidance in acting upon those insights gained from the program. In her current role, she advises clients on how to connect their customer insights to higher-level business goals and help ensure their CX programs support both operational and financial objectives.
Michael Wooh
“Shelly’s team provides consulting services to our customers in a manner that is truly customer-focused, making her more than deserving of this award,” said Michael Wooh, Chief Marketing Officer, Confirmit. “Shelly ensures her team is mission-driven, with the ultimate goal of being able to help Confirmit customers make the most of their insights programs, and use those insights to propel their customer experience maturity.”
A panel of judges – all regarded as thought leaders in the CX field – reviewed the award finalists and selected winners in two categories: Practitioners (who are bringing CX competencies and skills to organizations and brands), and Providers (those employed by companies who consult and/or provide technology, products and services in the CX space).
Oliver Schabenberger Appointed as Chief Operating Officer, SAS
An Introduction To SAS® Visual Analytics: How To Explore Numbers, Design Reports, And Gain Insight Into Your Data Covers Everything Users Need To Know About Data Visualization
This accessible, full-color guide to SAS Visual Analytics is perfect for both novice and experienced users looking to learn the latest functionality of SAS Visual Analytics on SAS 9.4 and SAS® Viya™. It covers everything from getting-started basics like accessing content and building custom dashboards and reports to customizing data visualizations with different chart types and using geospatial data. Later chapters explore administration and data loading and include a deep dive into SAS Visual Analytics 8.1.
With guidance from the authors – Tricia Aanderud, Director of the Data Visualization Practice at Zencos Consulting; Rob Collum, Principal Technical Architect at SAS; and Ryan Kumpfmiller, a SAS and Data Visualization Consultant at Zencos – users learn how to make sense of their complex data and incite smarter, data-driven decisions.
Tricia Aanderud
“We wrote this book as a common-sense resource for using SAS Visual Analytics, offering guidance from data visualization experts and information for administrators,” said Aanderud. “Better understanding data visualization principles enables users to transform drab, boring reports and analyses into effective and dynamic insights.”
SAS Visual Analytics is a self-service business intelligence, data visualization and analytics application that enables organizations to understand and analyze their data and collaboratively share ideas. The software helps businesses see the big picture, create interactive visuals and discover underlying relationships in their data. CrescentCare, 89 Degreesand Seacoast Bank are just a few of the customers using SAS Visual Analytics for interactive reporting and dashboards, visual data exploration, autocharting, self-service analytics, text and location analytics, self-service data preparation, and mobile business intelligence.
An Introduction to SAS Visual Analytics can be ordered from the SAS Publishing bookstore. Learn how industries like banking, communications, manufacturing, retail and utilities can benefit from data visualization by viewing the SAS Visual Analytics online demos.
Oracle NetSuite, one of the world’s leading providers of cloud-based financials / ERP, HR, Professional Services Automation (PSA) and omnichannel commerce software suites, announced that Shiftgig, the mobile technology platform that connects businesses with high-quality, vetted hourly workers on demand, has streamlined its business with NetSuite OneWorld. Since going live on NetSuite OneWorld in 2015, Shiftgig has been able to manage its mission-critical business processes including financials with advanced billing support, reporting, and multi-subsidiary management for its three subsidiaries in the US.
Founded in Chicago in 2012 as a job board for workers in the service industry, Shiftgig recognized a greater opportunity in serving the market for hourly workers that, as a whole, has a labor pool of 70 million in the US alone. The company saw rapid growth when it shifted its focus to offer a mobile app for people seeking flexible work opportunities with the businesses that needed help. It now provides over 30,000 on-demand workers access to available shifts with over 2,300 client companies in 14 US markets and handles approximately 100,000 transactions a month in NetSuite.
Changing the Way Work Gets Done in the Cloud
Shiftgig was intent on finding a software platform that could reliably handle its two biggest transactions — billing and payroll. NetSuite’s cloud-based system was able to immediately meet those needs without significant upfront investments in hardware or IT staffing.
In addition, NetSuite’s flexible platform enabled Shiftgig to meet its sophisticated client reporting requirements, broken out by event, shift and venue, as well as across schedules, reducing the time to compile reports from three hours to just 30 minutes. Shiftgig can now send out automated notifications for past-due accounts across its 2,300 clients, which previously had to be done manually.
The company has also realized efficiencies in financial consolidation. With NetSuite OneWorld, what once took hours consolidating financials across its three subsidiaries can now be done in minutes and the company can easily add subsidiaries as it expands. With support for 190 currencies, 20 languages, automated tax calculation and reporting in more than 100 countries, and customer transactions in more than 200 countries and territories NetSuite OneWorld provides a platform for Shiftgig to continue to grow.
Jack Murphy
“NetSuite OneWorld helps ensure we have more efficient processes around client billing and consolidation for our subsidiaries,” said Jack Murphy, Vice President of Finance at Shiftgig.
Lithium Technologies, the market leader in online community and social media management products, announced that it had closed the acquisition of the Jive-x external community business from Jive Software, an Aurea company. Originally announced on August 29, 2017, the transaction was completed on October 3, 2017. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Rob Tarkoff
“I’m really excited to be bringing the Jive-x product and customers into the Lithium family,” said Rob Tarkoff, Lithium president and CEO. “Our focus as a company in the coming weeks will be to build a product plan with the input of key Jive-x customers that takes the industry to the next level. In addition, we will be delivering best practices, expertise and enterprise class customer support that Lithium is known for to all Jive-x customers.”
Over the past two decades, Lithium and Jive-x have helped brands stay at the forefront of digital transformation, building sophisticated online communities for some of the world’s biggest brands that have led to marked revenue increases, significant cost reductions, and innovation across the business. Looking forward, Lithium will be developing a new next-generation community product with all the best features of Jive-x and Lithium brought together, built on the Lithium platform and focused on maintaining a high bar for innovation and expertise.
Now With Customized Email Programs and Expertise In-House, DMS Extends the Value of its First-Party Data
Digital Media Solutions (DMS), an industry leader in providing end-to-end customer acquisition solutions that help clients win in their business ventures and realize their marketing goals, announced it acquired Mocade Media LLC, an email marketing firm that delivers engaging content and increases return on investment of email programs. Mocade’s sophisticated email optimization platform helps companies across industries ensure they are able to maximize the business value of their email programs.
Joe Marinucci
“Mocade has an incredibly talented team with a highly sophisticated and unique email system. This acquisition is a milestone for DMS as we continue to deliver on our mission to provide end-to-end customer acquisition solutions that help our clients grow their businesses and realize their marketing goals,” said Joe Marinucci, CEO of Digital Media Solutions. “DMS is continuing to expand its omni-channel messaging capabilities, now with a fully owned and operationalized email platform with this acquisition. This transaction is consistent with our strategic plan, and we are confident it will help us scale campaigns that drive meaningful engagement and business growth.”
Ellen Switzer
All Mocade employees will join Digital Media Solutions. That includes co-founders Andrew Westmoreland and Joshua Seide, as well as Vice President of Operations, Ellen Switzer. Mocade’s proven platform, tools and technical expertise make it seamless for advertisers in any industry to engage with consumers at the right time, with the right content.
“We are thrilled to join this winning team. DMS has the stage for a messaging division to produce a tremendous amount of value for both Mocade and DMS clients, which we are prepared to execute on,” said Andrew Westmoreland, Co-Founder and CEO of Mocade Media. “Under Ellen Switzer’s leadership, the Mocade team has risen to every challenge over the last three years and I am confident we will continue to deliver on this promise as well.”
Fernando Borghese
“Email is one of the most effective ways to build and nurture customer relationships today. Mocade will bring new, innovative capabilities to our digital marketing campaigns,” said Fernando Borghese, Chief Operating Officer of Digital Media Solutions. “The integration of Mocade’s expertise and platform will extend the value of our first party data to help our clients win.”
Provider of Open Marketing Cloud Announces New Product that Increases Scalability and Saves Time for Marketers Across the Entire Business
Mautic, the leader in modern marketing automation, announced the addition of Maestro, the industry’s first solution that enables seamless management of multiple marketing automation accounts. The company also announced an upcoming beta program for Maven, a marketing intelligence solution that will apply machine learning to help marketers optimize campaigns and content delivery, coming later this year.
These new products are major additions to the company’s Open Marketing Cloud, a suite of modern marketing tools that enable brands to connect all their digital properties and channels into a seamless customer experience. This means that companies can integrate their marketing website with their SaaS platform and their mobiles apps for session tracking, lead scoring and dynamic content. It also means brands can easily coordinate their marketing emails, product emails, mobile alerts and web notifications.
Matt Johnston
“The launch of Maestro and upcoming introduction of Maven further establishes Mautic as a disruptive force in the marketing technology space,” said Mautic CEO, Matt Johnston. “Mautic’s Open Marketing Cloud puts an end to siloed, slow marketing automation, and enables companies to create a seamless, personalized experience across all their digital properties and channels.”
As a first in the marketing automation market, Maestro removes the significant technical and financial barriers of having multiple marketing automation accounts – for different business units, country teams, or product lines – within an enterprise. The same is true for marketing or digital agencies who need to manage multiple client accounts. Core capabilities of Maestro include:
Active International and AlmondNet Group Form Long-Term Strategic Business Partnership
Active International Expands Its Suite Of Best-In-Class Ad Tech Products To Deliver Enhanced Analytics And Attribution Capabilities
AlmondNet Group subsidiaries, online data company Datonics and cross-device technology company Intent IQ, have entered into a long-term strategic business partnership with Active International, a global business solutions company. The partnership provides Active International with access to Intent IQ’s cross-device addressable driven solutions and Datonics’ enriched data. In return, Intent IQ and Datonics gain scale and reach in delivering their industry-leading technologies to the Fortune 500 through Active.
Roy Shkedi, CEO, AlmondNet Group, said, “We are excited about our partnership with Active International because as an industry leader, they provide us with an opportunity to showcase the benefits of our technology to a broader audience. Global brands will have access to our extensive suite of industry-leading targeted advertising solutions and products, and our patented cross-device dynamic graph. Through this partnership, our technology enhances their offerings and provides us with an incredible opportunity to scale our businesses.”
Alan Elkin, Chairman, CEO and co-Founder, Active International, said, “As a data-driven company, with media as a core competency, Active continues to seek and invest in best-in-class technology partners and platforms to enhance our capabilities and ensure our clients can maximize returns as well as the impact of their digital media investments and assets. Through our long-term business partnership with AlmondNet Group, and the addition of Intent IQ’s cross-device technology and Datonics’ data to Active’s portfolio of media products, we can provide a more robust suite of digital products and platforms, along with insights and expertise, to help our clients navigate the media marketplace to achieve more.”
Intent IQ’s premier offering is its patented Dynamic Device Graph, which is a hybrid of deterministic and non-deterministic methods that yield accuracy and reach, and provide clients with unmatched performance.
Datonics provides marketers with proprietary search, purchase-intent, life-stage, demographic and B2B data based on 180+ million US and Canadian users. The company’s data is made available to marketers through its many partners across the ad tech ecosystem, including DSPs, DMPs, SSPs, Trading Desks and more.
Award-Winning Tech Agency Deepens Bench from Coast to Coast
Bateman Group, an award-winning integrated public relations and content marketing agency, today announced two key additions to its senior management team, deepening the company’s already substantial benches on both coasts. Christopher Heine, most recently the technology editor at Adweek, was appointed director of content and media strategy working from the agency’s New York City office, effective today. In addition, Joe Franscella started on Sept. 5, 2017 as a senior vice president working out of the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.
Joe Franscella comes to Bateman Group from Bhava Communications, where he was a key strategist on the Cloudera account and an instrumental part of the team that guided that company through its IPO last year. At Bateman Group, Franscella will focus on co-leading and growing the agency’s Trust practice, working closely with agency co-owner and President Bill Bourdon and EVP Shannon Hutto; and the newly re-branded Future Stack practice, working alongside agency CEO and founder Fred Bateman and EVP Syreeta Mussante.
Christopher Heine is the latest in a succession of former journalists to join Bateman Group following in the footsteps of Elinor Mills, the inaugural Content Studio hire and now one of the senior vice presidents leading the practice, and Director of Content and Media Strategy James Niccolai, who joined in 2016. Christopher will bring his extensive experience covering trends and companies at the intersection of media, marketing and technology to Bateman Group’s Growth Tech clients, working closely with 5-year agency veteran and EVP Paula Cavagnaro, who oversees the practice area.
Fred Bateman
“The long-tenured, committed senior executives at Bateman Group have coupled an exceptionally high standard for excellence with an emphasis on cross-team collaboration to create an environment that’s very enticing to experienced PR pros like Joe Franscella,” said Fred Bateman, CEO and founder, Bateman Group. “What’s been even more gratifying is how our former journalists Elinor Mills and James Niccolai have also thrived here — and to the immeasurable, yet tangible benefit to our entire staff and client roster. I feel confident Chris will also play a vital role developing new content services for the entire agency while becoming an invaluable resource to clients in our Growth practice such as AdRoll, Amplitude, LinkedIn, Invoca, Optimizely, Segment and Urban Airship.”
Christopher Heine
“In my nearly two decades of covering the intersection between branding and technology, I came to know Bateman Group as an agency that truly cared about helping reporters do their jobs while regularly making its clients part of the industry narrative,” said Christopher Heine, newly appointed director of content and media strategy, Bateman Group. “I researched everything I could about the inner workings of the company before deciding to join its team of experts. One of the best discoveries was they completely ‘get’ the formula for being successful in the digital era.”
