COMPANY NEWS
Marketo Announces IPO
What is it? Marketing automation provider Marketo announced today that it plans to conduct an initial public offering of $75 million worth of its common stock following completion of an SEC review process.
WIIFM? Following the announcement of a $150 million offering announced by Tableau and Oracle’s acquisition of Eloqua, marketing software is red hot.
Who’s talking? “Marketo has enabled us to maximize our social reach and tie social in with our other marketing activities,” says Kristy Grayson, director of integrated marketing at Deluxe Corporation, a Marketo client.
LivingSocial Gets Analytical
What is it? Local deal-dispenser LivingSocial signs an agreement with predictive analytics platform Custora in an effort to improve its ability to predict customer behavior and forecast shopping activity.
WIIFM? Custora says it can help LivingSocial drive more repeat purchases and attract more high-value customers by predicting the lifetime shopping values of the deal site’s 70 million members.
Who’s talking? “Custora is giving us the right tools to analyze individual customer behavior and take action to improve the customer experience,” says LivingSocial CMO Barry Judge.
[x+1] + $17 Million
What is it? Digital optimization software provider [x+1] announces $17 million in funding from Ares Capital to bankroll acquisitions and expansion initiatives.
WIIFM? The funds should help [x+1] further invest in its ability to improve consumer engagements across channels including websites, display, email, SMS, mobile, direct mail, and call centers—the vendor’s stated core competency.
Who’s talking? “This gives us additional resources to continue our strong forward momentum,” says CEO John Nardone.
USPS Gives Quad the Nod
What is it? Commercial printing company Quad/Graphics was presented with the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) “Partnership for Growth Award ” at the National Postal Forum for “being at the forefront of driving technology advancements in direct mail, catalogs, and magazines.”
WIIFM? The awareness that technology touches even paper. The company was recognized for making better use of digital technologies, social integration, and smart codes to maximize customer experience.
Who’s talking? “Quad/Graphics … has pushed the boundaries of innovation and technology use,” said Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe, who made the presentation at the National Postal Forum.
PRODUCTS
Relaborating on a Theme
What is it? A content marketing creation platform from startup Relaborate that hooks up content creators with related information, experts within their organizations, and art concepts while typing away at their blogs and social media posts.
WIIFM? A way to tap all relevant knowledge within an organization to increase production of quality content, attain higher SEO scores, and generate more leads.
Who’s talking? “Invariably, what we saw in most organizations was that a 25-year-old held the keys of the brand. They were creating conversations but not driving traffic, leads, and revenue,” says CEO Colin Lamont.
Gaining Face
What is it? Search marketing software provider Rio SEO upgrades its local search optimizer to enable integration of Facebook’s Open Graph Markup into hyper-local website landing pages.
WIIFM? Retailers and other high-volume, multi-location businesses can tag and optimize local landing page information and then connect the data with Facebook Places pages. Higher local SEO scores can result.
Who’s talking? “The ability to help execute on an SEO strategy includes mobile, local and social. Facebook Open Graph and Schema.org micro data have become huge working parts of the SEO life cycle,” says search marketing consultant Paul Bruemmer.
The Best Parts of Videos
What is it? Celtra announces an upgrade to its AdCreator rich media delivery platform that allows it to measure interaction with video incorporated into rich media ads.
WIIFM? Advertisers who embed videos into their creative can measure total video consumption, average video play time, and video attention span.
Who’s talking? “Advertisers are keen to know which parts of their videos are the most interesting to viewers and, conversely, where any drop-off happens,” says Chief Product Officer Matevz Klanjsek.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Who is it: Stu Ogawa, named global EVP of product and technology at Marketwired, a social communications company formerly known as Marketwire.
What’s his role: Ogawa will oversee technology and product roadmaps.
Where was he prior: He previously led Yahoo!’s sales tools and analytics organization. Before that, Ogawa was GM-VP, Applications, at Teradata Corporation, and CTO of AngelPoints, Inc.
Why was he appointed: “By embracing technology, we continue to transform how we work, how our clients reach their customers, and how we help them do it,” says CEO Michael Nowlan.
Who is it: Carla Rover, appointed director of marketing communications at Evidon, a digital intelligence company.
What’s her role: Rover will edit the insights of Evidon executive on its new portal, Evidon Insights Central.
Where was she prior: She most recently covered Big Data for Digiday magazine, and before that served as editor of Irreversible and publisher of The Advertising Technology Review.
Why was she appointed: “Her writing and analytical skills will serve our readers well as we reveal the hidden web through our portal,” says CEO Scott Meyer.
Who is it: Melissa Bonnick, named director of advertising operations at Genesis Media, a video ad solutions company.
What’s her role: She will oversee management of advertiser and publisher account implementation, campaign execution, new platform evaluation and business intelligence.
Where was she prior: Bonnick was most recently director of advertising and sponsorships for I-play. Her previous stops included The New York Times and Everyday Health.
Why was she appointed: “With over seven years of very relevant experience, Melissa is well-suited to lead our ad operations group as we continue to grow,” says CEO Mark Yackanich.
