Blue Calypso, a digital marketing start-up firm based in Texas, has appointed Bill Ogle as chairman and CEO, said Andrew Levi, the company’s founder and CEO. Ogle, who was previously Motorola Mobility’s CMO until it was acquired by Google last month, will begin his new role on June 11.
Ogle replaces Levi, who will be the company’s CTO. Levi, a software engineer, wanted to focus on the technology side of the business, Ogle said.
“Having an industry rock star at the helm of our early success, and in preparation for the next chapter, is in line with incubating businesses,” Levi said. “Bill has been at several Fortune 500 companies that are well-respected brands and services in consumer packaged goods, technology and mobile.”
Ogle will report to the board of directors and oversee 10 people. His main responsibility will be to lead and finalize the nine-month-old company’s strategy, which is to help brands drive sales by turning fans into endorsers for companies.
Ogle has more than 20 years of marketing experience. He was Motorola Mobility’s CMO for three years and Samsung’s CMO for two years before that. Previously, he was Pizza Hut’s CMO where he helped reposition the brand and increased its sales and market share.
Ogle described Blue Calypso as a “digital word-of-mouth marketing and advertising company. Using Calyp, the company’s digital marketing platform, marketers can send messages to incentivize their social fans to spread the word about their brand, Ogle said.
In return, fans can receive rewards such as coupons, miles or cash, depending on the brand. Blue Calypso also tracks and calculates what each fan earned.
“Blue Calypso is based on the idea that people trust friends for recommendations more than advertisers,” Ogle said. “We’re helping companies turn fans into endorsers of a company.”
The company, which began trading on Nasdaq in September 2011, is focused on attracting big brands in the packaged goods, entertainment, services, food and restaurant sectors, Ogle said. Blue Calypso is also looking to more than double its staff this year.
Blue Calypso declined to say how many clients the company has.
