COMPANY NEWS
Onward, Upward, and Skyward
What is it? Content platform Skyward partners with telecommunications and cable industry agency Acceller to publish informational content for consumer sites.
WIIFM? The dynamic duo promises to shorten the sales cycle for telecom and cable marketers by testing new methods of finding potential customers in their “moments of need.”
Who’s talking? “The key to our success is understanding important consumer decision points and leveraging that information alongside our accumulated audience insights,” says Acceller Director of Marketing Romain Rousseau.
Mail Merge
What is it? Bell and Howell and Window Book announce a relationship that will allow users of BCC Mail Manager to have access to new solutions and derive greater benefits using the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb).
WIIFM? Bell and Howell claims that the average client can save thousands of dollars on postage and labor while eliminating barriers to Intelligent Mail Full-Service.
Who’s talking? “Our partnership with Window Book will enable mailers to easily and immediately leverage the enhanced benefits of the IMb today,” says Christopher Lien, VP of Postal Software Marketing at Bell and Howell.
PRODUCTS
Lighting the Fuse
What is it? BrightTag announces a real-time, multichannel integration product called Fuse.
WIIFM? Fuse’s billed attributes include collection of data minus browser-based tracking tags, instant matching of cross-device user profiles and cookies in the cloud, and real-time data synch through patent-pending technology.
Who’s talking? “I need to integrate mobile and desktop user interactions and BrightTag has proven to be a valuable partner by building solutions for these challenges,” says Joseph Yakuel, Cross Site Marketing Manager at Quidsi.
Calling All Customers
What is it? Silverpop, a technology provider that unifies marketing automation, email, social, and mobile, announces new mobile messaging capabilities through a partnership with Velti.
WIIFM? Marketers using the new features will be able to allow customers request information with a texted keyword, text to register a vote, and carry on two-way conversations with providers via SMS.
Who’s talking? “The powerful combination of delivering coordinated messaging across mobile, email and Web is a game changer for today’s digital marketers,” says Niles Lichtenstein, VP of Platforms at Velti.
Traackr Down
What is it? Traackr introduces a next-generation version of its influencer marketing program that promises to better align with marketer workflow patterns.
WIIFM? Marketers, the company claims, will be better able to home in on the most influential people and content for their businesses via Twitter integration, instant search, and real-time data access.
Who’s talking? “Traackr helps separate the signal from the noise on the social web by focusing on the people who are most relevant to a given conversation,” says CEO Pierre-Loic Assayag.
Email Builder
What is it? Comm100 introduces a new “email wizard” for building email content to engage multiple verticals.
WIIFM? A drag-and-drop tool that the company insists can create professional-looking emails in minutes.
Who’s talking? “We understand that our clients need to be able to create campaigns quickly and react on the fly to new developments, so we build solutions to make their lives easier,” says CEO Kevin Gao, Founder and CEO.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Who it is: Dan Hodges, named president of ChaCha, a web-based Q&A service.
What’s his role: Hodges will oversee sales, marketing, business development, and public relations.
Where was he prior: He was most recently Chief Revenue Officer of Verve Mobile. Prior to that, he headed sales of digital and emerging products at the Associated Press and was head of global sales at Nokia.
Why was he appointed: “Dan brings over 20 years of experience as a pioneer at forward-thinking, technology-driven companies and will contribute the knowledge and energy we need to expand on multiple screens,” says CEO Scott Jones.
Who it is: Mark Herschberg, appointed CTO of Madison Logic, a provider of data-driven lead solutions
What’s his role: He will initially focus on scaling up the platform and building a new data science team.
Where was he prior: Before leading the beta testing initiative for IAmTalent, Herschberg was instrumental in launching servicelive.com for Sears’ and worked on NBC’s online video marketplace, now hulu.com. He’s an instructor at SUNY’s Levin Institute and at MIT.
Why was he appointed: “We have a number of aggressive goals for the company in the coming year and we are thrilled to welcome Mark aboard at a critical time of growth,” says CEO Erik Matlick.
