Cordial Pulls In $15 Million In Series B Funding https://ift.tt/2N1BsUZ Cordial, an email platform provider that lists data processing as one of its strengths, has raised $15 million in Series B funding. The round was led by PeakSpan, with participation by existing investors Upfront Ventures and High Alpha The company, which says it doubled its customer and revenue growth in the last year, will use the money to expand its capabilities in mobile, browser notifications and web forms. Cordial serves such clients as Freshly, Revolve, La Quinta and 1-800 Contacts In its announcement, Cordial claims that legacy marketing clouds such as Oracle, Adobe, IBM and Salesforce “simply weren’t built to move to as quickly as today’s consumers,” nor to handle the amount of real-time customer data that it takes to drive personalized experiences. It continues that IT teams are overloaded from technology acquisitions and "bolt-on fixes." Cordial co-founders Jeremy Swift, Chris McGreal and Adam Gillespie built the platform from the ground up instead of making iterative improvements, the company says. The team spend years cording and developing a new architecture, focusing on data processing capabilities, it adds. advertisement advertisement “As the complexity and volume of customer data continues to grow, marketers' need for an agile solution that enables personalized communication across channels will only increase,” states Swift, who serves as CEO of Cordial. He adds that the big marketing clouds “weren’t architected to anticipate the amount of customer data that marketers need to track, analyze and act on in real time.”
Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH June 27, 2018 at 03:09PM
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L'OCCITANE Uses Qubit Aura To Drive Conversions https://ift.tt/2yO7KQn Beauty products marketer L’OCCITANE en Provence has achieved a 159% increase in its mobile conversion rate, using Qubit Aura, an AI-powered mobile service that displays personalized product recommendations. The goal of the collaboration is to harness “the brand's behavioral and intent data to scale personalization efforts," states Graham Cooke, CEO and co-founder of Qubit. The platform can drive personalized communications across channels. In the UK, the company has realized a 2.86% increase in revenue per visit (RPV), and a 3.55% hike in revenue per customer. In the U.S., L’OCCITANE has generated a 2.65% hike in RPC with strategies to save the customer before site abandonment. “Our customers now expect the same personalized services they receive in-store online," states Loanne Le Gac, e-business product coordinator at L’OCCITANE en Provence. He adds: "Our ecommerce team is committed to ensuring that that’s the case, and on a worldwide scale. Qubit allows us to deliver a personalization program on multiple domains to ensure a consistent level of quality and service across channel.”
advertisement advertisement Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH June 27, 2018 at 03:09PM 'Torture The Data Until It Confesses,' New Lotame Chief Strategy Officer Says https://ift.tt/2tK7P1J Creating a data powerhouse that supports online advertising and protects consumer privacy seems a little more challenging these days with several government data initiatives either being put into place or proposed. Jason Downie, the newly appointed chief strategy officer at Lotame, says he’s up for the challenge. Before stepping into his new job earlier this month, he held the position of senior vice president and general manager for Lotame’s third-party data business. In his new role, Downie will oversee product, marketing, sales development, DMP & LDX strategies, while also leading the data team he built seven years ago. About a week into the position, Downie has focused on several initiatives. For starters, he is analyzing how customers do business with Lotame, considering how the company fits in against competitors, and how to continue profitable growth. advertisement advertisement “Our biggest challenge this year becomes learning how to compete effectively against a lot of big companies caused by consolidation, as well as M&A, across TV, desktop and mobile, and issues around quality and privacy,” he said. “And all the factors that have changed the industry during the last 18 months. We need to figure out how to navigate around those.” Consumer privacy, which has always been a huge consideration for data companies, moved to the top of the list this year. So when asked for the best piece of advice he received during his career, Downie said to “listen once and verify twice,” and “torture the data until it confesses.” Both pieces of advice came to him from mentors while working at Bain Co right out of college. There is so much data that marketers must sift through it all, he says. “The data business is going through changes, but I don’t think this is completely new,” he said. “The rate of change continues to accelerate because there’s more technology and innovation. It’s our job to remain compliant with laws and think in and outside the box to do things right.” Before joining Lotame, Jason spent more than 10 years as an entrepreneur in roles including musician, bar owner and real estate deal-maker. After graduating from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Jason spent 10 years at Bain and Company, consulting for a range of companies in the Fortune 500. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH June 27, 2018 at 01:51PM World Cup Ups Usage Of Streaming Video Platforms https://ift.tt/2N3Syl3 The World Cup, currently underway in Russia, is having a significant impact on the use of live streaming video services, a pair of new studies suggest. According to the mobile app intelligence servicer Sensor Tower, downloads of live streaming mobile apps were up 77% during the first week of the World Cup, compared to the preceding weeks. Five of the top streaming apps with World Cup coverage—Sling TV, Hulu, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV and FuboTV—had a combined reach of 1.25 million downloads on the Apple and Google stores, more than double previous non-World Cup weeks. The biggest beneficiary, according to Sensor Tower, was FuboTV, which saw its downloads rise by 718% the first week of the World Cup, compared to previous weeks. This growth also spread to apps from Fox Sports, which has the exclusive U.S. English-language rights to the tournament, and Telemundo, which has Spanish-language rights. Downloads of the Fox Sports app were up from 12,600 app downloads per week to more than 1.2 million the first week of the World Cup. Telemundo, meanwhile, went from 5,400 installs per week to 2.4 million. advertisement advertisement And the streaming data and analytics firm Conviva found that this year’s World Cup is already breaking streaming viewership records, with quite a bit of the tournament left to play. According to Conviva’s data—which includes Asia and Europe in addition to North America—this year’s World Cup has seen streaming viewership peak so far at 7.7 million concurrent viewers (during the Argentina-Iceland match). For comparison, the 2014 World Cup peaked at 3.2 million concurrent viewers, and the 2010 World Cup with 1.5 million. This year’s Super Bowl (which is watched mostly in North America, rather than the global World Cup) had 5.5 million concurrent streaming viewers. Over the first 20 games of the tournament, Conviva found that there were a total of 486 million plays attempting to stream games, with 393 million working successfully. Meanwhile, 93 million attempts to stream were lost due to poor connections, errors or slow start times. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH June 27, 2018 at 11:23AM Smartwatches For Kids? Popular In China, But Could They Take Off Here? https://ift.tt/2KvyZng Apple’s Smartwatch debuted with such excitement in 2015, but it may be the children’s market where the action is for now. CCS Insight, a London-based global analyst firm that specializes in the mobile communications industry, says that last year connected watches for children accounted for the largest volume of sales of smartwatches, with 25 million of them sold in China alone. Surprisingly, that China haul represents about half of all the smartwatches sold in the entire world. The Apple Watch makes up the biggest portion of the other half. Now, Qualcomm, which creates much of the technology used in cellphones, has announced its Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2500 platform designed specifically for manufacturers to use in the kids’ market. advertisement advertisement That could let the kids’ market around the world soar. But CCS notes it would take quite a lot of soaring in this country to get the idea of kids watches off the ground. Last year, it says, only one million smartwatches for young people were sold in the U.S.and even fewer in Europe. Qualcomm seems to sense a much bigger market is possible. “If you look at the targeted kid watch and tracker segment, the growth in these designed-for-kids but highly capable devices is very exciting, and customers are seeing wide spread global demand,” says Qualcomm’s Anthony Murray, the senior vice president and general manager, voice & music and wearables, in a statement. Parents like the kids smartwatches because they have a built-in tracker that lets them keep tabs on where their kids are. The new Snapdragon 2500 supports a five mega-pixel camera for parents, so they can make video calls, and so kids can watch “rich educational video-based content,” Qualcomm says. It’s also good for games. The battery can last up to four days. It comes with AI-based voice assistants and includes the latest near field communications (NFC) gear so children could make school purchases by credit card without carrying a wallet. The old 4G Snapdragon 2100 is in at least 10 devices made by various manufacturers; the 5G seems to be hoping for more. A techno-journo dad, writing on a Verizon wireless blog, wrote about the LG GizmoPal he presented to his 6-year old son, Asher, concluding: “I don’t think Asher needs to wear it 24/7, but it’s an amazing yet easy-to-use tool to have handy during times like sleepovers, after school and day trips to the amusement park. Asher loved it, too, and he typically had a pack of kids following him around, clamoring for a chance to try it.” Yet, also in the blog, Asher’s father remarked that “like a lot of parents, I’m trying to wrap my head around exactly how connected my child has to be.” The rest of the smartwatch market seems to separate itself like this: Apple vs. everybody else, or perhaps more accurately, everybody who’s still around. Analysts for IDC say that smartwatch vendors like Intel, Pebble and Adidas have either left the market or scaled back dramatically. But the future looks bright. But cellular connectivity and 5G will change the smartwatch industry. By 2022, vastly more capable smartwatches will comprise nearly 45% of all wearables sold, IDC says. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH June 27, 2018 at 10:59AM Insurance Companies Offer Smart-Home Discounts https://ift.tt/2MtvyLk Several insurance companies have started offering discounts on homeowner policies for certain smart home devices, according to an analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence. At least nine companies in various states are offering rate reductions on policies for homes that have a range of smart devices. The homes could have connected devices such as as video doorbells, smart locks and connected thermostats. American Strategic will apply a additional discount if a homeowner shares smart-home device data with the insurer, to help it calculate the reduction in loss costs related to smart home technology. The discounts apply only to devices that send notifications to the homeowner’s mobile device. Secura Insurance A Mutual added smart-home devices to its protective device discount, providing a 5% discount for self-monitored burglar, temperature and fire alarm systems and New York Central Mutual Fire Insurance will apply a 6% discount for similar self-monitoring smart systems. First Community Insurance in South Carolina is offering a three-tiered discount for water leak detection devices. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH June 27, 2018 at 10:28AM
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Learn How To Cultivate Consumer Loyalty Across 5 Key Industries https://ift.tt/2lDVyrO From fostering authenticity to providing convenience, here are the key steps to take for brands looking to sustain long-term engagement from their customers, detailed in PSFK's recently launched CX Playbook Out of 300,000 people across 33 countries, most consumers would not care if 74% of brands disappeared from their lives, and 75% of the consumers expect brands to make a significant contribution to their lives, but only 40% believe brands are doing so. Today, brands are faced with the question of how to sustain long-term success and drive growth. In order to do so, they must cultivate loyalty in today’s conscious consumer base, which requires taking a purpose-driven approach. “Purpose-driven” approach means putting customers’ values, desires and preferences first in an authentic way that enables brands to bond with audiences based on shared needs and interests. Simply put, customers care about themselves, others and the environment more than ever, and they not only want, but expect brands to do the same—but only if they do so in an authentic, transparent and seamless manner. With the rise in direct-to-consumer brands, mobile device usage while shopping, peer-to-peer marketplaces and advanced social targeting, consumers are just as happy to sign up for a subscription-based product or service as they are to cancel that membership. They are curious and empowered, willing to try a new brand, and open to switching their loyalty. The strategies outlined in PSFK’s CX Playbook will help organizations from any industry cement their status as the number one pick for their customers. Turning these users into lifelong members. In our recent report, we took a look at several industries and have mapped out some techniques for consideration. When boiled down to the core essence, brands must focus on:
For specific industry-focused recommendations to encourage loyalty and repeat purchases, check out the full PSFK CX Playbook. Industries covered include:
Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ June 27, 2018 at 07:07AM
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Pioneer of Humanability: Jeff Kirschner https://ift.tt/2KbzZO1 In an interview with PSFK, working in collaboration with Verizon, Jeff Kirschner discusses how he is using technology for good with his company Litterati, fostering litter-free communities In a special series brought to you with the help of our partner Verizon, The Pioneers of Humanability is directing the spotlight onto the people, organizations and companies who are using technology to do more new and do more good in the world. While many people wish to contribute to bettering their community, sometimes they don’t know where to begin. Choosing a way to serve society can feel overwhelming, and ultimately can lead to lower input. This is what Jeff Kirschner, one of PSFK’s featured Pioneers of Humanability, and founder and CEO of Litterati, hopes to change using technology, social awareness and art to make cleaning up the planet accessible to anyone. In this interview with PSFK, founder and CEO of Litterati, Jeff Kirschner explains how his service uses technology to form a global community of people who not only help reduce litter in key areas, made possible by the use of real-time geotags, but also connect with one another to further the cause, helping vastly reduce waste pollution thanks to increased accessibility. PSFK: In what ways do you think technology has the potential to impact humanity, making a positive social difference? Jeff: The social and environmental problems we face can feel overwhelming. Most people don’t know what they can do, or where to start. In the case of Litterati, if a woman picks up a bottle cap in Stockholm and a man picks one up in San Francisco, those actions are isolated. Neither knows of the other’s existence. Technology can serve as a unifying umbrella. It can connect those people, along with millions of others, and transform that isolated, quiet act, into one that’s social and shareable. When people realize they’re not alone in the fight, that there’s a community of like-minded individuals, that feeling of overwhelm turns into one of empowerment. But that’s just the beginning. Technology can provide data—information that can be used to identify the root cause of problems, recognize patterns within complex situations and measure the efficacy of our positive impact. How does your work create a positive impact on communities both locally and globally? Our mission at Litterati is to empower people to “crowdsource-clean” the planet. We measure impact in a variety of ways (number of pieces picked up, number of people in the community); however, our true impact comes when there’s a systemic change. Here’s a local example: A group of 5th graders picked up 1247 pieces of litter on their schoolyard. The data showed that the most common type of litter was the plastic straw wrappers from their own cafeteria. The students then went to their principal and asked, “why are we still buying straws?” And they stopped. Simple and effective. Globally, we’re now in 115 countries and growing bigger each day. From people becoming more aware of their surroundings, to leveraging the data to influence public policy or helping brands understand the environmental footprint of their packaging, the Litterati community is creating impact. What inspired you to do more new and do more good? I was hiking through the woods with my two little kids, when my 4 year old daughter noticed a plastic tub of cat litter in a creek: “Daddeee, that doesn’t go there.” That was the eye-opening moment. I was reminded of a lesson I learned as a kid at summer camp. On visiting day, we’d each have to pick up five pieces of litter. When several hundred kids each pick up five pieces of litter, it doesn’t take long before you’ve got a spotless camp. So I thought, why not apply that same “crowdsource-cleaning” model to the entire planet? And leverage technology to do it. Why did you choose this type of platform as an effective way to encourage participation, incorporating games into community service? We believe there’s an opportunity to use achievement levels, badges and leaderboards to encourage participation. People are naturally competitive, both with themselves and each other. Plus, games are fun. If we can effectively integrate gaming techniques to inspire people to collectively clean the planet, our impact will increase considerably. Who are your biggest users? From a Dutch environmental activist, to an Australian consultant, to an Irish former librarian, to an 11-year-old in Reno, the Litterati community is an eclectic mix from all walks of life. They’re all saying, “How can we do more?” How are you using the data gathered by volunteers to make an even bigger impact? Earlier we talked about “Stories of Impact.” The Litterati TED Talk highlights three such stories, which demonstrate how data is being used to generate an impact. Technology is making incentivized ways for people to service their community possible, helping increase engagement as well as output. For more about how pioneers like Jeff are implementing technology to serve progressive goals and better the community for all, see The Pioneers of Humanability, brought to you by PSFK with Verizon. Verizon’s Pioneers of Humanability list honors the people, organizations and companies that are using technological innovations to bring about good things for the world. These are the pioneers, keeping food safe and water clean, cutting pollution, saving energy and enabling doctors to treat patients a county or a country away. They’ve stopped asking “What if?” or “Why isn’t?” and started doing and leading. These are the people, organizations and companies you need to know about now—because they’re building the future. Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ June 27, 2018 at 07:00AM Instagram Buy Returns Big Rewards For Facebook https://ift.tt/2IwQDlv Barring some unforeseen scandal (you never know, these days), Facebook's grabbing Instagram for $1 billion will go down as one of the biggest steals in tech history. Since the deal closed in 2012, Instagram’s value has soared to heights no sane investor could have imagined. Indeed, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jitendra Waral just estimated< /a> the Facebook unit is now worth over $100 billion! That’s not a bad return in less than six years. Although puny compared to Facebook's flagship platform, Instagram’s financial success is thanks to its sizable community, which recently surpassed 1 billion monthly active users. advertisement advertisement That community will likely help Instagram take in more than $10 billion in revenue over the next 12 months, Waral believes. What’s the secret to Instagram’s success? Well, while it has added a few features since 2012, the platform is still incredibly simple. Also, it was originally designed for mobile, a big plus, since desktop browsing has become an afterthought for many consumers. The same could be said for Twitter, yet the two platforms couldn’t be more different. Regardless of their demographics, most newcomers catch on to Instagram’s purpose and potential almost instantly, while I’m still struggling to make sense of Twitter. Thanks to its focus on pretty pictures -- with text added on as an afterthought -- Instagram has remained the least politicized social platform on the market. It is also the least likely to attract trolls, bullies and other bad actors. Unlike his tweets, Donald Trump’s Instagram posts rarely make headlines. Particularly in today’s combustible cultural climate, that’s a huge advantage. Yet, it’s one that Instagram risks losing as it wades deeper into video. As YouTube executives know all too well, bad actors don’t need text to stir up trouble. Despite that threat, Waral doesn’t foresee Instagram’s popularity slowing anytime soon. Now adding new users faster than Facebook’s main property, he says Instagram is on pace to surpass 2 billion users within five years. Of course, that’s great news for Facebook. Per eMarketer, the share of revenue that Instagram contributes to its parent company is set to rise from about 10% to 16%, year-over-year. However, Instagram’s continued growth could have other negative side effects. Namely, it could embolden critics who are now calling for Facebook to be broken up into smaller pieces. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH June 27, 2018 at 06:31AM Smartphones In 87% Of U.S. Homes, Trending Toward Toppling TVs https://ift.tt/2lyCFXg A new report says smartphones are now in 87% of all U.S. homes, second only to the ubiquitous TV set. And smart speakers are being heard from in a big way, says the Consumer Technology Association’s 20th” Consumer Technology Ownership and Market Potential Study.” Steve Koenig, vice president of market research for the CTA, says in a statement, “The rapid ascent of smartphone ownership in U.S. households exemplifies the versatility of these devices — for communication, for entertainment, for productivity and more. And because of that, it’s possible we’ll see smartphone ownership in the U.S. match that of TVs within the next five years.” Television sets are in 96% of all homes, just like last year. advertisement advertisement In fact, it would seem, based on CTA’s stats, the smartphone’s ascension to the top spot could happen a lot more quickly than that. The CTA in 2017 reported that smartphones were in 80% of homes, up six percentage points from the year before. It’s gone up seven percentage points this year. Based on that trajectory continuing and TVs presence remaining constant or continuing to decline slightly, smartphones could be king in two years or less. In the 2017 report, CTA reported there were 308 million TV sets out there, 3% fewer than the year before. But that was a slight enough decline it didn’t affect the overall percentage that counts TVs in the home. “‘The Three Screens’ — TVs, smartphones and notebook computers — now dominate the kinds of tech devices Americans have in their homes,” Koenig explains. As for smart speakers, well, Alexa, say “Whoa!” The CTA report says that “among new, emerging tech categories, smart speakers including the Amazon Echo and Google Home have nearly tripled in ownership rate to reach 22% of American households, making it one of the fastest-adopted technologies since tablets.” Also, the CTA says, 18% of U.S. households now have at least one smartwatch, an increase of 6% over a year ago. Ten percent have a drone, and 11% own a virtual reality headset. While TVs might not seem to be in the spotlight, the sale of 4K Ultra High Definition televisions rose 15%, more than any other tech product. Now 31% of us owns one. And one in five owns a TV set with a screen size of 60 inches or more. What we’re watching is changing, too. Now, 45% own a streaming device (like Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple), a rise of nine percentage points. The broad generality might be that Americans are more interconnected than just connected. An eye-tracking study commissioned by Facebook IQ last year concluded 94% of the study’s participants were using a mobile device while they were watching TV, but they only focused on the TV screen 53% of the time. EMarketer estimated 177.7 million used a second screen while watching TV in 2017, and 162.6 million were using a smartphone as that second screen. It said 185.8 million Americans will use a second screen while watching TV this year and predicted that will increase 4.5% next year, to 193.5 million. Those second-screen users are mostly looking at social media or shopping sites. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH June 26, 2018 at 01:40PM |
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