Upland Software Acquires Customer Data Platform BlueVenn For $51.9 Million https://ift.tt/3uPjmvj Upland Software, Inc. has acquired BlueVenn, a cloud-based customer data platform, for $51.9 million in cash, the firm announced on Tuesday. BlueVenn helps firms access online and offline data sources including email, mobile and in-store, in one location, the firm says. It serves such brands as Gannett, Subaru UK, and The American Automobile Association. Upland claims that with a unified customer database at the center of its CXM product suite, it will help clients engage consumers via email, mobile app, SMS or online. “BlueVenn is a highly strategic acquisition and a big step forward for Upland in the Customer Experience (CX) category,” states Jack McDonald, chairman and CEO of Upland. “Over the last seven years, BlueVenn and Upland have built a very successful partnership, integrating our technologies to provide incredible value to our mutual customers,” adds Steve Klin, CEO of BlueVenn. We were able to unify our consumer database across our dealerships and then segment that information to create a stronger national marketing engagement strategy, which tripled our test drives and ultimately doubled our sales,” said Andrew Edmiston, managing director of Subaru UK, a BlueVenn client. advertisement advertisement McDonald adds: “Centralizing customer data has been a persistent challenge for enterprises since today's digital consumer uses text, email, mobile applications, and websites to interact with the brands, products, and services they love.” The purchase price at closing (net of cash acquired) will be paid out of cash on hand, with a $2.4 million cash holdback payable in twelve months (subject to indemnification claims), Upland says. Upland is a cloud-based software provider. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH March 3, 2021 at 04:26PM
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Corporate Email Volume Grew In 2020, As Did Response, Study Finds https://ift.tt/3v2o5tU Companies send an average of 68 email broadcasts to employees per month, achieving an open rate of 70% -- a number many marketers might envy. But only 60.5% of employees ever read the emails, and 9.5% simply ignore them, according to Corporate Communications: Internal Benchmarks for 10 Industries, a study by PoliteMail. However, the email pace picked up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting in March 2020, corporate communications teams sent 72% more email, containing 58% more minutes of content than in the prior year. Despite the volume increase, read rates declined by only 1.3% and the click rate by 4.2%, while employees clicked 82% more links than they did in 2019. The average corporate email is 475 words, and takes 1:54 minutes to read. However, of those who open it, 20% will read less than 30%, while 40.7% will red 30% or more. Another 36.3% will read over half. And 16% will read such emails on mobile devices. advertisement advertisement Overall, each employee receives 16 emails per month, containing 34:50 minutes of content and 121 links. These emails will engage 76% of email openers and 43% of the total audience. They will spend 29:23 digesting the content. In general, recipients will click on at least one link 8% of the time, and openers will do so 11% of the time. The read rate has averaged 33.9% and the “engaged read” rate 28.2%. Email readership peaked last summer, but fell off slightly in December. PoliteMail analyzed over 1.3 billion internal emails to over 8.5 million employees worldwide. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH March 3, 2021 at 04:14PM
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McClatchy Signs Content Recommendation Contract With MGID https://ift.tt/2OhEolI McClatchy, the local journalism publishing network, is partnering with MGID, the native advertising platform, to supply content commendations across all McClatchy assets, serving over 65 million readers per month. As part of the exclusive contract signed by the firms, MGID will provide content recommendations to The Kansas City Star, The Miami Herald, The Charlotte Observer and to 35 websites in total. MGID will monetize the sites, targeting all GEOs and devices. “McClatchy is known for its high-quality journalism and is constantly striving to keep its readers better informed of the world around them,” states Michael Korsunsky, CEO of MGID NA. Korsunsky adds that it seeks to provide readers with “better user experiences that will help McClatchy grow and maximize value, while maintaining their high standards.” Founded by James McClatchy in 1857 during the California gold rush, McClatchy now serves readers in 30 U.S. markets via print, digital, mobile apps and other channels. McClatchy recently announced a collaboration with Gannett, in which advertisers will be able to reach readers in over 300 local communities. “With over 200M monthly UVs in our combined network, we can help brands fulfill a mission of supporting local journalism with the business impact of reaching our valuable audiences in our highly engaging content,” stated Kevin Gentzel, Chief Revenue Officer, for Gannett | USA Today Network. McClatchy’s titles also include The Sacramento Bee, The Fresno Bee, The Idaho Statesman, The Fort Worth Star Telegram, The Wichita Eagle, The Olympian (of Olympia, WA), The Sun Herald (of Biloxi, MS) and The Sun News (of Myrtle Beach, SC). The company has a Washington, D.C. bureau. MGID targets 850 million readers with 185 billion recommendations per month. It provides publishers with a variety of yield-optimization models, ad placements and formats, it says.
Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH March 3, 2021 at 02:42PM Study Finds Game And Social Apps Yield 'Happiest' Ad Environments https://ift.tt/3uSHgWH Advertisers looking to reach consumers in environments where they fell happy vs. unhappy would do well to target them via mobile gaming and/or social media apps vs. those providing new and/or utilities. That's the conclusion of a recent survey conducted by AdColony. The "Consumer Sentiment Survey" also finds different ad formats produce more positive or negative sentiment. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH March 3, 2021 at 02:31PM 'The Washington Post' Beefs Up Editorial, Names Simone Sebastian America Editor https://ift.tt/387Pl06
The Washington Post
has named Simone Sebastian as America editor. Formerly deputy America editor, Sebastian will lead the Post’sAmerica desk, guiding coverage of the cultural and political trends now shaping American life. Sebastian joined the WaPo in 2014 and has served in a variety of roles. She mobilized coverage of the 2019 mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, as well as other disasters and crisis. And she has driven coverage of racism, police brutality and the far-right backlash, including a George Polk Award-winning series on the life of George Floyd. Prior to joining the WaPo, Sebastian covered the energy industry for the Houston Chronicle and public education for the Columbus Dispatch. The newspaper has also announced several newsroom appointments in recent days. In one change, Timothy Bella joined the general assignment news desk after serving as deputy editor of its "Morning Mix." Bella will cover breaking news, write features and edit stories. In addition, Marianna Sotomayor has joined the national politics team from NBC News and will cover Congress. Separately, WaPo is seeking a replacement for executive editor Marty Baron, the just- retired editor credited with leading that paper, The Boston Globe and The Miami Herald to numerous Pulitzer Prizes and other awards. Media reports state that Cameron Barr, one of four managing editors at WaPo, will serve as acting executive pending completion of the search. In another development, the paper announced on Wednesday it had appointed Kristine Coratti Kelly as its first chief communications officer, and Shani George as vice president of communications, which it says is a masthead-level position. Coratti has served as general manager of Washington Post Live, a programming channel that features top leaders in government and business. She has worked on building The Washington Post Freedom Partnership. George, who reports to Coratti, manages day-to-day PR operations.
Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH March 3, 2021 at 02:07PM Dish Network, DraftKings Make Integration Deal With Sports Wagering https://ift.tt/30bJToK Dish Network has made a deal with DraftKings, the sports wagering/gambling company, where viewers can directly access its platform, viewing betting odds or initiating the placement of wagering, on Dish’s set top box Hopper. Dish Network says this is the first of its kind app integration. After a viewer starts a bet, they'll get a mobile prompt to complete the transaction on the DraftKings app. Initially, Dish customers can wager on NCAA basketball, NBA and NHL games. The deal will extend to Dish Network's Sling TV and Boost Mobile platforms in the future. Linking up with this activity, viewers can set recordings on the Hopper to watch specific live sports event, connected with that wagering. Many TV networks and distributors believe recent sports wagering partnerships will be significant revenue enhancer, especially helping to combat rising sports TV content right fees. Online sports gambling is growing in many states. Just over 24 states have now legalized gambling or have introduced bills to legalized sports wagering. Only those Dish customers in legal states will be able to make wagers. Initial Wednesday stock market trading, just after the announcement, had DraftKings stock up 3% with Dish Network 7% higher. advertisement advertisement Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH March 3, 2021 at 01:34PM Don't Worry, Be Unhappy https://ift.tt/388fr2X The most unhappy app environments are -- in this order -- social, utility, news and games (tied). Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH March 3, 2021 at 01:23PM
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5 Payoffs B2B Marketers Win From Precision Pacing https://ift.tt/2NQl92O ![]() 1 — Burning The Marketing Candle at Both Ends Will Fizzle OutIt’s unfortunately all-too-common for marketers to engage in marketing efforts at an unsustainable pace, leading to burn-out, especially during the pandemic when the boundaries between professional and home life have narrowed or disappeared entirely. Since penning it in 1978, Neil Young’s iconic lyric, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away,” has been co-opted by countless people in all walks of life, including marketers and many in the frenetic technology sector. Our content marketing manager Nick Nelson shared how — from SEO and social to experiences and strategy — in our fast-paced digital world, B2B marketers can gain many benefits from slowing down. You'll find his collection of tips for avoiding burnout in, "In a Fast-Paced Digital World, B2B Marketers Can Benefit from Slowing Down." Marketers who overcook their pace sacrifice long-term success for short-term gains, and often fail to recognize the harm that comes from trying to sustain a pace that is beyond their ability. Operating at a pace that's too fast can take time away from important tasks in B2B marketing, such as getting to know your customers, as we looked at in "Create a Stellar Audience Experience By Slowing Down with These Tips from Ann Handley #CMWorld." [bctt tweet="We live in a fast-paced world. But slowing down our marketing efforts — from experience to strategy to social to SEO — can help brands differentiate and achieve more. @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"]2 — Steady Doesn’t Mean Glacial PaceOn the other hand, marketers who take too much of a wait-and-see approach, and get bogged down in labyrinths of overtly gratuitous procedures won’t be nimble enough to keep up with necessary changes. Today's marketing world undoubtedly rotates at a faster clip than ever before, so it is important for B2B marketers to keep up with the latest industry news and changes. Our own weekly TopRank Marketing B2B news, published every Friday, and numerous other industry news sources can help you stay on top of the swift marketing shifts our industry experiences, so that you can apply them to your own efforts. If you do find yourself in a marketing marathon, check out my "26.2 B2B Marathon Marketing Lessons" article, which shows that racing a marathon and running a successful marketing campaign have a surprising number of similarities — including 26.2 things they share in common. [bctt tweet="“If the marathon if a part-time interest, you will only get part-time results.” — Bill Rodgers @BillRodgersRACE " username="toprank"]3 — Don’t Burn Out or Fade Away, Use Always-On InsteadWhat’s a B2B marketer to do, then, to keep from burning out with an unsustainable pace or losing any hope of winning the race using bogged down marketing? When someone says, “Always-on marketing,” what does it mean do you? It might be tempting to immediately relegate such an effort to the destined-for-burnout pacing category, yet in this case always-on doesn’t mean unsustainable. As our CEO Lee Odden has written, always-on influencer marketing is the practice of ongoing relationship-building, engagement and activation of a specified group of influencers to build community, content and brand advocacy. In fact, we've dedicated an entire series to the advantages of always-on marketing:
4 — A Lifetime Network of Trusted Partners & AssociatesMarketing efforts that move at a healthy pace foster a lifetime network of trusted partners and associates, and provide a wide range of benefits that improve our lives on both a professional and personal level. Marketers operating at a pace they aren't able to sustain often not only produce sub-par work, but don't have the time to develop trusting relationships with a network of marketing industry professionals. B2B marketing especially is about the longer haul, and building and nourishing relationships over time is an important part of success. Proper pacing helps us not only have time to get to know each other over time, but also to learn more about our customers, and to gain empathy for their challenges. Microsoft’s Miri Rodriguez recently shared how empathy, creativity, authenticity, and heart are key to great storytelling, as I covered in "Microsoft’s Miri Rodriguez on How B2B Marketers Are Embracing Empathy For Better Customer Storytelling #B2BMX." Such goals are made possible only when we purposely adjust our pace and dedicate time to building connections and learning about our customers. [bctt tweet="“A long term, relationship focused and results driven influencer program is a tremendous asset to a B2B brand that wants to be trusted, capable of exerting influence in the market and seen as a thought leader.” @LeeOdden" username="toprank"]5 — Marketing Fitness from Healthy & Sustainable Long-Term PacingIt pays off when B2B marketers practice a type of marketing fitness that is a necessary ingredient to healthy and sustainable long-term pacing. Just as it's possible to gauge the level of our own personal fitness, we can also measure the health of our marketing efforts, by looking at the previous four elements we've explored in this article. Healthy marketing is sustainable for the long-term, and can be achieved when we adjust our professional and personal pacing to match our abilities and goals. Lee has spoken and written extensively about marketing fitness, including the following pieces:
Add Precision Pacing To Your B2B Marketing Slatevia GIPHY By being mindful of moving too slowly or quickly, B2B marketers can reap the rewards and benefits of a sustainable always-on cadence that includes a lifetime of trusted partners. Add precision pacing to your own marketing slate and you'll find a lifetime of B2B marketing opportunities await you. Creating award-winning B2B marketing takes considerable time and effort, which is why many firms choose to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Contact us today and let us know how we can help, as we’ve done for businesses ranging from LinkedIn, Dell and 3M to Adobe, Oracle, monday.com and others.The post 5 Payoffs B2B Marketers Win From Precision Pacing appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®. Mobile Marketing,SEO via Hubspot https://ift.tt/2wiHYzh March 3, 2021 at 05:30AM At Super Bowl, Verizon 5G Customers In The Stands Played Their Own Game https://ift.tt/2NY9Aqf ![]() Verizon used last month’s Super Bowl in Tampa Bay to play another game using 5G technology and a few fans in stands. With help from Amazon’s AWS cloud computing service, Verizon initiated its first mobile edge computer-enabled (MEC) mobile game, NFL Ultra Toss. The object of the game was for players to virtually toss a football into the back of a virtual pickup truck positioned at midfield. Fans in the stands with the NFL Ticketholder app received a push notification during the second quarter with an invitation to play. The game players were instructed to point their phones, equipped with Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband, to see that truck spring into being with the help of augmented reality technology, and then make the toss. As they did, they were able to see other fans making the same attempt, which Verizon touted as a great social accomplishment during the keep-your-distance pandemic. advertisement advertisement By using Verizon 5G Edge and AWS Wavelength, the gameplay resulted in reducing latency (or lag) for the players. Verizon said the combination demonstrated how 5G can greatly shorten lag time, which, Verizon says, will allow innovators to develop applications with faster speed, ultra-low latency and massive bandwidth. That translates to nearly instantly for large numbers of users. Presumably those next entrepreneurs will use it for much more meaningful endeavors -- or just more exciting games -- than tossing a virtual football into a virtual pickup truck. Nicki Palmer, Verizon chief product officer, touted that community-building aspect in a prepared statement, and then got a little more technological in a hyphen-laden blast: “The super-fast speeds, massive bandwidth and low latency provided by 5G and MEC lets players have a console-quality multi-player gaming experience on the go and allows developers to rewrite the rules for creating eye-popping, graphics-rich multiplayer action. The future of gaming is happening right now.” Verizon has used the Super Bowl as a giant 5G experimental lab for the last few seasons, at least in part because Verizon’s Ultra Wideband millimeter wave-based 5G is super-fast, but doesn’t travel too far, like a few blocks, or the length of a stadium. It has or is the process of installing 5G in NFL stadiums throughout the league. The technology should be useful for other more practical uses at stadiums and in myriad other applications. Though Verizon now offers 5G versions that are less fast with far more ability to travel, Ultra Wideband is what it’s used to attract consumers via ads, even if most of them can’t get Ultra Wideband now. Separately, Verizon had an awkward Twitter moment last weekend. VZW Support, the Twitter account for the company’s consumer support team suggested on Sunday that if users with Verizon 5G noticed their batteries were drawing down “faster than normal,” one of the options they should consider is turning on 4G LTE--which in other words, means shutting off 5G-- when they can. That tweet was quickly removed. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH March 2, 2021 at 04:31PM Trendline Interactive Acquires LeadMD https://ift.tt/2MLES36 Trendline Interactive is continuing on the acquisition track, announcing the purchase of LeadMD, a performance marketing agency, on Tuesday. Terms were not disclosed. The acquisition was facilitated with financial backing by Growth Catalyst Partners. Justin Gray, founder and CEO of LeadMD, will take responsibility for Trendline’s sales, marketing, and business development activities. The combined firms will support clients with “enhanced business and service offerings to meet the unique demands of the B2C and B2B markets,” states Morgan Stewart, CEO of Trendline. That includes help with strategy planning, process, technology, people and tactics, the company says. This follows the February purchase of Canadian data and analytics company Data Insight Group. In addition, Trendline acquired email agency Inbox Marketer in 2019, and Inbox Pros, an email deliverability, privacy and compliance firm, in 2018. Founded in 2019, Trendline has focused on helping Fortune 1000 clients with email, MS and mobile push notifications. Investment banking advisory BrightTower served as exclusive advisor to LeadMD in the transaction.
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