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In South Africa, Habari Firms Combine for New Digital Agency

mrweb.com reports: In South Africa, Adrian Hewlett [pictured], the CEO and founder of media and marketing business Habari has combined the group’s below-the-line (BTL), market research, digital, and social media businesses to launch a new integrated ad agency called Machine.

Taking the role of CEO of Machine, Hewlett plans to reposition his firm as a more integrated agency with a key digital competency. A new senior client services team will oversee the various specialist units - such as research, digital, and BTL - and work across channels, with specialist project teams below them.  More…

tracx Raises $4.4m to Expand Social Media Platform

mrweb.com reports: In the US, social media analytics specialist tracx has received $4.4m in Series B funding, which it will use to fuel growth and international expansion. At the same time, the firm has launched a system to enable users to identify and manage their audience profiling and segmentation.

Commenting on the launch of the platform, CEO Eran Gilad [pictured] said: ‘We believe that marketing professionals can utilize tracx to extract the richest and most accurate data needed to build effective, targeted strategies that generate the highest return on investment.’ More…

In US, Webtrends to Invest $7 Million in 2012, Enjoys Astounding Growth of 418 Percent

Webtrends Expanding IP Footprint in Pacific Northwest by Adding 35 Engineers

02/03/2012 | Portland, OR - Webtrends, the global leader in unified mobile, social and web analytics and engagement, announced today that it is taking aggressive steps to foster IP growth and innovation by adding dozens of talented engineers to the company roster. Over the course of 2012, Webtrends will put $7 million dollars toward the hiring of more than 50 new positions, including 35 in engineering and four in marketing, and significantly increasing program spend.

“Over the last three years Webtrends has focused aggressively on out-innovating the market, particularly in rich and emerging media channels,” explains Alex Yoder [pictured], Chief Executive Officer of Webtrends. “We are the natural pure play in analytics and personalization, providing real time relevance to our customers and driving remarkable ROI. As such, we are excited to extend our commitment to accelerating our leadership position and remain in the driver’s seat of change within our industry. We will be adding more of the best and the brightest people, ranging from seasoned executives to recent graduates. Top tier talent is and will always be the cornerstone of Webtrends’ success.” More…

In US, eXelate Launches maX Data: Adaptive Audience Segment, Custom Built on Campaign-by-Campaign Basis

Proprietary modeling algorithms and massive data cloud of unique signals combine to deliver 3x-5x performance lift for clients

New York, NY (February 13, 2012) – eXelate, the leading data and analytics engine powering optimal digital marketing decisions, today announced the launch of maX (modeled audience eXtension) data™, a dynamic audience intelligence product which leverages first-party data and insights to accelerate digital marketing campaigns. maX data™ combines the power of unique, proprietary first-party data with the massive scale of third-party data to deliver 3x – 5x better campaign results than traditional data and contextual targeting.

“Data has been the media buyer’s best friend for years, but as they become more data conversant, they’re no longer satisfied with pre-constructed audience segments. Marketers want original, proactive campaign plans that incorporate dynamic audience targets. eXelate’s maX Data™ delivers adaptive audience segments proven to increase campaign performance. We’re enabling media buyers to maximize ad spend, stop wasting impressions and target custom audiences that drive results,” explained Damian Garbaccio [pictured], Chief Revenue Officer of eXelate. More…

In Germany, MEC Lands New Analytics and Insight Leader

Expands team with the arrival of Karin Rothstock 

2 February, 2012 - DÜSSELDORF — MEC, www.mecglobal.com, today announced the appointment of Karin Rothstock [pictured] as Managing Partner, Head of Analytics and Insight. 

Matthias Brüll, MEC’s CEO said, “Analytics and Insight is of great importance to our business and for the optimization of communication and data-management ROI for our clients. With the arrival of Karin, we are delighted to have a very experienced leader join us with such a fantastic digital background. " Download full report

In US, eXelate Moves To Support CPGs With ZIP+4 Ad Targeting

Laurie Sullivan, writer and editor at Media Post writes: ZIP+4 ad targeting gives advertisers the ability to pull in offline data based on ZIP codes plus the four-digit number that follows, narrowing down a user's geographic location.

For those wondering how it works: companies that match data to their ZIP+4 data, which identifies multiple households in a specific neighborhood like a city block or a group of apartments, can match offline purchase activity in grocery stores, for example, to online browsing to more closely target ads.  That's about as close as brands can get today, said eXelate CEO Mark Zagorski [pictured].  More...

Designing An Accurate Global A/B Test To Improve Campaign Optimization

Robert L. Marsa, Ph.D. [pictured], VP of Technology at Adometry, Inc. writes for Mediapost's Metrics Insider: For online marketers, the practice of global optimization involves making small changes to the volumes of impressions served on all, or almost all, ad placements with the goal of maximizing a target metric, such as gross profit or number of conversions.

While advertisers have been performing more simple A/B tests for years, many now realize that they need to improve their tests in order to effectively optimize global campaign spends and remain competitive. While global optimization tests require a bit more effort, the results can significantly improve return on ad spend (ROAS).  More...

Influence Is More Than A Score

Peyman Nilforoush [pictured], co-founder and CEO of NetShelter Technology writes at Online Media Daily: There is no denying that brands will continue to invest in influencer marketing programs; however, they must realize that influence goes beyond a score. It is about using content to establish a deeper and more intelligent connection with an audience. And it is those authors who are the true influencers that deserve attention. More…

In US, Videology Partners with I-Behavior & Kantar Shopcom to Extend CPG Purchase Behavior Targeting

Escalating Demand for ROI Metrics in Online Video Drives Expansion of Videology's CPG Offering

NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Videology— an online video advertising solutions provider —today announced a new partnership with I-Behavior — a premier provider of database marketing and behavioral targeting services, and Kantar Shopcom – one of the larger sources of traceable, consumer-level in-store and online purchase behavior data in the industry with over 231 million U.S. consumers covering CPG, retail, entertainment, auto and services.

"What advertisers really want to know is if their advertising moves soap off the shelves. This new partnership with I-Behavior and Kantar Shopcom allows us to literally tell CPG advertisers just that," said Kevin Haley, Chief Scientist, Videology. "The ability to provide advertisers with this level of ongoing, offline ROI measurement will have a significant impact on advertising strategies within the digital video space, as well as in related industries with fast-moving sales cycles." More…

Rooting Out Worst Practices

Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President, Research, Analytics, and Measurement for the Interactive Advertising Bureau, writes at MediaPost :

Welcome to one of our first New Year’s reminders. Perhaps we can make 2012 the year when “Best Practices for Conducting Online Ad Effectiveness Research” become standard operating procedures. And, in a year of action, let’s encourage the vendors to do the research on research that the esteemed Dr. Paul Lavrakas recommended in his 2010 “An Evaluation of Methods Used to Assess the Effectiveness of Advertising on the Internet.”  More...