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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, Merkle Acquires Social Amp, Leading Facebook Open-Graph Developer

Columbia, MD - February 1, 2012 -  Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), a leading customer relationship marketing firm and the nation’s largest privately-held agency, announced that it has acquired New York-based Social Amp, a recognized authority in Facebook Open Graph marketing and OAuth solutions for Fortune 500 brands and global agencies. The acquisition supports Merkle’s ongoing strategy to expand its capabilities in the area of digital marketing and to further strengthen its connected CRM approach.

“The addition of Social Amp’s site socialization solution to the Merkle family will present our clients with new insights into how social behaviors influence the consumer decision-making process on websites,” said David Williams [pictured], chairman and CEO of Merkle. “It brings the power of Facebook Open Graph data into the brand site to enhance consumer experience and ecommerce. The capability is a perfect fit within Merkle, as it is rooted in information, analytics, technology and ultimately, marketing performance.” More…

In US, Adometry Upgrades Advanced Attribution Capabilities to Help Advertisers Reach More Audiences

Advertisers Up and Running with New Adometry Ad Analytics Suite 2.0 in as Little as Two Weeks

AUSTIN, Texas – January 19, 2012 - Adometry®, Inc., the leader in cross channel fractional attribution and ad verification technology, today announced a new release of the Adometry Ad Analytics Suite. The latest version enables online advertisers to on-board advanced attribution and optimization capabilities in as little as two weeks, without having to re-deploy site tags or interrupt site operations.

“Our new advanced attribution technology ensures that digital marketers have the data and automated tools needed to simultaneously invest campaign dollars more effectively across all channels – from mobile, social, video and more,” said Paul Pellman [pictured], CEO of Adometry. “In addition, with implementation times of as little as two weeks, we’re helping advertisers accelerate the ROI for their campaigns.” More…

Experian Simmons Announces New Cross-Platform Media Planning Service

Pioneering Digital-Media Panel to Link Mobile and Online Activities to Thousands of Consumer Brand Preferences, Attitudes and Behaviors

New York, N.Y., Jan. 18, 2012 — Experian® SimmonsSM, part of Experian Marketing Services, announced today the development of Simmons ConnectSM, a new cross-platform media planning service that includes the industry’s first digital-media panel that links metered online and mobile activities to thousands of consumer brand preferences, attitudes, lifestyles and behaviors. Simmons Connect will provide marketers with the insights they need in an increasingly fragmented media environment to plan marketing efforts across traditional and emerging digital platforms, including mobile, using a consistent consumer definition.

“Creating meaningful connections with consumers in this increasingly fragmented media environment requires marketers to fully understand their target customers’ shifting habits and engagement with new digital and mobile devices,” said Matt Seeley [pictured], group president of Experian Marketing Services. “Simmons Connect helps simplify the complexity of cross-platform marketing and provides our clients with a distinct competitive advantage when it comes to customer acquisition and engagement.”  More...

In US, New IAB Study Reveals ‘Data Divide’

Survey of Nearly 200 Advertising and Marketing Industry Thought Leaders Showcases Emerging Data Approaches & Identifies Key Challenges to Widespread Adoption

NEW YORK, NY (January 17, 2012) — Continuing to demystify the myriad of digital data now available to marketers and online publishers, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) teamed with strategic consulting firm Winterberry Group to create a new study titled “From Information to Audiences: The Emerging Marketing Data Use Cases.” The white paper reveals new practices in data aggregation, management and deployment and spotlights barriers to widespread adoption. Its findings are based on research results from a survey of nearly 200 industry thought leaders and influencers, as well as Winterberry Group’s own quantitative and qualitative research.

“The plethora of new data sources, targeted technologies and advertising delivery platforms enable marketers to amass more intelligence from varied sources,” said Patrick Dolan [pictured], Executive Vice President and COO, IAB. “This promising resource can only bear fruit if marketers can take that raw data and harness it effectively, going beyond traditional usage. This study shows us that there are some hurdles we need to address before we can expect widespread adoption—and the ability for ‘big data’ to deliver big result.” More…

Embracing Data Structure Is the Future of SEO

Eddie Choi [pictured], Executive Director, Milton Exhibits Group writes at ClickZ.Asia: While many SEOs still optimize tags and links, search engines today are emphasizing more and more in content structure. In fact, everything is content whether it is text, link, or the user-generated comment in social media.

Start embracing data structure in your future SEO plan.  More...

Attribution Management: A Direct Response & Brand Marketing Tool

Anto Chittilappilly [pictured], Co-Founder, President and CTO of Visual IQ writes at MediaPost: Marketers and their agencies typically look at attribution management and the value it provides an organization in direct response terms. Focusing on accurately attributing metrics like conversions, revenue, CPA, ROI, and ROAS makes complete sense when a marketer has responsibility for producing some type of measurable conversion. But a growing number of professionals responsible for moving the needle on brand metrics -- like awareness, preference, consideration and purchase intent not linked to a “hard” conversion -- are also using attribution as a valuable analytics and optimization solution. More…

In US, Adobe Completes Acquisition of Efficient Frontier

Leading Digital Ad Buying and Optimization Platform Enhances Multi-channel Campaign Capabilities

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jan. 16, 2012 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the completion of its acquisition of privately held Efficient Frontier, a leader in optimizing multi-channel and auction-based digital advertising across search, display and social media. Adobe solutions are central to how digital marketing and advertising is created, managed, executed, measured and optimized. The acquisition of Efficient Frontier adds cross-channel ad campaign forecasting, execution and optimization capabilities to Adobe’s existing Digital Marketing Suite, along with a social marketing engagement platform and social ad buying capabilities.

“With the completion of the Efficient Frontier acquisition, we are focused on aggressively integrating cross-channel ad buying and optimization capabilities with our Digital Marketing Suite,” said Brad Rencher [pictured], senior vice president and general manager of Digital Marketing, Adobe. More...

In US, Former JWT CFO Peter Massey Named President and COO of [x+1]

Experienced marketing and advertising executive brings operational finance expertise to marketing technology leader

NEW YORK, N.Y., Jan. 12, 2011 – The leading digital marketing hub provider [x+1], www.xplusone.com, announced today that veteran digital marketing and advertising industry executive Peter Massey [pictured] been named President and COO, effective immediately. He will be responsible for management of the day-to-day operations of the company, reporting to Chairman and CEO John Nardone.

“I’m excited to be returning to my passion for leading a cutting-edge, high-growth marketing technology company,” said Massey. “Technology is continuing to transform the way companies brand and sell and [x+1]’s digital marketing hub technology and client solutions are right in the thick of this rapid market evolution. My substantial operational experience on the agency side, including oversight of major client accounts, will serve me well as I help [x+1] continue on its path of growth and innovation.” More…

In US, ThinkVine Secures $8 Million in Series C Funding Round

CINCINNATI (January 10, 2012) - ThinkVine, a marketing optimization software company, announces that it has closed $8 Million in Series C investment. The funding includes new participation from Northwater Capital Management alongside existing investors Draper Triangle, DFJ Portage, CincyTech and Ft. Washington Capital Partners.

"It's a pivotal time for both ThinkVine and the industry as continued media fragmentation and an increasingly complex set of marketing choices are forcing business-to-consumer marketers to find new ways to plan and adjust their marketing," said Mark Battaglia [pictured], ThinkVine chief executive officer. "ThinkVine is perfectly positioned in the market as the only company with a consumer-centric, software-as-a-service approach to optimizing marketing ROI across all types of marketing investments. With ThinkVine, marketers understand the effect their marketing has on targeted consumer groups and the value each type of marketing activity delivers for their business. And, they realize additional value from more accurate forecasts and software that enables both an objective planning process and timely responses to changes in market conditions or budget levels. This funding round will enable us to extend our leadership position."  More...