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Acorn International Goes for Rebranding with a New Corporate Logo and Website

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Acorn International Goes for Rebranding with a New Corporate Logo and Website
Acorn International Plans to Update the Website Regularly with the Latest Corporate Developments as We Continue to Execute Our Business Plan

Acorn International has announced that it has introduced a new corporate logo and launched a new website at www.acorninternationalir.com. The updated logo reflects Acorn’s new digital media focus. The new website features a modern design, rich content in both English and Chinese, and easy access to information to create greater transparency for visitors to understand the Company’s current business model, which has shifted away from old-line TV media, and towards digital media and streaming content, while maintaining a focus on growing its eCommerce business.

Read More: Salesforce Executive To Participate In Upcoming Investor Meeting

“Acorn has spent much of the last two years shifting our business away from older, unprofitable businesses and focusing on growth areas like e-commerce,” said Jacob A. Fisch, CEO and President of Acorn.

Jacob added, “Our new corporate logo and website better reflect our business today and where we plan to take it in the future. Our customers, investors, employees and other stakeholders can now gain insight into new businesses like Acorn Entertainment, a social media marketing business for celebrities and brands to increase their awareness in China, Acorn Streaming, which showcases live streaming and pre-recorded video content, and Acorn Products, where we sell our branded products, largely through e-commerce, in China. We will be updating the website regularly with the latest corporate developments as we continue to execute our business plan.”

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Currently, Acorn International is a leading marketing and branding company in China, leveraging a twenty-year direct marketing history to monetize brand IP, content creation and distribution, and product sales, through digital media in China. Previously the leading TV infomercial company in China, Acorn today has three divisions support its growth: 1) Product Division, 2) Content Division, and 3) Influencer Management Division.

In the Product Division, Acorn sells product primarily through e-commerce channels in China, as well as through offline distribution and outbound marketing. In the Content Division, Acorn monetizes content. Specifically, in the Content Division, Acorn has redirected its direct marketing know-how to digital media in China, launching Acorn Streaming, which is primarily focused on live streaming and pre-recorded video content creation and distribution. In the Influencer Management Division, Acorn brings, through the creation of digital social content, the best U.S. celebrity talent and brands to China, representing their in-country digital presence.

Read Also: #FlipMyFunnel 2018 Conference To Return To Boston

CMO Council Launches Insight Center for Better Marketing Information

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CMO Council Launches Insight Center for Better Marketing Information
Premium Members of the CMO Council will gain free access to the Insight Center as part of their advanced membership.

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council has announced the launch of the Insight Center. Insights Center is a new subscription service for marketers seeking real-time global knowledge and intelligence in an easy to navigate portal. The new service is available to CMO Council Premium Members as part of their enhanced membership. General access to the Insight Center is available for an annual subscription of $99 USD/year.

Read More: Inuvo Signs Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by ConversionPoint Technologies

Currently, the CMO Council is the only global network of executives specifically dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide range of global industries.

Read Also: Imperium Announces Charlie Allieri as New CEO

Curated exclusively by the editorial team at the CMO Council, the new Insight Center houses over 1,100 individual marketing facts and statistics; 300+ of the latest senior executive appointments across marketing; a comprehensive global calendar of industry events, experience and branding; along with hundreds of curated charts, graphs and infographics from a range of marketing research sources.

At the time of this announcement, Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director and Founder of the CMO Council, said, “Since founding the CMO Council, our mission and mandate has (have) been to equip the Chief Marketing Officer with the peer-based knowledge and authority leadership to advance and evolve the role both personally and across the industry.”

Donovan added, “This translates into thousands of data points aggregated from around the world amounting to hundreds of thousands of editorial team hours to collect and curate. Now, we have made all of our research and fact-finding exploration available to marketing professionals, investors, academics and students in all countries worldwide.”

While much of this information had only been made available to CMO Council Premium Members, the newly opened Insight Center is available to any, and all marketing insight seekers.

Donovan concluded, “We purposefully identified a price-point for this subscription to allow everyone from a student to a senior leader to have access to this information hub.”

Premium Members of the CMO Council will gain free access to the Insight Center as part of their advanced membership. The CMO Council has also entered into partnership agreements with global associations and networks whose members will receive discounts to subscriptions.

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Biocept Announces New Executive Hires to its Sales and Marketing Organization

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Biocept Announces New Executive Hires to its Sales and Marketing Organization
Appoints Scott Nicholson as Vice President of National Sales – US; Cory Dunn as Vice President of Marketing

Biocept, Inc., a leading commercial provider of liquid biopsy tests designed to provide physicians with clinically actionable information to improve the outcomes of patients diagnosed with cancer, announces the appointments of Scott Nicholson as Vice President of Sales – US and Cory Dunn as Vice President of Marketing.

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Scott Nicholson has 24 years of experience in the medical laboratory industry with a focus in oncology for the physician and hospital markets, and Dunn has over 15 years of commercial marketing experience in the life sciences industry, specializing in diagnostic testing services for oncology.

“I am pleased to announce the hiring of Cory and Scott, as we restructure and refocus the sales and marketing organization at Biocept,” said Edwin Hendrick, Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer at Biocept.

Edwin added, “Both bring extensive diagnostic laboratory experience and proven track records of building markets in the oncology arena. Our two newest Vice Presidents will be tasked to increase the relevance of our Target Selector™ platforms in disease states and physician segments that can benefit the most from our unique liquid biopsy offering. Our primary mission is to help physicians treat cancer patients more effectively by obtaining actionable information from a simple blood sample to develop personalized treatment plans.”

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Scott Nicholson is a veteran sales executive in the medical lab industry with experience in the oncology segment. His previous positions ranged from Sales Executive, District Manager, and Regional Manager to Vice President of Sales and Senior Vice President of Sales.

Nicholson was the first sales representative hired at US Labs, where he was instrumental in growing sales to approximately $80 million that led to the acquisition of the company by Lab Corp in 2005. He served as Vice President of Sales at PLUS Diagnostics for seven years and was instrumental in growing revenues from $2 million to nearly $100 million, before PLUS was acquired by Miraca Life Sciences in 2013. Most recently, Nicholson was Vice President of Sales at GenomeDx Biosciences, where he led the commercialization effort for the Decipher® genomic suite of tests in the urology market.

Cory Dunn most recently served as Vice President of Commercial Marketing at GenomeDx, where she led the launch, commercial marketing, and product life-cycle management of the Decipher® genomic suite of tests for urologic cancers. Prior to GenomeDx, Dunn oversaw the marketing efforts for PLUS Diagnostics’ Gastroenterology, Dermatology and Hematology-Oncology product lines, which produced record growth rates and culminated in nearly $100 million in annual sales. Her past experience also includes serving as Marketing Director at Genoptix with key responsibilities for marketing Veridex’s CELLSEARCH® Circulating Tumor Cell Test, contributing to rapid growth and a successful IPO. Ms. Dunn holds postgraduate science and education degrees from the University of California, San Diego and Stanford University, respectively.

Inducement Awards

In connection with the hiring of Nicholson and Dunn, Biocept granted each individual an inducement stock option award to purchase 24,200 shares of Biocept common stock. Each stock option was granted on 31 October  2018 in accordance with Biocept’s general practice.

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Do Digital Marketers Feel More Pressure to Meet Acquisition and Revenue Goals?

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Do Digital Marketers Feel More Pressure to Meet Acquisition and Revenue Goals?

The Report from WBR Insights and SheerID reveal marketers’ top 2 concerns are differentiating in a noisy marketplace and the rising privacy concerns.

According to a new survey of 150 digital marketers across the U.S. – with most employed by companies doing $1B or more in annual revenue – 77% feel under greater pressure to meet acquisition and revenue goals than they did one year ago. Published today by SheerID and WBR Insights, the report surveyed digital marketers within the retail, travel, financial services, consumer packaged goods and food services industries. The survey asked marketers questions regarding the top concerns they have for acquiring new customers and the strategies and tactics they plan to use in 2019.

At the time of this announcement, Jake Weatherly, CEO of SheerID, said, “We found a certain irony in the results of this survey.”

Read More: Onvia Appoints Terri DePaoli As VP Of Sales To Lead Customer Acquisition Growth

Jake added, “At a time when a seemingly unlimited number of advertising vehicles are available to marketers, these professionals are struggling more than ever to get the attention and business of consumers because of oversaturation. What also seems clear – certainly in the context of promotions – is that marketers who take a more selective, targeted approach with their campaigns are the ones who are feeling less pressure to meet their acquisition and revenue goals.”

The report also details marketers’ planned investments for 2019.

Surprisingly, marketing program owners, not c-suite executives, felt the greatest pressure compared to a year ago. Marketing program owners within the travel (97%) and retail (81%) sectors reported feeling more pressure than they did last year. Only 33% of C-Suite executives – across all industries – stated that they felt more pressure to meet new customer acquisition and revenue targets.

What’s causing the pressure?  

Marketers are struggling with a noisy marketplace.

Respondents indicated that the single biggest challenge they faced when acquiring new customers was “competitive differentiation”. “Privacy concerns and/or privacy regulations” (19%) ranked as the second biggest challenge, as privacy laws like GDPR restrain marketing efforts. Moreover, when asked about their concerns with online and social advertising networks, 60% stated they are “concerned about the lack of control of consumer data”.  “Rising costs” (16%) was the third greatest challenge cited, with half expressing concern regarding the rising acquisition costs from online and social advertising networks.

Reliance on Mass Discounting Likely Adding to Market Noise

Marketers are leaning heavily on mass discounting tactics, with 80% stating that promotions and discounts are an important part of their customer acquisition strategies. Mass discounting is particularly prevalent in the travel and retail industries, with 93% of travel and 75% of retail marketers running either weekly or “continuous” discounts. 62% of travel and 50% of retail marketers said “nothing prevents me from running more promotions.” In fact, 69% of retail marketers believe increasing the level or frequency of promotions and discounts will help increase sales, exacerbating the “noise” in the market.

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Where will brands put their marketing dollars in the coming year?

Marketers across the board expressed a clear desire for finding novel approaches to acquire customers: despite plans to invest more across all Marketing channels, 71% are looking for ways to differentiate through “new” marketing channels versus investing in existing ones (51%).

Additionally, marketers across every segment are beginning to question the value of mass discounting with 65% expressing a worry that running more promotions will either condition consumers to expect discounts, devalue their brand or reduce their margins. Only 35% believe more universal promotions and discounts don’t have a negative effect.

Despite the travel and retail industries’ heavy reliance on mass discounting, 93% and 78% respectively said they would use or trial “gated offers” today – that is, promotions and special offers that are targeted and made available only to a specific market segment such as students or active military. Moreover, 95% of respondents across all five industries stated an interest in trying, testing or researching gated offers today.

Methodology

SheerID partnered with WBR Insights to survey 150 leaders in customer acquisition across five different consumer-facing industries. Most respondents represent B2C companies generating $1 billion or more in annual revenue. The survey was conducted between late August and early September, 2018.

The vast majority of respondents are directly involved in customer engagement and acquisition initiatives. Nearly half of respondents (47%) are customer experience experts. Most of the remaining respondents are customer acquisition (27%) and customer retention or loyalty (24%) experts. Two percent of respondents have some other role.

In each case, nearly one-quarter of respondents are in retail (24%) and financial services (21%) industries. Twenty percent of respondents are in the travel industry. The remaining respondents are in the food services (18%) and consumer-packaged goods (17%) industries.

Currently, SheerID’s leading digital verification platform instantly verifies the eligibility of individuals and businesses, for leading brands to deliver gated offers and experiences to high-value customer segments while mitigating fraud and minimizing friction. By using authoritative data sources to verify credentials in real-time within an organization’s brand experience, SheerID delivers a seamless customer experience that reduces churn and fuels loyalty to drive revenue growth.

Recommended: Talent Acquisition And Culture Critical To Sales Success In 2018 And Beyond!

ICMI Contact Center Demo Exhibitors Announce New Products, Services, Demonstrations and More Ahead of 2018 Event

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ICMI Contact Center Demo Exhibitors Announce New Products, Services, Demonstrations and More Ahead of 2018 Event
ICMI Contact Center Demo 2018 Will Showcase the Best of Cloud Center Platforms Under One Roof

The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), the authority on contact center excellence, revealed announcements from industry leading companies exhibiting at ICMI Contact Center Demo 2018. Each company will showcase their latest products and solutions in the Demo Hall Monday – Wednesday of the event, giving attendees a hands-on opportunity to explore the latest innovations impacting the industry.

Read More: Comscore Brings its Digital Audience Measurement to Include Snapchat Discover

Appian, Five9, NICE inContact, Sharpen, Talkdesk, and others among those making announcements.

ICMI Contact Center Demo 2018 will take place 12-14  November 2018 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, NV. To learn more about the event.

“Our Demo Hall plays an important role in providing attendees with a well-rounded conference experience that encompasses all of the information, strategies, and innovation currently impacting the customer experience industry,” said Patty Caron, Event Director, ICMI. “Many of this year’s exhibitors are offering our attendees a first look at their latest contributions to the industry and we are thrilled to provide a productive space for demonstrations and networking.”

ICMI Contact Center Demo 2018 Exhibitor News

AcuCall (booth 704) will showcase “CenterMaster” Omni-Channel Inbound/Outbound solutions which include: Predictive/Preview/Progressive/TCPA Compliance Dialer, IVR “Pay by Phone,” ACD, IP-PBX, Email, Social Media. Enhanced AcuScript CRM, WFM, and AcuChat will also be on display. This HIPAA and PCI Compliant platform are ideal for Healthcare, Insurance, Financial and BPO centers with localization for English/Spanish.

Appian (booth 605) will showcase its Intelligent Contact Center platform, which enables organizations to build powerful customer engagement solutions that improve KPI performance while delivering better CX. Appian’s platform has allowed contact center customers to achieve improvements such as a 64% increase in CSAT and 40% cost savings.

Content Guru (booth 505) will showcase its multi-award-winning storm® platform. storm delivers a multitude of customer engagement capabilities, omnichannel (SMS, web chat, voice, email, WebRTC) intelligent queuing and routing, and can integrate with virtually any third-party system.

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Five9 (booth 604) will showcase the Virtual Contact Center, the cloud contact center platform for the digital enterprise. Come by and see for yourself!

Fonolo (booth 617) announces a new platform for its best-in-class call-back solutions. The new release includes an optimized portal, robust call-back API, and enterprise-grade features including audit tracking, password policy support, and many other advanced security options. Fonolo’s solutions lower abandon rates, smooth call volume spikes, and improve customer experience.

GlowTouch Technologies (booth 312) will demonstrate how using the Double Bottom Line Growth for Good process enables them to provide clients with in-depth customer care right-sourcing services – resulting in 177% ROI for some clients – while feeding 50,000 children a day via community support programs.

i-Comm Connect (booth 713) presents TACTAL, its patented solution converging voice, messaging, and data transfer into one application. TACTAL supports next-generation data visualization and mining capabilities by providing instant, web-based customer communication, and secure, real-time data transfer, that integrates into existing Contact Center solutions while improving customer service and business intelligence.

Recommended: Mobile Attribution Myth Busting: “This Won’t Work With My In-House Analytics”

i2x (booth 412) announces it is expanding its automatic speech analytic service to the US, which will help businesses leverage data in a scalable way. i2x’s automatic speech analytic service brings transparency to your contact center by transcribing, analyzing, and improving every customer interaction on the phone with artificial intelligence.

Language Services Associates (LSA) (booth 707) will premiere its new series of informational animated short videos, which showcase tips on how to better work with interpreters to improve communication with individuals of limited English proficiency. LSA will also demonstrate IRIS, their new video remote interpreting application.

Lessonly (booth 717) announces new Practice features, which offer customer service reps scenarios to rehearse their skills and Do Better Work. Practice also enables managers and trainers to evaluate practice scenarios with custom criteria, so teams focus on the right skills and get specific feedback.

Lightico (booth 720) will showcase its real-time digital collaboration platform, which enables contact center agents to accelerate sales and service requests. With this platform, agents can digitally sign documents, complete forms, collect customer documents/ID, share images and videos and process payments securely while on a call to streamline company workflows and improve customer journeys.

NICE inContact (booth 611) will showcase NICE inContact CXone, the world’s #1 cloud customer experience platform. CXone helps organizations be first in their industry by powering exceptional experiences for customers and employees.

CXone unifies best-in-class Omnichannel Routing, Analytics, Workforce Optimization, Automation and Artificial Intelligence—all built on an Open Cloud Foundation.

Noble Systems (booth 302) announces its new Noble Gamification solutions for call centers. Gamification helps align your agent performance with your operational goals, increasing employee engagement, building productivity and reducing attrition across the general spectrum of agents within the modern-day call center.

OnBrand24 (booth 420) will showcase its domestic outsourced solutions for SMB and Fortune 100 companies, which include tech-enablement to best drive cost-effectiveness through digital interactions and workflow improvement. These solutions have successfully implemented enterprise-grade AI, Chat, SMS, Apple Business Chat, Business Intelligence, Big Data, and Social Media Interactions.

PayActiv (booth 721) announces the availability of Walmart’s Direct2Cash service for PayActiv users. Direct2Cash will give PayActiv users across hundreds of businesses, cash access for their earned wages from their local Walmart store, and a financially sound way to pay for critical needs.

Read Also:  Upstream Works Receives 2018 Contact Center Technology Award From CUSTOMER Magazine

Pipkins (booth 522) will showcase eSMART™ Desktop. With eSMART Desktop, Pipkins has streamlined schedule management and adherence monitoring, consolidating your staff’s schedules, actuals and deviation information on one screen. In addition, eSMART’s Intelligent Editing and Automated Editing capabilities significantly reduce supervisory and/or administrative time previously devoted to schedule edits and adjustments.

ProScheduler (booth 616) will introduce its newest RTA tool, Playbook. Using game-design integrated solutions, Playbook streamlines day-to-day transactions and processes by providing users with data and resources to perform their jobs with greater efficiency, engagement, and personal responsibility.

RapportBoost.AI (booth 318) will showcase RapportCoach™ at ICMI Contact Center Demo 2018. RapportCoach™ delivers continuing analyses of specific conversational attributes, which drive success for brands at the agent and conversation level. Our ongoing analysis helps chat team leaders coach their teams objectively, providing agents with a solid foundation from which to improve performance.

Sennheiser (booth 423) will showcase Sennheiser SDW 5016, a wireless DECT headset for modern office professionals. Sennheiser SDW 5016 allows you to connect to softphone/PC and desk phone for device flexibility. Super wideband sound offers a voice experience beyond conventional business standards, while the latest security protocols keep your conversations confidential.

Shaker (booth 619) will showcase a new suite of Virtual Job Tryouts, designed to support leading-edge hiring processes in call centers. Based on the award-winning Virtual Job Tryout platform, the new mobile suite features a convenient and easy-to-access mobile format, without sacrificing the platform’s immersive, engaging, and highly predictive qualities.

Sharpen (booth 404) will showcase its partnership with Vibrant Credit Union during a live customer use case session. Vibrant’s Chief Experience Officer, Steve Ducey, will discuss how Sharpen’s cloud contact center platform has helped reduce member wait time by 90% and has saved their organization $1M annually.

Shelf (booth 705) announces a new knowledge management solution for the contact center that integrates advanced analytics, AI and maintenance automation, making managing and finding content across the customer journey easier than ever before.

Talkdesk (booth 407) will showcase Talkdesk CX Manager, a new visual routing flow designer that is used to intelligently route calls to meet specific business needs. Its intuitive interface allows contact center administrators to design and implement routing flows quickly and without the need for coding.

UJET (both 706) will showcase its ultra-modern cloud contact center software with leading innovation in smartphone-era customer support on the web, phone, and mobile apps. The UJET platform delights end-users with simple smartphone functionality and elevates agent performance through context-aware solutions for voice, chat, and text.

unymira (317) present its ACTIVE knowledge base, Knowledge Center, which is unique in the market. The solution helps customer service agents to find answers easily and quickly. The innovative technology enables contact centers to maximize productivity and to improve customer experience, through all support channels.

WebRecon (booth 321) will showcase its industry-leading TCPA scrub. The TCPA scrub identifies serial consumer litigants before dialing them to significantly reduce the risk of expensive TCPA litigation. This service is provided to call centers via API, batch or through a web-based search portal.

Currently, The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) is the leading global provider of comprehensive resources for customer management professionals — from frontline agents to executives — who wish to improve customer experiences and increase efficiencies at every level of the contact center.

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Inuvo Signs Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by ConversionPoint Technologies

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Inuvo Signs Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by ConversionPoint Technologies
Acquisition of ConversionPoint Technologies offers retailers and brands an end-to-end, AI-powered, eCommerce platform with unprecedented insight into consumer behavior for stronger ROI and online sales

Inuvo, Inc., a provider of artificial intelligence (AI) technology for brands and agencies, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by ConversionPoint Technologies, Inc., a privately held eCommerce technology company.

Inuvo will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ConversionPoint Holdings and is expected to maintain its offices in Little Rock, Arkansas and San Jose, California. ConversionPoint will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ConversionPoint Holdings and is expected to maintain its offices in Newport Beach and Emeryville, California, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Robert Tallack, the current CEO of ConversionPoint Technologies, will become the CEO of the combined companies, and Richard Howe, the current chairman and CEO of Inuvo, will become chairman of the combined companies.

The acquisition will be a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $2.22 per share of Inuvo common stock based on 34,077,624 common shares outstanding and restricted stock units that will immediately vest upon closing. Inuvo shareholders will receive $0.45 per share in cash and stock valued at an estimated $1.77 per share, or approximately$75.5 million in total consideration. ConversionPoint plans to file a Form S-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to register the shares of common stock to be issued in the acquisition and intends to file listing applications for the stock with the NASDAQ Capital Market and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

At the time of this announcement, ConversionPoint CFO, Raghu Kilambi, said, “Inuvo’s technology and product offerings makes our combination very attractive in terms of immediate cross-selling opportunities.”

Raghu added, “The scale of the combined operations coupled with the identified synergies, focused on the eCommerce market, is anticipated to provide attractive upside revenue and margin expansion opportunities as well as a unique capital market story.”

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Strategic Rationale for the Acquisition of ConversionPoint Technologies

ConversionPoint is acquiring Inuvo for its patented, AI-driven consumer behavior technology, which leverages machine learning to mirror the way the human brain instantly associates ideas, emotions, places, people and objects. The combined solution is expected to offer large and small businesses a new way to compete more effectively, increase online sales, achieve higher media spend ROI and improve customer lifecycle engagement. This AI-powered platform is expected to create a competitive eCommerce solution for major non-Amazon channels, such as Shopify, Big Commerce, and Walmart.com.

“Amazon controls nearly half of the $450 million in online retail sales in the U.S. thanks to their proprietary data-driven approach to consumer analysis and marketing,“ explained ConversionPoint CEO, Robert Tallack. “Online retailers and brands have been searching for an end-to-end data-driven technology to help provide accurate information they can use to acquire customers.  We believe that together (with) our end-to-end, AI-powered, eCommerce platform can offer those capabilities to the online retail channel and the direct channel that the market has been actively searching for.”

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ConversionPoint’s current customers include major brands like Canon, Logitech, and Nikon, and its technology has been integrated onto online retailer sites like walmart.com and officedepot.com. Current ConversionPoint shareholders include Menlo Ventures, Granite Ventures and IBM. The company was recently named #93 (software) on the 2018 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. with audited revenues of $49.9 million in 2017.

The CEO of Inuvo, Richard Howe, said, “With our combined technologies, data sources and industry partners, we will be able to offer an even greater level of eCommerce transparency and sophistication across small, medium and large business segments. We see this combination allowing us to pursue a shared vision of providing more powerful solutions for eCommerce.”

ConversionPoint enhances consumer product experiences, optimizes media spend, enables upsell, and manages fulfillment and retargeting. Inuvo has the industry’s most capable technology for identifying and analyzing consumer behavioral data, along with direct access to advertising inventory from large media and technology partners.

Inuvo is a market leader in artificial intelligence whose goal it is to align one-to-one brand messaging with consumer intent. Inuvo customers include several Fortune 500 companies, major global brands and agencies. It has the world’s most capable technology for identifying and analyzing consumer behavioral data, along with direct access to advertising inventory from large media and technology partners. Inuvo  harnesses the power of its patented IP by delivering high performing campaigns reaching audiences that would typically be missed.

According to Trey Barrett, COO of Inuvo: “We have identified a number of specific near-term opportunities, including upselling Inuvo’s high-margin AI powered IntentKey media to ConversionPoint’s existing enterprise customers and online retail partners. We also expect to reap significant benefits from integrating ConversionPoint’s retail brands into Inuvo’s ValidClick platform, creating a new traffic acquisition source for ConversionPoint clients, and utilizing ValidClick’s advertising inventory throughout our customer experience.”

The combined company’s IP portfolio is expected to include 15 issued U.S. patents and 12 patents pending.

Additional Transaction Details

This acquisition transaction will be effected through a newly created holding company, ConversionPoint Holdings, Inc., where Inuvo and ConversionPoint Technologies will become wholly-owned subsidiaries of ConversionPoint Holdings.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, ConversionPoint Holdings will issue 0.18877 shares of its common stock for each one share of Inuvo common stock (or approximately 6.4 million shares in total) and will issue cash in the amount of $0.45 for each one share of Inuvo common stock (or approximately $15.3 million in total). ConversionPoint Holdings will issue 0.9840 shares of its common stock for each one share of ConversionPoint Technologies, Inc. common stock (or approximately 15.6 million shares in total).

The $1.77 estimated value per share of ConversionPoint Holdings common stock to be issued in the acquisition is based upon ConversionPoint Technologies’ recent $15 million private offering that valued ConversionPoint Technologies’ common stock at $9.21 per share, resulting in an estimated equity valuation for ConversionPoint Technologies of $146 million.

Following the closing of the transaction, and prior to the issuance of any stock in connection with a financing that is a condition to closing, Inuvo shareholders will own approximately 29% of ConversionPoint Holdings and will have received $0.45 per share in cash, or total cash consideration of $15.3 million.

The closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur during the first quarter of 2019, is subject to customary and other closing conditions, including a requirement that ConversionPoint raises a minimum of $36 million of gross proceeds from the issuance of equity and/or debt, a portion of which will be used to fund the cash portion of the acquisition transaction, as well as the approval of the stockholders of ConversionPoint Technologies and Inuvo. All of Inuvo’s directors and executive officers, as well as ConversionPoint Technologies stockholders owning 70% of ConversionPoint Technologies’ outstanding shares, have signed support agreements in favor of the acquisition.

Upon the closing of the acquisition, ConversionPoint Holdings expects to change its name to ConversionPoint Technologies.

For ConversionPoint Technologies, Troutman Sanders LLP served as legal advisors. ConversionPoint’s financial advisors on the required debt and/or equity financing are expected to include GMP Securities L.P., Beacon Securities Ltd. and Falcon Capital.

For Inuvo, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP and the Pearlman Law Group served as legal advisors. Canaccord Genuity acted as financial advisor to Inuvo.

Currently, ConversionPoint Technologies, Inc. is an eCommerce technology company changing how brands, advertisers and agencies connect with, acquire and retain customers. Powered by AI-enabled media optimization, CRM, and robust post-purchase platforms that automate product delivery and remarketing, ConversionPoint offers proprietary technologies to increase conversions, lifetime customer value, and return on ad spend. ConversionPoint focuses on the non-Amazon channels, including Walmart.com, Shopify.com, and BigCommerce.com.

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Industry Veteran Michael Coney Joins Voci Technologies as COO

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Industry Veteran Michael Coney Joins Voci Technologies as COO
Michael Coney’s Strategic, Executive, Operational Expertise Will Help Take Voci to the Next Level

Voci Technologies, a leading speech analytics platform provider, announced that it has hired industry veteran Michael Coney as its COO. Coney, who will be responsible for Marketing, Sales, Customer Support, and Operations, joins the company after its recent successful Series B funding round and a year of rapid growth.

“Michael Coney is an invaluable addition to the management team, bringing the strategic, executive and operational expertise we need to take Voci to the next level of growth,” said Anthony Gadient, co-founder and CEO of Voci Technologies.

Anthony added, “His track record of helping companies increase revenue and grow market share will be instrumental in helping Voci seize market opportunities, including the growing interest that organizations have in improving the customer experience.”

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Over the past year, Voci expanded into new markets, more than doubled its headcount, and raised $8 million in Series B funding. Coney will be responsible for Voci’s go-to-market strategy, sales, and customer support as well as developing and executing Voci’s annual operating plan.

Coney’s extensive entrepreneurial and executive experience includes managing high-growth companies, raising capital and working with a wide range of investors at start-ups and large public companies alike. Previously, Coney served as CEO of Unitrends and directed sales, support and consulting services at large global enterprises, such as VERITAS Software, Sun Microsystems, and Monster.com.

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Coney, who served in the U.S. Army, earned his bachelor’s degree in Science and Technology from New York Institute of Technology.  He also attended the University of Pennsylvania – The Wharton School, Business and Economics Executive Training.

New Corporate Headquarters Accommodates Continued Expansion

In addition to the appointment of Michael Coney as COO, the company also announced that it has opened new corporate headquarters, which will ultimately expand the company’s square footage in Pittsburgh to more than six times its current space.  The expansion enables the company to accommodate its continued growth across all corporate functions.  The new headquarters is located at the Burns White Center, 48 26th Street, Suite 100, in Pittsburgh, a fast-growing area known as Robotics Row, and home to many other technology start-up firms with origins from Carnegie Mellon University.

Currently, Pittsburgh-based Voci Technologies combines artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning algorithms to deliver the best-in-class enterprise speech analytics platform. Voci’s innovative technology and strategic partnerships enable contact centers of all sizes to extract actionable intelligence from voice data to improve customer experience, operational efficiency, and compliance requirements.  Voci’s open platform gives its customers and partners the freedom to choose the deployment methods and analytic solutions that best meet their business needs. The company is backed by leading investors, including Grotech Ventures and Harbert Venture Partners.

Read More: Outreach Announces Unleash 2019 For Enterprise Sales…

Global Cision Innovation Lab Unveiled to Transform Communications Industry

STS News Desk
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Global Cision Innovation Lab Unveiled to Transform Communications Industry
The Cision Innovation Lab is an important component to achieving our vision for the future of comms

Cision, today announced the opening of a new global innovation and research center to fuel the ongoing development of groundbreaking technology for the communications industry. The Cision Innovation Lab, with locations in New York City and Berlin, is designed to build, test, and launch cutting-edge technology that helps communicators unify data, processes, and analysis to transform the comms function. The Lab will serve as a testing ground for integration of acquired technology into the Cision Communications Cloud®, as well as the integration of the Cision Comms Cloud™ with industry-leading marketing and advertising technology from around the world.

The research center will also focus on the creation of industry-standard frameworks and approaches that follow the best practices of Earned Media Management, helping to transform the comms function into a business driver.

Currently, Cision is a leading global provider of earned media software and services to public relations and marketing communications professionals.

At the time of this announcement, Kevin Akeroyd, Cision CEO, said, “Cision is building transformative technology to enable a modern communications industry – one where comms is realized as one of the most valuable assets within an organization.”

Read Also: Interview with Jim Misuraca, VP Strategic Alliances at Decibel

Kevin added, “We led the charge for a new era with our breakthrough Communications Cloud,  and the Cision Innovation Lab is an important component to achieving our vision for the future of comms. We’re taking a new approach to innovation, helping global communications professionals to more holistically connect earned media with paid and owned media.”

The Cision Innovation Lab will be led by David Barker, the company’s President of Data and Innovation. Under Barker’s leadership, the Lab will focus on anticipating and solving the communication industry’s challenges through product development, strategic acquisitions, and select partnerships with organizations in the paid and owned media spaces, including MediaMath® and LiveRamp®.

Read More: A Marketer’s Glossary to Blockchain

The research center will be used to build and beta-test different communications use cases and solutions. Four primary centers of testing and development within the Lab environment include:

  • Quants: Enabling communicators to access data, metrics, and measurement to validate the importance of earned media as a business driver.
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI): Bringing efficiency, scalability, and deep insights to both the day-to-day functions and overarching comms strategies.
  • Graph: Allowing communicators to visualize and act on the interconnectivity of key influencers, content and target audiences.
  • Media: Integrating with the broader martech environment to extend and connect earned media to paid and owned channels.

“Communications and public relations are rapidly evolving,” noted Barker. “Today, more than ever, comms and PR professionals are being asked to produce data-driven results that align with core business metrics. The Cision Innovation Lab will provide the ongoing development and innovation needed to set new standards of measurement and integration to continue validating the importance of earned media.”

Cision’s software allows users to identify key influencers, craft and distribute strategic content, and measure meaningful impact. Cision has over 4,000 employees with offices in 19 countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.

Recommended: The Four Elements of Excellent Customer Service

Solo Travel Awards Winners Announced; Best Practices for Market Revealed

STS News Desk
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Solo Travel Awards Winners Announced; Best Practices for Market Revealed
Solo travelers can look for these badges as an indicator of a company that serves solo travelers well.
Solo travelers can look for these badges as an indicator of a company that serves solo travelers well.

Multiple reports show solo travel continues to rise.

Against a backdrop of shifting demographics and marked changes in evolving travel trends across generations, Solo Traveler, the definitive resource and community for those who travel alone, today announced the results of the 2018 Solo Travel Award

Solo travel has been growing since 2013 and shows no evidence of slowing down.

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A recent report showed that 25% of those surveyed planned to travel alone in 2018, up from 15% only 5 years earlier.

Searches for “solo female travel” grew by 52% between 2016 and 2017. 40% of global Baby Boomers having taken a solo trip in the last year, and a further 21% are planning to take one in the future.

Read More: NoHold’s Artificial Intelligence Alleviates Live Chat Shortcomings

The Solo Travel Awards are designed to acknowledge companies that are effectively serving the solo traveler.

Today’s results show the marketplace trendsetters. This year, for the first time, awards are being given in the River Cruise and Ocean Cruise categories.

Judges, Selection Criteria, and Winners

With the support of their premier sponsor, World Nomads, Solo Traveler enlisted the expertise of esteemed judges and influencers in the sector to deliver the Solo Travel Awards.

Read Also: Dialpad + TalkIQ To Bring Voice-Driven AI To Business Communications

The judges of the Solo Travel Awards include:
  • Hilton, travel editor, San Francisco Chronicle
  • Keith Jenkins, CEO, iambassador and publisher, Velvet Escape
  • Tracey Nesbitt, editor and contributor, Solo Traveler
  • Lola (Akinmade) Åkerström, award-winning writer and photographer
  • Su Höller, solo traveler and Destination & Influencer Marketing for Graz Tourist Office
The selection criteria for the awards included:
  • How well companies cater to solo travelers in terms of a single supplement
  • Whether prices are published based on single occupancy or only double occupancy
  • Whether solo spaces are limited and if so, how many are allocated for solo travelers
  • Whether special services for solo travelers are provided before or during trips
Here are the winners by category:
  1. World Nomads Solo Travelers Choice Award- Adventure Canada
  2. Tours- Overseas Adventure Travel
  3. Specialty Tours(2 Winners) – Pravassa and Experience My France
  4. Solo Only Tours- Encounter Travel
  5. Ocean Cruises- Celestyal Cruises
  6. River Cruises- Vantage Deluxe World Travel
  7. Vacation Packages- Transat Solo Collection

“We’re pleased to see new companies nominating themselves for the Solo Travel Awards this year,” says Janice Waugh, publisher of Solo Traveler.

Janice added, “However, there are still too many barriers for solo travelers, despite the overwhelming evidence of the upside for the industry to serve this market. We’re going to continue to advocate for the solo market and are looking forward to using the insight we have gained from our global community to help companies capitalize on one of the most important and emerging travel trends.”

How Companies Can Increase Revenue from Solo Travelers

The awards pointed to both best practices and unacceptable practices, according to Solo Traveler.

  • Unacceptable – Most tours and cruises are sold based on double occupancy. When solo travelers book such trips, they are frequently penalized by a fee called the single supplement. This additional fee could be up to 100% or more, discouraging many people from traveling. With the number of people traveling solo on the rise, both travelers and travel companies miss out when there is a single supplement.
  • Barely acceptable – Room sharing is one way that tour and cruise companies suggest that solo travelers avoid the single supplement. Members of the Solo Traveler community consistently state that they find this objectionable. One person wrote, “I wonder how couples paired with other couples would like sharing with strangers?”
  • Best practice – Have a dedicated page on the website for solo travel and make it easily found in the menu.
  • Best practice – Price trips for singles and doubles so that it is easy for a solo traveler to determine their expense and whether they are being charged a single supplement.
  • Best practice – Special services for solo travelers such as welcome receptions, communal tables, closed Facebook groups for travelers to meet before departure, and extra support during free time on tours are being offered by leaders in the solo travel market.

Read More: NewVoiceMedia Named In FT 1000 List Of Europe’s Fastest-Growing Companies

Statistics on the solo travel market:
  • *Roughly one in four people say they will travel solo in the next year (2018) — and that’s on the rise, according to a survey of 2,300 people by marketing firm MMGY Global. Source
  • ** Searches for “solo female travel” grew by 52% between 2016 and 2017 Source
  • ***40% of global Baby Boomers having taken a solo trip in the last year, and a further fifth (21%) are planning to take one in the future. Source
  • Between August 2015 and August 2017, the number of searches on Google for solo travel grew by 58%. Source
  • The current western proportions of single-person households (e.g. 31 percent in the UK) are wholly unprecedented historically, even reaching to 60 percent or more of households in some modern European and North American cities. Source
  • 17% will try solo travel for the first time in 2016 according to a survey of more than 44,000 travelers by online travel company TripAdvisor. Source
  • Between 2013 and 2015 the percentage of people polled who travel on their own grew from 15% to 24% according to the Visa Global Travel Intentions Study 2015. Source
  • A 2014 Booking.com survey resulted in a Solo Travel Report that revealed 72 Percent of American Women are Taking Solo Journeys Empowered by Social Media. Source
  • 65% of US women polled by Booking.com have vacationed without their partners. Source

The awards are sponsored by:

Solo Traveler, established in 2009, is regarded as the definitive resource and community for those who travel alone. Over 300,000 travelers from 159 countries engage with the community every month. The Solo Travel Awards were launched in 2017 to recognize companies that are effectively catering to the solo travel market. The 2019 Awards will open in April.

World Nomads is a fast-growing online travel company that provides inspiration, advice, safety tips and specialized travel insurance for independent, volunteer and student travelers traveling and studying most anywhere in the world.

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