ListenFirst, a leading enterprise social analytics platform, has introduced Social Indexes for Sports—a groundbreaking tool tailored to help sports professionals navigate the rapidly evolving landscape and gain a competitive edge. This platform offers sports teams enhanced visibility, predictive insights, and refined analytics, providing a level of intelligence that promises to reshape industry standards.

Why Social Indexes for Sports?

• • As competition intensifies in the sports industry, understanding fan preferences and staying ahead of trends has never been more critical.
  • Social Indexes for Sports empowers teams by offering insights into what resonates most with fans, enabling them to make smarter, faster decisions.

• Key Features of Social Indexes for Sports

  • Athlete Talent Database:
    • Tracks athletes' social engagement and popularity across platforms.
    • Helps teams identify emerging talents and fan favorites, leading to more targeted marketing efforts and stronger relationships with influential players.
  • Press Monitoring:
    • Provides real-time media coverage insights, enabling teams to respond promptly to public sentiment and manage media events effectively.
    • Supports brand reputation and athlete image management.
  • Social Listening for Fan Engagement:
    • Captures conversations surrounding players, key plays, and trending moments.
    • Helps teams understand fans' reactions and design engagement strategies that are more authentic and impactful.
  • Social Indexes Across Teams and Leagues:
    • Covers over 500 teams and leagues, offering insights into industry trends and content performance.
    • Allows teams to anticipate shifts in fan preferences and refine their strategies based on broader industry trends.
  • ROI of Social Partnerships:
    • Measures the impact of social media partnerships, evaluates competitive performance, and analyzes historical data.
    • Provides actionable insights to help teams identify high-impact partnerships and optimize their investment in social media.
  • Content Insights:
    • Reveals which content resonates best with fans, guiding teams to craft content that strengthens engagement and builds a loyal fan base.

Why It Matters
Social Indexes for Sports is a game-changer in how sports teams strategize, execute, and measure success. It helps teams stay ahead of the curve by:

• Monitoring fan trends and adjusting marketing strategies based on deep analytics.
• Staying connected to the audience through authentic engagement and relevant content.
• Leveraging insights to enhance the ROI of social media partnerships and drive a stronger presence in the sports landscape.

ListenFirst's Social Indexes for Sports is a powerful tool that equips sports teams with the intelligence they need to navigate challenges and thrive in the fast-paced world of sports. By offering comprehensive insights into fan engagement, media trends, and partnership performance, the platform is set to redefine how teams connect with their audiences and approach the competitive sports environment.

Iterable, the AI-powered customer communication platform, has unveiled its Winter Product Release, packed with innovative AI capabilities designed to empower marketers. These new tools help brands forge stronger connections with customers, optimize marketing efforts, and unlock growth in an increasingly competitive environment. Leading global brands like Ooni Pizza Ovens and Travelex are already experiencing transformative results, thanks to features like AI-powered Frequency Optimization, AI-powered Brand Affinity Insights, and Journey Performance Recommendations.

• AI-Powered Frequency Optimization

  • In today’s cluttered digital space, customers often unsubscribe due to receiving too many messages. Iterable’s Frequency Optimization is designed to help marketers strike the perfect balance by adjusting message cadence for each individual user.
  • This tool ensures timely communication without overwhelming customers, with the flexibility to override frequency settings for specific campaigns when needed.
  • Case Study: Ooni's marketing team has leveraged Frequency Optimization to fine-tune message delivery, resulting in improved engagement, fewer unsubscribes, and stronger long-term customer relationships.

• Strengthening Customer Loyalty with Brand Affinity Insights

  • Understanding customer sentiment and loyalty is crucial for sustained business growth. Iterable's AI-powered Brand Affinity Insights helps marketers analyze the impact of their campaigns on customer sentiment, loyalty, and disengagement.
  • By offering a dynamic view of customer relationships, this tool helps brands proactively reduce churn and build deeper connections with their audience.
  • Case Study: Travelex is using Brand Affinity Insights to track loyalty trends and improve customer engagement, ensuring more meaningful interactions with their campaigns.

• Journey Performance Recommendations for Seamless Campaign Execution

  • Today’s customers expect personalized, flawless experiences across their journey with a brand. Iterable’s Journey Performance Recommendations optimize the marketing journey by identifying potential bottlenecks and providing actionable, one-click optimization suggestions.
  • This AI tool ensures that messages are delivered on time, without technical complexity, improving overall campaign performance and reducing the time marketing teams spend on manual adjustments.
  • The tool helps marketers achieve more efficient, higher-performing campaigns, driving faster and more relevant customer interactions.

Why It Matters
Iterable’s Winter Product Release introduces a suite of AI-driven features that enable marketers to stay ahead in a competitive digital landscape. These capabilities allow for:

• More precise control over message frequency and content, enhancing customer engagement without overwhelming them.
• A deeper understanding of customer loyalty, ensuring that campaigns foster long-lasting relationships.
• Optimized performance and efficiency across marketing journeys, making campaign execution smoother and more effective.

Iterable’s Winter Release is a game-changer for marketers looking to elevate their customer communication strategies. The introduction of AI-powered tools like Frequency Optimization, Brand Affinity Insights, and Journey Performance Recommendations empowers marketing teams to deliver personalized, high-impact experiences that drive growth and foster loyalty. As global brands continue to leverage these innovations, Iterable is redefining the possibilities for modern, agile marketing.

Grammarly, the trusted AI assistant for writing, has announced its intention to acquire Coda, a productivity platform. The acquisition will bring together the strengths of both companies to transform Grammarly into a comprehensive AI-powered productivity platform. This move aims to create smarter, faster workflows, leveraging both companies' advanced AI tools to help users work more efficiently.

Key Developments

1. Strategic Acquisition of Coda

• Grammarly has revealed plans to acquire Coda, a flexible AI-driven productivity platform.
• Shishir Mehrotra, Coda’s CEO, will take the helm at Grammarly.
• This acquisition aims to enhance Grammarly's AI capabilities, making it a broader productivity platform for apps and agents.

2. The AI Revolution in the Workplace

• AI is rapidly changing business applications and workflows, with 25% of enterprises expected to deploy AI agents by 2025.
• Companies are increasingly integrating AI to enhance productivity and business outcomes.
• Grammarly's integration of AI agents will streamline workflows and improve enterprise performance.

3. Complementary Product Offerings

• Grammarly's AI-powered tools, such as plagiarism detection and proofreading, are widely used by millions of people across 500,000 applications.
• Coda's productivity suite, Coda Docs, has gained significant traction with major companies like Figma and DoorDash.
• The integration of Coda Brain, which unites company knowledge, will add value to Grammarly’s platform.

4. Future Vision: AI and Human Collaboration

• Grammarly’s AI assistant will become more contextually aware, integrating knowledge from Coda Brain to offer personalized experiences.
• The vision is to create a seamless AI productivity platform, bringing together AI and human collaboration across various enterprise applications.
• Grammarly and Coda aim to redefine productivity by creating tools that help users work smarter and faster.

The acquisition of Coda by Grammarly marks an important step toward reshaping the future of work. By combining Coda’s AI-powered productivity tools with Grammarly’s writing assistant, the two companies will create an integrated AI productivity platform that helps businesses boost productivity, reduce costs, and streamline workflows. As AI continues to transform the way we work, this partnership is set to lead the way in delivering smarter, more efficient business solutions.

Monotype, a leader in type and technology, recently released new research that examines how creatives and designers worldwide are responding to the rise of AI and AI-enabled tools within the design industry. The study, which surveyed 4,777 graphic designers, type designers, and brand leaders across multiple countries, also explores font licensing, design priorities, and the growing impact of AI on design workflows. The results reveal that while the design industry continues to evolve, typography remains central to creative decision-making.

Key Findings

1. AI in the Design Industry

• Positive Outlook on AI: 91% of designers and creatives believe AI and AI tools can be useful in the type industry.
• Optimism vs Pessimism: Only 21% are pessimistic about AI’s impact, while 75% are either optimistic (34%), neutral (23%), or undecided (18%).
• Key AI Applications:
  • Visualizing typography in real-world scenarios: 45%
  • Font pairings: 45%
  • Streamlining routine design tasks: 43%
  • Discovering new fonts: 43%

2. Typography's Ongoing Importance

• Typography continues to play a central role in design, with 83% of respondents ranking font selection among the top three components of their creative process.
• 75% of respondents consider choosing a distinctive typeface crucial for shaping a brand’s identity.

3. Subscription-Based Design Platforms

• Usage of Design Subscriptions: 89% of designers currently use subscription-based design tools like Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, Shutterstock, and Monotype Fonts.
• Average Number of Subscriptions: Designers hold an average of four design-related subscriptions.
• Font Choice Limitations: 42% of respondents report that their brand or their client's brand is limited by the lack of font choices on social media platforms.

4. Monotype’s AI-Enabled Tools

• Mary Catherine Pflug, Senior Director at Monotype, emphasized how the company’s AI-driven tools help creatives make better decisions faster, especially when it comes to font discovery and pairing.
• Monotype's tools aim to reduce laborious tasks, enabling designers to focus on their creative goals.

The research by Monotype highlights the growing acceptance of AI tools within the design community, particularly for tasks such as font discovery, font pairing, and speeding up routine workflows. Despite concerns about AI, the majority of designers remain optimistic about its potential to enhance creativity and democratize design. Typography continues to be an essential component of branding, and Monotype's AI-enabled solutions are helping to make high-quality design more accessible and efficient for professionals globally.

Madison Logic, a leading global platform for account-based marketing (ABM), has unveiled the results of a new Harris Poll survey of over 300 U.S. B2B marketing decision-makers. The survey highlights key trends in how marketers are adapting their strategies to meet evolving buyer behaviors and expectations, with a focus on new revenue-driving tactics and measuring marketing effectiveness. The results indicate that in 2025, social media advertising, AI tools, video, and podcast advertising are set to be the primary investment areas for B2B marketers.

Key Findings

1. B2B Marketers Seeking Innovation

• Driving Revenue and Measurement: 69% of respondents are looking for new ways to drive revenue and measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
• Key Investment Areas for 2025:
  • Social Media Advertising: 60%
  • AI Tools: 60%
  • Video Advertising: 53%
  • Podcast Advertising: 50%

2. Shifting to Younger Decision-Makers

• Millennials and Gen Z Leading the Change: 67% of global buyers making purchases of $1 million or greater are from Millennials and Gen Z, according to Forrester. These younger decision-makers are reshaping the B2B buying landscape.
• Social Media Shift: 64% of survey respondents plan to use B2C strategies and advertise on consumer platforms like TikTok and Instagram to reach younger audiences taking leadership roles in B2B.

3. Efficiency and Transparency in Decision-Making

• Preferences of Younger Decision-Makers: Younger decision-makers prioritize efficiency, transparency, and a quick purchasing process. They favor AI-driven insights to accelerate decision-making.
• AI Investment: Despite concerns about AI’s ROI in previous surveys, only 39% of respondents believe that AI tools will take too long to show ROI.

4. Effective Marketing Strategies

• Top Marketing Tactics:
  • Customer Stories/Testimonials: 58% prioritize featuring customer stories in their marketing.
  • Video and Captioning: 58% use captions on videos and animated ads.
  • Influencer Marketing: 56% implement influencer marketing strategies.
• Dealbreakers: The top reasons marketers lose customers include vague messaging (49%), poor targeting (41%), and ads that don’t resonate (40%).

Madison Logic’s survey underscores the growing shift in B2B marketing toward more digital and AI-enabled strategies. As younger decision-makers increasingly take the reins in B2B organizations, marketers must adapt their approaches by focusing on social media, AI, video, and podcasts while ensuring their messaging remains clear and targeted. With efficiency and transparency driving purchasing decisions, AI tools are seen as key to staying competitive, offering marketers a new opportunity to meet buyer expectations and improve ROI.

VeraViews, a leader in blockchain-powered advertising transparency, has partnered with AIREV’s OnDemand AI platform to revolutionize the fight against ad fraud. This collaboration combines VeraViews’ patented Proof of View (PoV) technology with OnDemand’s cutting-edge AI capabilities to enhance fraud detection and ensure greater transparency in digital advertising.

Key Features of the Collaboration

1. AI-Driven Fraud Detection

• Autonomous Workflow Automation: OnDemand’s intelligent agents automate complex fraud detection tasks, reducing the need for manual intervention.
• Real-Time Data Analysis: By leveraging advanced machine learning models, OnDemand analyzes vast amounts of ad traffic data in real-time, identifying fraudulent patterns with precision.
• Customizable AI Agents: These agents are tailored to VeraViews’ system, enhancing their Proof of View technology to detect anomalies and ensure ad impressions are legitimate.

2. Enhanced Reporting and Insights

• Actionable Insights: The integration of OnDemand allows for detailed reporting and data visualization, helping advertisers and publishers optimize campaigns and better understand their traffic.
• Scalability and Flexibility: OnDemand supports high-volume data processing with zero latency, ensuring smooth operations even during peak traffic periods.

3. Transparency and Trust in Ad Campaigns

• Unmatched Accuracy: The combination of VeraViews' PoV technology and OnDemand’s AI platform ensures that fraud detection is more accurate and transparent, offering reliable, auditable campaign statistics.
• Ad Fraud Mitigation: The partnership directly addresses ad fraud, a persistent challenge for the advertising industry, by providing secure and trustworthy solutions.

Industry Impact

1. Redefining Ad Fraud Detection

• The collaboration between VeraViews and OnDemand sets a new benchmark for transparency and fraud detection in digital advertising, redefining industry standards.

2. Global Expansion

• The partnership aligns with VeraViews’ ongoing expansion, including its recent move into the UAE under the Ministry of Economy’s NextGen FDI programme, signaling a broader global impact.

The strategic alliance between VeraViews and OnDemand enhances ad fraud detection and sets a new standard for transparency in digital advertising. With AI-driven fraud detection, real-time insights, and customizable agents, the partnership is poised to deliver secure, trustworthy advertising solutions and significantly reduce ad fraud across the industry.

LivePerson, a leader in conversational AI and digital transformation, has appointed two experienced board members: Dan Fletcher and Karin-Joyce (KJ) Tjon. These additions are expected to bring valuable expertise to the company as it pursues its strategic goals and enhances shareholder value.

1. New Board Appointments:

• Dan Fletcher and K.J. Tjon join LivePerson’s Board of Directors.
• Both bring extensive experience in financial, strategic, and operational transformations, particularly in the SaaS sector.

2. Dan Fletcher’s Expertise:

• Over 17 years of experience in financial and strategic leadership in SaaS.
• Currently serves as CFO of Planful, and Operating Principal at Vector Capital Management, LivePerson’s largest investor.
• Previously CFO at MarkLogic and currently serves on the board of Gappify.

3. Karin-Joyce (K.J.) Tjon’s Expertise:

• 25+ years of executive and board leadership in technology and SaaS industries.
• Proven track record in business transformation, turnaround management, and financial restructuring.
• Held senior roles such as CFO at Alorica and President/COO at Scientific Games.
• Serves on the boards of Solidion Technology, Inc., and Volcon, Inc.

4. Board Composition and Shareholder Approval:

• The new appointments bring the total number of directors on LivePerson’s board to eight.
• Seven of the eight members are independent, and six have joined in the last two years.
• Shareholder approval was obtained during LivePerson’s annual meeting.

With the addition of Dan Fletcher and K.J. Tjon to the Board of Directors, LivePerson strengthens its leadership with deep expertise in financial and strategic areas, ensuring continued growth and enhanced shareholder value.

Dynata, a trusted leader in first-party data, has appointed Deirdre Thomas as its new Chief Product Officer. Effective January 6, 2025, Thomas will play a critical role in shaping Dynata's product strategy and innovation, reporting directly to CEO Mike Petrullo.

1. Deirdre Thomas' New Role at Dynata:

• Thomas will lead the company’s product strategy and innovation efforts.
• She joins Dynata's Executive Leadership Committee, reporting to CEO Mike Petrullo.
• Thomas will be responsible for enhancing Dynata’s data, media measurement, and activation products.

2. Thomas’ Impressive Career:

• Previously, Thomas spent 13 years at Nielsen, serving as Chief Product Officer for Nielsen Audience Measurement.
• Led global audience measurement product strategy, user experience design, client enablement, and business development.
• Held a variety of roles in product sales, research, and digital product development.
• Began her career as a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

3. Dynata’s Strategic Appointment:

• CEO Mike Petrullo emphasizes Thomas’ visionary leadership and alignment with Dynata’s commitment to quality.
• Her expertise in navigating the evolving media landscape will help accelerate growth across Dynata’s product portfolio.
• Dynata aims to fuel further innovation and growth in 2025 and beyond.

Deirdre Thomas' appointment as Chief Product Officer marks a key strategic move for Dynata, bringing invaluable experience and vision to drive continued product innovation and growth in the dynamic data and media landscape.