MikMak, the global leader in commerce enablement and analytics, has announced an innovative partnership with TrackStreet, the industry leader in brand protection. This groundbreaking collaboration combines MikMak's exceptional commerce insights with TrackStreet's top-tier brand protection, offering multichannel brands a comprehensive solution designed to drive unprecedented profitable growth.

Addressing Market Challenges

In today’s challenging market, brands face declining sales volumes and tightening margins. This partnership addresses these critical pain points by enabling brands to optimize their marketing expenditures. By connecting shoppable media and "where-to-buy" brand websites to in-stock inventory, the collaboration ensures products are sold through authorized retail partners and priced correctly across all sales channels.

Solving Industry Challenges at Scale

1. Unmatched Scale and Insights:

   • MikMak connects brands with nearly 10,000 retailers worldwide, while TrackStreet monitors over 165,000 websites and marketplaces. This partnership provides brands with insights and scale unmatched by any other provider, enabling critical business decisions based on statistically significant, category-level data down to the UPC level.

2. Statements from Leadership:

   • Rachel Tipograph, Founder and CEO of MikMak, emphasized, "Our commitment to empowering brands with unparalleled commerce enablement and analytics drives us to constantly innovate. Partnering with TrackStreet allows us to combine our actionable insights with their best-in-class brand protection, ensuring brands can connect every marketing dollar to in-stock products."

Unlocking Growth with Data and Insights

Together, MikMak and TrackStreet provide brands with essential retail eCommerce data and insights for understanding online and offline performance across various retailers, media channels, campaigns, creative assets, and audiences. This wealth of information enables brands to manage retailer relationships, optimize spending, and make data-driven decisions that accelerate revenue growth.

A Game-Changing Partnership

Andrew Schydlowsky, Founder and CEO of TrackStreet, stated, "This partnership with MikMak represents a monumental step forward for brands seeking full control and visibility over their sales channels. We’re equipping them with actionable insights and protection necessary to outmaneuver competitors and drive sustained profitability."

Expert Support for Maximizing Brand Success

MikMak and TrackStreet both deliver best-in-class support. MikMak offers flexible options for managed and self-serve users, while TrackStreet provides a dedicated team of brand protection experts for tailored solutions and hands-on service. Brands partnering with MikMak and TrackStreet will benefit from expert guidance to maximize the value of their investments, accelerate sales, and enhance profitability.

A Foundation for Future Innovation

Both companies have a proven track record of innovation, and this partnership sets the stage for even greater advancements. In 2024, MikMak launched major enhancements to its MikMak 3.0 platform, including a Headless Commerce API and a Shoppable Recipe integration. Meanwhile, TrackStreet introduced global eCommerce tracking capabilities and a next-generation AI-enabled action engine.

Coming soon, MikMak will introduce the MikMak Insights API, providing brands with enhanced access to performance data through Custom Report Builder reports, built on MikMak's powerful analytics engine.

Marchex (NASDAQ: MCHX), a leader in AI and conversational intelligence, has announced the phased rollout of its advanced AI solutions tailored for various industries, including automotive, home services, and healthcare. These innovative solutions are designed to enhance lead identification, assess lead value, and discover trending topics, delivering actionable insights that drive operational excellence and revenue acceleration.

Launching in Q4 2024, Marchex's vertical-specific AI solutions provide descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive insights to help businesses improve their return on ad spend (ROAS) and understand the key factors influencing customer behavior.

Key Benefits of Advanced AI Solutions

1. High-Value Lead identification:

   • Advanced scoring systems reveal the highest potential leads, enabling targeted marketing efforts.

2. Industry-Specific Customization:

   • Businesses receive insights tailored to their specific industries, ensuring relevance and actionable strategies.

3. Data-Driven Decisions:

   • Track emerging trends, optimize resource allocation, and make informed decisions based on comprehensive customer insights.

4. Marketing Optimization:

   • Industry-specific lead and appointment rate models enhance marketing campaigns, driving high-value leads.

5. Improved Attribution:

   • Segment target audiences and enhance automated bidding strategies using a combination of lead outcomes, values, and relevant topics.

6. Understanding Customer Topics:

   • Identify key topics and trends that are crucial for successful sales and an exceptional customer experience.

Insights from Leadership

“Marchex’s industry-leading AI solutions provide an unprecedented level of visibility into customer interactions, offering context that helps businesses understand lead value and outcomes,” said Troy Hartless, Chief Revenue Officer at Marchex. “As businesses strive to make informed decisions and achieve impactful outcomes, these AI solutions reflect our commitment to transforming customer data into a strategic advantage.”

With the launch of these advanced AI solutions, Marchex continues to position itself as a key player in the marketing technology landscape, equipping businesses with the tools they need to navigate evolving customer behaviors and drive success.

Litmus, a leader in email marketing, has announced a series of exciting new product features and platform updates designed to enhance the email marketing experience. These additions include Sender Authentication in Litmus Email Guardian, Animated Video and Image Carousels in Litmus Personalize, and more. With these tools, marketers can monitor emails for rendering issues, include engaging video previews, and create dynamic inbox experiences, solidifying Litmus's position as a comprehensive solution for email optimization.

1. Sender Authentication in Litmus Email Guardian:

   • With an average email deliverability rate of only 83.1%, ensuring emails reach the inbox is crucial. Litmus Email Guardian provides always-on authentication monitoring, proactively alerting users to deliverability issues and ensuring compliance with sender requirements from platforms like Google and Yahoo.

2. Animated Video Previews:

   • In a marketing landscape where over 90% of recipients desire more video content, Litmus simplifies video integration. Marketers can now include automatically playing video previews directly within their emails, engaging audiences without added complexity.

3. Animated Image Carousels in Litmus Personalize:

   • These carousels help marketers create captivating and interactive email experiences that boost engagement and personalization, making it easier to capture subscribers' attention.

Enhancements to Existing Features

• Litmus Extension:

  • This Google Chrome extension allows marketers to conduct thorough email testing across 100+ clients while adding open-time personalization elements seamlessly across various ESPs, including Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Oracle Eloqua, and Mailchimp.

• Scratch-Offs:

  • Enhanced customization options for scratch-off and reveal images allow for improved branding and call-to-action optimizations, making landing pages more effective.

• Template Organization:

  • New folders in Litmus Personalize Pro streamline template management, making it easier to locate and update templates as needed.

Insights from Leadership

"In today's complex email landscape, marketers historically have had to juggle multiple technologies to create exceptional emails. At Litmus, we've simplified this process," said Erik Nierenberg, CEO of Litmus. “Our email optimization platform addresses core email marketing challenges, empowering marketers to optimize every send, save time and money, and drive better results. We enable marketers to deliver impactful customer journeys that start in the inbox and extend throughout the marketing lifecycle."

These product updates and enhancements were announced during Litmus Live 2024, the premier annual conference for marketers. With over 6,000 attendees and more than 25 live and on-demand sessions, this year’s event highlighted the latest trends and technologies in email marketing.

Sprinklr, a leading unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform, has released compelling research on the 2025 AI priorities for enterprise marketing and contact center leaders. This research, compiled in the sponsored IDC Report: AI Everywhere Drives Intelligent Experiences for the Contact Center and Marketing Functions, reveals a shift in traditional narratives surrounding AI usage in these domains.

Key Findings from the Research

• Marketing Leaders Focus on Efficiency: With predictions indicating tightening marketing budgets for 2025, marketing leaders are seeking efficiencies through AI to optimize their operations.

• Contact Center Leaders Emphasize Digitization: Contact center leaders prioritize modernizing their customer service technology to integrate seamlessly into the broader customer and brand experience.

• Skills Gap as a Barrier: Both marketing (44%) and contact center (42%) leaders identify the lack of skilled employees as the primary obstacle to effectively leveraging AI.

Insights from Sprinklr Leadership

"At Sprinklr, we understand that AI and generative AI are not merely technological advancements but strategic imperatives that will shape the future of customer experience," stated Amitabh Misra, CTO of Sprinklr. "Our research with IDC highlights the necessity for enterprises to adopt AI to foster intelligent and empathetic customer experiences that drive satisfaction and growth."

Key Findings from Contact Center Respondents

1. Autonomous Customer Support:

   • 73% believe that AI-driven predictive analytics will lead to impactful 24/7 autonomous customer service and support by 2025.

2. Contextualized Engagement:

   • 67% expect that generative AI will enable contextualized customer engagement during service interactions.

3. Skills Gap:

   • 42% cite a lack of skilled employees as a significant barrier to leveraging AI in customer service.

Key Findings from Marketing Respondents

1. Personalized Content Creation:

   • 76% believe that dynamic and personalized content creation will be the most significant outcome from advanced analytics.

2. Unified Voice of Customer Program:

   • 72% emphasize the need for a cohesive Voice of Customer program to enhance marketing effectiveness.

3. Skills Gap:

   • 44% report a lack of skilled employees as the main hurdle to adopting AI in marketing.

Insights from IDC

"AI and generative AI are transforming the value exchange between customers and brands, with the potential to significantly impact future customer experiences," said Sudhir Rajagopal, Research Director at IDC. "However, many enterprises are still in the early stages of AI adoption, focusing on efficiency rather than creating top-line value. To transition from AI experimentation to widespread adoption, leaders must tackle foundational challenges related to skills, costs, and customer trust."

Actionable Guidance for Enterprises

The whitepaper outlines key steps for enterprises to prepare for the era of AI Everywhere:

1. Prepare Customer and Operational Data:

   • Enhance data infrastructure and governance for effective AI utilization.

2. Develop a Unified Customer Insights Fabric:

   • Integrate customer data across functions to build comprehensive customer intelligence.

3. Establish CX-Specific AI Governance:

   • Implement governance practices to ensure ethical AI use and maintain customer trust.

4. Focus on Cost-Effective Experience Delivery:

   • Invest in AI solutions that yield tangible business outcomes and collaborate with providers offering flexible pricing.

5. Address Employee Skills and Training:

   • Tackle foundational challenges related to workforce skills to maximize AI investments.

As Sprinklr continues to evolve in the AI landscape, the insights gathered from this research will help enterprises navigate their priorities and drive meaningful customer experiences.

DOmedia, the premier platform for out-of-home (OOH) advertising, has announced a strategic partnership with UniLED Software, a leader in digital out-of-home technology. This collaboration aims to enhance the planning, purchasing, selling, and accountability services for businesses of all sizes in the OOH space.

Seamless Integration for Enhanced Campaign Performance

The partnership integrates UniLED's award-winning UniLIVE platform into the DOmedia ecosystem. This integration allows for the automatic tracking, monitoring, and independent verification of over $2 billion in annual OOH buying executed through DOmedia, delivering invaluable insights into campaign performance.

Insights from DOmedia Leadership

"We're thrilled to work with UniLED to create a seamless, transparent process for our users," said Mike Cooper, CEO of DOmedia. "This partnership will further solidify the trust advertisers have in the OOH space, instilling confidence in their advertising campaigns."

Enhancing Transparency and Accountability

Ben Zloof, CEO of UniLED Software, highlighted the impact of their collaboration: "Our partnership with DOmedia brings a new level of transparency and accountability to their clients' digital out-of-home (DOOH) campaigns. By integrating our independent verification and reporting services, DOmedia's clients will have full visibility and assurance that their campaigns are executed as planned."

Driving Growth and Trust in the OOH Sector

"The transparency we provide not only strengthens trust between advertisers and the OOH medium but also delivers valuable data insights that can optimize campaign performance," Zloof added. "By combining our expertise with DOmedia's industry-leading platform, we are contributing to a more efficient and trustworthy medium, ultimately driving growth and confidence in the OOH sector."

The partnership between DOmedia and UniLED Software marks a significant advancement in the digital out-of-home advertising landscape, offering clients enhanced capabilities for monitoring and optimizing their campaigns with unprecedented transparency and accountability.

Iterable, the AI-powered customer communication platform, has announced the expansion of its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), featuring four key advancements: Smart Ingest for seamless data activation with Amazon Redshift, enhanced email deliverability through AWS SES, AI capabilities leveraging AWS Bedrock, and streamlined procurement via AWS Marketplace. With 85% of Iterable's over 1,200 customers globally leveraging AWS, this partnership significantly enhances personalized customer engagement for top brands like Redfin, IPSY, Priceline, Box, and Hipcamp.

1. Smart Ingest and Redshift Integration: Iterable’s Smart Ingest, developed alongside Hightouch, connects data warehouses like Amazon Redshift with its customer engagement platform. This integration facilitates efficient activation of user data for personalized marketing strategies, boosting the value of Redshift investments and maximizing marketing ROI.

2. AI Innovation through Amazon Bedrock: Iterable is enhancing its Generative AI capabilities using Amazon Bedrock, focusing on large-scale data analysis, natural language processing, and personalization. This development allows Iterable to deliver faster and more accurate predictions, thereby enhancing the value delivered to its marketing community.

3. Streamlined Procurement via AWS Marketplace: Iterable's launch on AWS Marketplace simplifies the procurement process for organizations in the AWS ecosystem, enabling businesses to discover, purchase, and implement Iterable's solutions efficiently, aligning with existing enterprise agreements and billing systems.

4. Enhanced Email Deliverability with AWS SES: The integration with AWS SES significantly boosts email deliverability for Iterable's customers, such as Hipcamp. Marketers can leverage SES to streamline complex email campaigns and develop custom solutions for optimized performance.

Insights from Iterable Leadership

"We're excited about the expanding partnership between Iterable and AWS, as we've seen firsthand the immense value both solutions bring to our marketing team,” said Carina Pederson, Senior Lifecycle Marketing Manager at IPSY. “At IPSY, we're laser-focused on delivering the most individualized and empowering experience for our customers, and Iterable has been key in our personalization strategy."

Shaping the Future of Marketing

Adriana Gil Miner, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Iterable, emphasized the strategic nature of this alliance: "Our collaboration with AWS transcends a typical tech partnership—it's a strategic alliance driving innovation and exceptional value." This partnership promises to yield cutting-edge solutions that address industry challenges and exceed customer expectations.

Commitment to Continuous Innovation

Iterable is dedicated to enhancing its team’s AWS proficiency, with an impressive 85% of its Solutions Architecture team currently AWS Certified, aiming for 100% by year-end. The team is also exploring new applications that combine Iterable and AWS technologies, such as the integration of AWS Translate to improve content localization across global markets.

The expanded partnership between Iterable and AWS presents significant opportunities for innovation and value creation in customer communication, empowering brands to deliver personalized and globally relevant experiences at scale.

Lumen Technologies has announced a significant addition to its board of directors with the appointment of Chris Capossela, effective immediately. With an extensive background at Microsoft and deep knowledge of the tech industry, Capossela's expertise is expected to bolster Lumen’s position as a trusted network for AI-driven enterprise solutions.

• Chris Capossela’s Industry Experience

  • Brings over 30 years of experience from Microsoft.
  • Recently held the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
  • Oversaw marketing across Microsoft's consumer and commercial sectors, including product marketing, business planning, digital direct sales, and retail partnerships.

• Lumen’s Vision for AI and Digital Transformation

  • Capossela joins as Lumen aims to strengthen its position as the premier network for AI.
  • Kate Johnson, Lumen’s President and CEO, emphasizes Capossela’s role in understanding customer needs in the digital economy.
  • His insights will shape Lumen's market approach and brand presence.

• Capossela’s Perspective on AI and Lumen’s Position

  • Recognizes the pivotal role of AI in driving business strategies for large enterprises.
  • Notes that businesses considering networking solutions increasingly view Lumen as a key player.
  • Sees Lumen’s infrastructure as critical to supporting enterprise-level AI initiatives.

• Background and Board Expansion

  • Capossela holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University.
  • Currently serves on corporate and non-profit boards.
  • His appointment increases Lumen’s board from 11 to 12 members.

• About Lumen Technologies

  • Lumen’s mission is to unlock the potential of digital transformation by connecting people, data, and applications efficiently and securely.
  • Provides a range of services, including metro connectivity, data transport, edge cloud, security, and digital platform capabilities.
  • Positions itself as a reliable network partner for businesses navigating the digital and AI-driven economy.

The addition of Chris Capossela to Lumen’s board underscores the company’s strategic commitment to strengthening its position in the AI networking industry. His background in technology and customer engagement will play a key role in guiding Lumen's growth and innovation.

Cordial, a top enterprise marketing platform known for its data-driven email, SMS, and app messaging, has appointed Jay Li as its new Chief Financial Officer. With extensive experience in tech finance, Li will play a pivotal role in scaling Cordial’s financial and operational strategies to support its ongoing growth and innovative marketing solutions.

• Jay Li’s Financial Expertise

  • Joins Cordial with a background in strategic financial management in tech companies.
  • Previously served as CFO at Recharge, a subscription service for e-commerce merchants.
  • Also held a role as VP of Finance at Acorns, contributing to scaling operations and refining financial strategy.

• Cordial’s Vision and Growth Trajectory

  • CEO Jeremy Swift emphasizes Li’s alignment with Cordial’s innovative approach to marketing technology.
  • Cordial has experienced rapid customer acquisition, adding renowned brands like L.L.Bean, REVOLVE, and PacSun.
  • Li’s strategic insight is expected to drive Cordial’s evolution and enhance its industry impact.

• Transformative AI and Multi-Channel Capabilities

  • Cordial stands out for its advanced AI-driven multi-channel messaging, positioning it as a leader in modern marketing.
  • Li expressed enthusiasm for Cordial’s data management and multi-channel capabilities, which set it apart in the martech landscape.

• Leadership and Cultural Recognition

  • Joins other recent executive appointments, including Amy Jerusalmi as Chief Customer Officer and Matt Elders as EVP of Revenue.
  • Cordial has earned top rankings from Comparably for employee happiness, leadership quality, and diversity, underscoring its positive work culture.

• Commitment to Transforming the Marketing Cloud

  • Cordial aims to disrupt the traditional marketing cloud market, leveraging innovation to meet the evolving needs of modern brands.
  • The company is dedicated to creating forward-thinking solutions that empower brands to engage their audiences effectively.

Jay Li’s appointment as CFO signals Cordial’s commitment to strategic financial growth and technological innovation. With Li’s expertise, Cordial is poised to continue its journey of transforming the future of marketing, helping brands thrive in a competitive and fast-evolving landscape.