Former Gong CCO and Blackbaud VP of Global Customer Success brings 25 years of expertise to SOCi team, driving vision for digital marketing excellence 

SOCi Inc., the leading CoMarketing Cloud for multi-location enterprises, today announced Ben Brownlee as Chief Customer Officer. Brownlee's appointment comes at a pivotal time for SOCi as it continues to bolster its leadership team and build momentum in the market as a leader in digital marketing and customer success.

Brownlee brings 25 years of experience in working in post-sale functions, with a heavy focus on revenue-generating support and services, account expansion, and customer retention disciplines. He previously served as the Chief Customer Officer at Gong, overseeing the customer journey from point of sale, including monetization of services, renewal, and expansion accountabilities. Prior to Gong, Ben worked nearly two decades at Blackbaud—holding various leadership roles, including Vice President of Global Customer Success—as they scaled from a private $100M company to a $1B+ ARR publicly-traded global organization. 

"Ben's appointment to SOCi's award-winning success team underscores our commitment to invest in our customers' success, and to deliver an exceptional experience that matches the power of the CoMarketing Cloud platform," said Afif Khoury, CEO of SOCi. "With Ben's expertise and strategic guidance, we will build upon the outsized value we provide to our clients while driving tangible results, solidifying SOCi's position as a trailblazer in digital marketing automation."

In his role at SOCi, Brownlee will help build a strong connective tissue between product development, marketing efforts, and customer engagement. This approach is aimed at helping customers navigate their journey with SOCi in a clear and timely manner to ensure they get the most out of the company's platform and services, while also keeping them informed about what's coming next.

"I was immediately drawn to SOCi's unparalleled CoMarketing Cloud, exceptional team, and forward-thinking product strategy. The company's commitment to simplifying tech stacks and its innovative approach to customer success truly sets it apart in the industry," said Brownlee. "The knowledge our team holds is just as powerful as our platform. Marry that with the immense amount of data and insights we carry, and we're in a perfect position to drive key results for our customers and build on the growth the company is experiencing."

In the last seven months, SOCi has driven momentum in the digital marketing automation market and has assembled a leadership team of experts from tech giants across the industry. These include Ed Calnan, Co-founder of Seismic Software, as President and Chief Revenue Officer; Falk Gottlob, who held leadership positions at Microsoft, Salesforce, and Adobe, as Chief Product Officer; Adam Rochkind from Salesforce as VP of Customer Success; and Jennifer Gause from Upland Software as SVP of Revenue Operations.

Brownlee's appointment also follows SOCi's recent accolades from G2's Annual Software Awards, which include the company's #5 ranking for Best Marketing and Digital Advertising Products and top 10 ranking for Highest Satisfaction Products based on customer satisfaction ratings.

Vítek joins the leading video commerce platform as EVP, AI and Data to spearhead the development of enhanced user experiences

CommentSold, the leading video commerce platform, has announced the appointment of industry veteran Filip Vítek to the role of EVP, AI and Data. With Vítek at the helm, CommentSold will integrate advanced AI solutions into its full-stack video commerce ecosystem, developing features that enable retailers to quickly create new visuals based on existing content, augment their live sales and shorten the go-to-market time for new products. 

At CommentSold, Vítek will be responsible for driving strategic initiatives around AI and data analytics, leading the application of advanced AI tools to accelerate and optimize content creation, business marketing and management of retail operations. Simultaneously, Vítek and his teams will develop features that enhance the video content experience for users. He will also oversee the development of new data initiatives at CommentSold, which will aim to unlock new revenue potential for the company and promote financial agility.

"I am truly excited to join CommentSold, a company at the forefront of revolutionizing e-commerce through innovation in video commerce and retail management technology. CommentSold's commitment to fueling business growth with transformative solutions aligns perfectly with my passion for implementing artificial intelligence to drive tangible business impact,” said Vitek. “Together, we will unlock tremendous opportunities, shape the future of online retail and redefine what's possible in this dynamic industry.”

Vítek is a seasoned data leader with over 15 years of experience at retail and SaaS companies. Before joining CommentSold, Vítek served as ​​Senior Vice President, Data & Analytics at Europe’s leading online beauty retailer flaconi, where he led the company’s first-ever AI implementations in its e-commerce infrastructure. Prior to Flaconi, Vítek served as Director, Data Science & Marketing Analytics at remote connectivity software company TeamViewer. There, he built a team of highly skilled data scientists in analyzing the platform’s 2.8 billion-strong user base to extract compelling customer behavior insights, resulting in a significant boost in user monetization and satisfaction.

“Artificial intelligence is becoming a must-have feature for e-commerce solutions, and as CommentSold seeks to transform the future of online commerce, the ability to offer top-line AI solutions to our customers will prove vital to achieving that goal” said Gautam Goswami, CEO of CommentSold. “Filip’s vast expertise in AI will be an incredible asset as we create solutions that elevate the customer experience, streamline operations, and set new industry standards."

Vítek’s appointment marks yet another milestone in CommentSold’s growth as a video commerce pioneer. In 2023, the company announced its acquisition of Popshoplive, a community-driven live video marketplace, to bolster its e-commerce infrastructure for solopreneurs and content creators. The company also launched a strategic partnership with TikTok in preparation for the U.S. launch of TikTok Shop, which is expected to reach 33 million buyers this year. With its bold new investment in AI development, CommentSold is doubling down on its commitment to serving its customers with the latest and most powerful technology.

Advertisers Still Heavily Rely on Third-Party Cookies for Programmatic; Publishers Increased Their QoQ Cookieless Revenue Across Most Categories in Q4

33Across, an addressable infrastructure designed for the open web, today announced findings from its latest “Q4 Programmatic Cookie Alternative Trends Report.” In creating this new report, 33Across examined programmatic transactions on its exchange to understand cookie alternative and third-party cookie trends among buyers and sellers in Q4 2023.

Current Trends in Third-Party Cookie Deprecation

2023 was quite a turbulent year for digital advertising as the industry experienced economic weakness, layoffs, and confirmation of Google’s third-party cookie deprecation timeline. However, during the second half of the year, positive economic indicators like stable interest rates, increased consumer spending, and continued job growth curbed the fear of a US recession.

Google's Privacy Sandbox has recently come under scrutiny in a report by the IAB Tech Lab, revealing gaps in the process of purchasing, selling, delivering, and measuring digital ads following the decline of third-party cookies. While Google's Privacy Sandbox aims to address some of these gaps, the IAB Tech Lab has highlighted additional areas needing attention. Google, however, has disputed the report, claiming it contains "many inaccuracies" and overlooks the broader objective of the Privacy Sandbox: enhancing user privacy while maintaining effective digital advertising.

33Across Exchange Insights

In contrast to the restraint we saw from marketers during the fourth quarter of 2022, the 33Across Exchange had considerable growth in Q4 2023. On average, advertisers grew their cookie alternative investment quarter-over-quarter (QOQ) by 13% in Q4, increasing their cookie alternative share of voice (SOV) by an average of 9%. Since Google announced it would begin removing third-party cookies on 1% of Chrome users, programmatic buyers have pushed to test alternative identifiers and solutions. However, advertisers still continue to focus most of their programmatic advertising buys on the third-party cookie due to ease of use.

Retail advertisers, in particular, have made significant strides in cookieless investments during the second half of 2023, allowing them to test new methodologies and reach audiences outside of third-party cookies (Safari, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and non-cookied Chrome) at efficient CPMs. Retail advertisers more than doubled their cookie alternative SOV year-over-year (YOY) in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Key Takeaways

• Cookie Alternative SOV Grew by More Than Double YOY for Retail Advertisers: In Q4 2023 Retail advertisers invested 26% of their programmatic budgets in cookie alternative inventory, up 117% YOY.
• Advertisers Still Rely on Third-Party Cookies for Programmatic: Advertisers had a 9% average QOQ increase in cookieless SOV in Q4; however, they continue to rely heavily on third-party cookies.
• Cookieless SOV Increase for Travel Advertisers Correlates to Revenue Growth for Publishers: Travel advertisers grew their cookieless SOV by 8% from Q3 with heavy investment from booking sites and a leading vacation rental company, leading to a 10% revenue increase for Travel publishers.
• Publishers Increased Their QoQ Cookieless Revenue Across Most Categories in Q4: Seasonal events like holiday shopping, sporting events, and entertainment increased cookieless revenue by an average of 17% from Q3.

SpotOn Marketing Assist solidifies SpotOn as the first point-of-sale provider to offer an automated restaurant marketing solution for email and social media campaigns 

• Simplifies email and social media marketing for independent restaurants, saving operators an average of 3 - 5 hours per week

• Leverages the power of AI to create and send automated campaigns designed to drive revenue and increase loyalty

• Provides deep insights into campaign performance and customer behavior

SpotOn, the top-rated software and payments partner for restaurants, today announced the introduction of SpotOn Marketing Assist. Designed to streamline the restaurant marketing process, SpotOn Marketing Assist is the first product of its kind to empower restaurants to drive guest visits and boost sales while eliminating the time and resources needed for self-serve marketing tools. 

For restaurant operators, marketing often falls to the back burner when managing the daily challenges of rising labor costs, fluctuating food costs, and meeting guests' increasing expectations. Independent restaurants can barely cover the cost of their front and back-of-house staff, let alone a dedicated marketing resource. With 90% of restaurant operators reporting their customers are more value-conscious than they used to be, restaurants need to build their brand and drive guest loyalty with value-driven incentives.

"SpotOn Marketing Assist is democratizing AI and automation technology for the independent restaurants who need it the most,” said Bryan Solar, Chief Product Officer at SpotOn. “Beyond empowering operators to set up automated campaigns, SpotOn is helping to drive repeat business while providing operators with data-driven insights they need to keep the momentum going and drive revenue all year long.”

Customization Campaigns & Effortless Setup

For busy restaurateurs, SpotOn Marketing Assist promises simplicity and effectiveness. Operators are prompted to answer a few quick questions about their business category, marketing objectives, deal preferences, time-based deals, and brand - all with the ability to change at any time. Business categories help provide marketing campaigns especially relevant to a restaurant's service type and guests, for instance, happy hours for Mexican restaurants.

Operators can select from multiple marketing objectives to increase online orders, in-person visits, phone calls, reservations, or all of the above. In addition, operators specify limits for discounting and specific shoulder periods to ensure they’re controlling costs. SpotOn helps operators ensure their campaign is aligned with their brand with font and color options and photo upload and selection. Operators just need to connect their restaurant’s Facebook page and add their Google Business profile.

SpotOn Marketing Assist syncs with the SpotOn Restaurant POS to generate email lists from the restaurant's SpotOn Order and SpotOn Reserve customers. From there, SpotOn Marketing Assist takes over creating a marketing campaign tailored to that restaurant and its goals. SpotOn’s marketing campaigns focus on creating a sense of urgency and demand through discounts and promotions. Operators can view, edit, or delete scheduled campaigns in the dashboard anytime.

According to The National Restaurant Association’s State of the Industry Report, more than 8 in 10 adults would take advantage of discounted dining on slower days or off-peak times to save money. To help operators leverage this opportunity, SpotOn created a “Slow Day Boost” revenue-driving campaign that allows operators to input their slow days and meal periods for SpotOn Marketing Assist to auto-generate a campaign with a limited-time offer (LTO) for those shoulder periods the operator outlined.

AI-Powered Content & Automated Campaigns

SpotOn Marketing Assist campaigns save time and money, shifting a manual marketing process into an automated one, with users reporting an average of 3 - 5 hours per week saved. Powered by automation, SpotOn Marketing Assist defines marketing events each month and then creates and schedules campaigns for these events. Using AI, SpotOn Marketing Assist creates the marketing campaign content, while the imagery is selected using the restaurant images uploaded or stock photography; both are generated based on the restaurant's pre-determined category, business goals, and specific event. For example, a March Madness campaign is created for a pizza restaurant wanting to drive more online orders.

Once the campaigns are set up and approved, SpotOn Marketing Assist takes over seamlessly publishing the restaurant’s campaign across their email marketing and social media channels. SpotOn Marketing Assist significantly improved restaurant email performance by 23%, with automated emails reporting a 9.55% open rate, compared to manual emails with a 7.79% open rate.

“Without SpotOn, I was doing marketing maybe once a month, sometimes skipping it completely when we were busy or short-staffed,” says Kim Dieu of Mi ‘N Tea. “Now it takes just 15 minutes, my customers are receiving relevant emails each week, and I’ve seen a significant increase in sales in recent months.”

Data-Driven Insights

As part of the SpotOn Restaurant ecosystem, SpotOn Marketing Assist’s deep integration with SpotOn Restaurant POS and SpotOn Order facilitates a seamless experience for guest redemption in person or online and provides operators with invaluable campaign performance data and customer insight. SpotOn Marketing Assist ties campaigns directly to revenue through the connection with SpotOn Restaurant, providing operators with a better understanding of their guest's preferences and marketing program performance.

In a review of early performance, SpotOn found that “Slow Day” deals are the top-performing redemptions, followed by “Happy Hour” deals and “Deal of the Month” campaigns, suggesting consumers are increasingly motivated and willing to change their dining times to save money.

Collaborates with Global Tech Leader, Wipro, to Advance the Next Generation of Data Classification with Scalable, Accurate Discovery and Sensitive Data Intelligence

1touch.io, a pioneer in sensitive data intelligence, today announced a strategic partnership with Wipro Limited, a global leader in technology services and consulting, to deliver comprehensive data protection solutions and contextual insights to enterprises worldwide. The collaboration brings together 1touch.io's Inventa platform with Wipro's expansive integration capabilities and global reach, transforming the way enterprises manage and utilize their sensitive data assets. 

The partnership heralds a new era in data management, characterized by advanced, scalable discovery and classification methods. This advanced approach leverages sensitive data intelligence to ensure that data is not only precisely identified and categorized but also protected and utilized in compliance with evolving regulations and privacy standards.

Under this agreement, Wipro will incorporate 1touch.io's Inventa sensitive data intelligence platform into its Data Security and Protection practice. This integration meets the growing demand for advanced data discovery and classification across various industries. It will enable enterprises to enhance their understanding and management of sensitive data, improving security and compliance while unlocking the data's full potential for business innovation.

"In today's data-driven landscape, effective data management requires agility, accuracy, and contextual intelligence," said Samrat Chaudhuri, Global Practice Leader at Wipro. "Our partnership with 1touch.io is a strategic move towards offering a comprehensive platform that not only identifies and secures sensitive data but also maximize its value. Together, we are establishing new standards in sensitive data intelligence, transforming how businesses protect and engage with their most critical asset – their data."

Zak Rubinstein, Chief Business and Strategy Officer of 1touch.io, added, "Partnering with Wipro, known for their deep technical expertise and strong client relationships, is a significant step for us. Their global reach and exceptional integration skills will not only broaden our market presence but also enhance the integration of our solutions into more sophisticated systems, increasing our impact across key industries. This partnership is a significant milestone in evolving our offerings and meeting the diverse needs of our clients worldwide."

Private equity executive adds finance and strategy expertise to CRM leader’s executive team

Act!, a leading customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation solution for small businesses around the world, today announced the appointment of Andrew Kane as Chief Financial Officer. In his role, Mr. Kane will be responsible for all aspects of the company’s global finance and accounting operations. 

Before joining Act! Mr. Kane spent over a decade at SFW Capital Partners investing in and advising software, information and other technology companies. Mr. Kane was responsible for leading the evaluation and execution of new investment opportunities, as well as supporting SFW’s existing investments, including Act!, Greenshades Software, Captify Technologies, Devada, GLG, Essen Bioscience, MD Buyline, among others. Mr. Kane previously served on the Boards of Act!, Greenshades Software, and Devada, and currently serves on the Board of Captify Technologies.

Prior to joining SFW, Mr. Kane worked at Gotham Consulting Partners, a management consulting firm specializing in private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Mr. Kane earned a B.S. in Operations Research and Information Engineering from Cornell University.

“Andrew brings invaluable expertise in SaaS strategy and oversight of B2B execution, as well as a unique awareness of our operations, having been a long-time Board member. His discipline and strong financial acumen will add new dimensions to our leadership team,” said Bruce Reading, President & CEO of Act!. “We are delighted to welcome Andrew to his new role with us, and look forward to his valuable contributions.”

“After working closely with the Act! Team over the last few years, I’ve seen the company’s growth potential firsthand,” said Kane. “With the recent advances in the cloud offering, alongside its long-standing market position and experienced team, there’s an enormous opportunity ahead and I’m excited to be part of it.”

A new era in web development, Flux is an industry leader in developing new partnerships in the content management space

Flux, a leading global decentralized technology company specializing in cloud infrastructure, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and decentralized storage, officially launches WordPress on its platform following a successful Beta phase that commenced in February 2023. This launch marks a significant milestone in making the most popular content management system (CMS), WordPress, accessible on Flux's cutting-edge decentralized infrastructure.

With WordPress commanding over 43% of the web – from personal blogs to robust e-commerce sites, its unparalleled ease of use, flexibility and extensive plugin ecosystem have made it the go-to CMS. The full integration of WordPress on Flux elevates these components, delivering unmatched speed, affordability, and usability for those launching websites with or without extensive coding knowledge.

“The full release of WordPress on our decentralized platform marks not only the fruition of relentless efforts but also initiates a transformative odyssey for web hosting and content management," stated Daniel Keller, CEO of Flux. "Through the seamless integration of WordPress into Flux’s decentralized infrastructure, we dismantle obstacles to high-performance, cost-effective web hosting, unlocking fresh opportunities for creators, entrepreneurs, and businesses worldwide. This release epitomizes our commitment to innovation, accessibility, and user empowerment, propelling us to pioneer a more open, efficient, and decentralized web."

The backbone of this innovative offering lies in Flux's extensive network, encompassing not only enterprise-grade nodes, but also nodes ranging from individual users to data centers, meticulously designed to guarantee peak performance for WordPress sites. This infrastructure addresses crucial web metrics such as bounce rate and conversion rates, which are significantly affected by loading speeds. Studies have shown a 32% increase in bounce rates when page loading time escalates from one to three seconds, highlighting the importance of fast response times for SEO effectiveness and overall profitability.

Flux's decentralized WordPress solution not only rivals but surpasses traditional hosting platforms' performance, offering a more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable hosting option. The ease of deploying a WordPress site on Flux, demanding minimal technical expertise, ensures accessibility for a wider audience, which is reinforced by extensive support resources helping to make the technology user-friendly and empowering for all.

Key features include geolocation capabilities for optimizing site performance based on user concentration, alongside built-in redundancy to guarantee maximum availability. With a four-tiered pricing plan that competes favorably with traditional hosting services, Flux delivers top-tier web hosting for all project sizes and budgets with accessibility at its core.

Flux is not just redefining the landscape of web hosting but stands as a pioneer in bridging the gap to a decentralized internet, offering a smarter, more efficient, and more cost-effective solution for the liberated web. This comprehensive release invites users to immerse themselves in the best of Web3 technology with the ease and familiarity of WordPress, promising a new era of internet use and accessibility.

AdPlayer.Pro streamlines Prebid ad integration with new header bidding platform functionality.

AdPlayer.Pro, a global provider of online video advertising technology has announced the release of new video ad server platform features, specifically aimed at the smoother integration of Prebid ads.

According to the official announcement, the newly-introduced functionality implies the platform users obtain the ability to configure video header bidding tags in a smoother way, compared to the so-to-speak "conventional", mostly manual setup. Namely, the AdPlayer.Pro video ad platform dashboard functionality enables pre-selecting a Prebid partner and setting up the required parameters flawlessly, without writing any code, as well as adding extra setup layers using the optional parameters, if needed.

In addition, the eCPM tracking capabilities in the Demand statistics report have been improved, ensuring the more accurate tracking of winning bid prices in the auctions.

As Natalie Romankina, CEO of AdPlayer.Pro explained, the new video header bidding capabilities can be a real game changer for ad ops specialists, handling the setup of numerous video ad tags for multiple Supply partners on a daily basis.

"With programmatic video advertising keeping its paramount share of the global digital ad market in 2024, the faster, and more streamlined configuration and integration of video ads into the publishers' digital properties is a Must. And we're happy to assist our business partners, ensuring their access to a full scope of enhanced technical novelties to simplify their operational routine, hence unleashing extra resources for the more creative tasks," she claimed.

Peculiarly, the newly-released video header bidding features have garnered high acclaim from AdPlayer.Pro's partners starting from day 1, who are noting the average 35% faster ad campaign setup, even among the junior, less tech-savvy ad-ops team members.

"We're more than content with our partners' positive feedback regarding their use of our new Prebid-enabled functionality. Expect more programmatic-focused features to enrich AdPlayer.Pro's video ad tech solutions in 2024," Ms Romankina claimed.

As known, the AdPlayer.Pro ad-enabled video player doesn't require any prior Prebid integration on the publishers' digital properties for the video header bidding setup - only the player JS code, which contains all required config parameters.