Merger uniquely positions MRP to accelerate its position as a key challenger in the B2B demand generation and intent data space.

MRP, a leading global account intelligence provider, and CONTENTgine, a forefront provider of B2B technology buyer insights and lead generation, today announced that the companies have completed a merger, whereby CONTENTgine combines with MRP to become a top-tier provider in the B2B intent engagement signals and full-funnel demand generation services industry. This combination will establish MRP as an end-to-end provider that covers the entire B2B technology sales and marketing process. This includes demand generation across all stages of the buyer's journey, integrated multi-channel solutions, proprietary first-party down-funnel intent buying signals, and sales pipeline activations. 

Additionally, the new company will be a leading partner in down-funnel intent signals and targeting solutions:

• New audience reach to: 270m+ contacts across 25m+ global companies that will provide customer campaigns with increased scale.
• Combination of 1^st-party data signals, including roof-top mobile data, tracking across 650+ product intent categories, engagement from more than 100 branded newsletters, and 500k+ monthly B2B asset downloads to improve customer campaign targeting and return on investment.

The organic, permission-based audience is driven by the use of AI and machine learning by matching suitably targeted content with contacts, ensuring industry-leading engagement levels. “The addition of CONTENTgine’s solutions and first-party data will accelerate MRP’s strategic roadmap by allowing it to continue to innovate market-leading products, offer customers end-to-end solutions, grow profitability, and expand its 1^st-party signal universe, driving measurable outcomes at all phases of the buyer journey,” said Christopher Rack, Chief Executive Officer of MRP. “Currently, too much of the intent space is focused on identifying companies with ‘intent to learn,’ while this combination allows revenue teams to identify true ‘intent to purchase’ activity that will power highly targeted campaigns resulting in more revenue and value for our customers.”

Gurdeep Chimni, Co-founder of CONTENTgine, added, “Our combined intent signal technologies and delivery infrastructures will empower us to accelerate the development of novel down-funnel buying signal data products that, in turn, power a new class of demand creation and targeting solutions.”

The Strategic Advantages:

• Increased Intent Signal Scale and Diversification: Combining MRP’s first-party intent data, which includes confirmed project details, review and case study interactions, and contextual website engagement, with CONTENTgine’s exclusive first-party content engagement signals, will introduce a unique targeting engine to the market. This engine will gather millions of B2B audience interactions to generate detailed signals at the location level for optimal and timely campaign targeting.
• Comprehensive Global Audience Reach: MRP and CONTENTgine’s combined global audiences now provide greater scale across North America, LATAM, EMEA, and APAC markets with a combined reach of 270m+ contacts across 25m+ companies.
• Product Expansion to Support All Phases of Go-To-Market for B2B Revenue Teams: The product suite covers revenue teams with digital and offline capabilities at all phases of the B2B buyer journey and is suitable for sales and marketing revenue initiatives.
• Expanded Global Team Footprint Providing Campaign Localization: The combined employee footprint will span five continents and cover 15 languages across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. This expansion will speed up entrance into key markets, enhance localized campaigns, and boost customer campaigns' efficiency, accuracy, and return on investment.

“Today, we are creating a leading provider of B2B buying signal data and targeting solutions that will drive real business results for our global customers.” Added Mr. Chimni, “The application of generative AI to the consumption of content within the perpetual engine by our audience allows us to identify and articulate the needs of the buyer and deliver personalized demand solutions to our customers."

Lumen Technologies has named Ryan Asdourian as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. In this role, Asdourian will oversee Brand and Product Marketing, and Corporate Communications. He will report to Lumen President and CEO Kate Johnson starting next week and serve as a member of the executive team. 

Asdourian joins Lumen from Microsoft where, during 20 years with the company, he held product and marketing leadership roles with increasing responsibilities. He most recently led the company's Security business group, with responsibility for P&L, Sales Enablement, and Marketing across North and South America. Prior to that, Asdourian led Business Development and Marketing for the Microsoft Surface business group in the United States, and the Windows and Devices business group in the United Kingdom. Before that, he served as Technical Advisor to CEO Satya Nadella. 

"Ryan is a proven leader who has demonstrated a remarkable ability to link product capabilities with customer needs and market those products in disruptive ways," said Johnson. "He is uniquely suited to shape our brand and how we go to market to accelerate our return to growth." 

"Lumen is changing itself, changing the industry, and changing how customers connect to the world and succeed," said Asdourian. "This creates tremendous opportunities to shape our brand in all three of these dimensions, and I'm looking forward to showing customers what Lumen can do today and in the future." 

In a groundbreaking development to the ecommerce industry, Growify has announced the launch of its advanced marketing attribution software. This comprehensive tool empowers businesses by providing insights into their marketing performance. At the core of this breakthrough is Growify's all-in-one dashboard. The dashboard stands out by offering: 

• Consolidated Metrics: Gain a comprehensive overview of marketing performance as data from diverse sources converges into one unified interface. The dashboard seamlessly integrates with several platforms, including Shopify, Instagram, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and more.
• Fully Customizable Views: Tailor insights to the user's business objectives with ease. This feature empowers users to focus on the most relevant data, aligning closely with their strategic goals.
• Comparative Creative Analysis: Streamline campaign optimization by directly comparing the performance of creative content. This enables swift adjustments to maximize engagement and effectiveness.

Growify's software is designed to provide a single, intuitive platform that aggregates data across multiple marketing channels. This consolidation allows for unprecedented clarity, allowing brands to make informed decisions swiftly. Along with the dashboard, Growify's additional features include:

• Deal Tracking and Pipeline Management: These tools streamline sales processes, monitor progress, and capitalize on opportunities.
• Email Tracking and Marketing Optimization: Growify provides capabilities for meticulous email engagement monitoring, enabling marketing strategy refinement.
• Sophisticated Pixel Connection and Attribution: Advanced pixel connection and attribution technology ensure precise ROI measurement across all digital channels.
• Omni-Channel Ad Integration: Growify integrates with major advertising platforms, facilitating a cohesive marketing strategy across all channels.
• Creative Insights and Budget Efficiency: Growify's tools analyze performance metrics to refine creative strategies, ensuring optimal advertising budget allocation.

By equipping businesses with these essential tools, Growify addresses the need for precise, actionable data in the digital marketplace. This attribution software is not just about analyzing data; it's about transforming insights into a roadmap for success.

With its versatile features and adaptable nature, Growify caters to brands of all types and sizes. From the fashion realm, where Stag Provisions sets the standard in men's wear, to parenting essentials with Itzy Ritzy's innovative baby products, Growify emerges as an indispensable cornerstone. It even extends its reach to full-service digital marketing agencies such as Adspace, providing them the tools to help brands grow. Regardless of industry, Growify equips its users with the software to thrive in today's marketing landscape.

Looking ahead, Growify is committed to evolving alongside the dynamic needs of the ecommerce industry. The company invites entrepreneurs and businesses to discover how its marketing attribution solution can propel their ventures to new heights.

"Launching this software is truly exhilarating," shared Dan Ben-Nun, CEO of Growify. "It feels like we're opening doors to a new era of business possibilities. With Growify, we're not just providing a solution; we're igniting a spark for innovation and growth. We can't wait to see the impact it'll have on our clients' success stories."

Frank Slootman remains Chairman of the Board

Snowflake, the Data Cloud company, announced today that Frank Slootman has decided to retire as Chief Executive Officer and Sridhar Ramaswamy has been named as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors effective immediately. Mr. Ramaswamy previously held the position of Senior Vice President of AI at Snowflake. 

Frank Slootman will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board.

“As the leading cloud data platform, Snowflake is at the epicenter of the AI revolution,” said Slootman. “There is no better person than Sridhar to lead Snowflake into this next phase of growth and deliver on the opportunity ahead in AI and machine learning. He is a visionary technologist with a proven track record of running and scaling successful businesses. I have the utmost confidence in Sridhar and look forward to working with him as he assumes this new role.”

“In the last 12 years, Frank and the entire team have established Snowflake as the leading cloud data platform that is providing enterprises with the secure, scalable and cost effective data foundation and cutting-edge AI building blocks they need to build for the future,” said Ramaswamy. “I am honored to have been chosen to lead the company into this next chapter of growth. We have an enormous opportunity ahead to help all customers leverage AI to deliver massive business value. My focus will be on accelerating our ability to bring innovation to our customers and partners.”

Since joining Snowflake in May 2023 in connection with the company’s acquisition of Neeva, the world’s first private AI powered search engine, Ramaswamy has been spearheading Snowflake’s AI strategy. He led the launch of Snowflake Cortex, Snowflake’s new fully managed service that makes AI simple and secure for all users to quickly drive business value. Prior to joining Snowflake, Ramaswamy co-founded Neeva in 2019.

Previously, Ramaswamy led all of Google’s Advertising products, which included search, display and video advertising, analytics, shopping, payments, and travel. During his 15 years at Google he was an integral part of the growth of AdWords and Google’s advertising business from $1.5 billion to over $100 billion. Ramaswamy also held research positions at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, and Bell Communications Research (Bellcore). Ramaswamy was a Venture Partner at Greylock Partners from October 2018 until recently, and he sits on the board of trustees at Brown University.

In a significant stride towards revolutionizing Web3 infrastructure, Validation Cloud has proudly announced the successful closure of its first external investment round, amassing $5.8 million. Spearheaded by San Francisco-based Cadenza Ventures, this funding round exceeded expectations with contributions from an impressive roster of international investors, including Blockchain Founders Fund, Bloccelerate, Blockwall, Side Door Ventures, Metamatic, GS Futures, and AP Capital.

Alex Nwaka, Co-Founder of Validation Cloud, expressed enthusiasm about the funding, "This investment marks a pivotal moment for Validation Cloud as we aim to address the urgent demand for scalable and compliant Web3 infrastructure. We're honored to collaborate with our investors who are instrumental in propelling the global adoption of our platform among cutting-edge networks, developers, and asset managers."

Validation Cloud is at the forefront of Web3 technology, having developed an innovative system architecture that paves the way for significant advancements in the sector. Known as the "Cloudflare of Web3," the company offers a robust, scalable, and intelligent platform providing Staking, Node API, and Data services, drawing inspiration from Cloudflare's transformative impact on Web2 infrastructure.

Founded by veterans in the Proof-of-Stake domain, Validation Cloud boasts a team of highly experienced professionals from renowned organizations such as Uber, Workday, Deloitte, Citadel, Morgan Stanley, Binance, Crypto.com, Figure, R3, and more, emphasizing a talent-first approach with a worldwide workforce.

Kumar Dandapani, Managing Partner at Cadenza Ventures, highlighted the strategic vision behind their investment, "At Cadenza, we do not invest in just any company; we invest in the future of transformative technologies. Validation Cloud's pioneering role in Proof-of-Stake and their relentless pursuit of next-generation Web3 infrastructure have set them apart as leaders in the Web3 space."

Aly Madhavji, Managing Partner at Blockchain Founders Fund, shared his thoughts on the investment, "We believe in the transformative power of Web3 and its ability to redefine how businesses operate. Investing in Validation Cloud aligns perfectly with our vision of supporting innovative platforms that are ready to lead the next wave of digital transformation."

Validation Cloud has earned a reputation for its close partnerships with networks from their nascent stages, supporting a wide array of ecosystems from established ones like Chainlink, Hedera, and Stellar to emerging networks such as Aptos, Eigenlayer, and Berachain. Their platform lays the groundwork for the enterprise adoption of networks, positioning Validation Cloud as a key player in the Web3 infrastructure landscape.

New purpose-built venue and event management software, scaled to meet the needs of small and midsized venues. 

Momentus Technologies, a renowned leader in venue and event management SaaS solutions, proudly announces the debut of Momentus Prime, a product tailored explicitly for venues in the small to midsize business (SMB) market. Prime introduces a groundbreaking suite of features, offering SMBs access to cutting-edge technology that has long been the domain of major enterprises, revolutionizing their approach to venue and event management.

SMB venue and event professionals are frequently tasked with maximizing output while operating within limited resources, as event and venue management inherently involves intricate, time-consuming processes that are further hindered by the inefficiencies of manual methods.

"Because of our rich history serving venues of all shapes and sizes, we know that those within the SMB space often utilize manual processes and inefficient systems, making it hard to obtain a holistic view of event operations and improve revenue growth," said Joel Sackett, chief product officer at Momentus. "With Prime, we're introducing a modern user experience with automated workflows, insightful reports and a single source of truth enabling organizations to focus their energy on captivating crowds with unforgettable experiences instead of manual or inefficient workflows."

Momentus Prime is a meticulously crafted technology solution that addresses the unique needs of small and midsized venues in the event management sector, with a focus on enhancing efficiency, productivity and revenue generation.

The comprehensive feature set includes:

• Full Visibility: Prime provides SMBs with comprehensive visibility into space availability, booking, inventory and event collaboration, all within a centralized platform. This enables better communication and informed decision-making, critical for successful event execution.
• Improved Workflows: By automating manual processes such as space requests and event details entry, Prime frees up valuable time for SMB staff to concentrate on strategic tasks, driving organizational growth.
• Revenue Maximization: Prime's advanced calendar boasts robust holds and avails features, empowering SMBs to increase bookings and optimize revenue streams efficiently.
• Unified Teams: With a modern, mobile-friendly user interface, Prime fosters seamless collaboration among SMB teams, allowing them to fulfill their duties efficiently, irrespective of their location.
• Enhanced Efficiency: SMBs can leverage Prime to access a complete view of event timelines and track related activities and resources seamlessly. This streamlines operations and eliminates inefficiencies, enhancing overall productivity.
• Robust Reporting: Prime equips SMBs with detailed, intelligent reports and dashboards, offering valuable insights to optimize event planning, resource allocation and staffing decisions.

"We are thrilled to introduce Prime, our latest SaaS offering tailored specifically for SMBs in the venue and event management industry," said Alex Alexandrov, chief executive officer at Momentus Technologies. "With Prime's cutting-edge technology, SMBs can harness automation, data-driven insights and seamless collaboration to elevate their event management processes and drive business growth."

Momentus Technologies remains steadfast in its commitment to empower businesses of all sizes with innovative solutions that transform how they manage venues and events. Prime signifies a significant milestone in Momentus' mission to democratize access to advanced venue and event management technology.

DV Fraud Lab curtails a scheme costing unprotected advertisers up to $7.5 million monthly

DoubleVerify, the industry’s leading media effectiveness platform that leverages AI to drive superior outcomes for global brands, today revealed the identification and mitigation of CycloneBot, one of the most extensive CTV ad fraud schemes ever uncovered. The malicious bot is capable of generating up to 250 million falsified ad requests and spoofing approximately 1.5 million devices daily, leading to an estimated monthly financial impact of up to $7.5 million across unprotected advertisers. 

CycloneBot employs new and enhanced evasion techniques to produce falsified CTV traffic across various platforms. One tactic involves spoofing longer CTV sessions for each device, which resembles the activity of real CTV users. This helps CycloneBot blend in with legitimate CTV traffic. The devices CycloneBot spoofs generate four times more traffic, on average, when compared to previous falsification schemes in CTV.

“CycloneBot represents a new level of sophistication in ad fraud. Its ability to mimic human behavior and evade detection has posed unprecedented challenges,” said Mark Zagorski, Chief Executive Officer at DoubleVerify. “Our Fraud Lab, in collaboration with Roku, has been instrumental in identifying, analyzing, and mitigating this complex threat.”

DV’s strong partnership with Roku played a pivotal role in mitigating CycloneBot’s activity. In the early stages of the investigation, DV’s Fraud Lab joined forces with Roku to leverage additional signals facilitated by Roku’s Advertising Watermark. The use of Roku’s Advertising Watermark allowed for the validation and confirmation of the spoofing activities by CycloneBot. The joint efforts highlighted the scheme’s connections to previous fraud activities and underscored the ongoing necessity for comprehensive protection against increasingly sophisticated invalid traffic (IVT). Roku confirmed it was not impacted by the CycloneBot scheme and no resulting fraudulent ad impressions were sold or purchased from Roku.

"Roku’s Advertising Watermark is proving to be essential in the fight against ad fraud," said Louqman Parampath, Vice President, Product Management, Advertising at Roku. "It ensures transparency and validation, safeguarding advertisers while enhancing the TV streaming experience. With DoubleVerify, we're powering a more transparent and fraud-free advertising landscape."

Revealing the CycloneBot fraud scheme is a testament to DoubleVerify and Roku's partnership in collaborating and conducting investigations into emerging ad fraud schemes within the CTV industry. Their combined efforts, merging DoubleVerify’s Fraud Lab with Roku’s Advertising Watermark technology, have proven instrumental in identifying and mitigating complex fraud schemes. Revealing CycloneBot underscores the partnership's value in securing the CTV advertising ecosystem and ensuring advertiser confidence.

DV’s Fraud Lab, powered by a dedicated team of experts, employs AI, machine learning, and manual review processes to identify and prevent new forms of fraud in real-time. The Fraud Lab continues to monitor emerging invalid traffic (IVT) trends and fraud types to ensure complete protection for clients in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

“As fraudsters adapt and refine their methods, so do our efforts to counter them,” said Roy Rosenfeld, Head of DoubleVerify’s Fraud Lab. “The discovery and mitigation of CycloneBot demonstrate our unwavering commitment to making the digital advertising ecosystem stronger, safer, and more secure.”

Affinitiv, a leading provider of data-driven marketing and software solutions to the automotive market, welcomes Andy Byrne as its new Chief Revenue Officer. With over three decades of experience in driving revenue growth and operational efficiency across diverse business landscapes, Byrne brings a wealth of expertise to the Affinitiv leadership team.

Throughout his career, Andy has demonstrated a strategic vision and hands-on approach in identifying growth opportunities, streamlining operations, and optimizing performance. His extensive background includes leadership roles at companies such as Ivanti, Fidelis Cyber Security, Openwave Messaging, and Infor.

"Andy's proven track record of generating revenue and taking a customer-centric approach aligns perfectly with our mission: drive the next-generation customer experience with innovative solutions that empower automotive dealerships to succeed in today's competitive market," said Adam Meier, CEO of Affinitiv.

Andy's focus includes strategic talent evaluation, recruitment and retention, go-to-market planning and execution, and revenue operations and optimization. He also has a strong background in sales, including sales playbook development, lead generation, enterprise and commercial sales, sales mentoring and coaching, sales enablement, and customer retention. His transformative leadership style and expertise in sales operational excellence make him a valuable addition to the Affinitiv executive team.