In today's digital landscape, reaching and engaging high-value customers can be daunting. However, Path2Response, a leading provider of data-driven marketing solutions, is revolutionizing how retailers approach retargeting with its innovative direct mail solution.

"We have to mail smarter," states Maria Youth, Chief Revenue Officier at Path2Response. Maria emphasizes the need for smarter direct mail strategies. Path2Response unveils Path2Ignite, their innovative direct mail solution for retailers, at this week's eTail event. Path2Ignite is the only solution combining consumer buying behavior with custom modeling to address the challenges brands face in today's direct mail marketing landscape. By embracing Path2Ignite, retailers can:

• Unlock the power of hyper-targeting: Leverage deep household-level insights, predictive intelligence, and rich analytics to identify individuals most likely to convert and reach highly specific customer segments with laser focus.
• Hyper-target ideal customers: Maximize ROI: Eliminate scattershot approaches and ensure mail quickly lands in the right hands, maximizing campaign effectiveness and minimizing cost.
• Empower sales teams: Equip them with data-driven insights to achieve outstanding results.
• Nurture customer loyalty: Activate high-value segments, automate engagement, and foster lasting relationships with personalized lifecycle marketing campaigns.
• Drive Measurable, incremental results and measure the performance of direct mail campaigns, including comparative indexes vs. holdout panels, and insights for optimization.

Unlocking the Power of Data-Driven Direct Mail

Path2Response's solution goes beyond traditional, generic mailers. Leveraging deep household-level insights, predictive intelligence, and rich analytics, Path2Ignite fuels performance-driven direct mail campaigns that resonate deeply with retailer's target audiences.

"The future of marketing is demonstrably data-driven," says Bruce Biegel, Senior Managing Partner at Winterberry Group. "With investments in data-driven channels projected to reach a staggering $36 billion in 2024, retailers need innovative solutions to stay ahead of the curve."

Kent to propel growth as enterprises look to build AI faster with Clarifai

Clarifai, a global leader in AI development and a pioneer of the full-stack AI platform, announced today that Chris Kent will join as SVP of Marketing as Clarifai expands into more enterprises, enabling them to build and operationalize AI faster.

Kent brings decades of marketing and category creation experience to Clarifai, which has spent 10 years perfecting its capabilities to enable teams to build AI in minutes, not months, and unlock value instantly. Kent was formerly VP of Product, Solutions, Partner and Customer Marketing for Cohesity and VP of Product Marketing for HashiCorp, where he helped grow the company to over $300 million ARR and a successful IPO.

"Given the rapid rise of Generative AI, people might think AI just appeared a year or so ago, but Clarifai has been helping companies build and find value with AI for more than a decade. As companies shift from AI exploration and experimentation to a focus on ROI and value, they're faced with similar challenges companies went through with the migration to cloud" said Matt Zeiler, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Clarifai. "Chris has a long history of not only creating a company's story and of helping to build new categories, but also of engaging with developers in an authentic way that helps them find the solutions they need to make their companies winners. We're excited to welcome him to the Clarifai executive team."

Some of the world's best teams already build with Clarifai, including those at Humana, Lowe's, and NVIDIA. Additionally, the U.S. government is one of many Clarifai customers, proving that the product has been battle tested under extreme conditions with required precision.

"Clarifai is perfectly timed to establish itself as a leader in this category given the need of companies to quickly operationalize AI and stay ahead of competitors," said Kent. "Companies are struggling with skills gaps and hiring around AI, and Clarifai aims to empower companies to operationalize AI at scale, while reducing costs and risk, and reducing complexity around building and running AI, so anyone can do it. I'm thrilled to be part of Clarifai to build the next era of enterprise AI around the world."

Purchase enablement and digital shelf analytics solutions work together to create a seamless brand experience across the entire web, providing the most insightful ecommerce data on the market

PriceSpider, the market leader in brand commerce enablement solutions, which manages more retailer relationships in more countries than anyone else, today announced the next step in the evolution of Brand Monitor, its digital shelf analytics solution. The updates include new self-service tools, an enhanced price monitoring module, optimized, proprietary data capturing at scale, and AI-powered "auto-healing" capabilities  making Brand Monitor a one-of-a-kind solution delivering actionable insights while seamlessly integrating with PriceSpider's end-to-end brand commerce platform.

Brand Monitor, which saw a 43% increase in customer growth last year, mimics a shopper's browsing behavior evaluating product detail pages the same way a consumer would, and delivering the most accurate and relevant commerce data available in the market. It is unique in its ability to identify key areas for improvement, presenting visual proof through screenshots and providing links to inaccuracies, including unauthorized sellers and minimum advertised price (MAP) policy violations. This allows brands to collaborate with selling partners to optimize the buyer journey based on how shoppers navigate product detail pages. With Brand Monitor, brands can make decisions more rapidly and at scale, with market-leading data on MAP monitoring, imagery, content, price, stock availability, ratings and reviews, questions and answers, and share of search.

The new functionalities include:

• Brand Monitor Self-Service: Brands can add, edit, and remove products in real time to ensure marketing dollars and customer experience (CX) are always optimal.
• New Price Monitoring Module: A sleeker, streamlined user interface (UI) with eye-catching visualizations ensures data is presented in a clear and easily actionable manner, empowering brands to make informed decisions that drive purchases.
• Optimized, Proprietary Data Capturing at Scale: PriceSpider has unified its internal databases to integrate data across all solutions, including Where To Buy, Prowl, and Brand Monitor. Customers are now able to share data across the path to purchase with accuracy and freshness rates unmatched in the market. This will allow customers to leverage data from one solution to another so that their commerce enablement data can inform their digital shelf strategy and vice versa.

Additionally, Brand Monitor recently added AI-powered auto-healing, which PriceSpider developed to enhance its cutting-edge crawling technology. For two decades, PriceSpider's crawling technology has navigated thousands of ecommerce sites, delivering actionable insights that empower brands to optimize the customer experience. Now, through the power of AI, auto-healing is capable of deploying when any missing element is detected during a crawl to find and capture the missing data and teach its crawlers how not to miss it in the future.

"As the leader in brand commerce, we're always excited to introduce updates that we know will change the game for our brand partners," said Anthony Ferry, CEO of PriceSpider. "Our Brand Monitor solution is unique in its ability to protect brand integrity and create a consistent brand experience. It allows brands to optimize their digital shelf for conversion and make their products searchable and shoppable across the web. Our customers have seen unmatched value from our suite of products, and we're looking forward to leveraging the power of AI to make brand commerce seamless for even more brands this year."

Media performance optimized using Inuvo’s predictive artificial intelligence

Inuvo, Inc. , a leading provider of marketing technology, powered by artificial intelligence that serves brands and agencies, announced today its ability to deliver access to and measure the performance of Netflix ad campaigns across programmatic channels. The opportunity to leverage Netflix inventory combined with IntentKey’s analytics features presents a truly unique value proposition for advertisers.

Because third party pixels are restricted on Netflix, measuring campaign performance is extremely difficult. Inuvo’s integrated Performance Spend Analysis uses machine learning to determine the optimal spend levels across campaigns and channels including Netflix inventory. The just-in-time results are accessible through the IntentKey Insights Dashboard providing advertisers with out-of-the-box performance visibility into their campaigns.

“We recognized proving return on ad spend had become increasingly difficult for brands advertising on platforms like Netflix,” said Eric Tilbury, Inuvo’s Senior Director of Ad Operations and Solutions Engineering. “Our IntentKey team developed an innovative measurement solution capable of predicting performance without relying on user identification. For advertisers paying a premium to access the Netflix inventory and audiences, our technology and strategic insights are an invaluable combination that drives results.”

Inuvo designed its specialized measurement capabilities purposefully to address channels like Netflix where traditional platform measurement no longer works. Inuvo’s proprietary capabilities analyze a brand’s investment on Netflix, predicting attribution along the entire funnel ranging from brand awareness to site visits and online sales.

“Our privacy-first AI solution enables us to provide advertisers with the necessary tools to run successful campaigns, while still operating in a completely privacy-friendly manner that honors Netflix’s privacy goals while respecting end users’ privacy preferences,” added Tilbury.

Capterra’s global survey highlights generational tech preferences, indicating the need for customized strategies to bridge divides and find common ground in choosing effective workplace software.

Generational differences are often cited as a significant challenge when it comes to business software and technology. Yet, findings from Capterra’s 2024 Generational Tech Preferences Survey of over 2,700 global employees suggest that common ground exists across all generations currently in the workforce. Despite 38% of workers feeling that technology exposes generational gaps, the survey reveals a shared priority for fast, user-friendly software provided with adequate training and support.

Among those that believe a divide exists, they point to different levels of familiarity with technology (74%) and a resistance to change (69%) as the primary causes. Recognizing these differences and embracing the similarities can pave the way for more inclusive tech adoption.

“It’s easy to get hung up on how older workers and younger workers differ when it comes to technology, but the truth is they have more in common than one might assume,” says Brian Westfall, principal HR analyst at Capterra. “The only major distinction between workers of different ages is when it comes to emerging technology, such as AI.”

Half of Gen Z and millennial employees think artificial intelligence (AI) would improve their work quality or productivity, compared to only 35% of baby boomer employees. Conversely, 53% of baby boomer employees say getting used to new technology is a challenge at work, compared to only 30% of Gen Z employees.

Westfall suggests, “Older workers may be less enthusiastic about emerging tech and less adept at using it right away. This speaks to the importance of providing good training materials and taking advantage of reverse mentoring programs so younger ‘champions’ of this tech can get older workers up-to-speed faster.”

Adopting new technologies means guiding all employees, including those less familiar, without attributing their hesitation to reluctance or fear of replacement. Capterra’s research reveals a cross-generational agreement on the value of tech advancements for productivity. With 55% wanting faster and more powerful devices at work, the underlying demand for efficient software and comprehensive training is clear.

However, with just 15% of respondents feeling their tech preferences are always considered when their employer makes a purchase, it’s vital for businesses to align technology choices with their workers’ needs. According to Gartner, employees that are satisfied with workplace applications are 1.6 times more likely to want to stay and grow in their current organizations.

First-to-market innovation aligns MFA pre-bid avoidance with post-bid measurement settings, helping programmatic advertisers reduce media waste and maximize ad effectiveness

DoubleVerify , a leading software platform for digital media measurement, today unveiled its latest innovation in brand safety and suitability with the introduction of tiered “Made for Advertising” (MFA) brand suitability categories for pre-bid avoidance. This first-to-market innovation, integrated into DV Authentic Brand Suitability (ABS), complements DV's existing post-bid offering and provides advertisers with a full spectrum solution to maximize ad effectiveness throughout the media transaction.

“AI-driven MFA content has exploded over the last 12 months, creating a new set of hazards for advertisers seeking quality media performance. The introduction of DV’s tiered MFA brand suitability categories for both pre-bid avoidance and post-bid measurement offers global brands a unified, surgical solution to ensure campaigns are aligned with brand values from start to finish,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify. “Our dual approach not only safeguards advertisers, but also enhances media buying efficiency ensuring brand safety and suitability criteria are applied at every stage of the media buying process.”

DV's recently launched tiered MFA brand suitability categories are powered by a proprietary analysis process that combines human and AI-driven auditing to identify MFA sites accurately at scale. These sites are categorized based on a comprehensive evaluation of their ad monetization strategies, traffic sources and content creation practices. Depending on the extent of MFA characteristics, sites are assigned to one of three suitability tiers:

• MFA High: Identifies sites exhibiting the most extreme MFA content or characteristics, including but not limited to significant ad density relative to page content, a predominant dependence on paid traffic sources with little to no organic traffic, and an average ad intensity
• MFA Medium: Identifies sites with varying degrees of MFA behavior. For example, a site might employ high ad density relative to page content, but the average ad intensity might be near the DV benchmark.
• MFA Low: Covers sites or sections with a blend of MFA and non-MFA content – for example, sites where only a section or a subdomain exhibits MFA content or characteristics.

DV’s approach allows for the deepest and most nuanced level of analysis, preventing miscategorization and false positives. For example, a website may feature a significant number of ads, while still registering high rates of direct and search-enabled traffic. In this instance, the publisher would not meet DV’s definition of an MFA website.

“Our proprietary analysis process blends human insight with AI-driven auditing, and establishes a new industry benchmark in brand safety and suitability,” said Jack Smith, Chief Innovation Officer at DoubleVerify. “It reflects our product mandate to verify everywhere and address new emerging threats online ensuring DV’s customers can safeguard their digital investments and maximize their campaign outcomes.”

The collaboration will enable clients to enhance first-party data for better planning, targeting, activation, and measurement

InfoSum, the world’s leading data collaboration platform, today announced a partnership with one of the world’s largest independent media communications agencies, Canvas Worldwide, that will enable their clients to activate and enrich their first-party data. The partnership gives Canvas Worldwide clients in the automotive, entertainment, QSR, real estate and technology categories the ability to re-invent their audience profiling, planning, measurement, and optimization processes through secure data collaboration. 

Utilizing InfoSum’s data clean room technology, Canvas Worldwide partner brands will be able to connect their own first-party data to second- and third-party data sources – including media owners, identity providers and measurement specialists – ultimately delivering richer, more actionable consumer insights. This will allow Canvas Worldwide clients to better understand their audiences, enabling these brands to deliver personalized media experiences that connect emotionally with their target customers and build meaningful relationships with lasting loyalty.

As brands and agencies seek ways of targeting and measuring the impact of their campaigns in a privacy-first, cookieless world, InfoSum’s innovative controls, differential privacy techniques and patented non-movement of data approach, prioritizes consumer privacy at every stage. This means each stakeholder retains full control over their first-party data and consumer privacy is protected at all times.

“We continually look for partners whose commitment to client success, progressive solutions, privacy, and thoughtful data management match our own. InfoSum is that kind of partner and we look forward to introducing their privacy-first clean data technology to our clients,” said Kevin McEvilly, SVP of Technology at Canvas Worldwide. “Solutions that help address fragmented data sources, silos, and privacy concerns help clients and agencies get a much better view of their overall operational efficiency, customer behavior, and market trends. This comprehensive insight not only facilitates informed decision-making but also empowers organizations to adapt quickly to dynamic environments, enhance collaboration, and ultimately achieve greater success in their objectives.”

“InfoSum’s technology is revolutionizing the way organizations collaborate to reach their marketing goals, while protecting consumer privacy and data integrity of each party,” said Lauren Wetzel, COO at InfoSum. “Brands and agencies can unlock enhanced customer insights and segment profiling capabilities in partnership with publishers and enrich their first-party data by connecting to second- and third-party data sources available on InfoSum's platform.”

Tracksuit raised $13.5 million to prove the value of brand building and usher in the era of sustainable consumer brand growth.