Solution Provider News: October 2015
Amazon Adds Catapult, Integer and Mars
Seattle-based Amazon.com’s Amazon Media Group has selected three more agencies to join its Trusted Creative Partner program, marking the first additions to the six original partners named when the initiative launched in 2014. Westport, Connecticut-based Catapult was the first shop to be added in more than a year, and The Integer Group, Denver, and The Mars Agency, Southfield, Michigan, round out the new selections for a total of nine agencies. Joining Arc, DDB California, Epsilon-Ryan, Possible, Rockfish and Tealab, the new members also now have the ability to independently conceive, develop and deliver creative executions for Amazon-specific media campaigns across Amazon.com, Amazon’s mobile shopping app and sites, and Fire tablets with special offers.
IRI, Gigwalk Create Combined Solution
Chicago-based IRI has partnered with Gigwalk, San Francisco, to form an integration of IRI’s technology platform with Gigwalk’s mobile crowdsourcing solution to provide insights that CPG brands can use to support their in-store execution efforts. The IRI platform is a data management tool that offers real-time predictive analytics and insights, and Gigwalk has a network of more than 750,000 mobile-enabled independent contractors as well as a private distributed workforce management solution. Through the integration, CPG brands can get a real-time, comprehensive view into retail operations to ensure that initiatives at the store level are being executed correctly.
MaxMedia Launches a Digital Retail Lab
Atlanta-based digital retail experience agency MaxMedia has launched a consultancy practice in alignment with its creative services and designed to deliver measureable digital shopping experiences inside retail environments. MaxMedia Retail Labs will offer a mix of educational workshops, diagnostic systems, planning tools and quantitative shopper and business metrics. The consultancy aims to educate and inspire retailers to plan, activate and evolve measureable in-store digital solutions that target the emotional “buying brain” of the non-conscious shopper. “We are solely focused on helping our retail clients convert more shoppers to buyers with digital – period,” MaxMedia vice president of strategy Ed King said in a media release.
Email Alerts Provide Pricing Volatility Insights
Canadian provider of product intelligence for retailers and brands, 360pi, is launching a product price change email alert service called 360alerts. Created to keep retailers, brand manufacturers and distributors updated on the level and source of pricing volatility in specific categories, the new service provides a weekly assessment of the top 10 most active retailers in terms of volume of price changes; the number of prices raised and lowered by each of these most active retailers; the top 10 products in terms of volume of price changes; products with the biggest change in price, both dollar and percentage change; and total number of products in a category that experienced a price change grouped by brand manufacturer.
Personnel Appointments
Benchworks, Chestertown, Maryland
The agency has promoted Sally Reed to the position of vice president, digital services to expand website development, videos, email marketing and interactive banners.
Bond Brand Loyalty, Toronto
Mike McDowell, most recently senior director of North American field marketing for BlackBerry, has been appointed to the position of North American vice president of business development.
The Carlson Group, Lombard, Illinois
Abigail Craigen, based near Portland, Oregon, has been added to the company’s sales team as account director, strategic partnerships.
Catapult, Westport, Connecticut
The conversion marketing agency has appointed Doug Molnar, formerly group planning director at JWT, to the position of vice president, director of strategic planning.
DCI-Artform, Milwaukee
The display and retail marketing company recently hired Kim Alpert as creative technology director; Monica Blake as senior marketing manager; Brian Isaacson as grocery sales executive; David Zabloudil as 3-D designer for CAVE Studios; Yan Hu as digital technology specialist; and Rachel Trauernicht as accounting associate.
Fitch, Columbus, Ohio
Michelle Fenstermaker returns to the agency in the role of strategy director to spearhead strategic planning and vision for Fitch-North America.
GPA, Chicago
Michele Cabot, as the company’s newest business development manager, will serve customers in the Northern California region.
MultiView, Irving, Texas
The digital marketing agency has appointed Todd Ebert, formerly of ReachLocal, as its new CMO.
Predictix, Atlanta
The retail tech firm has announced that Kevin Sterneckert, former Gartner Research vice president and lead retail analyst, has joined the company as executive vice president of marketing.
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