Monthly Archives: June 2009

XING (www.xing.com) – the leading European business network – will today launch Twitter Buzz, a new web-based app allowing professionals to keep up on trends and opinions on the popular microblogging service, Twitter. The app gives over seven million XING members access to a real-time Twitter keyword filter, and shows results directly on the personalized XING member home page. With Twitter Buzz, you can search for your company or scout the competition, see what’s being said about the upcoming trade fair or the latest software releases.

Jason Goldberg, Chief Product Officer of XING AG, said “In recent months, we’ve launched a number of features with a single goal: Making XING even more valuable for as many of our members as possible. We listened to member feedback, and put priority on releasing exactly those features which will add the most value to the professional lives of our users. The new app Twitter Buzz fits this concept exactly.”

Twitter Buzz is one of the first new XING OpenSocial apps
Following in the success of XING News and Ask XING, Twitter Buzz represents the third OpenSocial app developed by XING, currently in beta. The new app will feature five languages from its launch, and can be displayed on the XING home page and on a special overview page. Due to the universal nature of the OpenSocial API, XING will be capable of integrating third-party applications, the first of which will go live in coming weeks.
Twitter Buzz is free of charge for all XING members, and can be added by clicking here:

www.xing.com/opensocial/canvas;app=3

Two months ago, XING launched its first Twitter-based add-on, allowing members to twitter about events they were attending or organizing. The success of this feature was substantial, and confirms the widespread use of Twitter for business-related topics.

About XING:
XING is the leading European online business network. Over seven million members use XING in 16 languages to do business, find jobs, and pursue a career. XING helps members get connected and stay in touch with their contacts with customized networking solutions and services. Members are active on XING because of the real value generated, with XING Jobs, over 26 thousand specialized groups, and over 90 thousand live networking events a year, organized by members for members.
XING AG went public in December 2006 as the first Web 2.0 company to do so, and the XING AG share has been strong since. A continual increase in membership figures leads to increasing revenues and profits. XING AG is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and has local offices in Barcelona, Istanbul, Milan, and Beijing.
XING. Powering Relationships.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, is pleased to announce the results of its end-user survey, 2009 Corporate Use of Social Networking, an evaluation of how social networking is used in enterprises.

The survey presented questions on corporate use of social networking, policies regarding corporate social networking sites, and the utilization of Web 2.0 tools. The survey includes responses from 1,439 participants.

Social networking has increasingly been making itself more visible in the workplace, and its functionality is being harnessed by corporations globally. Web 2.0 technologies are widely in use. A vast majority (80% of survey respondents) report that they personally use Web 2.0 technologies to connect and share with friends and family while at work. More than half of all respondents (54%) reported that they use Web 2.0 technologies for professional purposes such as connecting with colleagues, generating leads, and collaborating on projects.

“However, despite the current hype of social sites such as Facebook and Twitter, social networking platforms are still perceived as being used only for social purposes,” explains Vanessa Alvarez, Industry Analyst with Frost & Sullivan’s Unified Communications practice. “Enterprises, both big and small, are still just beginning to understand the potential of Web 2.0 tools and public and private social networking platforms. The next level of productivity will occur when enterprises can use these tools to go beyond the social aspect, and harness the unlimited potential of these tools to more effectively manage workflows and drive business.”

Social networking sites are the most utilized Web 2.0 tool. Nearly three-fourths of respondents report using social networking sites for personal use within an organization. Besides social networking sites, other tools cited include blogs, wikis, and teamspaces.

When considering usage in the enterprise, medium-sized enterprises (those with 100-999 employees) employ Web 2.0 tools more often than small (1-99 employees) or large (1000+ employees) enterprises, except for teamspaces, which are most utilized by large enterprises.

More executive-level management, or current leaders, avail themselves to Web 2.0 tools than do entry or mid-management employees.

According to the survey, roughly four out of ten organizations formally use social networking/Web 2.0 tools. In most cases, the IT department initiated the program, with the vast majority of the initiatives managed internally.

The majority of respondents also indicated that their organizations have written policies regarding the use and access of social networking sites. Of those individuals working at companies without a written policy, 80% work in organizations that allow access to such sites, despite no formal policies.

Frost & Sullivan’s survey goes on to measure the length of time participants have been using corporate social networking, in which roughly one-third of respondents report formal organizational use of social networking/Web 2.0 tools within the past year.

Interestingly, client relations, advertising, marketing, and other business communications are not part of most organizations’ use of Web 2.0 tools. The majority of respondents reported that their organizations use Web 2.0 tools primarily for internal use, staff relations, and training.

“Social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies are literally changing the way people think about collaboration, and how willing they are to share information,” says Melanie Turek, Industry Principal with Frost & Sullivan’s Unified Communications practice. “Organizations have always looked for ways to make their employees more collaborative; today, they need to look for ways to make their collaborative employees more effective.”

This survey was conducted by Frost & Sullivan’s Customer Research Team, led by Tonya Fowler, Global Director. Specifically, the Customer Research Team conducts independent, non-sponsored research among end-users to evaluate and measure companies and trends in the market.

For more information, please send an email to Christina Alfaro, Customer Research, at christina.alfaro[.]frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company email address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by email.

About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company’s Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO’s Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 35 offices on six continents.

MySpace today announced its intent to restructure its international operations and refocus personnel around a smaller number of territories, while retaining a robust global consumer presence.
The proposed restructuring plan, which is subject to consultation with international employees in some countries, would apply to all international divisions of the company, reducing MySpace’s international staff from 450 employees to approximately 150 employees and closing at least 4 of its offices outside the United States.

Upon completion of the proposed plan, London, Berlin, and Sydney would become the primary regional hubs for MySpace’s international operations. Under the proposed plan, MySpace would place all existing offices in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, and Spain under review for possible restructure. MySpace China, a locally owned, operated, and managed company, and MySpace’s joint venture in Japan would not be affected by the proposed plan.

“With roughly half of MySpace’s total user base coming from outside the U.S., maintaining productive and efficient operations in our international markets is important to users worldwide and our immediate financial strength,” said MySpace Chief Executive Officer Owen Van Natta. “As we conducted our review of the company, it was clear that internationally, just as in the U.S., MySpace’s staffing had become too big and cumbersome to be sustainable in current market conditions. Today’s proposed changes are designed to transform and refine our international growth strategy.”

About MySpace

MySpace is a technology company connecting people through personal expression, content, and culture. MySpace empowers its global community to experience the Internet through a social lens by integrating personal profiles, photos, videos, mobile, messaging, games, and the world’s largest music community. MySpace is a division of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) (NYSE: NWS.A) (ASX: NWS) (ASX: NWSLV).

Social Media Advertising company mokono GmbH extends reporting for blog marketing

Berlin, 15th June 2009 – The User-Generated Content & Social Media Committee of IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) released standards for defining social media ad metrics for the first time. The committee – compromised of over 150 member companies – is dedicated to developing and expanding new measurement methods for social media advertising and educating marketers and agencies on user-generated content and social media as a viable advertising platform.

Social Media has changed the paradigm of how people consume online media according to the IAB. The IAB goes on to identify the participatory element where an individual not only receives information but has the ability to take part in the creation and distribution of content as the most profound difference.

Germany’s largest blog marketer, mokono GmbH, has already developed participative advertising formats for bloggers and also established a new additional way of measurement (volume of mentions for brands and topics) which was implemented for the first time in May 2007, the client being Nokia. According to Ryan Walker, Manager Industry Services IAB, this method is in compliance with the IAB definitions: “Counting the number of times a brand is mentioned by name is a valuable metric that is in line with the IAB Social Media Metrics Definitions.”

“The definitions for blogs and widgets are an enduring signal towards the advertising industry which will change online media planning in the long run. Agencies with existing learning curves in this environment will be able to turn their knowledge into advantages for their clients. Being a special marketer for blogs, this development rewards our past efforts and serves as guidelines for further improvement on our reportings”, says mokono co-Founder and Managing Director Vasco Sommer-Nunes.

As largest blog marketer in Germany and one of the leading blog marketing companies in Europe, mokono welcomes the pathbreaking definitions of IAB for the advertising industry. The necessity of a new measurement for blogs is now even more explicit due to these new IAB standards. One more reason for mokono to extend the reporting and act in accordance with the new IAB Social Media Ad Metrics Definitions.

About mokono GmbH
mokono connects advertisers and bloggers, thereby actively supporting agencies and clients in developing a comprehensive understanding of social media advertising. With the experience of running a European wide blog community network including sites such as blog.co.uk, blog.de or blog.fr, special ad formats have been created to suit the demands of agencies and the most influential web group alike. In the past, successful campaigns were performed with brands like NOKIA, T-Home, Diageo or the Tourism Board of Spain.

Octoinfo announced; they will implement P R Quick Press as a tool to inform with a marked impression.P R Quick Press contents will be supplied by individual Companies, fueled by permission email and distributed to a large audience on Social Networks and other Business Platforms.
“PR Quick Press was designed and developed to capture a person’s immediate attention, expand that information and maintain interest of product or service.” said Charles J. Quattrocchi, Jr. Owner of Octoinfo. P R Quick Press is projected to distribute three times a day, three days a Week, four consecutive weeks which will provide a sustained concentration.
P R Quick Press offers daily distribution; an assortment of topics such as charts, graphs, maps, product or service descriptions.
“P R Quick Press, a simple innovative easy way to gather and maintain new clients. A new approach“ Said J.W. McNeal, President, Mc Neal Properties.
Octoinfo, is a five year old promotion firm that markets permission email distribution, rotating banners, voice broadcasting, and exit traffic systems.

Social networking is the fastest growing activity on Web 2.0 – the basic idea behind it is socializing. Everyone has started socializing with each other for nurturing friendship and business. iSocial is a powerful social networking script that helps webmasters build an effecient, user-friendly social networking site.

One can make money on social networking sites through monthly subscriptions and at large, they can make money by placing advertisements. To make money, start an elegant website with a concept that could attract more visitors. A website could make money, only when the website attracts the attention of people towards itself.

iSocial facilitates webmasters to build a RIA-based website which offers a responsive and seamless interface to users. With RIA, users can get fast page loading, easy navigation and smooth handling of site. The Open social developer network in iSocial lets developers with standard JavaScript and HTML create apps that access a social network’s friends and update feeds.

Similar to Facebook connect, iSocial comes with iSocial connect to help users carry their credential data to other sites integrated with iSocial connect API. The photo snap features comes with the techniques- clear, filter, distort, frame and scene. The unique features of iSocial don’t stop with this, it includes open ID, multi-lingual support, Shindig and applications, videos, photos, customizable classifieds and much more.

“We are proud to launch the iSocial script with extraordinary features in the web masters’ networking world. We hope they can satisfy their users and earn more moeny with our iSocial script and recommend our excellent script to their friends” said Ms. Sheerin, the Vice President of Ahasan.

For More information visit: http://www.isocial.in

Synchronica plc, the international provider of mobile email and synchronization solutions, has launched an affordable, industry-standard push email and synchronization middleware enabling enterprises to connect entry-level devices to corporate networks. Synchronica Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition is a self-care solution that works on a wide variety of mobile handsets, so employers do not need to invest in a fleet of expensive new smartphones.

Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition Enables Nokia Series 40 Mobile Phones to Connect to Microsoft Exchange

Synchronica Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition is targeted at SMEs, as well as the middle / junior management layers in large enterprises where it can complement existing smartphone-based solutions. It is available immediately at www.synchronica.com/e and can be purchased, downloaded, and deployed on a mobile phone fleet within a few hours.

The cost-effective solution provides carrier-grade security, reliability, and scalability and has already been selected by a major Indian bank for its middle and junior management tiers. The bank is in the process of deploying Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition to an initial 10,000 employees to supplement the smartphones used by executive staff. Synchronica now expects this approach to be replicated in other businesses.

Kathryn Weldon, Principal Analyst, Enterprise Mobility, at Current Analysis says: “What makes Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition different from other enterprise mobile email offerings is that it works on almost any phone in use today. This makes it ideal for today’s tough economic conditions because businesses do not need to spend a fortune on new handsets and expensive contracts to cascade mobile email through the organization and realize productivity gains.”

Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO of Synchronica, adds: “We felt there was a gap in the market for a low-cost, business-grade mobile email and synchronization solution that could be installed on the corporate network and managed internally as an alternative to a hosted solution. In today’s climate, where the focus is on improving employee productivity and keeping costs down, an affordable self-care mobility solution hits the right spot. Our solution can cost about half as much per year as competing options and is an ideal supplement enabling smartphone-like functionality on entry-level devices.”

Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition includes a Microsoft Windows installer allowing businesses to install and host it on their own servers.

Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition key features:

Supports Microsoft Exchange, Sun Java System Communications Suite, and IBM Lotus Domino corporate email servers, as well as IMAP / POP3 consumer email back-ends

Based on the dominant open industry standards Push IMAP (IMAP IDLE) for mobile email and SyncML (OMA DS) for synchronization of contacts, calendar, tasks, and notes

Zero footprint architecture requires no additional client software to be installed on the handset

Built-in over-the-air device provisioning (OMA CP) using self-care portal enables end-users to configure their devices automatically without requiring corporate IT involvement

Administration portal keeps setup and ongoing management to a minimum and enables IT administrators to define individual and group policies for email, contact, calendar, task, and note entries

Provides strong security (SSL encryption) and scalability from five users up to tens of thousands of users

Works on a wide range of handsets in use today – from smartphones to entry-level phones, such as the Nokia Series 40

BT Tradespace, the business social networking website, has marked its second anniversary by signing up its 350,000 member.

A recent review of the site found that there has been a 400% year-on-year growth over the past year, with an average of up to 500 members joining each day since the launch.

In the past two years, nearly 3,000 different communities have been set up by BT Tradespace members to share information and expertise. The most popular BT Tradespace communities include a group for people who run home-based businesses and a community where new or seasoned entrepreneurs can leave advice, ask questions and share top tips.

The site is a dynamic online community for sales and marketing and offers a comprehensive directory of SME products and services. It allows members to use the latest social media tools – podcasts, videos and blogs – to promote themselves and engage with customers, partners and suppliers.

Free and easy to join, BT Tradespace also offers a secure and safe online marketplace trading platform where consumers can buy goods.

Ivan Croxford, general manager, BT Tradespace, said: “These figures show that social networking is not just a passing consumer fad, businesses are embracing it too, because of the obvious benefits it holds for companies of all sizes.

“The internet opens up a global marketplace for SMEs, helping them to compete and prosper in times of mounting economic difficulty. BT Tradespace offers a fantastic platform to exploit the full potential of the web by encouraging an ongoing open and honest dialogue with customers, colleagues, suppliers and partners”.

BT Tradespace research shows that three quarters of smaller companies see the web as a strategic business tool, and 45% make a quarter of their sales online. Social networking extends this playing field by offering SMEs the opportunity to compete with bigger firms, connect with niche audiences and target local markets.

Croxford explained: “The success of BT Tradespace reveals that companies are now realising that to prosper in the digital age, they must embrace the opportunities offered by the web and start using social networks to their full advantage”.

BT Tradespace member Tabitha Potts, who was voted runner-up as ’Mum-Entrepreneur of 2009’ at the Women’s Business Mastermind Awards, believes the site has been an invaluable tool for trading and marketing her company. She said: “I have had 10,000 hits on my BT Tradespace page and some of these have clicked through to my main site generating sales.

“The site has a very nice clean interface and I regularly blog and upload videos. This has worked wonders for my search engine rankings so customers can find me much easier on the Internet”

Lyn and John Hill created a Tradespace page to support their online business HedgePig, commented: “After just one month using the service, our BT Tradespace site had received over 1,600 hits. This corresponded with our main website, seeing a substantial rise in visitors and sales, resulting in a monthly turnover increase of around 20 per cent. We now feel confident in taking our business to the next level and offering a wholesale business-to-business service”

Businesses can get free advice on how to build a successful online presence at the week-long BT Business Experience event being held from 29 June to 3 July 2009. The event taking place in central London is specifically created to show businesses how the very latest technology and business thinking can help them manage their costs, market their business more effectively and make them more competitive especially in the current environment.

About BT Tradespace
BT Tradespace.com is a 350,000-member online community, that enables businesses to sell products and services and connect with other people effectively – both building business and customer relationships.

Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP), a sophisticated social networking for professional men and women. Attendees include business owners, sales professionals, executives and entrepreneurs. Announces its next event “Fast Pace Connections” Speed Networking Event to be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 5:30pm to 8:00pm at Blue in White Plains, NY.

This event hosted by Westchester Networking for Professionals and sponsored by Bookkeeping & More Services and Daddy Doggie Daycare. WNFP provides a quick and entertaining way to introduce yourself, promote your business and work your professional pitch with other professionals and business owners with other professionals, one-on-one, a few minutes at a time. Appetizers and “drink specials” will be available.

Attendees should come prepared with a brief introduction of their business and bring business cards. Dress is business casual.

Event Details:

Location: Blue, 99 Church Street, White Plains, NY 10601
Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Time: 5:30pm – 8:00pm
Cost: $25.00

Event Website: http://wnfpevents.webs.com/upcomingevent.htm

Advance registration is required, MUST RSVP at [email protected] or REGISTER ONLINE at http://www.wnfp.org
# # #

About WNFP

Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a sophisticated social networking for Professional men and women. Our member network and stylish live events gives professionals and executives an opportunity to unwind, while socializing, networking and building their contacts. Professional men and women can connect with each other and develop long lasting relationships and opportunities for success.

Attending a Westchester for Professionals meeting or social event will give you the benefit to connect with professionals in your area.

Become a “Success Partner” and get listed on our webpage and in our e-newsletter distributions for this event. For more information visit www.wnfp.org or email: [email protected]

Economic declines have led to shrinking budgets for businesses of most sizes across many industries throughout the nation. Despite budget cuts, businesses already active on the Web are realizing the value of Internet marketing and plan to increase their promotional efforts and budgets on the Web this year. That’s according to early results of an informal visitor survey conducted by Toronto Web design and Internet marketing firm, Cost Effective Web Design (www.ekonline.com).
“Our clients and visitors are already actively involved in Internet marketing, meaning they have experience or at least an understanding of its value compared to other marketing tactics,” says Paul Coulter of Cost Effective Web Design. “We asked them to tell us about their upcoming marketing plans–whether they are planning to cut overall budgets or not, and how their future Internet marketing budget will relate to that. We think the results so far say a lot about current trends and the fact that Web-based marketing offers businesses more bang for their buck.”
The following highlights represent preliminary survey results of approximately 100 participants actively engaged enough on the Web to be seeking or soliciting Web design or Internet marketing services:
– 52% of respondents noted that their company recently trimmed budgets, or expects to within a year.
– 76% said their company was expected to increase its Internet marketing budget in 2009.
– 86% of respondents said Internet marketing will account for a larger percentage of their advertising budget within the next three years.
“Almost three quarters of the people taking our survey concede that Internet marketing has been the most cost efficient method of promoting their business,” says Coulter. “That isn’t surprising to us knowing the diverse tactics available on the Web, able to reach hundreds of millions of people around the world, all often costing far less than equivalent print and broadcast campaigns. Of course we at Cost Effective Web Design believe in the effectiveness of Internet marketing. Yet we’re pleased to see that the industry is getting the recognition it deserves from the people who matter most–those putting Web promotion tactics to use to see real growth in real business situations.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new social networking community designed to help its partners more easily connect and collaborate with each other from anywhere around the world to bring new technologies to market and close sales faster and more efficiently.

The new community enables companies to gain real-time access to IBM subject matter experts to support sales leads and client implementations. Partners can also create personalized profiling tools to develop online communities that make their skills visible to other partners, connect with them on new technology innovations and joint sales leads and develop and deliver new technologies online through interactive forums before test-marketing or taking offerings directly to clients.

IBM recently held an online idea exchange with 1,100 global partners to brainstorm new ways to grow profitability and develop skills. One of the leading ideas from that session called for a Web 2.0 approach to help IBM’s partners improve collaboration with each other and establish new relationships across global markets. IDC states that a typical client implementation usually involves more than one IT vendor to develop, deploy and implement an IT solution. In fact, 40 percent of partners who team with each other and build strategic relationships see greater than a 21 percent increase in sales.(1)

IBM is responding with PartnerWorld Communities, bringing together the best in social computing technologies and online community building tools to connect more than 100,000 partners worldwide on emerging business opportunities such as analytics, cloud computing, green IT and economic stimulus projects. The new online forum aims to facilitate partner to partner relationships and enable joint go to market planning and innovative solution building around smart infrastructure opportunities.

With today’s news, IBM is also making it easier for partners to tap these and other business opportunities with a new online skills resource that offers a single view of smarter planet education tools including more than 60 online classes, webcasts and extensive global in-person events on topics such as building a smarter planet and stimulus opportunities, creating dynamic infrastructures, selling to the midmarket, and selling to the CFO (chief financial officer).

Fostering Global Collaboration For More Effective Selling

Based on Lotus Connections, IBM’s enterprise networking and collaboration technology, PartnerWorld Communities enables members to collaborate through a secure network that connects people around a focused task or goal using blogs, forums, private teaming spaces for solution design and market planning activities, social bookmarking and RSS feeds for real-time access to key topics of interest.

For example, as stimulus funding accelerates smart grid projects across the energy and utilities sector, partners can collaborate real-time for faster access to other partners and IBM subject matter experts with the skills required for client implementation. Users can also tailor their homepage to automatically follow subject matter experts and business topics to connect with them on new technology developments and selling innovations.

Collaboration between partners is enhanced through profiles that make capabilities visible across the network, allowing businesses to match themselves with others who share complementary skill sets. Partners can also develop and deliver new technologies online through interactive forums before test-marketing or taking offerings directly to clients.

“We are seeing the emergence of new ecosystems being developed for the IBM smarter planet initiative and key growth plays” said Rich Hume, general manager, IBM Global Business Partners. “For IBM partners, smarter planet is about engaging clients in higher value discussions. With today’s launch of new skills-building and community opportunities for our partners, we are facilitating more effective, efficient selling in this unique economic environment, and jointly laying the groundwork along with our partners for the infrastructure of tomorrow”

Additional features include:

* Ability to create an open profile which can include a partner’s technology offerings, expertise, market reach and primary business interests.
* Live chat and telephone assistance for partners ready to deliver a new solution to the market
* Access to complementary Business Partners to create new solutions and jointly penetrate new markets, and access to IBM subject matter experts to help connect partners with the necessary skills and resources to close deals in the sales pipeline.

Building Smarter Skills

IBM has launched the Business Partner Development Series, an extensive online education and networking forum that connects partners on key skills building designed to help them identify new partnerships and create new routes to market. The online resource provides partners with a single view of new skills offerings available to help them build smarter infrastructures for clients beginning with 60 no-cost online classes and 25 global in-person education and networking events.

Topics include:

* Smarter planet for a challenging economy
* Dynamic infrastructure for key industries
* IBM Business Partner financial selling to the CFO
* Capturing the mid-market opportunity with infrastructure solutions
* Basic sales skills

In addition to on-line opportunities, the new development series includes several seminars at the 43 IBM Innovation Centers around the world, bringing leading IBM experts into these centers to provide partners with skills training. Scheduled events include Chicago, Boston, Toronto, Madrid, Sydney, Shanghai, Stuttgart, Seoul, Bangalore and others over the coming weeks.

To learn more about IBM PartnerWorld, a comprehensive program that offers marketing and sales resources, training, certification and technical support to help create new revenue and market opportunities for IBM Business Partners, visit http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld.

(1) Source: IDC Multiclient Study, Channel Profitability, May 2008

Web site: http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld/

Impact Engine, the advertising technology company that pioneered display ad business optimization, announces the launch of 14 MediaNews Group sites on the Publisher Edition of its online display ad optimization platform. Impact Engine won the larger relationship after MediaNews Group corporate noted Monterey County Herald, one of the its largest sites, had recorded increase in spec ad production by 260%. The gains were without new hiring and required minimal training to derive the benefits of the Impact Engine platform.

“Transitioning to the Yahoo! APT serving system, we needed a certified partner that met the system’s specifications and guidelines,” said Steve Bennett, Advertising Manager at Monterey County Herald. “Impact Engine’s Yahoo!-certified ad creative ensured that deploying ads into the new APT platform was seamless.”

Impact Engine has been certified as a third-party rich media vendor by the Yahoo! Newspaper Consortium in March 2008, ensuring its place in an exclusive group to be able to serve ads through the Yahoo! APT platform.

“The MediaNews Group win is a prime example of how Impact Engine is delivering much needed efficiencies to the online display advertising marketplace,” said Neil Greer, the CEO of Impact Engine. “We are pleased MediaNews Group has expanded its relationship with us. As a pioneer of the Yahoo! Newspaper Consortium, MediaNews Group has proven time and again they are a forward thinking company.”

Prior to launching Impact Engine, Monterey County Herald was challenged with limited programming resources and limited budget for hiring and training new staff. Additionally, their advertisers wanted more control over the success of their display ad campaigns. Impact Engine enabled Monterey County Herald to shift 100% of its display ad hosting burden to Impact Engine’s robust infrastructure and in less than 20 minutes, the newspaper was able to train its non-technical sales team on how to create and edit spec ads for their advertisers. Further, Impact Engine’s self service tools for online advertisers and publishers enabled the Herald to enable their advertisers to make changes to their own ad campaigns; thus, increasing campaign success and enhancing advertiser satisfaction.

Bennett said the simplicity of creating and editing example Display ads for advertisers within Impact Engine eliminated almost all customer sales objections, as the sales team was able to react to customers’ feedback and make real-time ad edits during client meetings. “Impact Engine’s online library offers a variety of industry templates which get our clients’ creative juices flowing,” Bennett added.

Impact Engine’s new MediaNews Group clients include newspapers throughout the San Francisco Bay area, such as Chico ER, Paradise Post, and Eureka Times-Standard, just to mention a few.

About Impact Engine
Impact Engine is the leading display ad business optimization company for the online advertising industry. The company is focused on delivering efficiencies, scalability and increased ROI to Publishers, Advertisers and Agencies alike. The firm was founded by an experienced team of interactive ad agency principals, rich media veterans, and software professionals. Impact Engine enables publishers, advertisers, ad agencies, and ad networks of all sizes to leverage the fast growth and opportunities presented within the online display advertising space.

About MediaNews Group
MediaNews Group is one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States situated throughout California, the Rocky Mountain region and the Northeast. MediaNews Group is privately owned and operate 54 daily newspapers in 11 states with combined daily and Sunday circulation of approximately 2.4 million and 2.7 million, respectively.