Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Marketing Technology Solutions Announces Strong 2008 Growth and Web Site Enhancements for QualityHealth.com

Sees 43 Percent Revenue Growth & More Than 33 Percent Traffic Growth

JERSEY CITY, N.J., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Marketing Technology Solutions (MTS), a performance-based, interactive marketing company that specializes in connecting health and pharmaceutical brands with engaged, health-conscious consumers, today announced strong growth during 2008, along with significant traffic growth for its flagship consumer health information site QualityHealth.com. The Company has used the down turn in the economy as an opportunity to enhance its technology infrastructure and staff with top industry talent highlighted with the hires of Ken Kantor previously at IAC as VP of Consumer Marketing and Linda Evans previously of AOL Health as Managing Editor.

MTS saw total year revenue grow by 43 percent in 2008. This growth was driven primarily by an 82 percent client renewal rate, as well as, the addition of 2.7M registered QualityHealth.com members. "2008 results confirmed the strength of our performance based model for our advertisers and customized content for our QualityHealth.com members," said Helene Monat, CEO, Marketing Technology Solutions. "Advertisers looking for greater efficiencies and ROI effectiveness in their DTC spending selected our products for better targeted advertising and retention. Health seeking consumers that are looking for more relevant ways to manage and maintain a healthy lifestyle visit QualityHealth.com for information and valuable offers targeted specifically to them."

According to comScore, Inc., the global leader of measurement in the digital world, QualityHealth.com ended 2008 with approximately 5.1 million unique visitors per month. "This ranks QualityHealth.com as the seventh most visited ad-supported health site on the Web, and its growth rate was twice that of the overall online Health channel," said Peter Burch, SVP Sales & Marketing, Marketing Technology Solutions. "Furthermore, MTS invested over $1 million on its December 2008 migration to Terremark Worldwide, a leading global provider of managed IT infrastructure solutions, providing QualityHealth.com with significant security, speed, and scale enhancements to support our record growth in traffic."

Along with tailored health advice, savings and community, QualityHealth.com also offers users high-quality healthcare information from its original content, as well as, content from Reuters and A.D.A.M. Reuters news content supplies up-to-the-minute articles on health topics from its writers around the world. A.D.A.M. provides proprietary educational offerings, including in-depth, illustrated reports; chronic-condition care guides; health-risk assessments; decision-assist tools. This content adds to the broad archive of information visitors to QualityHealth.com will find as a result of their searches and personal profiles.

About Marketing Technology Solutions

Marketing Technology Solutions (MTS) is a media and technology company specializing in servicing health consumers and advertisers through proprietary algorithms that personalize health content based on a unique Healthographics(TM) consumer profile. MTS specializes in connecting clients' brands with health-conscious consumers through data-driven patient education, targeted customer acquisition, syndicated research, and permission-based interactive marketing. For more information, please visit mtscorp.com.

    For media & investors:
    Peter Burch
    SVP, Sales & Marketing
    Tel: 732.491.8043
    burch@mtscorp.com

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Wrigleyville Rooftops Unite To Offer Marketers Unique Branding Opportunities During 2009 Baseball Season

Program rollout marks first season that rooftop properties will leverage resources to create promotional opportunities on large scale.

CHICAGO, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for the Chicago Cubs' April 13 home opener, a group of famed Wrigleyville Rooftops have announced that they will come together to collectively leverage their properties to offer leading marketers unique, large-scaled promotional opportunities during the 2009 baseball season. Branded as "The Wrigleyville Rooftops," the initial rollout of the program includes five premiere rooftop venues, including famed Murphy's Rooftop and Beyond The Ivy.

Since the 1980's the now sixteen rooftops that line the horizon above Wrigley Field's bleachers have become an increasingly popular part of experiencing game day in Chicago. Research has shown that the typical Rooftop ticket holder represents a highly sought after consumer demographic with 32 percent more likely to earn over $150k annually and 89% having at least 4 years of college.

The Wrigleyville Rooftops marketing program was conceived and is being led by Gravitas Marketing, the sponsorships and events unit of Schafer Condon Carter (SCC), one of Chicago's fastest growing integrated marketing agencies.

"The Wrigleyville Rooftops represent one of the most targeted and valuable opportunities for brands who are looking to create a deep experiential brand connection with consumers," says Jim Kenyon at Gravitas Marketing. "This program represents the first time marketers have the opportunity to own and leverage The Wrigleyville Rooftop experience on such a meaningful scale."

Gravitas Marketing has plans to expand the program by enrolling additional Rooftops in advance of and throughout the 2009 season. A recent pre-season marketing effort leveraging the collective properties during the NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day was a great success. Plans are also underway to provide promotional opportunities to marketers this summer during the Elton John & Billy Joel concerts scheduled for July 16 and July 21.

For more information about the sponsorship opportunities, marketers can contact Gravitas Marketing's Jim Kenyon at 312-464-1666 or go to www.thewrigleyvillerooftops.com.

About Gravitas Marketing

Gravitas Marketing is the sponsorships and events unit of Schafer Condon Carter. Founded in 2006, the agency specializes in designing and implementing unique brand-driven sponsorship programs for leading brands. Gravitas Marketing's clients include Culver's Restaurants, the Citizens' Utility Board, Ellio's Pizza, Terlato Wines, and Clearly Canadian. For more information, visit www.gravitasmarketing.com.

Schafer Condon Carter is a leading privately held, integrated services marketing agency with a proven history of producing results-focused programs. SCC has experienced nineteen consecutive years of steady growth of agency billings and revenue and an expanding client roster including: Brunswick Corp., General Mills, McCain Foods, ConAgra, Solo Cup and National Cattlemen's Beef Association. SCC, established in 1989, is based in Chicago and its wholly owned network includes SCC|Grossman Public Relations, SCC|New Media and Gravitas Marketing. The agency employs more than 70 people. To learn more about SCC, visit www.sccadv.com.

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Vanno Launches ReputationCheck

ReputationCheck Gives Everyone an Easy Way to Gauge Which Companies to Trust With Real-Time Embeddable Reputation Rankings

SAN FRANCISCO, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanno, the online social evaluation platform that captures trends in gossip, news, opinion and personal insight about companies and brands and converts them into a Company Reputation Index, today introduces ReputationCheck.

ReputationCheck is an easy way to discern which companies you can trust based on their rank within Vanno's Company Reputation Index. The Index currently follows the reputations of more than 5,800 companies worldwide in over 50 business categories. With ReputationCheck's tools everyone - not only investors and management, but customers, employees, communities, and concerned citizens - can hold companies accountable and encourage greater transparency. Business owners and company representatives can also use ReputationCheck to monitor how their companies are perceived in real-time.

ReputationCheck displays a company's reputation rank and compares that rank to the best and worst companies relative to customer and employee satisfaction, community involvement, the environment, patriotism and social responsibility, which in turn encompass important issues like job satisfaction, customer service, product safety and origin, human rights, corporate governance, charitable giving, diversity, sustainability and clean energy. ReputationCheck is available at www.vanno.com/reputationcheck and can easily be integrated into any blog or website.

"A company's reputation extends beyond its financial results to include how it treats its customers, employees, communities, the environment and society in general. These stakeholders need a forum where they can engage in a meaningful dialogue that actually impacts companies in a measurable way. Vanno is that community," said Nick DiGiacomo, co-founder of Vanno. "And with the release of ReputationCheck, we're making Vanno's real-time rankings available free to bloggers and websites everywhere."

At Vanno, anyone can participate in a civil dialogue about companies and their reputations by submitting stories about their personal experiences and news articles they've read, and by voting or commenting. Using mathematical techniques that have found wide acceptance in spam filtering and fraud detection, Vanno converts the community dialogue into a powerful and accurate real-time Index of company reputation. Registered Vanno users can see all rankings and reputation scores, as well as all stories, votes, and comments. While a number of sites are available for consumers to vent about companies, submit stories or do research, Vanno is the only one that uses proven science to convert user generated content into measurable scores that impact company reputations.

About Vanno

Vanno (www.vanno.com) is an online social evaluation platform that captures trends in gossip, news, opinion and personal insight about companies and brands and converts them into a Company Reputation Index. Designed to turn a brighter light on the behavior of the companies that inhabit our lives, Vanno gives customers, employees, communities, business owners and concerned citizens a forum to engage in civil dialogue. Vanno was founded in 2007 and launched its public beta in October 2008. Vanno is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, and was founded by Nick DiGiacomo and Landon Clark.

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Monday, March 2, 2009

New Course Announced on Using Direct Response to Reach U.S. Hispanics

AUSTIN, Texas, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Direct Response Academy is introducing the first course on infomercial marketing to the U.S. Hispanic consumer. Hispanic DRTV Marketing will be held on March 24 & 25 in Austin, Texas.

"This new program is very timely," says Greg Sarnow, Academy CEO. "Marketers are being challenged today to introduce their brands to the Hispanic market using infomercial television advertising. But first, they need to understand the distinct differences in approach to this sector."

Attendees at the Austin course will explore the nuances of marketing to the Hispanic consumer and the tactical differences in approach to Hispanic marketing vs. general marketing. Challenges like the vendors needed for Hispanic DRTV, how to solve the issue of COD, and the truth about credit cards in marketing to Hispanics will be thoroughly evaluated.

The Hispanic DRTV Marketing course is built on the curriculum of the Academy's cornerstone program, DRTV Management Boot Camp, which covers the full spectrum of an infomercial campaign. Participants will learn to:

  • Determine if a product is feasible for a Hispanic infomercial campaign
  • Build a compelling product offer
  • Choose the best creative approach and production format for a Hispanic program
  • Build a sound financial model
  • Analyze media placement results
  • Maximize effectiveness of telemarketing and product fulfillment vendors
  • Integrate web sales with a DRTV campaign
  • Brand DRTV products for sale at the retail level

An added bonus is that the course dovetails with Austin's annual SXSW festival. Information on the festival can be found at http://sxsw.com/.

Hispanic DRTV Marketing will be held in Austin, Texas on March 24th and 25th. For more information, contact Mark Warren at courses@directresponseacademy.com, or call (512) 301-5900. Visit: www.DirectResponseAcademy.com/courses-hispanic-drtv-marketing.html

The Direct Response Academy in Austin, Texas is the only educational company dedicated to teaching the best practices of direct response television marketing. The Academy offers on-site and public training, infomercial campaign management, and consulting services for companies and individuals who are launching or managing DRTV campaigns.

    CONTACT:     Patricia Mellody
                 512-301-5900
                 pat@directresponseacademy.com

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Korn/Ferry Institute Announces New Edition of Classic Leadership Development Book

- Fifth Edition of Lominger's FYI For Your Improvement(TM) Introduces New Research-Based Content to Identify Leadership Development Needs -

LOS ANGELES, March 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Korn/Ferry Institute today announced that Lominger, a Korn/Ferry company, has released the fifth edition of its popular FYI For Your Improvement book series. The FYI For Your Improvement(TM) books offer a set of easy-to-use development and coaching tools for executives looking to cultivate their leadership skills. Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY) is a premier global provider of talent management solutions.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060808/LATU082LOGO)

The fifth edition introduces new content that makes it even easier to identify development needs and create targeted development plans. The book is a result of more than 50 years of research and experience and provides easy-to-follow chapters and tips for lifelong improvement in leadership.

"We are excited to offer the fifth edition of FYI as the latest product in our book series," said Kim Ruyle, vice president of product development for Korn/Ferry International. "The step-by-step guide to development planning and sample development plans featured in the book are beneficial for anyone from line managers and corporate supervisors to career coaches and mentors, while the leadership competencies really offer a common language for leadership and development."

Notable additions to FYI's fifth edition include:

  • Remedy questions written as diagnostic questions and action statements so it is easy to identify a development need and transfer a remedy directly onto the development plan.
  • Develop-in-place assignments added to competencies, stallers and stoppers, and global focus areas that allow individuals to develop without having to change jobs.
  • Developmental difficulty ratings that show how difficult it would be for a typical professional person to develop any of the 67 competencies as well as the average skill rating of the general population for each competency.
  • Development planning templates that lets learners organize their plan on an easy-to-use two-page template.
  • Updated suggested reading lists, new quotes and an easy-to-use index that helps learners and coaches look up common development themes or development needs.

FYI's fifth edition also follows the series theme with a deep-dive look at the 67 Leadership Competencies developed by Lominger, in addition to providing an overview of 19 Career Stallers and Stoppers and 7 Global Focus Areas.

For more information or to order a copy of the latest edition of FYI For Your Improvement, please visit http://www.lominger.com/fyi.php. A sample chapter is also available at http://view.vcab.com/showvcab.aspx?vcabID=cnlSpepcSeepcg.

About The Korn/Ferry Institute

The Korn/Ferry Institute was founded to serve as a premier global voice on a range of talent management and leadership issues. The Institute commissions, originates and publishes groundbreaking research utilizing Korn/Ferry's unparalleled expertise in executive recruitment and talent development combined with its preeminent behavioral research library. The Institute is dedicated to improving the state of global human capital for businesses of all sizes around the world.

About Lominger

Founded in 1991 by Robert W. Eichinger, Ph.D. and Michael M. Lombardo, Ed.D., Lominger produces a suite of competency-based leadership development resources for individuals, teams, and organizations. In August 2006, Lominger joined the Korn/Ferry International family of companies.

About Korn/Ferry International

Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY), with more than 90 offices in 40 countries, is a premier global provider of talent management solutions. Based in Los Angeles, the firm delivers an array of solutions that help clients to identify, deploy, develop, retain and reward their talent. For more information on the Korn/Ferry International family of companies, visit www.kornferry.com.

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RSW Assigned Michael Flora Advertising Account

Michigan Ad Agency Signs On with Brand Building, Lead Generation Firm

CINCINNATI, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Does your advertising agency know the main traits clients seek when hiring an agency? Michigan based advertising agency Michael Flora Associates (MFA) does - and will now act upon that information after forging a strategic marketing partnership with agency branding and lead generation firm Reardon Smith Whittaker (RSW), giving them a clear and distinctive competitive advantage.

According to MFA president Tom Brzezina, his agency is focused on the growth and success of their existing clients, which often times means the branding, promotions and lead generation of the firm itself take a backseat. "Like most other agencies, we are the classic case of the cobbler's children having no shoes. Our focus and our energies remain diligently on our clients, and we are proud of our work and our organic growth. But, it's time to look at our future growth from a fresh perspective. Through RSW, we can do that without sacrificing a moment of focus on the core objectives of our own clientele."

RSW's managing director Mark Sneider lauded Brzezina for his forward thinking decision to focus on the core competencies of the agency, while enabling RSW to assist in driving not only more leads, but the right leads. "All clients aren't right for all agencies," Sneider says. "When you look at the RSW 2009 Client's Perspective Report, it is filled with information on specifically what clients are looking for from their agencies and we look forward to bringing that expertise, focus and firepower to bear for the competitive edge of our clients, including MFA.

"So often, I see agencies with no differentiating quality between themselves and other groups because their focus is solely on their clients - which is good, but an agency must be in business to do business," Sneider added. His agency represents dozens of creative and advertising firms across the United States and Canada.

About MFA

With offices in Troy, Michigan, Michael Flora Associates is a full service, internationally award winning advertising agency. More information can be accessed at www.michaelflora.com or by calling 248.643.6431.

About RSW

Reardon Smith Whittaker is a lead generation and business development consultancy that operates like a virtual new business development group. More information can be accessed at: www.rswus.com or by calling 513.559.3101. Sneider can be contacted at mark@rswus.com.

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Pearson - Final Results Interviews With CEO and CFO

LONDON, March 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pearson, the international media company, today announced its 2008 preliminary results.

In a video interview, Marjorie Scardino, CEO, and Robin Freestone, CFO, discuss the company's strong performance in 2008. They look at the results and outlook in detail, and break down the opportunity for Pearson in its different businesses including Pearson Education, Penguin Group and the Financial Times Group.

In addition to the interviews there will also be a live analyst presentation at 09:00GMT.

The interview, transcript and live presentation are available on http://w3.cantos.com/pearson.

It's free to view. All you need to do is register at http://www.cantos.com. Cantos.com, the online financial broadcaster, features in-depth interviews, documentaries and webcasts with senior company executives. If you would like to contact us, please email enquiries@cantos.com or phone +44(0)207-936-1333.

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Omnicom Partners with China's Fudan University to Launch Digital Marketing Training Program

NEW YORK, March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), one of the world's leading advertising and marketing services groups, is launching through its agencies an executive training program on digital marketing in partnership with Fudan University in Shanghai. The program, digital:works, is geared to help agencies and brand marketers train their staff to gain professional digital marketing skills. The course is designed, managed and run by Omnicom agencies and Fudan University's School of Journalism.

Omnicom Group has a long track record of leadership in the digital space in China and around the world, and its agencies' digital teams deliver award-winning digital solutions for a wide range of clients. Omnicom Group ranks number one in the world for digital marketing and media services revenues according to Advertising Age.

Fudan University, located in Shanghai, is one of China's most prestigious universities and is ranked among the top three institutions of advanced learning in the country. Its School of Journalism is noted for producing many of the leading professionals in the Chinese journalism and communications industry.

The combination of Omnicom agencies' years of broad practical experience in digital marketing and the Fudan University School of Journalism's research on the impact of new media technology on market and marketing communications make digital:works a unique and invaluable experience for executives of any organization seeking to build their understanding and capabilities in digital marketing.

The digital:works program is appropriate for anyone aiming to learn about digital marketing in China to improve their contribution to either a marketer or agency organization. The program is divided into three modules: an introduction to the Internet, including an overview of China's new media history; in-depth training on digital marketing tactics; and finally a perspective on the way the Internet and digital marketing are changing the business and communications industry.

Classes will be taught by senior digital professionals with practical in-depth experience from Omnicom agencies as well as professors and scholars from Fudan University and other leading Chinese universities, and top-level executives from marketers. Participants will receive a Professional Training Certificate from Fudan University upon successful completion of the program.

"As the online audience grows and digital becomes an increasingly larger part of marketing plans, it is essential for clients and agencies in China to become fluent in new media," commented Serge Dumont, Omnicom Senior Vice President and President Asia Pacific. "Omnicom is known for its commitment to professional development and education. Through conversations with Fudan, we saw the opportunity to create a very innovative executive training program that leverages Omnicom agencies' unparalleled digital expertise and Fudan's academic excellence to help marketing professionals understand the evolving media and marketing landscape," he added.

Professor Yu Zhenwei, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Journalism College, Fudan University, commented, "New media is becoming the key communication tool for Chinese consumers; they use it to exchange their viewpoints on issues, brands and products. We believe the Chinese digital marketing industry will greatly benefit through this training program."

"All agencies and clients should look to digital marketing as essential to their success today and in the future," said Jason Kuperman, Vice President, Omnicom Asia Pacific Digital Development. "This program is a unique opportunity for marketing communications executives to benefit from Omnicom Group's extensive experience in digital marketing and Fudan's School of Journalism's expertise in the impact of new media technology on marketing communications," he added.

For further information on digital:works, please visit www.digitalworkschina.com.

About Omnicom Group Inc.

Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) is a leading global marketing and communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

For further information on Omnicom and its brands, please visit www.omnicomgroup.com.

About the Fudan University School of Journalism

Fudan University's School of Journalism was founded in 1929 and is China's oldest Chinese journalism and communications institution. Since its establishment, Fudan University has trained nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate degree students, many of whom have become pillars of Chinese journalism and communications. Because of its contribution to the profession, the college has been called "the cradle of journalists."

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