Posts tagged cmo

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — (Marketwire - 04/06/11) - XA.net, Inc., the leading provider of data-driven social advertising optimization, today announced that its optim.al multivariate ad platform is now an approved Facebook API Tools Vendor. Optim.al is the first multivariate social advertising platform which allows users to efficiently test Facebook ad variations, find the right audience and leverage unique data via one interface.

“Unlike many tech companies whose systems only think in terms of ‘keywords,’ XA.net’s roots in audience-based advertising differentiate them within the media space,” said Robin Kent, Founder of The Fearless Group and former Chairman & CEO of Universal McCann. “As a new agency, we’ve found the XA team and technology to be very helpful to us in quickly scaling both our display and social spending globally.”

A pioneer in display advertising since 2008, XA.net has built its own real-time bidding integrations with ad exchanges including the DoubleClick Ad Exchange, AdMeld, the Rubicon Project, AdBrite, CONTEXTWEB, PubMatic, OpenX and the Yahoo! Right Media Exchange.

“Companies are approaching us as a leader in Facebook advertising optimization and quickly realizing the additional benefits of combining social media, retargeting and audience targeting via real-time bidding,” said Rob Leathern, Founder and CEO of XA.net. “It all starts with social though, with optim.al.”

Optim.al’s multivariate ad and targeting testing is the most effective way to determine winning combinations of image, copy and targeting elements on Facebook versus running every possible combination.

“Optim.al has been the ideal platform for us to execute conversion-oriented multivariate tests within Facebook,” said Keith Moore, CMO of AcademixDirect. “The coordinated learnings we are accumulating and time we are saving on a daily basis is driving real ROI for us.”

For a limited time, XA.net is offering a special advertising package for advertisers that sign-up for both its real-time bidding and social media tools at http://be.optim.al/offer

About XA.net
XA.net’s audience-based ad technologies have optimized over 65 billion impressions for advertisers and agencies since its founding in 2008. XA.net is based in San Francisco and has received funding from prominent advertising technology investors including Jonah Goodhart, Noah Goodhart, Jerry Neumann and Michael Walrath.

Mountain View, Ca. – Karen C. Francis, CEO of higher education marketing company AcademixDirect (www.academixdirect.com) has announced the appointment of Keith Moore as Chief Marketing Officer.  An expert in online lead generation, lead scoring and internet marketing, having previously served as an SVP and a General Manager at LendingTree, Moore will direct AcademixDirect’s marketing efforts, as well as support new product development and product expansion.  

“Keith shares AcademixDirect’s commitment to developing a superior consumer experience for potential students embarking upon their college search,” said Francis.  “We will leverage his outstanding lead generation, marketing and technical expertise to introduce products and services that will help students make informed decisions and match them with the education and training to equip them for success in the 21^st century economy.”  

“The online education industry continues to evolve and I’m impressed by the forward-thinking team at AcademixDirect, which has set itself apart with a highly tailored and transparent approach to matching prospective students with appropriate schools,” said Moore.  “The company’s success is represented by its strong growth, customer loyalty and repeated appearances on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies.  I’m looking forward to enhancing our marketing reach and user experience, making AcademixDirect an indispensible ally to our education partners and a trusted advisor to prospective students.”  

Moore was most recently CMO of iContact, which provides professional email marketing for small to medium businesses and non-profit organizations.  Prior to that, he served as a Senior Vice President and General Manager at LendingTree, overseeing the short form mortgage division, previously known as GetSmart, and owning the Emerging Businesses division of Tree.com following the IAC spinoff of LendingTree in 2008. 

In these roles, Moore led new product development, marketing, and sales, which significantly expanded LendingTree’s digital media reach.  He also served as the Senior Vice President of Marketing for LoanWeb.com and 4Insurance.com; Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Internet Operations for Western Mutual; and owned and operated TouchService, an internet development and marketing services firm.  

A frequent speaker and industry panelist for internet marketing and lead generation conferences, Moore has spoken at LeadsCon, the TargusInfo Online Lead Quality Summits, Inman News’ Real Estate Connects and the 1^st and 2^nd Internet Summits.  He is a graduate of Appalachian State University in North Carolina. 

About AcademixDirect

As the leading education marketing company focused entirely on higher education, AcademixDirect is a trusted partner creating tailored solutions for improving university enrollment.  AcademixDirect strives to innovate better ways to connect college-bound students with the schools that will help them succeed.  To that end, the company deploys advanced technology that incorporates a proprietary matching algorithm, fraud detection software, lead scoring and targeting capabilities, as well as a unique customer-centric approach to create value for both educational institutions and students. 

DURHAM — Marketers are more optimistic about the economy than six months ago, but still recognize that low prices are consumers’ top priority, according to a new survey by a Duke University professor. 

The third semi-annual Chief Marketing Officer Survey showed optimism about the economy increased dramatically from February. Overall, 59 percent of 511 marketers surveyed are more optimistic about the U.S. economy than they were a quarter ago. 

Christine Moorman, a professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business and founding director of the survey, noted that marketers flipped from pessimism to optimism between February and August. 

Six months ago, 59 percent of those surveyed were less optimistic about the economy. In August, just the opposite was true. 

“It’s astonishing to see that kind of adjustment,” Moorman said. “I expected things to be shifting, but not that dramatically.” 

Consumers continue to be sensitive to pricing, with 34 percent of top marketers ranking it as their customers’ top priority, up from 30 percent in February. 

But other shifting factors in the economy are leading to more optimism among marketers, according to Moorman. 

Some 49 percent of marketers are expecting an increase in purchase volume in the next year; 44 percent are expecting the purchase of related products and services; and 35 percent are predicting an increase in new customers, according to the CMO Survey. 

“These are consumers that have been sitting on the sidelines,” Moorman said. “They’re ready to jump in now, even if they’re not going to be able to charge the prices they were previously. [The marketers] are expecting the economy to rebound because of these other forces. This is good news.” 

The survey also revealed a shift in spending away from traditional advertising. Marketers are planning to decrease spending in traditional advertising by 8 percent over the next year and put that money toward Internet marketing, with particular emphasis on social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Keith Moore, the new chief marketing officer for e-mail marketing company iContact, said the 8 percent decline in traditional, “offline” advertising is probably a conservative projection. 

“Marketers can’t (directly) track the impact in offline marketing,” he said. 

The Durham-based company has grown by leaps and bounds during this recession, increasing its employees from about 150 in the beginning of the year to 185 now. Moore was among the recent hires. 

As for the economy as a whole, Moore said he believes it’s going to be a slow improvement. 

“I think the housing market is going to drive a lot of things, but it’s going to be a while before we see significant increases,” he said. 

The marketers survey is also in line with Duke’s recent survey of chief financial officers in which some 54 percent of CFOs in the U.S. were more optimistic about the economy than in the previous quarter. 

Moorman said marketers were more optimistic probably because the survey was conducted two months later and marketers are more aware of consumer attitudes. 

“They’re sitting at the edge of their organizations with their ears to the ground,” she said. “They’re more likely to perceive changes in consumer behavior.” 

BY MONICA CHEN : The Herald-Sun : mchen@heraldsun.com