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Strategy9 Announces the Release of Queue Manager – virtual SMS-based waiting system

Strategy9 announced the immediate availability of Queue Manager, enabling casinos, restaurants, hotels, and any business faced with traditional lineups of customers to eliminate these waiting lines through the use of SMS text messaging.

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“We’re very excited to see how many casinos are asking for Queue Manager within a week of the release,” said Andrew White, CEO at Strategy9.

Positive Customer Impact

Many customers have already benefited from deploying a Queue Manager. Casinos are already benefitting from the SMS text-message based system, which allows casino customers to wait in line – virtually – by simply sending in a text message to the casino’s SMS number (which is all set up for the casino by Strategy9).

Where demand is high – like at the entry to the casino – customers can wait in their cars and are summoned to the casino entrance with an SMS Text message when they get to the front of the line.  Casino customers can text in a code word like “wait” to receive an update on the estimated wait times.  The system asks the casino customers for their party size, to better help the casino estimate capacity and maintain safe occupancy loads.  Queue Manager can even recognize players by their “player’s club tier” or another VIP status.

Queue Manager will help in many places in a typical casino environment and can be used for applications like restaurant waiting lists, player services functions, valet parking, bowling alley waitlists, etc.

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Queue Manager Availability

Queue Manager is available now and can be activated for existing customers in minutes, and new customers can be up and running within hours.

Introducing Asset Assurance™, a Safeguard for Brands using Powerful Editorial Imagery in Campaigns

Shutterstock, Inc., a leading global technology company offering a creative platform for high-quality content, tools, and services, introduces Asset Assurance™, a new product that offers brands and businesses guaranteed protection when licensing editorial content for commercial use.

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Shutterstock Editorial is a premier source for the latest news, sports, entertainment, and royal imagery that enables the world’s media to visually amplify their stories. For the first time, Shutterstock is empowering brand storytellers with worry-free use of its library of editorial and archival images and video in advertisements and other commercial projects. Shutterstock’s team of editorial and legal experts will work with clients to review the potential commercial use of the content and ensure they have secured the necessary indemnification against any potential claims.

The global pandemic has changed the way brands and businesses engage their audiences by acknowledging the ongoing global crisis and showing their support. An IAB survey conducted in March 2020 revealed that more than 37% of US marketers planned to increase their brand equity messaging due to the coronavirus and 40% of US marketers planned to increase their mission-based and cause-related marketing. Additionally, a study conducted by Smartly.io among 800 US adults in the first week of April showed that 83% of respondents said they wanted brands to address the pandemic directly in their social media advertising, which reflects the need for a product like Asset Assurance™, providing brands with a safe solution for using more timely, real-life authentic imagery in their brand campaigns.

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“As brands and agencies rallied to create ad campaigns over the last two months that show empathy and reflect the current climate, we have seen an increase in demand from clients needing visual content that is relatable and connected to real-life events,” said Stan Pavlovsky, CEO of Shutterstock. “By making our collection of more than 50 million editorial images and footage available for commercial use, our clients can create more empathetic and contextually relevant visual campaigns with protection guaranteed.”

Rakuten Ready Launches ARRIVE Mobile App

Rakuten Ready, the leader in predictive arrival technology, has launched the ARRIVE Mobile App. The new addition to Rakuten Ready’s ARRIVE platform empowers merchants that don’t have their own mobile app to deliver superior Order for Pickup experiences by increasing order efficiency and improving the management of the order for pickup process.

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Merchants of all sizes can use the ARRIVE Mobile App to get access to all of the same benefits delivered by Rakuten Ready’s ARRIVE predictive arrival platform, including greater visibility over customers in transit and notifications when they arrive. Employees can use this information to organize orders by projected customer arrival time, creating a seamless order process for merchants and consumers. The ARRIVE Mobile App can also facilitate contactless pickups that help employees and customers feel safer in light of COVID-19.

“This pandemic has forced businesses to refine their pickup experiences to make it seamless and safer for both customers and employees,” said Jaron Waldman, CEO, and co-founder of Rakuten Ready. “The new ARRIVE Mobile App gives businesses without an app of their own ability to better choreograph orders to provide a faster, more enjoyable pickup experience for their customers.”

ARRIVE powers a superior order for pickup experience that reduces customer wait times and improves order queue efficiency. In addition to accurate predictions of pickup arrival times, merchants can use real-time analytics on dwell and wait times to ensure orders are handed off in a timely fashion. Restaurants can use predictions from ARRIVE to reorganize order queues and determine the optimal time to start cooking a takeout order.

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Merchants can provide customers a download link in their order confirmation to see order information in the ARRIVE Mobile App like their order number and pickup time. Employee notifications are automatically triggered upon customer arrival, ending the need to call the merchant or to wait outside.

New Digital Platforms And Inclusive Content Enable Brands To Engage The $1.2 Trillion Asian-American Consumer Market Like Never Before

As the United States begins a path towards economic recovery, the $1.2 trillion Asian-American consumer market will play a critical role in its revitalization. For forward-looking companies and brands, the opportunity to reach the country’s fastest-growing and most affluent multicultural consumer group has never been more accessible, according to Nielsen’s newly published Diverse Intelligence Series consumer report, Engaging Asian-American Consumers at the Dawn of a New Decade. The emergence of streaming services, the growth of Asian American-led content, and the exponential rise of esports have created all-new ways to cultivate affinity with this digitally-influential and tech-savvy community.

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For years, the stats on Asian-American consumers have captivated marketers. With a buying power projected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2024, the average Asian-American household income ($94,889) is 41% higher than the national average. As a result, Asian-American households spend more annually in several key categories including housing (+24%), food (+29%), education (+128%), apparel (+67%), and new cars (+$37%). Historically, the complex diversity of the community and the lack of wide-reaching pan-Asian media have created barriers for U.S. brands. However, the mass adoption of new digital platforms and the popularity of inclusive content have helped attract and galvanize a national Asian-American audience.

Key insights featured in the report include:

  • Asian Americans are more likely to be cord-cutters
    • Asian Americans are cutting the cord at a rate that is almost twice that of the total population and is relying more on broadband-only
    • Accessing live television through internet-based services like Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and AT&T TV Now
    • Engaging more on TV-connected devices that require an internet connection (i.e. Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku) at 49% versus 44% of the total U.S. population
  • Asian Americans are finding more Asian American-led content on streaming platforms
    • 82% of Asian Americans subscribe to at least one streaming service compared to 72% of the total population
    • Popular Netflix content among Asian Americans includes comedy specials featuring Ronny ChiengJo Koy, and Ken Jeong, and series with Asian American leads including Ugly DeliciousWu Assassins, and Patriot Act.
    • The top episodic Netflix series in 2019 among Asian Americans also reflect a diverse lead cast, such as V Wars, Lost in Space and I Am Not Okay With This.
  • Asian Americans are big players in the gaming industry
    • Asian Americans are 14% more likely to own a gaming console and 37% more likely to own Virtual Reality (VR) headsets that are mainly used for gaming
    • Asian American gamers are younger with 69% of Asian American gamers falling between ages 13-34 versus only 44% of U.S. gamers
    • Asian Americans are leading the shift to online and mobile gaming as they are 84% more likely to play multi-player online games
    • Among Asian-American gamers, over 1 in 4 say they watched an esports tournament live stream in the last three months, and 53% of Asian gamers say they have watched 3 hours or more of esports in a typical week
  • Asian Americans are going beyond live TV to get their news
    • During the first three weeks in March, time spent watching the news grew by 27% for Asian Americans versus 15% for Non-Hispanic Whites
    • Relying on digital platforms to access news content; over-indexing the total population for all types of news (i.e. political, sports, tech, business/financial)
    • 15% more likely to use social media for their news versus the total population

Account-Based Marketing should be Enriched with Predictive Insights

“The Asian American community is at an inflection point, which has created a ripe opportunity for marketers to drive business growth,” stated Mariko Carpenter, Nielsen’s Vice President of Strategic Community Alliances. “Brands hoping to engage with Asian Americans must understand the critical importance of inclusive media representation and the ways Asian Americans are integrating technology for media consumption. Understanding how these forces intersect and intermingle will be the key to unlocking the potential of this market.”

Runningboards Marketing Sells Its First Two Franchises During a Challenging Time

Digital mobile franchise Runningboards Marketing has just accomplished a feat that not many emerging brands have been able to do in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic: secured its first two franchise deals.

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The brand’s newest franchisees are based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and in Paducah, Kentucky, two markets more than a skip and a jump from the brand’s hometown of Watertown in upstate New YorkCentral Massachusetts native and serial entrepreneur Mark Federico, will open the Marlborough franchise. First-time business owners and longtime friends Ian Brown and Jesus Espinoza will open the brand’s Paducah operation.

The Runningboards Marketing leadership team is thrilled to have both parties on board.

“The fact that we signed two new and enthusiastic owners in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic really speaks to our business model and is a great way to kick off our franchising efforts,” CEO and co-founder Calvin McNeely said. “Mark is both an entrepreneur and a franchise veteran, so we’ll learn as much from him as he’ll learn from us. Ian and Jesus are young and fresh—this is their first foray into business ownership and we’re excited that Runningboards Marketing will be their initiation into the world of entrepreneurship.”

Runningboards Marketing was founded in 2018 by McNeely and Executive Vice President Zach Yelle. The brand stands out as a franchise opportunity in the mobile advertising segment thanks to its use of digital advertising vehicle DAV® (pronounced “Dave”), which has high-impact LED screens that display brand messaging and customizable graphics. Businesses hire DAV to drive around markets in order to target specific audiences. DAV is hard to miss, which is exactly what makes him so much fun. Whether a client wants to advertise their business or give a friend a birthday shoutout, DAV can get the job done.

With DAV’s ability to run a variety of ads, Runningboards Marketing has been deemed as an essential business during COVID-19. As long as DAV runs health-related ads, Runningboards Marketing can carry on with business as usual. This, along with the franchise’s low-cost business model, which does not require a brick and mortar location or numerous staff members, creates a fun and relatively hassle-free business ownership opportunity.

Federico first saw DAV driving around in Pennsylvania and thought it would be the perfect way to advertise a new fitness club he was about to open in Massachusetts. He called Runningboards Marketing to inquire about reserving DAV but learned the brand did not have a presence in Massachusetts. When he learned about the low-cost business model, he knew it was a great opportunity. Now, he is poised to become his own first customer.

Federico believes this is the perfect time to invest in a franchise like Runningboards Marketing and described DAV as a can’t-miss tool that can serve local and small businesses well in their grassroots marketing efforts.

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“Right now, starting a business, owning a company, or even being employed is scary,” Federico said. “When businesses start to reopen, a lot of them are going to fail but many are also going to be looking to grow. These businesses will spend money on marketing because they have to acquire new customers. DAV has the ability to really help small businesses survive, prosper, and grow as we get out of COVID-19.”

Brown and Espinoza were also attracted to the brand’s low-cost model, as well as the lack of a brick and mortar location and the tech-focused method of advertising. “All we need is DAV,” Espinoza said. “If we want to, we can keep the staff down to just the two of us until we really start expanding. Most of the overhead is just fuel for DAV.”

Outreach Adds Sue Bostrom, Former EVP and CMO of Cisco Systems, to Board of Directors

Outreach, the number one sales engagement platform, announced the appointment of Sue Bostrom, a tech veteran with more than 30 years of experience, to its board of directors.

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“Sue‌ ‌is‌ ‌a‌ ‌remarkable‌ ‌addition‌ ‌to‌ ‌our‌ ‌board,” said‌ ‌Manny‌ ‌Medina,‌ ‌chief‌ ‌executive‌ ‌officer‌ ‌of‌ ‌Outreach.‌ ‌”We’re‌ ‌eager‌ ‌to‌ ‌welcome‌ ‌her‌ ‌depth‌ ‌of‌ ‌knowledge‌ ‌in‌ ‌leadership,‌ technology, ‌and‌ ‌marketing‌ ‌excellence.‌ ‌I‌ ‌know‌ ‌she‌ ‌will‌ ‌help‌ ‌propel‌ ‌Outreach‌ ‌to‌ ‌new‌ ‌heights.‌‌”

Bostrom was executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Cisco Systems, where she worked for 14 years and was responsible for the company’s positioning, branding, advertising, and product marketing. She was also responsible for Cisco’s Worldwide Government Affairs and Small Business Council and was the executive sponsor of the Women’s Initiative. In addition, she built and led the Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), which brought vertical expertise and Internet business best practices to global Fortune 500 companies and heads of state. She has also held leadership positions at National Semiconductor and McKinsey & Company. In addition to Outreach, Sue is on the board of directors of public companies ServiceNow, Nutanix, Anaplan, and Cadence Design Systems. She serves on the private company boards of GitLab and Druva.

B2B Marketing Plans Ahead for 2020 and Beyond

Grit is one of Outreach’s core values, and Bostrom embraces it. She hit the ground running with her involvement at Outreach, making her first public appearance as a board member in front of thousands of sales professionals at Outreach’s Unleash Virtual Summit. Along with CEO Manny Medina, she took to the virtual stage to present Outreach’s latest innovation, Outreach Kaia – a real-time Knowledge AI Assistant. Outreach Kaia uses AI to make every sales representative more effective by giving them the critical information they need, exactly when they need it.

Turning Customer Presence into Customer Loyalty

Savvy retailers know that customers appreciate personalized engagement. But knowing exactly when and how to engage is always a challenge.

AI can resolve CRM Challenges for best Customer Connect

Datavalet Technologies has just made this task easier for large and multi-location retailers and restaurants with Presence Engage, a powerful new digital platform that turns presence detection and behavioral insights into engaging in-store experiences that keep customers coming back.

Presence Engage uses the retailer’s guest Wi-Fi network to automatically detect the customer’s presence upon entering the store. It then tracks the visit, enabling brands to map the customer journey whenever that customer enters any of their locations over time. Brands can use this information to engage the customer in more meaningful ways during their store visit.

“Customers who engage more with the brand typically spend more time in stores and spend more money,” said Eric Gervais, VP Product Management at Datavalet. “Presence Engage allows for the type of personalized in-store experience customers love.”

Presence Engage works by collecting personal user information when customers sign onto the retailer’s guest Wi-Fi network for the very first time. After this initial sign in, the solution will automatically detect the customer’s presence during all subsequent visits across all locations. Brands can link this data to their own POS and transaction data to obtain a more complete customer behavioral profile.

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But it’s the third component of Presence Engage that makes personalized engagement profitable. Retailers can create a variety of marketing campaigns directly within the solution, defining rules so that specific campaigns are triggered whenever a certain customer behavior or presence is detected. Retailers also have the option to integrate existing marketing campaign tools via the solution’s APIs – and also their mobile app to engage with customers via push notifications rather than emails.

Hyperlink InfoSystem, Top App Development Company Launches Sales Operations in France

France is not only considered to be a popular place for tourists but it is also considered as one of the places that generate the highest revenues for the software industry. As per the European software market, the demand for software services will be doubled, in comparison to the current scenario of software industries. France would seem to be one of the most in-demand places among other European countries for software services.

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As a leading app development company in India, Hyperlink InfoSystem expands its business horizons; starting sales operations in France and Europe in partnership with local company Digivie Infosystems. The company offers web and mobile app development services as well as Salesforce solutions and other latest technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain solutions, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and many more.

Since 2011, Hyperlink InfoSystem has been working with almost all industries and has served 2,300+ clients around the world. They have 250+ app developers, who have developed 3,200+ apps and designed 1,600+ websites with more than a 95% client retention rate. The company has also been listed as one of the top mobile app development companies by Clutch, a leading B2B ratings and reviews platform.

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On this occasion, CEO of Hyperlink InfoSystem, Mr. Harnil Oza says, “I was planning to expand our business operations in France and discussed the same opportunities with local people in my network. At that time, I had connected with my old friend, Mr. Pawar and it was easy to explain to him to partner with Hyperlink InfoSystem as he possesses a wealth of technical knowledge. We discussed the opportunity to work together and expand our sales operations with the team of Digivie Infosystems. And now we are all set to serve the app development market in France and Europe with the best solutions in the industry.” He further added, “It’s great news for local businesses in France and European countries, and both the teams are equally excited to satisfy their client requirements with the best solutions.”

Exponea Named a Gartner “Cool Vendor” in Multichannel Marketing

Exponea, the market-leading Customer Data and Experience Platform (CDXP), announced that it has been named multichannel marketing “Cool Vendor” by Gartner. Cool Vendor research is designed to highlight interesting, new, and innovative vendors, products, and services.

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The April 2020 report stated “Marketing leaders need to close customer data and insight gaps to deliver tailored marketing experiences for customers and partners. The vendors in this research offer a data-centric approach to multichannel marketing execution challenges backed by advanced targeting and analytics capabilities.”

“To us, Gartner’s recognition validates our ethos as a Customer Data and Experience Platform,” said Peter Irikovsky, CEO and Co-Founder of Exponea. “We think it solidifies the fact that we’re creating our own category by layering the actionability of campaign tools with the intelligence of a CDP, and that we’re doing it successfully. Our customers already know that the CDXP is a must for success in retail and e-commerce, and we believe the Cool Vendor recognition is exciting momentum that further validates this trend. We look forward to more top tier brands joining our trajectory.”

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Drip’s New Brand Boost Program Is Helping Support Ecommerce Businesses

Drip, the first-of-its-kind eCommerce Customer Relationship Management platform, has launched Brand Boost to support its clients and independent eCommerce businesses through the current economic hardships and COVID-19 pandemic.

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Brand Boost is a community of independent ecommerce stores from various industries joining together to help promote and grow each others’ reputations during this economic downturn.

By filling out a simple form on Drip’s website, ecommerce businesses can join Brand Boost and be added to the directory. A different brand will be highlighted on the landing page each week, determined by the order in which ecommerce businesses join.

The initiative began in an effort to help stimulate smaller ecommerce businesses, which tend to be overlooked in favor of other major online retailers. For their part, Drip will handle all the marketing and promotion for Brand Boost, running advertisements, and utilizing their customer base, social channels, and partnerships with other ecommerce tools to draw traffic to the website and create awareness for the businesses involved.

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The hope is that through creating this community, independent retailers will be able to succeed through this crisis, and help other businesses that are part of Brand Boost.