Founded last year by brothers Ville and Jyri Tuulos, Bitdeli quickly signed up hundreds of developers onto the platform, and is processing hundreds of millions of events in real time. The challenges of crunching, analyzing, and presenting these massive data sets are similar to that of the retargeting space. AdRoll’s retargeting platform helps thousands of brands score over 500 million unique shoppers per month and make bidding decisions on ad impressions within milliseconds. The resulting data then needs to be neatly organized and presented in flexible reporting dashboards to give marketers actionable insights based on the performance of their campaigns.

Bitdeli’s core product will be integrated into AdRoll’s retargeting platform, further enriching the company’s granular analytics capabilities and providing even greater transparency for customers, one of AdRoll’s key values. Bitdeli’s Github Badge, a free product that provides analytics specifically for GitHub users, will remain unchanged and continue to be maintained independently of AdRoll’s platform. Both Ville and Jyri Tuulos will join the AdRoll engineering team, and their extensive technical knowledge will become an important asset as the company continues to evolve its industry-leading analytics offerings.

“Every day, AdRoll processes around ten terabytes of data, double the amount that exists on Wikipedia, and that number continues to shoot upward,” said Aaron Bell, CEO at AdRoll. “Our goal is to make that data easily accessible to our customers, enabling them to execute advertising campaigns in the most efficient and impactful way possible. Bitdeli’s impressive analytical knowledge and deep data assets make them a natural fit as we continue to evolve our data analytics capabilities.”

“We’re excited to join AdRoll, a company that’s truly doing remarkable things in the data space,” said Ville Tuulos, CEO at Bitdeli. “Since day one, Bitdeli has helped companies access and analyze their data. AdRoll takes that one step further, essentially closing the data loop by showing customers the immediate and highly-measurable benefits of analytics. We’re looking forward to joining the team and contributing to the growth of the AdRoll product.”

AdRoll’s dedication to product innovation has been a key driver in the company’s continued growth and success. The company surpassed a $50M run rate in 2012, tripling revenue since the close of 2011. AdRoll’s exponential growth was recognized byInc. magazine last year, when it was named the fastest-growing advertising company in the country on the publication’s annual Inc. 500 list. AdRoll was also named the fastest-growing company in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times in late 2012, and was named to Forbes list of ‘America’s Most Promising Companies’ this year.

About AdRoll
AdRoll is the most widely-adopted retargeting platform with over 7,000 active advertisers in the US and around the world. With a 97% customer retention rate, the company’s mission is to make powerful performance advertising techniques simple for businesses of all sizes. AdRoll’s SaaS platform provides unmatched transparency, cross-platform reach across the largest display inventory sources, including Google AdX and Facebook Exchange, and innovative tools that personalize ad campaigns based on a visitor’s shopping behavior. AdRoll’s innovative and easy-to-use platform enables brands to collect, analyze and act on valuable site data, ensuring maximum return on their online advertising investment.

The company is backed by leading investors such as Foundation Capital, Accel Partners, Merus Capital, and Peter Thiel. For more information, please visit www.adroll.com.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adroll-acquires-data-analytics-startup-bitdeli-211232551.html

Amazon’s worldwide ad revenue may reach $835 million this year, up 37 percent from $610 million in 2012, eMarketer forecast. In 2011, the company generated $419 million from advertising, the firm added. These estimates include traffic acquisition costs, or TAC, which are payments Internet companies pay to other websites for sending online traffic their way.  

Advertising is a relatively new revenue stream that may be more profitable than Amazon’s original online retail operations, so Wall Street is watching its expansion closely.

“Advertising could be a significant revenue opportunity for the company given its sizable site traffic and the significant number of new ad format innovations it has been rolling out,” said Mark Mahaney, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note to investors on Sunday.

Amazon recently launched “eCommerce Ad” units, which include customer ratings and reviews, coupons and buy buttons to quickly add products into online checkout carts, Mahaney explained.

Most of Amazon’s ad revenue comes from ads placed in or near search results that appear when a person searches on Amazon.com for a product to buy, according to eMarketer.

Amazon took in $450 million in ad dollars last year in the United States, its principal ad market, and that will climb to $1.1 billion by 2015, eMarketer estimated.

That forecast suggests Amazon is on course to top AOL Inc , Twitter andLinkedIn Corp as one of the largest online ad companies in the United States by 2015, according to eMarketer. It will still clearly lag Google Inc ,Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp and Yahoo! Inc, the data also show.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/04/amazon-advertising-idUSL1N0EF1MO20130604

NEW YORK, NY – Ogilvy & Mather North America was ranked as the most effective agency in North America for the second consecutive year by the Effie organization. Additionally, Ogilvy & Mather New York was named most effective individual agency office. These accolades are based on the analysis of the North America Effie Awards finalist and winner data from the past year and were officially announced at the 45th annual Effie Awards Gala in New York on Wednesday. 

The O&M network won a total of 14 awards including three Gold, four Silver and seven Bronze. The total number of awards and points awarded for Gold kept Ogilvy & Mather as the number one most effective agency brand as well as sustaining WPP’s position as one of the most effective holding companies in the annual Effie Index rankings for North America.

O&M client Kimberly-Clark received two Gold Effies for the Depend “Great American Try-On” campaign. One for the Renaissance category and the other, a Shopper Marketing Effie for the Manufacturer: Loyalty, Awareness, Sales or Trial category. Kimberly-Clark was also named as the second most effective advertiser while its Depend brand was ranked the third most effective brand according to the 2013 Effie Effectiveness Index.

Another O&M client, InterContinental Hotel Group, was awarded a Gold Effie for “In-Hotel Credit Card Acquisition” in the Shopper Marketing Effie Awards and was a finalist for the Grand Effie.

“David Ogilvy said ’We sell, Or else,’ and it is a great honor to be recognized by the Effies for doing work on behalf of our clients that sells,” said John Seifert, Chairman & CEO of Ogilvy & Mather North America. “To be recognized for a second year in a row as agency network further solidifies our twin peaks strategy of being the most creative and effective agency in the world”

About Ogilvy & Mather

Ogilvy & Mather is one of the largest marketing communications companies in the world. In 2012, O&M was named CLIO Agency Network of the Year, Cannes Lions Network of the Year and Most Effective Agency Network by the Effies Global Effectiveness Index. Most recently, in 2013, for the second consecutive year, the agency was named CLIO Agency Network of the Year. Guided by founder David Ogilvy’s credo “We Sell, Or Else,” the company is comprised of industry leading units in all of the following disciplines: advertising; public relations and public affairs; branding and identity; shopper and retail marketing; healthcare communications; direct, digital, promotion and relationship marketing; consulting, research and analytics capabilities; branded content and entertainment; and specialist communications. With 22,000+ employees working in over 50 languages, O&M services Fortune Global 500 companies as well as local businesses through its network of more than 500 offices in 126 countries. Our clients include: American Express, BP, Coca-Cola, DuPont, IBM, IHG, IKEA, Kimberly-Clark, NASCAR, Nestlé, Philips, Time Warner Cable, SAP, Unilever, and UPS. Headquartered in New York, Ogilvy has offices in North America in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and Miami. For more information, visit www.ogilvy.com, or follow us on Twitter at @OgilvyWW and on Facebook.com/Ogilvy.

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=175187#.UaebOWSG3T8

In conjunction with the re-branding, Améredia managed the launch of Tea India’s instant tea product, Chai MomentsTM. The launch strategy included an integrated marketing campaign across digital and traditional channels throughout diverse consumer segments in both the US and Canadian markets.

“Relevant consumer insights are at the heart of all successful campaigns,” said Pawan J Mehra, founder and principal at Ameredia. “We understand diverse consumers and our design and messaging connected well with the targeted audience generating desired awareness and traffic for the client”.

The Tea India website (http://www.teaindia.com) was developed through consumer insights including use of aesthetics and messaging that would engage targeted groups. The agency collaborated with the client team, the mainstream agency and a digital partner to develop a culturally appealing site that strongly resonates with consumers. Design elements were made consistent with the mainstream branding launched in the United Kingdom, a key market for tea consumption.

Améredia’s expertise in multicultural advertising, marketing and communications also earned a 2013 Hermes Creative Awards Honorable Mention. The agency was recognized for their outstanding 2012 holiday creative work for long time client, Comcast.

Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional materials, programs, and emerging technologies. The 2013 Hermes Awards attracted 5600 global entries from leading corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, graphic design shops, production companies, and other digital creators.

About Améredia

Améredia Inc. (http://www.ameredia.com) is a full-service multicultural advertising, marketing and communications firm specializing in building brands within U.S.-based diverse communities. The agency enables private, government and non-profit organizations to connect with Hispanics, Asians, Europeans, Middle Easterners, Pacific Islanders, Africans and other diverse cultural groups nationwide. Conceptualizing culturally engaging campaigns across print, TV, radio, online, outdoors, events, grassroots and social media platforms in over 20 leading languages, Améredia has positioned itself as one of the fastest-growing diverse market agencies nationwide.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/5/prweb10752777.htm

Stiefel is an experienced talent in technology sales, holding senior account positions at a number of prominent companies, including: AppNexus, NetApp and EMC. Prior to 140 Proof, Stiefel became a top 5 sales performer in EMC’s US Commercial Division and closed the largest single transaction ($7.2M) to date in the Division’s history.  

“We’re excited to have Kim on the 140 Proof team,” said CEO and co-founder Jon Elvekrog. “Our mission is to make what everyone sees in social more relevant by mapping the blended interest graph. As we grow our advertising network into new areas, Kim’s skills will ensure that we have the best ads and the best network available.”

“Social advertising is about expressing meaningful messages across the social universe, and adding relevance to advertising. This has big implications for developers and bloggers,” said Stiefel. “140 Proof is uniquely positioned to transform digital brand advertising and I’m thrilled to help build out the best social ad offering available.

Stiefel received a Bachelors degree from The Ohio State University, and recently made the move from New York City to San Francisco for this opportunity.

About 140 Proof
140 Proof is the leading social advertising service, providing brand advertisers an effective way to reach millions of consumers primed to discover and share. The company delivers relevant, native, sharable ads across millions of social sites and apps connected via the Blended Interest Graph. 140 Proof’s Blended Interest Graph targeting matches ads to audiences based on public social cues such as who a user follows and keywords that a user sees. The solution is optimized for social and includes native social, IAB standard, and rich-media ad units. 140 Proof is headquartered in San Francisco and has additional field offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Detroit.

http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/140-Proof-Hires-Sales-Ace-as-New-Director-of-4518940.php

Leveraging its optimized consumer-driven platform, ZooZ’s “In-Ad Payments” enables publishers to streamline their mobile performance marketing and provide an experience that corresponds with the behaviors and needs of the average impulse buyer. ZooZ In-Ad Payments is significant because it enables ad agencies and networks to introduce new monetization models that are based on actual commerce transactions and not just clicks. According to Berg Insight, a telecom research company, the global mobile ad market is poised to jump from the $3.4 billion in 2010 to $22.0 billion in 2016.

While today’s mobile-oriented consumers expect immediate, hassle-free payment transactions, their experience is still sub-optimal, leading to persistently low conversion rates. According to a Nielsen study last year, 79% of respondents felt that shopping on a mobile device was slow and difficult to navigate, with many noting they had abandoned the transaction because the experience was so bad.

In-Ad Payments

ZooZ’s In-Ad Payment replaces prevailing offerings that force mobile shoppers to undergo an excruciating process, including redirecting them to a new site where they may be required to download a different app and then have to find the product all over again, or being asked to leave contact details and then wait for someone to respond to them later.

ZooZ In-Ad Payments enables mobile users to checkout with one tap within a visible banner ad inside of an app. After tapping on the ad, ZooZ’s checkout will pop in and present the mobile user with a full native checkout experience but without requiring one’s credit card details to be re-entered. Already used by thousands of merchants, ZooZ’s new functionality incorporates all the benefits of its flagship offering, including the new “quick payment,” support for e-commerce sites and apps, multiple payment methods, and its unique fraud detection capabilities.

“For the past year, ZooZ has been squarely focused on making payments click for in app purchases and e-commerce. However, we recognized that the ad industry is also facing immense challenges trying to create viable monetization models for mobile, yet thus far their efforts are still hampered by low conversion rates. We believe our new In-Ad Payment functionality will be an important new alternative and are pleased to offer them a new viable option,” said Oren Levy, Co-founder and CEO of ZooZ. “Notably, our new In-Ad Payment offering essentially minimizes the process mobile shoppers have to go through and replaces it with a seamless and quick purchase experience.”

About ZooZ

Through its unique checkout platform, ZooZ offers a complete, secure, and easy-to-use payment solution for e-commerce websites and mobile apps. ZooZ provides retailers and merchants with a set of tools that enables them to increase shopping conversion rates, reduce shopping cart abandonment, and grow their business based on smart consumer insights generated by its platform. By focusing on users’ behaviors and needs, ZooZ provides a standardized, branded, fast-and-easy checkout experience. Founded in 2010 by a team that includes a former executive leading VeriSign’s Fraud Detection group, the privately-held company has partnered with leading payment gateways, processors, and e-wallets worldwide to ensure that both users and retailers enjoy full flexibility and the broadest of payment options. The company’s patent-pending, bank-grade security technology also keeps user information secure in PCI-compliant servers. For more information, please visit http://www.zooz.com.

http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/ZooZ-Previews-In-Ad-Payments-at-Finovate-4518501.php

Called simply Sköna Vignettes, the collection of videos features 10 businesses and organizations that express the artisan, learned-hand ideals that have made Potrero Hill famous. This small pocket of San Francisco has surged in popularity in recent years, marked by an influx of young techies and upper-income professionals who hope to preserve the neighborhood’s originality and pluck. 

“Sköna Vignettes was born of our desire to share Potrero Hill with people outside of San Francisco – people who don’t have the luxury of spending a weekend on the Hill and experiencing the vibe in person,” said Scott Springer, creative director and partner, Sköna Advertising, Inc. “What once was an industrial, downtrodden area is now such a hot spot that The Wall Street Journal and New York Times have taken notice, but the spirit of the neighborhood has remained unchanged.”

Many of the businesses featured in Sköna Vignettes are household names including Recchuiti Confections, Rickshaw Bagworks and Papa November. The series also showcases the people behind the Taste of Potrero – an annual food event and fundraiser that helped rescue a neighborhood elementary school from closure – people whose passion and industry echo the spirit of the Hill.

The series includes a vignette of Sköna, too, as the company is based in Potrero and its owners hail from the Hill. “Sköna is cut from the same cloth as the other businesses in the series,” said Jenny Sagström, Sköna’s president and partner. “We’re passionate about our craft, and we’re also blue-collar, roll-up-your-sleeves at our core.”

The Sköna Vignettes series can be viewed at vignettesf.com.

About Sköna Advertising, Inc.
Sköna is a Potrero Hill-based, full-service advertising and design shop focusing on business needs from a holistic communications point of view. A small firm with big creative muscle, Sköna’s award-winning work is based on this premise: We no longer have the luxury of “talking” to consumers; we must engage them in the conversation. This is where inbound and outbound marketing come together. For more information, visit skona.com.

http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/Sk-na-Vignettes-Shine-a-Spotlight-on-San-4484873.php

The San Francisco-based company is unveiling Social.com, a new offering that combines services that originated at Buddy Media and another acquisition, Radian6. The idea is to help advertisers and agencies more effectively manage advertising using the likes of Facebook  and Twitter, a practice frequently called social advertising. 

For Salesforce, which started out by offering Web services to help automate company salesdepartments, the acquisitions and the new offering are the latest sign of its determination to diversify into marketing. Why? That’s increasingly where the money is.

“Within the next few years, the CMO is going to spend more money on technology than the CIO,” says Michael Lazerow, who was Buddy Media’s co-founder and CEO, using acronyms for chief marketing officer and chief information officer.

Buddy Media built up a business of helping companies manage all the advertising they place on Facebook and other sites. Lazerow, who is now chief marketing officer of what Salesforce calls its marketing cloud, says that could get pretty complicated considering all the ads a big consumer products company could place on different variants of social networks in different countries.

Radian6, meanwhile, was known for monitoring Twitter and other sites to help companies track what users are saying about their brands.

With Social.com, the idea is to better package those offerings and link them with others. One thrust, Lazerow says, is to connect the ad management system with company sales and other data generated by Salesforce services. The other is to augment that combination with the “listening” components enabled by the former Radian6 services.

The idea is to let big brands do ever-more sophisticated targeting using social networks. A company like Ford, hypothetically speaking, could exploit sales data about customers to help create Facebook communities of Ford owners and send offers to them, Lazerow says.

But advertisers want to investigate and exploit many more subtle kinds of associations, he says, like finding out what kinds of rock bands its customers like–or the friends of its customers. “Like which of these people are 25 to 35, who live in these areas and talk about Radiohead,” Lazerow says.

Many of Salesforce’s expansions up to now have been of use only to people who are customers of its customer relationship management offerings, for which it charges per user at each company. The parts of Social.com that rely on Salesforce-generated data work like that.

But there are other parts of the site that remain open to any business–not just Salesforce users, Lazerow says.

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/04/23/salesforce-com-courts-brands-and-ad-agencies-with-social-com/

In an example posted Wednesday by Twitter revenue manager Nipoon Malhotra, if you tweet you’re listening to a band that happens to have a concert coming up in your city, the concert’s venue could send a Promoted Tweet into your Twitter Timeline with a link to buy tickets. 

So this new “keyword targeting” platform could be a key revenue generator step for the San Francisco microblogging service.

“This is an important new capability – especially for those advertisers looking for signals of intent – because it lets marketers reach users at the right moment, in the right context,” Malhotra wrote in a company blog.

Twitter says it’s not going to push more advertising in front of Twitter users and insists it’s making the experience better.

“Uusers can still dismiss Promoted Tweets they don’t find relevant,” Malhotra wrote. “In fact, we believe users’ experiences with ads will improve as a result of this feature as they see more relevant Promoted Tweets.”

He said tests with advertisers like Microsoft Japan and Walgreens showed users were “significantly more likely to engage with Promoted Tweets using keyword targeting in timeline than other forms of targeting in the timeline.”

He also said wearable video camera maker GoPro “saw close to two million impressions, and engagement rates as high as 11 percent on Tweets promoted using the new feature.”

So what if someone tweets about bad experiences with a particular store or restaurant, will they still get Promoted Tweets exhorting them to come in and buy something?

Not necessarily. Twitter’s advertising platforms do have negative sentiment matching and forms of automated and human intervention in place that are designed to prevent, for example, a Burger King from targeting someone who tweets he hates McDonalds. Or for that matter, an advertiser who might try to target a drug user or fan of adult entertainment.

That still won’t help advertisers who aren’t in their right minds, such as whoever was responsible for a food website’s regular tweet this week (as captured by the blog Mr. Media Training) suggesting a whole-grain scone recipe “in honor of Boston and New England.”

http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2013/04/17/twitter-targeted-ads/