ApartmentRatings.com owner Internet Brands acquires SatisFacts Research

June 28, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Internet Brands has acquired SatisFacts Research, the resident feedback, performance monitoring, and retention enhancement service provider in the multifamily industry. SatisFacts will be combined with ApartmentRatings.com, an Internet Brands property that is the largest source of online renter reviews and a key source of information for prospective residents.

Founded in 2000 by property management industry veteran Doug Miller, SatisFacts provides resident feedback and performance enhancement programs, servicing hundreds of management companies that oversee more than 1 million units nationwide. SatisFacts’ programs provide year-round performance monitoring and client support programs that help enhance resident satisfaction, loyalty, retention and online reputations.

“SatisFacts has led the way in helping property managers understand their reputations and the drivers of satisfaction amongst their residents,” said Wade Hewitt, VP of Internet Brands and general manager of ApartmentRatings.com. “Combining this knowledge and service with the existing property manager-related services of ApartmentRatings enables us to provide property managers with an unparalleled end-to-end view of the customer.”

The Satisfacts team will remain in place post-acquisition.

USA, Los Angeles, CA

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Microsoft to Acquire Yammer

June 27, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Microsoft Corp. is to acquire Yammer, a provider of enterprise social networks, for $1.2 billion in cash. Yammer will join the Microsoft Office Division, led by division President Kurt DelBene, and the team will continue to report to current CEO David Sacks.

“The acquisition of Yammer underscores our commitment to deliver technology that businesses need and people love,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft. “Yammer adds a best-in-class enterprise social networking service to Microsoft’s growing portfolio of complementary cloud services.”

Launched in 2008, Yammer now has more than 5 million corporate users, including employees at 85 percent of the Fortune 500. The service allows employees to join a secure, private social network for free and then makes it easy for companies to convert a grassroots movement into companywide strategic initiative.

Yammer will continue to develop its standalone service and maintain its commitment to simplicity, innovation and cross-platform experiences. Moving forward, Microsoft plans to accelerate Yammer’s adoption alongside complementary offerings from Microsoft SharePoint, Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics and Skype.

“When we started Yammer four years ago, we set out to do something big,” Sacks said. “We had a vision for how social networking could change the way we work. Joining Microsoft will accelerate that vision and give us access to the technologies, expertise and resources we’ll need to scale and innovate.”

USA, Redmond, WA & San Francisco, CA

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Penton Media acquires Highline

June 27, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

B2B media company Penton Media has acquired Highline LP.  Formed in 1992, HighLine provides airport, ground handling, fuel and services information to the aviation industry. Since 1998, HighLine has collaborated with Penton’s AC-U-KWIK, the FBO directory serving the business aviation market as well as other new products. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“The Highline/AC-U-KWIK relationship goes back many years and we are pleased to be able to integrate the two businesses and develop even more robust digital products,” said David Kieselstein, CEO of Penton Media.  “We welcome Gillian and Alain George, the founders of Highline, and their team to Penton.”

Gillian and Alain George, will become directors of the group.

USA, New York, NY & UK, Ascot, Berkshire

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Valassis Communications acquires Brand.net

June 25, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Media and marketing services company Valassis has acquired Brand.net, an online display, video and mobile advertising platform. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“The traditional path to purchase was linear and brought the consumer from awareness to action one step at a time,” said Rob Mason, Valassis President and Chief Executive Officer. “Today, consumers are in control and their media habits are changing at a remarkable rate which means that clients need to use a mix of media to stay both visible and relevant. That’s where Valassis has a proprietary advantage — we deliver targeted, print and digital solutions to engage consumers at every point along the path to purchase.”

USA, Livonia, MI & Silicon Valley, CA

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WPP to acquire AKQA

June 20, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP is to acquire the assets of digital agency AKQA Holdings, Inc.

Founded in 2001, AKQA provides integrated digital communications campaigns, spanning social media, mobile, interactive experiences, gaming and content creation.  Clients include Delta, Diageo, EDF, GAP, Google, Microsoft Xbox, Nike, Target, Unilever and Virgin Money, among many others.

International recognition for its creative excellence has earned the agency numerous industry awards, including 19 Agency of the Year titles.  Last year, AKQA won Digital Agency of the Year honours in both the US (Adweek) and the UK (Campaign) and collected five Cannes Lions.

Currently employing 1160 people worldwide – from software engineers and technologists to creatives and strategists – the agency operates through offices in the US (San Francisco, New York, Washington DC), Europe (London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin) and Asia (Shanghai). The agency had gross assets of $282 million as at 31 December 2011 and forecasts revenues of around $230 million in 2012, having achieved $189 million in 2011.

AKQA will continue to operate as an independent and stand-alone brand within WPP and be led by founder and CEO Ajaz Ahmed and Chairman Tom Bedecarré.  Tom Bedecarré will also become President of WPP Ventures, a new Silicon Valley-based company, which will explore new digital investment opportunities for WPP as a whole.

Commenting on the arrival of AKQA, Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP said:  “We are thrilled to welcome AKQA’s unique team of technological innovators and entrepreneurs to WPP.  We have admired their creativity and technological skills for a long time along with their outstandingly effective and award-winning work for clients. We are looking forward to working with Ajaz and Tom to broaden their offer and our own, both geographically and functionally.  We are delighted to be united!”

UK, London & USA, San Francisco, CA

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Facebook has acquired Face.com

June 20, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Facebook has acquired Face.com for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was announced on the Face.com blog.

“Our mission is and has always been to find new and exciting ways to make face recognition a fun, engaging part of people’s lives, and incorporate remarkable technology into everyday consumer products. If you’re anything like us, Facebook is a part of your life every single day.  We keep up with our friends and family, share interesting (or mundane) experiences from our daily lives, and perhaps most importantly for us, we share a LOT of photos.

Read the rest of the June 18, 2012 blog entry here.

USA, Menlo Park, CA

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CatchFree has acquired customer analytics platform KISSinsights

June 15, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

CatchFree, a free online service for comparing apps based on detailed customer feedback, has acquired KISSinsights from KISSmetrics, a customer analytics platform.

KISSinsights is a micro-surveying tool that enables online businesses to easily ask website users questions as they are making decisions, the crucial point at which they are likely to remember their motivation for making the decisions.

KISSmetrics and CatchFree CEO Sean Ellis have long collaborated in the survey space, launching in 2009 a free customer development survey together on Survey.io that has helped thousands of companies identify and understand their most passionate customers.

“Understanding customer feedback and motivation is a powerful way to drive breakthrough ideas for improving customer acquisition, conversion and retention rates,” said Ellis. “Several months ago we discovered that publishers on CatchFree were getting more value from the insights we uncovered than the traffic we could send. With requests for a more elegant way to collect feedback and the ability to ask custom questions, it became clear that we needed something like KISSinsights.”

USA, Newport Beach, CA

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Syncapse to acquire Clickable

June 15, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Syncapse, the social performance management platform is to acquire Clickable, a social and search advertising management and intelligence platform based in New York City. Syncapse is the social marketing engine for over 100 global brands including Amway, L’Oréal, Anheuser-Busch InBev, RIM, Diageo.

Clickable’s social and search advertising management functionality will become a key addition to Syncapse’s suite, which includes social media publishing, moderation, compliance, multi-channel data management, and measurement intelligence products. The result is a fully integrated SaaS solution, forging paid, earned, and owned into the most powerful Social Performance Management platform available.

As part of the acquisition, Dave Fall, Clickable’s Chief Operating Officer and former product executive from DoubleClick and Google, will join Syncapse as Chief Product Officer. Sandeep Sahi, former engineering leader from Clickable and Microsoft, will also join Syncapse as Senior Vice President of Engineering, and Managing Director of India operations. David Kidder, Clickable’s co-founder and Chief Executive, and New York Times best-selling author, will continue as a strategic advisor to Syncapse.

This strategic expansion bolsters Syncapse’s global footprint to over 220 employees complete with one of the world’s largest product and engineering teams developing social engagement and advertising solutions. Syncapse will expand its sales and marketing operations in its new headquarters in New York. Through the acquisition, Syncapse will expand its innovation and presence in Asia, with an R&D center in Gurgaon, India. Syncapse will continue operations in its offices in Toronto, London, and Portland.

“CMOs of global enterprises, are increasingly looking for a single solution to drive social performance and understand ROI across paid, earned, and owned media,” said Michael Scissons, CEO of Syncapse. “Syncapse has the most experience across all technologies and platforms, and we are committed to delivering the best product in the market that syncs with our customers’ legacy systems, including CRM, listening, media, and other databases. We were built to serve the marketing organization from day one, and will deploy the technology and knowledge from Clickable to serve our customers better than anyone in the business.”

“The inextricable link between social engagement and paid media demands that marketers tightly integrate their planning, execution, and measurement across all digital marketing investments,” said David S. Kidder, CEO and co-founder of Clickable. “By uniting with Syncapse, we’ve created an unparalleled offering to ensure marketers maximize their return on paid, owned and earned media.”

For more information, please see a blog post from Syncapse CEO Michael Scissions.

USA, New York, NY

 

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Thomson Reuters acquires Apsmart

June 14, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Thomson Reuters has acquired Apsmart, a London-based mobile platform and product development firm that was majority owned by DN Capital. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The Apsmart acquisition will improve Thomson Reuters ability to provide customers with mobile solutions that drive a competitive differentiation in the marketplace.

Mobile is an increasingly significant way in which professionals work and consume information. The acquisition of Apsmart will enhance Thomson Reuters mobile product creation, design and development, allowing the company to deliver even more expert-enriched content, news and solutions through the interfaces that professionals want on the mobile devices they use.

Founded in 2009 by DN Capital and Rahul Powar, creator of the first Shazam iPhone application, Apsmart is at the cutting edge of mobile build and design. The team is well known for creating connected, data-driven applications for iOS and Android devices.

“This new team brings strong experience in end–to–end mobile development capabilities from user experience and design through to product realization and platform services,” said Robert Schukai, global head of mobile technology at Thomson Reuters. “As we move forward, we will have a greater ability to develop foundational mobile capabilities that build significant brand value in our mobile product portfolio.”

“The team at Apsmart is excited about the opportunity to apply our diverse mix of skills to the large Thomson Reuters customer base. We look forward to helping drive the strategy and creation of significant new experiences in mobile across the organization,” said Rahul Powar, new head of mobile application development at Thomson Reuters.

The addition of the Apsmart team will build upon the success of the advanced suite of Thomson Reuters mobile offerings which include Thomson Reuters WestlawNext and Thomson Reuters ProView eReader.

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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Gannett buys online sports news site Quickish

June 14, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

According to the wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch Gannett Co. Inc. has acquired news aggregator Quickish in a deal designed to boost the USA Today Sports Media Group’s focus on online sports news. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Quickish, which was launched in January 2011, works as a news curation and recommendation hub for sports news and analysis on social and media platforms. The news aggregator offers a summary and a link for sports stories, which are picked by Quickish’s editors instead of an algorithm.

Its founder, Dan Shanoff, has joined USA Today Sports as an audience development executive. Mr. Shanoff created and produced the “Daily Quickie” column for ESPN.com and has worked in content development roles for Starwave, Sports Illustrated and the NFL.

Gannett, like other struggling traditional publishers, has been attempting to bulk up its digital operations to help offset soft print advertising. The company in January acquired Fantasy Sports Ventures, a network of independent sports websites led by TheBigLead.com., part of its efforts to expand its online sports audience. Terms of that deal were also not disclosed.

Shares of Gannett rose recently 1.6% to $12.92. The stock is down 4% so far this year.

USA, McLean, VA

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