News & Opinion

With every tech advancement comes greater complexity, presenting new challenges for chief technology officers.  Ironically, the answer to carrying businesses forward with technology is people, people, people — and orchestrating people can be just as challenging as tech. To help ensure your next development project goes off seamlessly, Commit CRO and Managing Director of North America, Max Nirenberg recently shared his perspective with the Forbes Business Council on six questions every CTO should ask when building a team.   Six Questions Every CTO Should Ask When Staffing For Success (forbes.com)

Our hearts break for the needless and senseless suffering created by Vladimir Putin. Our sympathies go to the Russian people who are paying the price for their dictator's war. His cruelty has brought the world closer together and will make us all stronger.   We support our clients in their efforts: On the ground in Poland: Ukrainian refugees reconnect with family and friends with Plume Wi-Fi

Recent research from the Future Today x Variety Intelligence Platform Streaming Study, took an in-depth look at the latest TV viewing behavior and streaming preferences, polling U.S. consumers to identify the emerging trends shaping OTT, advertising, and the broader TV industry.   Data highlights from the report found that the majority of consumers (67.89%) prefer choosing the individual programs they’d like to watch on an on-demand basis, compared to just 12.5% who prefer pre-programmed, linear channels.   Other findings and insights of note: 50.6% of US consumers prefer using ad-supported video services to reduce costs Streaming ads are twice as likely to be relevant to a viewers’ interests than ads seen on cable or broadcast TV 5% of consumers plan to decrease their number of paid subscriptions Of those who have used a free trial in the last 12 months, 41.2% subscribed after the trial ended   “Consumer viewing preferences continue to evolve. Streaming has become the de facto source for watching TV shows and movies, but not all services, platforms and models will thrive in this shifting media landscape,” said Vikrant Mathur, CEO and Co-Founder of Future Today. “Despite some pundits’ expectations, we’re seeing AVOD adoption flourish, and expect this trend will continue to grow for years to come. Our research solidifies that with the right viewing experience, the ad-supported streaming model is ideal for content owners, brands and, most importantly, audiences.”   Helping power VIP+’s analysis throughout the State of Streaming 2021 is exclusive data from third-party firms such as connected TV analytics firm TVision and leading multichannel streaming company Future Today, as well as pollster YouGov and analytics firm Magid.   Read the complete report and analysis from Future Today here.

  AdTech innovator, QTT, Viamedia’s cloud-based television advertising platform, has launched a marketplace to enable automated activation of data-driven linear video advertising inventory, without changing existing workflows or technologies. QTT Marketplace is an open-platform destination for advertisers and agencies accustomed to digital platforms to directly access a wealth of premium, curated local and national television inventory – and for television inventory owners to tap more directly into the rapidly growing digital ad pool.   Initial TV participants include A+E Networks, FOX, Reelz with Magnite the first participating SSP.   “The last mile to activate linear TV advertising through existing digital platforms is finally here,” said John Piccone, president of QTT.   The launch follows the completion of a family of QTT patents delivering seminal steps in the integration of the pan-device digital and linear television advertising ecosystems.   Read more on Broadcasting & Cable here. Check out the full news release on BusinessWire.

Future Today, the only full-stack streaming solution that packages branded channels and delivers the audiences to watch them, announced the launch of three free streaming services on Rogers Ignite TV and Ignite SmartStream: FilmRise, Fawesome and iFood.tv. In addition, the companies have expanded their partnership whereby Rogers Sports & Media (RSM) will now provide ad sales representation for all of Future Today’s streaming channels across Canada.   “Rogers is a dominant force in shaping the TV viewing experience and leads the way in customer-focused offerings,” said Vikrant Mathur, Founder and CEO, Future Today.   In the last 12 months, Future Today has experienced extraordinary growth and has aggressively expanded its content library to offer more than 225,000 movies, TV shows and episodes with the addition of 15,000 hours of premium content that is currently available on every major streaming platform, including Rogers Ignite TV and Ignite SmartStream, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple, LG, Samsung, Vizio, Xbox, iOS and Android.   Read more from Rapid TV News here.

Clutch.co’s has listed Bob Gold & Associates among the Top 3 PR Agencies in Los Angeles, ranking  it #1 in Crisis Communications for the area. As more companies ramp up their operations in a challenging economy and social setting, many of them are looking to elevate their brand stories. We are the Gold standard for data-driven Public Relations and Brand Management. The BG&A team of experts provides uniquely tailored strategies for today’s digital-first world. Our goal is to tell a great story about you, share your expertise and insights, demonstrate your unique value and connect with target audiences across the globe.   To see our PR and marketing results, read our case studies for Cisco (Telecommunications), Viamedia (AdTech), and Plume (Consumer Electronics) as well as our collection of case studies on crisis management.   “Their work ethic and results were impressive. They also have good media relationships and industry contacts.”   Mark Goodburn, Director of Product Marketing, Plume   For more amazing reviews of the BG&A team, please visit our Clutch.co profile here.        

AdTech startup plans to add over 100 jobs in urban core, capitalizing on the region’s tech talent availability and innovation ecosystem   Advocado, a cross-media data management platform (DMP) fueling advertising performance, today announced its three-year plan to add over 100 high-paying technology jobs—a combination of engineering, data science, customer success, operations, sales and marketing roles—in downtown St. Louis as part of its long-term commitment to the city’s economic development. Advocado was founded in St. Louis in 2017.   This commitment follows Advocado’s recent evaluation of multiple markets, ultimately deciding to maintain and grow their headquarters in the Midwest’s “capital of innovation,” St. Louis, despite pressures to expand their business in a traditional coastal tech hub. To make this decision, the startup leveraged the strategic regional insight, market analysis, and the business and civic relationships facilitated by AllianceSTL, the business-attraction initiative of the metro’s regional economic and civic leadership organization, Greater St. Louis, Inc. With the support of the Missouri Partnership, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership and the St. Louis Development Corporation, the business attraction team at Greater St. Louis, Inc. helped the company establish roots in the city and accelerate its growth, reinforcing St. Louis as a world-class destination for startups and tech innovators.   “We’re excited to see Advocado expand in St. Louis,” Missouri Governor Mike Parson said. “The company’s commitment to innovation and growth has resulted in the creation of over 100 jobs that will provide new opportunities for Missourians to grow and succeed.”   “Our passion for revitalizing the economy in St. Louis naturally attracted us to the urban core,” said Brian Handrigan, 52, co-founder and CEO of Advocado. “At the same time, our collaboration with the regional team that was convened by Greater St. Louis, Inc.  allowed us to see how the city could function as a launchpad for our growing business. Not only have we been able to escape the restrictions of a coastal tech hub, expand on a massive scale and develop our product, but we’ve also been able to thrive here knowing we’re a positive force combatting workforce displacement in the area.”   “Being in St. Louis allows us to embrace our core values and our commitment to an uplifting work culture,” said Jeff Linihan, 46, co-founder, COO and president of Advocado. “We’re able to provide our diverse group of talented employees a space that is teeming with character and depth—it’s beyond physical structure. A building with the history and feeling of our current headquarters is hard to find outside of St. Louis City. As an AdTech company, we know that tech jobs, at their core, are creative and require the atmosphere to match; a farm of cubicles doesn’t compete with 15-foot ceilings and the cultural amenities of a world-class city."   Advocado’s historic location at 1000 Clark Ave. in downtown St. Louis is over 13,000 square feet in size, a testament to the city’s affordable real estate and standard of living, which ranks the 7th highest in the U.S. Boasting numerous accolades and rankings, St. Louis is home to a highly qualified workforce, a nationally acclaimed startup movement and a diverse economy. With one of the nation’s lowest costs of living, St. Louis is recognized by Entrepreneur as the “No. 1 City for Innovation in the Heartland” and LinkedIn’s “Top U.S. City to Launch Your Career,” a place where investment, talent, mentorship and lifestyle all intersect.   The spirit of St. Louis will allow the startup to remain at the forefront of the advertising industry, despite constant shifts in the digital media ecosystem. As ad dollars move away from linear broadcast and cable television, Advocado will be able to improve its data management platform and better monetize the real-time actions of viewers in a cross-platform environment. With the city’s superior talent and opportunities for technology and R&D, the company can expand its capabilities further and provide more accurate, abundant data that will give its customers a leg up in a very competitive landscape.   “Advocado fully understands the value that the St. Louis region brings to the growth of their business. As a burgeoning tech hub, the Greater St. Louis metro offers the affordability, flexibility, investment potential and talent pool a business like theirs needs to move from startup to standout,” said Steve Johnson, chief business attraction officer, Greater St. Louis Inc., and president of the AllianceSTL initiative. “We join our state and regional partners in recognizing and applauding Advocado’s commitment to our region and their impact on job growth and technological innovation. Their choice to commit specifically to Downtown St. Louis makes great strides in bringing new jobs to the core of the region — advancing a significant goal in the STL 2030 Jobs Plan. Advocado joins a rapidly expanding number of companies that see their civic commitment as growth potential — and we can’t wait to watch what they do next.”   Available to advertisers worldwide, Advocado helps power over 210 local U.S. markets and is the most robust real-time TV ad insights platform available to date.  

Joyn’s Platform Utilizes Real-time Data to Simplify and Streamline Underwriting for Small and Middle Market Risks     Commit USA, a global technology and custom software solutions company, and Joyn InsuranceSM, a New York City-based InsurTech startup, today announced a partnership to support the development of Joyn’s new platform, which is slated to launch this year.   Commit was tapped to help with both design and development of the new platform’s user experience. The company’s expert development team has been fully integrated alongside Joyn’s existing engineering team members and partners to ensure seamless collaboration and rapid development throughout the project.   Commit was selected for its comprehensive range of engineering and data capabilities, development expertise and customer-centric approach, which were critical to addressing the unique complexities and usability challenges of developing Joyn’s solution.   “Joyn is bringing big ideas to the insurance industry and is backed by brilliant executives and innovators who have already helped shape the world of InsurTech. It’s exciting to support their vision and be part of this transformation,” said Max Nirenberg, CRO & Managing Director, Commit USA. “Joyn’s platform is truly a best-in-class solution that addresses the biggest pain points experienced by underwriters and brokers in the commercial insurance industry. It’s the future of underwriting for Small and Middle markets.”   Joyn is an innovative, data-centric, technology-driven managing general agent (“MGA”) that provides commercial insurance to the highly fragmented U.S. Small and Middle Markets. Leveraging real-time data, automation and a robust technology stack, the platform can significantly improve the commercial insurance experience, by streamlining and bringing consistency to underwriting processes and decision making. Joyn’s platform can greatly expedite response times for quotes, increase transparency during the underwriting process, and provide a policy at bind.   “This segment of the commercial insurance market is fragmented and rife with inefficiencies, redundancies and lost opportunities for brokers and their clients. Data and technology are the keys to solving these issues,” said Ed McGough, CTO and Co-Founder, Joyn Insurance. “Partnering with an organization like Commit, who have both scale and a startup mindset was an easy decision. We have access to top engineering talent in multiple geographies, without the complexity of managing a global team and operation. Max and his team work seamlessly with Joyn and our existing partners.”   Joyn Insurance was founded by a unique team of insurance executives that are both industry veterans, and technology advocates, including CEO Seraina Macia and CTO Ed McGough. The team at Joyn will work with retail brokers to provide insurance services across a range of industries, including real estate, manufacturing, services, retail, wholesale and contracting.   Integral to Commit operations is its proprietary Flexible R&D methodology, which offers the firm’s multidisciplinary development services via a unique on-demand model. Commit’s approach often reduces development costs by over 40% for its startup clients and has helped 90% release their projects ahead of schedule.   For more information, please visit: https://www.commit.us or https://www.joyninsurance.com/  

US manufacturers lose more than $1.17M each year on average   US manufacturers on average incur losses of around $1,174,000 per year due to production line shutdowns caused by label printing problems, a global study of IT directors in manufacturing organizations has revealed. This is slightly below the global average, with many companies losing more than $1.31M each year.   The study of 300 IT directors globally, including 100 from the US, found that on average more than two-thirds of manufacturers (67%) were having to shut down their production line for more than an hour if there was a problem with label printing, with an additional 21% saying the line had to be shut down for more than 30 minutes. Recovery time was slightly faster but still problematic for US manufacturers, with just over half (51%) experiencing downtimes of 60 minutes or longer.   The study also revealed that manufacturers – both globally and in the US – were having to pause production lines just under six times a year on average due to such problems, with nearly three-quarters (77% globally and 69% in the US) saying their production line had to be paused four times or more in the past year as a consequence of labeling issues.   Ken Moir, VP Marketing, NiceLabel, said: “Any business disruption or shutdown can significantly impact any manufacturer causing loss of revenues and ultimately even putting the business itself in jeopardy. The danger of that being caused by mislabeling becomes a growing concern as labeling becomes a key part of business and supply chain strategy.”   Given the losses they are incurring due to shutdowns, it is unsurprising that 29% of the US survey sample see ‘reducing costs’ and 22% see productivity gains among the main benefits of modernizing/automating their manufacturing processes, including labeling, with technology, while 31% reference ‘eliminating errors’ as a key driver.   As Moir explains: “Ultimately, the risks to production operations extend well beyond full shutdowns. Decentralized labeling for example, also adds risk to production operations. An ERP system is supposed to provide “a single source of truth” to business users. However, at many organizations there are as many versions of the truth as there are labeling locations. That is because in decentralized labeling operations, each facility may not be integrated with ERP and will be creating their own label formats and duplicated product and customer data.   “After all, without centralization,” continues Moir, “manufacturers are generally not integrated to the same source of truth and that creates redundancies of data – making enterprise-wide updates unmanageable and adding significantly to inaccuracies and inconsistencies.”