It’s nice to be able to welcome the rest of the Visible crew to the UK.
WPP Company Establishes European Headquarters to Support Growing Demand for Comprehensive Social Media Monitoring Solutions
Visible Technologies, a leading provider of social media monitoring and engagement solutions, today established its European headquarters in London. This will enable Visible Technologies to better serve the needs of top European brands wanting to define and execute their enterprise social media strategy. With more than 60 per cent of Europeans engaging in social media on a regular basis¹, it is now more important than ever for companies to listen and have a conversation with their audiences online.
“We have seen tremendous momentum for our solutions in the US and recognise the significant opportunity in Europe to help companies build their brand online by monitoring and engaging with social media conversations,” said Dan Vetras, chief executive officer, Visible Technologies. “Our proven solution, along with the expertise of our UK leadership team, positions us for strong growth in this market.”
Visible Technologies helps leading global brands such as Autodesk, Microsoft and Xerox listen, engage and build relationships with their customers via social media. Visible Technologies delivers a full suite of solutions to enable companies and individuals to proactively manage social media conversations that influence public perceptions of their brand. Its feature-rich solutions enable multiple departments, from public relations and advertising to product marketing and customer services, to engage with online channels.
Leading Visible Technologies’ European operation is Craig Gordon, managing director, EMEA, supported by Andrew Grill, UK head of sales and business development. The new European executive team brings with it more than 30 years combined international technology and business management experience. Gordon has deep customer relationship management (CRM) expertise, having led European operations for CRM software company Talisma Group, as well as Redwood, and McLaren Software. Grill, a digital strategist and evangelist, was among the first active advocates of using social media tools for brand development in companies such as Telstra and Optus. With his depth of experience, he is also well-connected to leading advertising agencies across Europe.
“We are seeing increased demand for our comprehensive social media solutions from European brands directly, our agency partners and through the WPP network,” said Craig Gordon, managing director, EMEA, Visible Technologies. “By combining our market-leading solutions with local market knowledge we will be able to give brands the social intelligence they need to positively shift brand perception online.”
The European office has already begun to establish customer relationships with leading brands and agencies in the UK, including advertising agency VCCP, which is using Visible Technologies’ truCAST suite to monitor online conversations for clients.
Visible Technologies’ expansion into Europe was facilitated by $22 million funding secured in January 2010. This funding was led by a new investor, Investor Growth Capital (IGC). IGC is the growth-stage venture capital arm of Investor AB, a Nordic-based publicly traded investment holding company with investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia. Other investors Centurion Holdings, Ignition Partners, In-Q-Tel and WPP also participated in the round.
According to Zach Hofer-Shall, analyst at Forrester Research, “Listening platforms are enablers of social intelligence. Without the data aggregation, text mining, and analysis capabilities of listening platforms, marketers would spend an insurmountable amount of time scouring search results trying to keep up with the growing social Web.”²
Visible Technologies’ Product Portfolio:
Visible Technologies delivers a full suite of feature-rich solutions, including:
- truPULSE: enables organisations of all sizes to quickly and easily begin listening to and assessing online conversations about their brand.
- truVOICE: helps companies understand online conversations and effectively participate in these discussions for a more direct connection with their brand.
- truSEARCH: extends truVOICE to give companies direct access to their repository of social media data so they can investigate what is important to their brand.
- truINSIGHT: comprehensive set of professional services and reports that help businesses track and measure social media conversations in a variety of ways to make more timely and informed business decisions.
Supporting Resources
- Visible Technologies Website: http://www.visibletechnologies.com
- Visible Technologies UK Website: http://www.visibletechnologies.co.uk
- Visible Technologies Blog: http://www.visinsights.com
- Video “Starting the Social Media Conversation”: http://lc.tl/whatissm
Notes to Editor
¹ Source: Forrester Research, Europeans’ Social Networking Use Accelerates, by Rebecca Jennings with Emily Riley, Thomas Cummings and Jennifer Wise.
² Source: Forrester Research, How to Make Social Media Actionable, by Zach Hofer-Shall with Carlton A. Doty and Emily Murphy.
About Visible Technologies
Visible Technologies helps companies like Autodesk, Boost Mobile, Microsoft, and Xerox listen and learn what consumers are saying about them online to engage in the right conversations with the right influencers and the right time, and enables individuals to manage and protect their online reputations. With real-time business insight and response powered by the industry-leading truCAST technology platform, companies build relationships with customers, bolster their brands and grow revenue. For more information, go to http://www.visibletechnologies.com, or follow the blog at http://www.visinsights.com.
For more information, press only:
For Visible Technologies
Blake Cahill
+1 425 957 6041
blake@visibletechnologies.com
For Hill & Knowlton for Visible Technologies
James Farquharson
+44 20 7413 3129
james.farquharson@hillandknowlton.com