Technology

Artificial Intelligence Big Data Cloud Computing Cyber Security Data Management Electronics Enterprise & Network Technology Financial Technology Hardware Mobile & Wireless Nanotechnology Semiconductor Software Telecommunications
News Release Digital Asset Direct

Ad Industry Execs Launch the Clean Room Primer Group, a Consortium Focused on Data Clean Rooms and Helping Brands Prepare for a New Privacy Landscape

Clean Room Primer

Data clean rooms are becoming a more important part of digital advertising – yet recent data from Habu found that more than half of the 266 marketing professionals surveyed have never used one. This is why leading advertising technology executives from Habu, InfoSum, LiveRamp, Claravine and Merkle among others have come together to form The Clean Room Primer Group. The group’s mission is to demystify data clean rooms and educate the marketing industry on their importance and uses in a privacy-safe marketing environment. “A primary goal of the consortium is to educate brands, agencies and publishers on the role of data clean rooms for safe data collaboration,” said Matt Kilmartin, CEO, Habu Inc. “At Habu, we believe the Clean Room Primer Group is bringing together the right people to forge a successful path forward when it comes to responsible data usage in our industry.” “Increase in data deprecation, growing privacy concerns, and changing privacy legislation make data clean rooms rooted in privacy protection imperative for marketing and measurement,” said Vihan Sharma, EVP of Global Revenue and MD of Europe, LiveRamp. “A safe and neutral platform for data collaboration will be a standardized part of every organization's digital transformation, and it’s more important than ever that we raise awareness and educate the industry on the benefits and significance of having a privacy-first, neutral environment for data collaboration.” “We are at a pivotal point in the evolution of the data clean room where clearly defined standards are critical," said Brian Lesser, InfoSum Chairman and CEO. “There is so much to gain if we get this right in terms of performance, privacy, and sustainability. This Clean Room Primer is an integral first step in establishing consensus and eliminating confusion for our partners across the ecosystem.” Other aspects of the group’s efforts include primary industry research, the development of a white paper and a 4-city roadshow across the United States throughout Q4 2022. Its inaugural study surveyed 75 ad industry professionals in the United States from September 15 through October 12, 2022. More than eighty-seven percent of respondents indicated that data clean rooms will play a somewhat to very important role over the next 18 months and “customer need, industry training and clearer standards” are among the top factors that will encourage the use of data clean rooms in marketing and advertising. “Education, awareness, and understanding are key parts of any transformation impacting an industry. Working with a wide range of companies on the concepts and implementations of data clean rooms for their marketing practices, I have seen a wide variety of successes and challenges,” said Rich Sobel, Founder and CEO at Marcato Solutions. “It has been valuable to partner with some of the leading practitioners on data clean rooms to bring greater knowledge to marketers and publishers. This will help them feel confident about data clean room technology and implementation best practices – which vary based on a specific company’s needs.” The Clean Room Primer is publishing its initial piece of educational material, a co-authored white paper covering clean room taxonomy and definitions; use cases; and a look at the future. The intention is to guide marketers, agencies, and publishers to formulate and evaluate their plans for using data clean rooms and thereby enhance their odds for success. The white paper will be released during the group’s inaugural event at Advertising Week in New York City, taking place on October 18 at the New York Marriott Downtown. Following this event, The Clean Room Primer will commence a Roadshow in major cities throughout Q4 2022 including Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles where leading practitioners such as Matt Kilmartin CEO Habu; Brian Lesser, CEO InfoSum, Veronica Luik Director Strategy & Marketing Intelligence, LiveRamp; Chris Comstock CPO Claravine; John Baronello VP Digital Transformation Cardinal Path (Merkle) will share real-world insights on why and how to use data clean rooms for marketing and advertising. The Clean Room Primer Roadshow dates: New York City on October 18 @ New York Marriott Downtown (9:00 - 11:00 AM ET) Chicago on November 2 @ Chicago Marriott Magnificent Mile (4:00 - 7:00 PM CT) San Francisco on November 10 @ The W San Francisco (4:00 - 7:00 PM PT) Los Angeles on December 6 @ The Huntley Hotel Santa Monica (9:00 - 11:00 AM PT) About The Clean Room Primer Group The Clean Room Primer is an ad-hoc consortium of advertising industry executives with a shared mission of providing marketers, agencies, and publishers with a reliable and expert source on data clean rooms, their use and implementation best practices. Helping the industry prepare for a new privacy landscape. Inaugural participating companies include Habu, LiveRamp, InfoSum, Claravine, Kite Hill Public Relations, Marcato Solutions, The B2B Marketing Company, Neustar and Merkle. For more information, visit CleanRoomPrimer.com and follow on LinkedIn and Twitter. About Habu Habu is a data clean room software company that makes collaboration across decentralized data safe, simple, scalable, and smart. Our solution accelerates time-to-value, while surpassing the most exacting standards for privacy and security and provides end-to-end applications that drive the business outcomes that companies desire. About LiveRamp LiveRamp is the leading data enablement platform for the safe and effective use of data. Powered by core identity resolution capabilities and an unparalleled network, LiveRamp enables companies and their partners to better connect, control and activate data to transform customer experiences and generate more valuable business outcomes. LiveRamp’s fully interoperable and neutral infrastructure delivers end-to-end addressability for the world’s top brands, agencies and publishers. For more information, visit www.liveramp.com. About Infosum InfoSum is the world’s leading data collaboration platform and the only secure data clean room, empowering companies to deliver better customer experiences while prioritizing customer privacy. InfoSum enables safe connections between multiple parties to unlock the full potential of their customer data without risk of exposure or misuse. InfoSum not only prioritizes consumer privacy, but enhances it with patented, non-movement of data technology to create the most protected, most connected, and most accessible data collaboration network. InfoSum was founded in 2016 with a vision to connect the world’s data without ever sharing it. The company has multiple patents, protecting its invention of the ‘non-movement of data.’ InfoSum has offices throughout the US, UK, Europe, and Australia. The company is poised for continued growth following a Series B investment in August 2021, and a rapidly expanding client base. Read more at www.infosum.com. Contact Details Kite Hill PR Maggie Stasko cleandata@kitehillpr.com

October 14, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Helping Keep Elections Safe - This Company Is Working To Limit Security Risks Highlighted In Previous Elections

BIO-key International, Inc.

Elections are considered the basis for democratic legitimacy, central to maintaining free and fair societies in countries across the world. They give citizens a means to hold their leaders accountable, by either voting incumbents out of the office or promising to hold to account those leaders who are successfully elected. Appropriate election security to ensure that the processes involved are fair, resilient, and safe, is of paramount importance in maintaining public trust in the democratic function. Election security covers all elements of election infrastructure including election officials, volunteers, state and local government bodies, voting equipment, vendors, and technology. Its objective is to prevent possible security issues during elections, which could enable bad actors to access election systems and commit fraud through false registrations, allowing ineligible voters to vote, or enabling a voter to cast his or her vote more than once. The 2016 and 2020 presidential elections in the U.S. saw many instances of cyber-attacks and suspected breaches. For example: Russian hackers made headlines through their multiple efforts to penetrate the voter systems including those of two counties in Florida. Riverside county in California saw unknown hackers tamper with voter party affiliation data leading to confusion at the polls and voters being turned away. A security failure in the Georgia voter registration database left the records of more than 6.7 million people vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches. Some breaches are made easier due to weaknesses in election systems, especially relating to processes involved in providing access to election officials who handle these systems. In each county, the responsibility of designing and ensuring a smooth, secure, and legally valid election lies with the election committee. The committee sets up election offices comprising a broad spectrum of full and part-time employees and volunteers to check the incoming voters against the electoral roll and establish their voting rights. Such volunteers and staff have full access to the election databases and systems that voters use to register themselves. These registration systems contain personal data and sensitive information including driver’s license numbers, social security numbers, and political affiliations of voters – making them extremely appealing to cyber criminals. Altering, hacking, or publishing these records could result in significant data breaches, even rendering potential voters ineligible to vote on election day. In addition, the large influx of new staff and volunteers involved in the election cycles often operates using shared workstations, giving rise to additional data security risks and potentially exposing systems to cyber security crimes. Learning from the experience of cyberattacks on election systems in 2016, the U.S. government took steps in advance to ensure the security of the 2020 presidential elections – by increasing the funding available for election-security initiatives. In 2018, the government enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included $380 million in federal funding to make election security improvements including through enhancing technology. And in 2020, the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Bill was amended to provide $250M in additional funding for county and state election boards to upgrade technology, improve cybersecurity, and help prevent future cyberattacks. Biometrics Could Transform Voting Security In The U.S. One company that states it has played a prominent role in providing election security support is New Jersey-based BIO-key International Inc. (NASDAQ: BKYI). The company reports having provided biometric solutions to support the electoral process internationally for years and says that since 2019 it has also been involved in U.S. election security including working with numerous counties, including Collier county in Florida. The Florida election office had already invested in BIO-key’s PIV-Pro – a Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) compliant fingerprint scanner for government security applications – and based on the county's evolving security requirements chose BIO-key’s patented PortalGuard platform for authenticating access for its staff during elections. BIO-key believes its PortalGuard Identity and Access Management (IAM) & Identity-Bound Biometrics (IBB) platform is ideal for election applications because it is affordable, easy to deploy and manage, and delivers a high level of data security via accurate biometric authentication. PortalGuard also has a unique capability of supporting the widest range of multi-factor authentication methods compared to other IAM platforms on the market, including advanced biometric authentication using fingerprint and palm scanning methods. The New Jersey-based company’s election security solution is compatible with a variety of complex fingerprint readers qualified by Microsoft to support passwordless fingerprint authentication and also integrates with Microsoft’s Active Directory as well as many other directories, giving customers the flexibility to decide where they store election staff’s digital identities. Expanding its footprint in Florida, last year BIO-key signed with the Orange County election office to secure election data access using Identity-Bound Biometrics. The company says that the U.S. government’s proactive funding of election security initiatives has been a key enabler in the deployment of its various election security solutions to the counties it supports. “We have forged an election security program that is seamless, easy to launch, and able to support a wide array of authentication options. BIO-key enables election officials to meet the challenges of an evolving threat landscape in an easy-to-deploy and cost-effective manner.” stated BIO-key Chairman and CEO Michael DePasquale. The company anticipates further growth in the area of securing state and federal election data in the future. To learn more about BIO-key visit its webpage. BIO-key is revolutionizing authentication and cybersecurity with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) software managing millions of users. Its cloud-based PortalGuard IAM solution provides cost-effective, easy to deploy, convenient and secure access to devices, information, applications, and high-value transactions. BIO-key's patented software and hardware solutions, with industry-leading Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) capabilities, enable large-scale Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) solutions, as well as customized on premises solutions. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Catalyst IR- William Jones, David Collins +1 212-924-9800 BKYI@catalyst-ir.com Company Website https://www.bio-key.com/

October 14, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Avocado DAO x Reta Wars Partnership

Reta Wars

Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram | Facebook Reta Wars is delighted to announce its strategic partnership with Avocado DAO, a prominent Web3 Gaming Guild. The long-term goal is to shape a new future for blockchain through GameFi and SocialFi initiatives. Reta Wars' innovative GameFi system, officially launched on October 3, 2022, offering opportunities and inspiration to many users across Asia, including Japan and Korea. This incredible partnership news means that Reta Wars can offer players and scholars a wider range of opportunities and help bridge them into the Metaverse. What is Reta Wars? As the title suggests Reta Wars is a war-themed game, but it doesn't just mean Battle. As evidence in the real world, "Battle" is just one part of the war that also involves economic influences and political events. Reta Wars is a War-to-Earn game that encompasses these elements. Within the endless wars of Nate and Gaia, the key forces, players can receive economic returns in a variety of ways. Players can hire NFT heroes and strategically place them in buildings in their territory to produce resources. The hero has various skills and stats, and there are various buildings in the player's territory, such as barracks, secret bases, mines, lumber mills and farms. When a player deploys an NFT hero in a building, heroes produce resources according to their capabilities. Players must now carefully examine how to use this resource. New Opportunities in War Economy Simulation In general, players can obtain the in-game token, GRT, by selling resources they harvest, but they can also supply resources to their forces and receive GRT as war rewards. On the other hand, players who have achieved high results in war or who have supplied a lot of resources for power can earn the governance token, RETA, on the ranking table. Reta Wars is full of amazing revenue opportunities, but it's impossible to predict all the results like the Excel Calculator. Because the tide of war and the planet winning or losing always affect fluctuations in resource prices, players will always be required to make strategic and rational choices. Sometimes players need to communicate with other players to form groups for their own higher returns. This is because the battle strategies that greatly affect the victory or defeat of the war and the profit of the game are all determined by the votes of the players. Yes, it's like a strategy game where two giant DAOs compete for their own benefit, rewards and glory! Offering a new alternative to sustainable Game-Fi Reta Wars has designed a special tokenomics for a sustainable Game-Fi ecosystem. Unlike conventional dual tokens, which are merely implemented to avoid inflation, this system maintains value through mutual interaction. It means that players make various play plans according to their budget and purpose. Some people will sell resources to get GRT, and others will buy resources to get more RETA. This is an entirely new approach to the sustainability of the game’s ecosystem, in the same way as cross-border trade in the real economy. Avocado DAO x Reta Wars Reta Wars offers a solution to inflation with a new Game-Fi system that has not been explored before, and it will now be verified by various gamers around the world. Avocado DAO also reviewed the long-term potential of the new Game-Fi system by playing Reta Wars, and decided to enter into a partnership. With innovative tokenomics and deep strategy, the game offers a new perspective on the sustainability of Game-Fi. Most importantly, DAO's solidarity plays a significant role in determining team strategies by voting on how to tackle the war and win more revenue. It will eventually encourage more exciting team play and offer new inspiration to Avocado DAO and scholars. You can find out more about Reta Wars and follow their socials here: Website | Twitter | YouTube | Discord | Facebook About Avocado DAO Avocado DAO is a Web3 gaming guild that provides rewarding experiences for its scholars and facilitates entry to GameFi to empower more users. Find out more about Avocado DAO and join the community here: Contact Details Mr. JP Lee business@realital.com

October 14, 2022 03:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image

Assembly to Deliver Pioneering Insights on the Convergence of Political, Advocacy, and Brand Advertising at Advertising Week NYC

Assembly

Amidst a hot election season, Assembly ’s team of media and political strategy experts will be taking the stage at Advertising Week NYC, alongside leaders and experts from Samba TV and Lyft. The panel is one of several Stagwell (STGW) activations at Advertising Week, the world's largest annual gathering of marketing, media, and technology leaders. Together, the panel – made of Assembly North America President, Valerie Davis, Assembly Lead Political Strategist, Tyler Goldberg, Lyft Head of National Policy, Heather Foster, and Samba TV Co-Founder & CEO, Ashwin Navin – will dive into the impact of political advertising during election cycles (and beyond) and how it trickles down to consumer sentiment and behavior, and overall brand engagement. Assembly brings a unique perspective to the conversation, as a global omnichannel agency existing at the intersection of unmatched political and advocacy advertising and strategy expertise, and global marketing for commercial brands. The agency offers political clients the scale, resources, and insight that boutique agencies cannot, while being able deliver an entirely new layer of knowledge, media strategy, and consumer insights to brand advertisers seeking to navigate the impact of election season advertising. Today, Assembly released its latest thought leadership on the topic: The Assembly Political Dispatch[er] - The Convergence of Political & Commercial Advertising in US Culture. Available for download here. Samba TV, which recently released findings from a new survey in partnership with HarrisX, brings expertise in voter media consumption and behavior, particularly the undeniable shift from linear to streaming TV. Details of the panel: Talk Politics to Me: Why Every Brand Today Needs a Dose of Political Know-How: Thursday, October 20 th at 1:15PM on the Innovation Factory Stage – Political is THE media story of Q4 2022, and it's never been a more critical time for all advertisers to know the rules of the game. Join Assembly, a global omnichannel media agency – with an only-of-its-kind full-service political strategy and media practice – and experts from Lyft, Elevance Health and SambaTV for a discussion on the path forward for brands in a politically charged media environment and the convergence of political, advocacy, and commercial advertising. ABOUT ASSEMBLY: Assembly is the modern global omnichannel media agency, bringing data, talent, and technology together to find the change that fuels growth for the best brands on the planet. Our approach connects big, bold brand stories with integrated, global media capabilities that deliver performance and drive large-scale business growth. Our work is powered by our proprietary, in-house technology solution, STAGE, and led by our global talent base of over 1,600 people around the world. We’re purpose-driven at our core and pioneers in social and environmental impact in the agency world. Assembly is a proud member of Stagwell, the challenger network built to transform marketing. For more information, visit www.assemblyglobal.com Contact Details Sara Pollack, VP of Marketing +1 917-438-4922 sara.pollack@assemblyglobal.com Company Website https://www.assemblyglobal.com/

October 13, 2022 02:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time

It’s Time to Take the Lead: AmeriLife Introduces LeadStar Marketplace

AmeriLife

Today, AmeriLife Group, LLC (“AmeriLife”), in partnership with leading performance marketing and customer acquisition company Fluent, Inc. (“Fluent”) and insurtech leader Leadrilla, Inc. (“Leadrilla”), introduced LeadStar SM Marketplace, a proprietary, private leads platform created with and exclusively for its affiliated agents. With more lead options than any existing platform, and an intuitive, mobile-optimized design and feature set, agents can expect to go from qualified customer inquiries to closing on the same day. LeadStar Marketplace delivers exclusive, real-time leads as well as inbound and warm-transfer calls – directly to field agents – at the industry’s best prices. With the ability to customize lead volume and types against individual agents’ needs, LeadStar Marketplace empowers agents with unmatched flexibility, reliability and performance to accelerate their sales and grow their businesses. “When AmeriLife and its partners set out to build LeadStar Marketplace, we did so with one goal in mind: creating more opportunities for our agents,” said Scott R. Perry, chairman and CEO of AmeriLife. “Today’s announcement is about so much more than introducing a best-in-class leads platform – it’s about delivering more qualified prospects, a requirement for any agent in today’s highly competitive landscape. LeadStar Marketplace is that comprehensive, compliant and easy-to-use solution, and we’re excited to bring it to the market.” With LeadStar Marketplace, agents will benefit from: Sign-up to sales on the same day: With an intuitive, front-end design and mobile-optimized experience to take business anywhere, agents can expect to go from sign-up to selling within the same day, guaranteed. LeadStar Marketplace also has agents covered, providing technical support and sales tips with a dedicated support team and a rich library of on-demand training. Worry-free compliance: All lead sources in the LeadStar Marketplace are CMS, TCPA and consumer-protection compliance verified before they’re delivered to agents. As the system dynamically updates with regulatory changes, agents can be sure their leads will remain compliant. Combined with seamless and fully CMS-compliant inbound call recording and storage capabilities – at no additional cost – agents can focus on what they do best: serve their customers. Leads on agents’ schedules: LeadStar Marketplace is more than leads on demand – it’s leads when agents demand them. With flexible campaign management, agents can easily select dates, times and lead types to be delivered on their schedules, with the ability to pause and resume campaigns at the click of a button. And because LeadStar Marketplace provides exclusive, real-time data leads, agents won’t miss a beat as they connect with actively shopping customers. “Fluent leverages its best-in-class digital and call solutions to verify intent and match consumers with the health and life insurance products they’re in the market for today,” said Don Patrick, CEO of Fluent. “Through this partnership, we’ve created a marketplace that can easily elevate and streamline the sales process for agents and consumers alike, driving a quality solution for all.” “Leadrilla’s proprietary customer acquisition, routing and management software allows brands with distributed sales teams to gain full control and transparency into their sales performance,” said Koby Hastings, founder and CEO of Leadrilla. “The launch of LeadStar Marketplace is a game-changer for the industry, positions AmeriLife as a leader in insurance technology, and provides their agents with the tools they need to succeed.” “The demand for Medicare and life insurance solutions are growing rapidly, as are the questions many customers have about what coverage is right for them,” added William DeCourcy, senior vice president of Growth Marketing and Customer Acquisition for AmeriLife and product lead for LeadStar Marketplace. “LeadStar Marketplace was designed to seamlessly connect customers to our agents, quickly get their questions answered, and deliver the best coverage in near real-time to help them live longer, healthier lives.” For more information on LeadStar Marketplace and to request access, visit LeadStarHub.com/Marketplace. ### About AmeriLife AmeriLife’s strength is its mission: to provide insurance and retirement solutions to help people live longer, healthier lives. In doing so, AmeriLife has become recognized as the leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities and retirement planning solutions to enhance the lives of pre-retirees and retirees across the United States. For more than 50 years, AmeriLife has partnered with top insurance carriers to provide value and quality to customers served through a distribution network of over 300,000 insurance agents and advisors and more than 100 marketing organizations and insurance agency locations nationwide. For more information, visit AmeriLife.com, and follow AmeriLife on Facebook and LinkedIn. About Fluent, Inc. Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNT) is a global data-driven performance marketing company and trusted growth partner for leading brands. Experts in creating value for consumers, Fluent leverages its consumer database, digital media portfolio, and proprietary data science and technology to deliver outcome-based solutions for marketers. Founded in 2010, the company is headquartered in New York City. About Leadrilla, Inc. As an enterprise lead acquisition, routing and management platform for distributed sales teams across a variety of industries, Leadrilla provides the key to success for growth-oriented sales organizations. Leadrilla’s platform brings data-driven insights plainly into focus at each stage of the customer acquisition process, improving companywide performance at scale beginning with each individual agent. Founded in 2018, Leadrilla is a software company headquartered in Lexington, KY. For more information, visit Leadrilla.com or reach out to us at media@leadrilla.com. Contact Details AmeriLife Jeff Maldonado +1 321-297-1112 jmaldonado@amerilife.com Fluent, Inc. Media Relations marketing@fluentco.com Leadrilla, Inc. Media Relations media@leadrilla.com Company Website https://amerilife.com/

October 13, 2022 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Brüush CEO (NASDAQ: BRSH) Talks To Benzinga About Disrupting Oral Care

Bruush Oral Care Inc.

Click Here To Download The Latest Research Report on Brüush Benzinga had the pleasure of speaking with Brüush CEO and Founder, Aneil Manhas about the company’s history and where they are going. Here is what Manhas had to say: Benzinga - What was the inspiration for Brüush? Manhas was really interested in the success of two brands in particular - Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club. He had witnessed both of those companies take off in the early 2010s with a subscription-based model and oral care products seemed like an ideal fit for a similar model, but no one was doing it. Manhas saw a lot of similarities between the hassle of purchasing razor heads and replacement brush heads for an electric toothbrush. In both instances, the cost is expensive and the retail buying experience is annoying. He saw an opportunity to disrupt the electric toothbrush industry in the same way that Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s disrupted the razor market. Manhas shared, “If you’re going to the store to purchase an electric toothbrush or replacement brush heads, they are often locked up in cases within the aisle, which requires finding a store attendant to gain access and then figuring out what brush head is compatible with your device. It’s a miserable experience. I saw a problem and Brüush was my solution.” Benzinga - What sets your company apart from other brands offering electric toothbrushes? Currently, Brüush’s main competitors are the major brands like Oral B and Phillips. These brands are selling their high-end models for over $200, so the first thing that sets apart the Brüush toothbrush is the price point. Brüush is selling a top-of-the-line quality electric toothbrush that’s comparable to high-end models that retail for over $200 for a much cheaper price of $79. Manhas believes that the company has done an excellent job of creating a premium product for an affordable price. “When you get your Brüush toothbrush, you can immediately tell it is a premium product.” It’s what he likes to call “affordable luxury”. Manhas also highlighted how Brüush’s brush head refill subscription model is incredibly convenient for consumers. If someone likes their product, they can sign up for the subscription model, where they are shipped 3 brush heads every 6 months for $18 ($6/head). That level of convenience really appeals to consumers, especially post-pandemic, by helping them avoid needless store trips. The subscription model is something that Manhas believes is a strong draw, as he says that over 80% of customers opt-in for the brush head refill subscription. Manhas also believes Brüush has created an “experience” for consumers. He spent a lot of time focusing on the product's design, as he wanted to avoid creating a clunky and outdated toothbrush that looked like a medical device. He wanted to create a sleek unit that people would be proud to showcase in their bathroom. He paid a lot of attention to detail not only to the toothbrush itself, but also the packaging. The box is sleek, sexy and clean. When you open the Brüush packaging, it is a very Apple-esq experience that’s unlike any other electric toothbrush on the market and naturally becomes a very shareable moment on Instagram. Benzinga - Why do you think Millennials and Gen Zers gravitate to your brand? Manhas highlighted an estimated 70% of Brüush’s customers are within the 18-45 range, which is different from other electric toothbrush brands that skew to an older customer base. He shared that they are having wild success with millennials and Gen Zers, largely coming from their willingness to do what he called “disrupting oral care”. For the majority of their customers, the Brüush brand is their first electric toothbrush and Manhas noted that the company is very much going after that big market of manual brush users and trying to convince them there has never been a more opportune time to upgrade from manual to electric. Brüush has positioned itself as the go-to oral care brand for millennials and Gen Zers by shying away from traditional marketing initiatives such as television advertising and print media and instead directing their marketing efforts on digital channels where they have seen success. Brüush is also less focused on the type of statistics that oral care marketing has traditionally used like “9 in 10 dentists recommend” and opted for more personal messaging that resonates with their target audience. Manhas explains that the brand is trying to breathe life into oral care, which has typically been a very dull and boring category. “I want people to look forward to brushing their teeth. We want to deliver customers more than just a great product…we want to have a brand that speaks to them and one they can relate to on a personal level.” Brüush was super excited to partner with comedian Kevin Hart, a partnership that evolved organically. "I loved Brüush from the first time I tried it. Our partnership makes a lot of sense given we both are obsessed with smiles, everything about it feels natural and authentic.” said Hart in a statement. Manhas added that he believes the partnership has helped position the brand in a unique way but notes that Kevin Hart is just one piece of Brüush’s marketing puzzle. Brüush is active on social media and works with micro-influencers who showcase their real-life experience with the product. This, again, comes back to creating an experience for potential customers that is both authentic and enjoyable. Benzinga - What is on the horizon for Brüush? Manhas shared that Brüush has a lot in store over the next few months. Being the perfect gift, the holiday season is a peak period for sales. The company will also be releasing some holiday limited edition colors, so stay tuned for that announcement. Brüush is also expanding its oral care product line in early 2023, with the launch of toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, and a whitening pen in the first quarter, and an electric toothbrush designed for kids in the second quarter. Manhas shares that all the new products will have the same premium look and feel as the Brüush toothbrush. Manhas says that his ultimate goal for Brüush is to “own the bathroom” and create a diverse product line that appeals to millennial and Gen Z customers. He is optimistic about his goal, sharing that currently Brüush has a 90% 5-star rating on its website, a very low churn rate on the brush head refill subscription, and a product return rate of only 1%, which is pretty much unheard of for an e-commerce CPG company. He says, “We have a value proposition that is really resonating with the consumer. Our biggest challenge is awareness, so we just need to continue to work on getting the word out.” About Bruush Oral Care Inc. Bruush Oral Care Inc. is on a mission to inspire confidence through brighter smiles and better oral health. Founded in 2018, Brüush is an oral care company that is disrupting the space by reducing the barriers between consumers and access to premium oral care products. The Company is an e-commerce business with a product portfolio that currently consists of a sonic-powered electric toothbrush kit and brush head refills. Brüush has developed a product to make upgrading to an electric brush appealing with three core priorities in mind: (i) a high-quality electric toothbrush at a more affordable price than a comparable electric toothbrush from the competition; (ii) a sleek, countertop-friendly design; and (iii) a convenient brush head refill subscription program that eliminates the frustrating experience of purchasing replacement brush heads at the grocery/drug store. The Company is rooted in building a brand that creates relevant experiences and content, with the goal of becoming the go-to oral care brand for millennials and Generation Z.For more information on Bruush Oral Care Inc visit https://bruush.com. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details TraDigital IR - Colette Eymontt colette@tradigitalir.com Company Website http://www.tradigitalir.com

October 13, 2022 09:14 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Employers turn to freelancers to fill tech skill shortages following global layoffs, reports Freelancer.com

FREELANCER.COM

Freelancer.com (ASX: FLN) (OTCQX: FLNCF), the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by number of users and jobs posted, today released its quarterly Fast 50 Index for Q3 2022 which reveals insights into the fastest growing freelance projects and most in-demand skills. The index, which is based on data from 296,000 jobs posted on Freelancer.com between July 1 to September 30, 2022, reveals a major surge in tech-related jobs in Q3 when compared to Q2 2022 and Q3 2021. Android App Development (up 80.5%, from 1,082 to 1,954) ranked as the fastest growing project type in Q3 2022 when ranking the percentage growths from all 2,000 skills available on Freelancer.com. This was followed by AJAX (up 66.4%, from 1,059 to 1,763) and API (up 59.5%, from 1,587 to 2,532) jobs which are both skilled related to website and software development. The sudden surge in tech-related freelance jobs first observed in Freelancer’s Q2 2022 index, comes off the back of global tech layoffs and hiring freezes across the so-called ‘tech winter’, that started with a ‘crypto winter’, as informed by Freelancer.com in earlier Fast 50 reports. According to a tech layoff tally, more than 42,000 workers in the U.S. tech sector lost their jobs in 2022. Tech-related jobs dominated the rankings when comparing Q3 2022 to Q3 2021 year-on-year. Software Development jobs were the fastest growing skill (up 54.7%, from 1,587 to 2,442), while jobs for Coding ranked as the second highest growing skill (up 45.5%, from 1,004 to 1,461) and Backend Development came in third (up 37.7%, from 1,111 to 1,530). “The macroeconomic environment, tech winter and nosebleed inflation has led to an almost daily string of announcements of layoffs. The most similar event was the Global Financial Crisis where we saw three trends: businesses looking to cut costs and going online to hire freelancers, people looking for work online and a lot of startup businesses formed to bridge people through hard times. However this was mostly contained to the United States. We think that heading into 2023 we could see this all over again, but on a more global scale,” said Matt Barrie, Chief Executive at Freelancer.com. These layoffs may also increase the amount of startups being founded, not only across the US but also in Europe, with skilled people being cut from bigger organizations, but with experience either building their own companies or working in highly successful startup environments, as described by Alan Poensgen, in his Fortune article of October 5, 2022. Fast 50 Q3 2022 vs Q2 2022 Analysis Employers look to freelancers to plug tech skill gaps Overvaluations and dropping stock prices have caused mass hiring freezes and layoffs across the tech companies globally in 2022. According to online tracker Layoffs.fyi, there have been 83,173 layoffs from 661 startups this year, as of October 2022. This is almost half of the total of 179,164 tech layoffs since the beginning of COVID-19. These layoffs, which accelerated in May 2022, have contributed to increases in tech-related jobs across the platform. While Android App Development dominated Q3 and was ranked as the fastest growing job on Freelancer.com, employers have been turning to the platform to support niche, highly specialized tech projects. AJAX, which is used to develop websites, and API, which allow software programs to communicate with each other also took second and third place, respectively. Niche skills in AngularJS, a toolset for building apps, and Codeigniter, a toolset for web development, equally rose by 22% in Q3. “Michael Milken said ‘the defining characteristic of the 21st century was the competition for intellectual capital’. There’s a chronic skill shortage in western nations, forcing businesses to go to the Internet to find talent. Freelancer.com has the largest online pool of talent in the world.” said Matt Barrie. Projects seeking experts in Amazon Web Services (AWS) grew by 27.6%, from 3,004 to 3,834 jobs in Q3, while Software Development continued its growth from Q2 with a 18% increase from 2,069 to 2,442 jobs in Q3. Artificial Intelligence jobs also grew by 15.9%, from 1,055 to 1,223. Marketing Trends - Marketers turn from SEM to SEO, YouTube & traditional This quarter, the data revealed shifting trends in marketing and advertising. Projects for Search Engine Marketing (SEM) fell by almost a third (30.4%) in Q3 - from 2,300 jobs to 1,600 from the previous quarter. On the other hand, digital marketing, traditional marketing and YouTube jobs spiked in interest. Most commonly, in Q3 employers are looking for support with SEO ranking. Blog Writing jobs, which are usually associated with businesses hiring freelancers to write SEO-friendly blog content, increased by 55% in Q3, from 1,058 to 1,642 projects. Digital Marketing also saw a 23.1% increase in Q3, jumping from 1,738 to 2,141 jobs. These jobs range from hiring business consultants supporting social media strategies to SEO managers. Notably, Q3 also saw many employers turn to the platform to hire community managers, digital marketing campaign managers and social media managers. Traditional advertising also saw an increase in Q3. Flyer Design projects increased by more than a quarter (27.5%) from 1,658 to 2,114 jobs. A similar increase was also seen for projects relating to Covers and Packaging, which increased by 27.3% from 1,253 to 1,596 jobs. Many employers turn to the platform to crowdsource ideas for packaging labels and shipping boxes designs. When comparing Q3 2022 to 2021, advertisement design is up 15.7%, from 1.516 to 1,755 jobs. “With the onset of new digital marketing channels, businesses are learning that their strategies must diversify and move away from primary channels, such as SEM. Paid advertising alone is no longer the most viable alternative. What we are witnessing is demand for freelancers with skills in social media, short video platforms, earned & owned content, SEO and a whole spectrum of marketing strategies that before were in the realm of large corporates only,” said Hector Perez-Nieto, Marketing Director at Freelancer.com. Jobs seeking YouTube skills were the fifth fastest growing skill in Q3 2022 - growing by 32.3% from 1,138 to 1,505 jobs. Many of the jobs seeking YouTube skills are related to vertical videos and Shorts content. While there was a 10% increase in TikTok related skills and projects seeking TikTok content creators, employers seek YouTube and video editing skills three times more. Companies turn to freelancers for lead generation & customer support The layoffs aren’t just affecting tech roles, but also sales and customer services roles across businesses. Over the last quarter, there was a significant increase in demand for customer service, customer support and sales-related skills on the Freelancer platform. While virtual assistance jobs have always been a popular freelancing project type, Q3 2022 saw an increase in employers hiring virtual assistants. Jobs for Customer Support grew by 30.5% in Q3, from 1,531 to 1,998 jobs. This was also closely followed by Customer Service projects which rose by 27.4% from 1,370 to 1,746. Lead generation and cold calling was also a popular project type in Q3. Jobs to generate Leads jumped by a quarter (25.3%), from 1,387 to 1,738. Sales specific jobs also increased by 18.7% from 2,544 to 3,020 total projects. One boutique recruiting agency in the US successfully hired a freelancer to manage cold calling and follow ups for only US$38 per hour, with a maximum of 40 hours available for the freelancer per week. The platform is also used by mortgage brokers to source sales virtual assistants to call realtors for loan officers. Ethereum and NFT projects continue steep decline In Q2 2022, Freelancer reported a fall from grace for jobs relating to Bitcoin, Crypto and NFTs, which were once ranked as the fastest growing freelance jobs on the platform for 2021. It’s now Ethereum’s turns as Ethereum-related jobs plunged in Q3 2022. The fastest falling job types on the Freelancer platform in Q3 were Solidity, a programming language used to implement smart contracts for mostly Ethereum based platforms, and Smart Contracts were - declining by -56%, from 1,422 to 613 jobs, and -49%, from 1,442 to 726 jobs, respectively. NFTs jobs were slashed by half (49.5%) in Q3, dropping from 1,424 to only 718 in total. This trend was closely followed by jobs for Ethereum specifically, which fell by 39.9% from 1,173 jobs to only 705. Blockchain jobs also fell by 26.7%, from 3,216 in Q2 but continue to retain interest with 2,357 jobs reported in Q3. Business cards are back in business With corporate and networking events back in action, so are business cards. In Q3 2022, Business Card design spiked by almost one third (30%) from 1,861 to 2,427 jobs. This is the first time since the start of 2020 that projects for Business Cards have grown significantly. ##### Freelancer Fast 50 The Freelancer Fast 50 index is the world’s largest forward indicator of trends in online jobs related to industries, technologies, products, and companies. The data is based on 296,000 jobs posted to the Freelancer platform between 1st July to 30th September 2022. Fast 50 Quarterly Index – Q3 2022 Fast 50 - Q3 Year-on-Year Comparison ###### About Freelancer Twelve-time Webby award-winning Freelancer.com is the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by total number of users and projects posted. More than 60 million registered users have posted over 20 million projects and contests to date in over 2,000 areas as diverse as website development, logo design, marketing, copywriting, astrophysics, aerospace engineering and manufacturing. Freelancer owns Escrow.com, the leading provider of secure online payments and online transaction management for consumers and businesses on the Internet with over US$6 billion in transactions secured. Freelancer also owns Freightlancer & Loadshift, enterprise freight marketplaces with over 550 million kilometres of freight posted since inception. Freelancer Limited is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker ASX:FLN and is quoted on OTCQX Best Market under the ticker FLNCF. Contact Details Freelancer.com Marko Zitko +61 404 574 830 mzitko@freelancer.com Freelancer.com Sebastian Siseles +1 415-801-2271 sebastian@freelancer.com

October 13, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

CHARGEFUZE BRINGS INNOVATIVE MOBILE CHARGING STATIONS TO WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTERS IN THE U.S.

EMC

(LOS ANGELES – October 13th, 2022) –chargeFUZE will scale its innovative and autonomous out of home mobile phone charging stations into Westfield shopping centers in the US, the company announced today. The initiative is part of a thorough effort to ensure that Westfield guests have the best experience possible and can take advantage of all digital and tech forward initiatives on site. chargeFUZE’s portable charging network is being rolled out across Westfield’s US shopping centers, allowing guests to charge their devices while ‘on the go.’ ChargeFUZE’s innovative technology will enable Westfield visitors to remain untethered and to charge any device from the comfort of their person, while shopping, dining, and more. ChargeFUZE’s all-in-one portable chargers will be made available for rental via a quick QR code scan. When finished, guests can return the charger at their convenience to any of the chargeFUZE kiosk locations throughout the network. ChargeFUZE co-founder, Brandon Afari said, “We are incredibly excited for the opportunity to partner with a company like Westfield. Both our companies hold similar values in creating a meaningful brand and experience for our customers, and we are proud to align our objectives with theirs. In looking at all of our partners and locations, chargeFUZE is the perfect fit for Westfield, and we are looking forward to expanding across the US together.” ChargeFUZE co-founder Ryan Levy said, “Westfield is another large scale partnership that we are excited to announce and proud to be affiliated with. We are privileged to align with amazing corporate leaders across industry sectors, all of whom are a testament to the large scale need for chargeFUZE and its best in class technology platform. Our goal is to become the ubiquitous solution across all out of home experiences - and we are working hard on achieving this goal. We believe that in today’s digital world, individuals should always be enabled by their devices and we are excited to offer chargeFUZE to Westfield shoppers across the country.” chargeFUZE is already live at Westfield World Trade Center, Westfield Valley Fair, and Westfield San Francisco Centre, with installations continuing in most of Westfield’s US shopping centers throughout the year. Guests will be able to access chargeFUZE products via iOS and Android applications, or via a web application. ChargeFUZE is the largest and most innovative provider of high-speed, on-the-go mobile charging. It is making the experience of mobile charging ubiquitous by allowing users to rent a portable charger on the go from any of their kiosks. ChargeFUZE’s comprehensive network of autonomous kiosks enables users to charge their phones anywhere, and never miss a moment of the action, the event or their experience. When they’re done, users can easily return the portable charger at any chargeFUZE kiosk nationwide in over 25 states. They are currently powering guest experiences across sports, entertainment venues, music festivals, experiential retail, hospitality venues, casinos, hospitals, universities, restaurants, bars and many more. More information is available at chargefuze.com, contact@chargefuze.com LinkedIn or Instagram. Contact Details chargeFUZE contact@chargefuze.com

October 13, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image

Velocity Global named a Leader in Everest Group’s global Employer of Record PEAK Matrix®

Velocity Global

Velocity Global, the leading provider of global talent solutions, today announced that it was recognized as a Leader in Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2022 for Employer of Record (EoR) Solutions. The report evaluated 15 EoR solution providers on their vision, capability, and market impact, taking into account client references as well as an ongoing analysis of the EoR market. “Velocity Global’s extensive global coverage and cloud-based technology underpinned by in-country local expertise have been well received by the market,“ stated Priyanka Mitra, practice director at Everest Group. “Its expertise in serving clients of all sizes and its continued investments in improving its technology capabilities as well as its mobile-first approach are well appreciated by clients and have helped it emerge as a Leader on Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® Assessment." As the largest global EoR provider, Velocity Global enables companies to compliantly hire, manage, and pay any type of worker anywhere in the world. The company’s Global Work Platform™ simplifies the employer and talent experience by combining proprietary cloud-based talent management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched global scale. Being a Leader in Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix for EoR Solutions, Velocity Global distinguishes itself by expanding its geographical presence, enhancing self-coverage, and constantly improving its EoR solutions while investing in state-of-the-art proprietary technologies and supporting integrations with the client’s existing technology stack. Specifically, the Everest Group report highlights several strengths contributing to Velocity Global’s positioning as a Leader, including: Investments enabling continued innovation and expansion. Velocity Global received multimillion-dollar investments, including a $400 million Series B earlier this year that will be used to enhance and broaden its technology and solutions, while recent acquisitions of iWorkGlobal and ShieldGeo allowed the company to further expand its capabilities and reach. Breadth of solutions and coverage. A full suite of global hiring and workforce solutions — including global EoR, Global Immigration, Contractor Payments, Contractor Management (Agent of Record), and Global Payroll — spanning over 185 countries. To ensure global regulatory compliance, Velocity Global has a network of experts and an internal compliance committee to track changes in local laws. Comprehensive, cloud-based technology. The company’s easy-to-use technology allows clients to onboard, manage, and pay employees as well as contractors worldwide. Additionally, it features a “country knowledge center” that acts as a repository of local labor law. To enhance the employee experience, the employee self-service interface and dashboard are mobile-enabled. Exceptional service. Clients referenced strong customer support and sharp focus on compliance. “We are thrilled to be recognized as a Leader in global EoR solutions by Everest Group,” says Brad Collins, chief strategy officer at Velocity Global. “For companies looking to expand geographically or hire the best possible person for a job, wherever they might reside, our global EoR solution provides an excellent opportunity to do this in a way that maximizes agility and efficiency. Our teams are constantly enhancing the user experience and adding capabilities to our Global Work Platform™ to meet the needs of our clients today and in the future.” To learn more about what sets us apart download the report here. About Velocity Global Velocity Global accelerates the future of work for anyone, anywhere, anyhow. Its Global Work Platform™ simplifies the employer and talent experience through its proprietary cloud-based talent management technology, backed by personalized expertise and unmatched global scale. The platform offers a full suite of talent solutions, including global Employer of Record and Contractor Management, to help companies onboard, manage, and pay talent in more than 185 countries. Thousands of brands rely on Velocity Global to build international teams without the cost or complexity of setting up foreign legal entities or state registrations. Velocity Global was named a "Leader" in Global Employer of Record Services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall. Founded in 2014, the company has hundreds of employees across six continents. For more information, visit velocityglobal.com. Contact Details Velocity Global Anja Koltes +1 720-650-4348 news@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

October 13, 2022 07:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time

Image

1 ... 391 392 393 394 395 ... 631