StrongMail Acquires Social Media Marketing Leader PopularMedia
June 30, 2009 — StrongMail Systems, Inc., the leading provider of commercial-grade solutions for marketing and transactional email, today announced that is has acquired PopularMedia, a leading provider of social media marketing solutions. The acquisition coincides with the closing of StrongMail's sixth consecutive quarter of revenue growth, further strengthening its momentum in the marketplace and establishing it as the leading provider of integrated marketing solutions for email and social media. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
PopularMedia is an industry leader, providing innovative solutions that enable marketers to fully leverage the viral nature of email and social networks in a way that is both trackable and measureable. With social media emerging as a direct marketing channel, as evidenced by the results of StrongMail's 2009 Marketing Trends survey announced on June 15, the ability to measure results and optimize programs is critical.
By acquiring PopularMedia, StrongMail is ushering in a new era of integrated email and social media campaigns that will change how businesses think about customer engagement. The integrated solution will not only enable the sharing of content with popular social networks, but also enable the creation of integrated, measureable viral campaigns that drive engagement with both the initial recipient and their extended networks of family, friends and colleagues.
"There's no disputing the power of social networks to influence consumer behavior, and StrongMail's acquisition of PopularMedia puts the marketer in a powerful position to fully leverage the potential of social media in a way that is both measureable and fully integrated with their email marketing programs," said Sam Cece, CEO of StrongMail Systems. "By enabling marketers to create viral campaigns that they can monitor and optimize based on response rates, StrongMail is going way beyond the simple 'share to social' functionality that is offered today by most email service providers."
PopularMedia's social media marketing platform now serves as the foundation for the "Social Programs" component of StrongMail's social media framework announced earlier this month. StrongMail's Social Programs offering enables direct marketers to create powerful direct-response programs that leverage social media as the next generation of forward-to-a-friend. StrongMail is also leveraging PopularMedia's "Social Notes" functionality, which provides marketers with the ability to easily share email or website content with the most popular social networks.
"StrongMail has made a name for itself in providing email marketers with innovative and powerful tools for driving increased revenues and lowering costs, and adding PopularMedia's solutions to its line-up of products and services will only serve to strengthen its leadership position in the industry," said Jim Calhoun, CEO of PopularMedia. "With the symbiotic relationship between email and social media allowing each to fuel the other, PopularMedia's solutions are a natural fit for StrongMail's customers, and we are happy to be joining their talented team."
About PopularMedia, Inc.
PopularMedia, Inc., helps advertisers and publishers multiply the impact of their online ad campaigns and significantly increase user engagement by wrapping standard online display advertising units with an interactive social media layer. The company's Influencer Ads platform allows marketers to create engaging online experiences that invite consumers to share content, products and offers with their network of friends, relatives and colleagues. Driving these results is a sophisticated, proprietary viral optimization engine that analyzes campaigns for maximum virality and impact. For more information, please visit www.popularmedia.com.
About StrongMail Systems, Inc.
StrongMail’s marketing and transactional email solutions enable businesses to deliver more relevant, timely and cost-effective messages. StrongMail gives email marketers the control and support they need to improve campaign performance, boost deliverability and lower costs, while also providing IT with superior deliverability and reliability. Combining an easy-to-use email marketing application, high-performance delivery system, and a wide range of deliverability, strategic and supporting services, StrongMail makes it possible for companies with all levels of resources and expertise to take advantage of its proven solutions. Headquartered in Redwood City, CA, StrongMail’s clients include global leaders across virtually every industry. To learn more about StrongMail, please visit www.strongmail.com.
