Elemental Communications - Coull - Press Releases http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk/ The Elemental Communications press releases feed. About the media consultancy, integrating communications, online public relations, off and online PR in London, England, UK http://www.on-idle.com Wed, 09 Jul 08 19:28:00 +0000 <![CDATA[buy.at joins with Coull for LittlewoodsDirect.com video application]]> http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk/media_centre/press_releases/current/60/Coull/347/buyatjoinswithCoullforLittlewoodsDirectcomvideoapplication/ buy.at joins with Coull to launch interactive video application for LittlewoodsDirect.com

Partnership marks Europe’s first use of interactive video advertising and affiliate marketing


10 July, London, UK ---- Platform-A’s buy.at announced today that it is launching an online interactive video application for Shop Direct Group , the UK’s leading online and home shopping retailer.  

Developed in conjunction with Coull http://www.coull.com , the application is available for affiliates on the buy.at network and is the first time this video format has been used as part of an affiliate campaign in Europe.  The buy.at affiliate network, http://www.buy.at , is an Advertising.com Network Solution, provided through AOL’s digital advertising business, Platform-A.

The interactive video advertisements feature models wearing the latest big-brand clothing from the Group’s LittlewoodDirect.com site.  Each item of clothing and accessory featured in the video has been assigned its own tag.  Customers can click through to a dedicated page for the product, and a further click will forward the customer to the product page on the LittlewoodsDirect.com site.  The activity is tracked to ensure affiliates are paid the correct commission for the activity they generate.

The Shop Direct Group has worked with buy.at since 2004 to increase sales for LittlewoodsDirect.com, as well as their other brands: Additions Direct, Great Universal, Littlewoods and Marshall Ward.  

LittlewoodsDirect.com features 16,000 product lines from furniture, white goods and electronics to clothes for men, women and children.  Outfits from major brands such as Diesel, Morgan and French Connection are featured, as well as swimwear, lingerie, sportswear, bridal wear, shoes and new ranges from Trinny and Susannah.

“Shop Direct Group is always looking to innovate and find new ways of reaching our customers.  The development of this video platform with buy.at and Coull places Shop Direct Group at the forefront of affiliate marketing.  The ability to take the customer directly to a product page from a product video opens up new and exciting opportunities for us,” said Neal Preece, e-commerce director at Shop Direct Group.   “It’s a great tool for affiliates, which enables them to enhance their campaign promotions and drive even more sales with exciting, high-quality content.”

“buy.at is the first affiliate network in Europe to integrate this technology for the advertisers and affiliates on our network and Littlewoods is the first client to adopt it, “ said Brendan Condon, managing director of Platform-A International.  “Shop Direct Group is a forward-thinking retailer that innovates to maintain its market-leading position.  This interactive video tool will maximise the impact of the LittlewoodsDirect.com brand, engaging the customer online and driving more sales for their affiliate campaign,” Condon continued.

Irfon Watkins, CEO at Coull comments, “Interactive video is a powerful tool for enhancing product placement and driving sales online and buy.at is innovating in the affiliate sector by offering it to its network of 9,000 affiliates.  Major brands are getting excited about the impact interactive video advertising will make to their online campaigns.”

buy.at will track click-throughs, sales and cost-per-acquisition commissions by integrating video tags with its tracking and campaign analytics.  If the LittlewoodsDirect.com video advertisement is copied from an affiliate’s site and pasted into another website or a customer’s social network profile, Coull’s technology ensures the tracking and reporting remain embedded.  

buy.at manages a combination of SEO and PPC affiliates, content site, comparison and loyalty site affiliates to increase sales for the Shop Direct Group.  In January 2008, Shop Direct Group consolidated all of its affiliate marketing accounts onto buy.at.  Research commissioned by buy.at and conducted by e-consultancy.com into affiliate marketing in the retail sector, revealed that retailers spend 19 per cent of their online marketing budget on affiliate marketing and 71 per cent of them expect to increase investment in affiliate marketing over next two years.

----Ends----

----Notes to editors----

Read more about Hitesh Bhatt and the Coull team at the Elemental media centre.

Click on Media Alerts to register   to receive forthcoming news from Elemental Communications and its clients.

This press release is available in PDF, plain text and Word formats.  Photographs are available of the Coull team .

The media spokespeople for Coull are Irfon Watkins, chief executive officer and Claudia Giovannoni, marketing director. 

About Coull
http://www.coull.com


Coull is a video advertising enabler.  Through its in-house interactive video platform Coull Engage®, Coull enables advertisers, brands, agencies and web publishers to create interactive video campaigns that deliver a customisable user experience with above average levels of engagement.

Supported by robust and straight-forward reporting tools, content owners can easily access real-time campaign tracking, measurement and monitoring statistics to maximise the effectiveness of content delivery and interaction.

Coull’s technology and ad formats are accepted by well-known and established publishers, including Bebo, Lycos, MSN and MySpace and integrate with existing campaign reporting and ad serving systems.

Clients that benefit from Coull’s technology include Agent Provocateur, Boots, Mindshare, Renault and Unilever.

Coull is backed by Rupert Hambro & Partners, Finance South West Growth Fund and Creative Ventures and led by an experienced management team.

About LittlewoodsDirect.com
http://www.littlewoodsdirect.com


Shop Direct Home Shopping Limited is the UK’s leading online and home shopping retailer, with annual sales of around £2 billion and five million customers. We sell all of the major brands, including Sony, Nike, Levi’s, Adidas, Phillips, Kodak, Dyson, Bosch, Amanda Wakeley, Morgan and Miss Sixty.

Littlewoods is one of the largest online retailers in the UK and plan to double our online sales to £750 million in the next three years.

To support the expected growth of online retailing, Shop Direct Group has a highly valuable and efficient infrastructure that no other UK retailers can rival – sourcing, warehousing, single pick and pack distribution, home delivery to customers.

About Platform-A
http://www.platform-a.com  


Platform-A, AOL’s advertising business, is the industry’s largest digital advertising platform, offering the most comprehensive suite of marketing solutions, powered by the Web’s best advertising technologies.

Platform-A’s network includes AOL’s leading media properties – AOL.com, AIM, MapQuest, and more – and Advertising.com’s third-party networks. Platform-A also includes TACODA’s audience insights and behavioral targeting; Quigo, a site- and content-targeting solution; ADTECH, an international digital ad serving business;

Third Screen Media, a mobile ad serving network; and buy.at, an affiliate marketing solution. Platform-A currently has operations in the United States, nine countries across Europe, including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and Japan through a joint venture with Matsui.


----Contact----

buy.at

Joanna Burton, Head of PR and Marketing
Telephone: +44(0) 20 7299 8380
Email: joanna.burton @ buy.at

Anna Barry, Marketing Manager
Telephone: +44 (0)191 222 9720
Email: anna.barry @ buy.at

Elemental Communications

Tim Gibbon, Director
Mobile: +44 (0) 7930 375 663

Rachel Hawkes Account Director
Mobile: +44 (0) 776 665 1244

Email: mediacentre@elementalcomms.co.uk
Website: http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk

Telephone: +44 (0) 870 745 9292
Fax: +44 (0) 870 745 9293

####

Address: Second Floor, 145 -157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, England, UK]]> http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk/media_centre/press_releases/current/60/Coull/347/buyatjoinswithCoullforLittlewoodsDirectcomvideoapplication/ Wed, 09 Jul 08 19:28:00 +0000 <![CDATA[Hitesh Bhatt joins Coull from MSN UK]]> http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk/media_centre/press_releases/current/60/Coull/344/HiteshBhattjoinsCoullfromMSNUK/ Hitesh Bhatt joins Coull from MSN UK

Video platform Coull continues growth with another senior appointment - Hitesh Bhatt joins from MSN UK


26 June 2008, London, UK ---- Interactive video platform Coull http://www.coull.com welcomes Hitesh Bhatt from MSN UK as its new commercial director.

Bhatt, who joined MSN UK three years ago as a sales manager was more recently acting head of agency sales.  His latest role involved managing a team of nine sales people, negotiating annual contracts with key agency groups such as Aegis, Omnicom and Publicis and was involved in the strategic direction and running of the MSN UK sales team.

He is an advertising and media industry veteran with more than 15 years of experience and joins to lead the Coull sales team.  Previous roles for Bhatt have seen him work for EMAP, MTV UK and Yahoo!  He will be responsible for expanding agency relationships, optimising business opportunities and growing revenue from the Coull Engage® product.

“Hitesh brings invaluable experience to Coull.  His appointment demonstrates Coull’s commitment to building closer relationships with agencies, advertisers and publishers looking to embrace interactive video.  With Hitesh, we will fully understand our clients’ business needs and work in collaboration to develop effective video advertising products and services,” says Irfon Watkins, CEO at Coull.

Hitesh Bhatt, commercial director at Coull comments, ”It’s an incredibly exciting time for technology providers, agencies and brands as the online video advertising market begins to demonstrate its effectiveness in an extremely competitive arena.  Coull is delivering innovative, brand-driven, measurable campaigns that allow online video to truly engage with audiences in a non-intrusive way.
I look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate how far the medium is moving along and how brands can maximise the effectiveness of online video campaigns using the Coull platform.”

This is the fourth senior appointment to the Coull head count with Claudia Giovannoni, marketing director joining early March 2008 heading up the marketing department.  Other new members of the Coull team include the board of directors appointments including Gillian Kent, former MSN UK managing director and CEO of Propertyfinder.com and Creative Ventures Group founder Spyro Korsanos also joined the board as non-executive director.
 
Coull received series B financing earlier in the year from Finance South West Growth Fund (managed by YFM Group), Creative Ventures Group and private investors.  The funding has allowed Coull to release the 'Coull Engage®' product to assist brands maximise the return on investment (ROI) of their online campaigns, which are currently being used by Agent Provocateur, Boots and Renault.

----Ends----

----Notes to editors----

Read more about Hitesh Bhatt and the Coull team at the Elemental media centre.

Click on Media Alerts to register   to receive forthcoming news from Elemental Communications and its clients.

This press release is available in PDF, plain text and Word formats.  Photographs are available of the Coull team .

The media spokespeople for Coull are Irfon Watkins, chief executive officer and Claudia Giovannoni, marketing director.  

About Coull
http://www.coull.com

Coull is a video advertising enabler.  Through its in-house interactive video platform Coull Engage®, Coull enables advertisers, brands, agencies and web publishers to create interactive video campaigns that deliver a customisable user experience with above average levels of engagement.

Supported by robust and straight-forward reporting tools, content owners can easily access real-time campaign tracking, measurement and monitoring statistics to maximise the effectiveness of content delivery and interaction.

Coull’s technology and ad formats are accepted by well-known and established publishers, including Bebo, Lycos, MSN and MySpace and integrate with existing campaign reporting and ad serving systems.

Clients that benefit from Coull’s technology include Agent Provocateur, Boots, Mindshare, Renault and Unilever.

Coull is backed by Rupert Hambro & Partners, Finance South West Growth Fund and Creative Ventures and led by an experienced management team.


----Contact----

Elemental Communications

Tim Gibbon, Director
Mobile: +44 (0) 7930 375 663

Rachel Hawkes Account Director
Mobile: +44 (0) 776 665 1244

Email: mediacentre@elementalcomms.co.uk
Website: http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk

Telephone: +44 (0) 870 745 9292
Fax: +44 (0) 870 745 9293

####

Address: Second Floor, 145 -157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, England, UK

]]> http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk/media_centre/press_releases/current/60/Coull/344/HiteshBhattjoinsCoullfromMSNUK/ Wed, 25 Jun 08 00:00:00 +0000 <![CDATA[Coull announces growth with VC funding and new board of directors]]> http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk/media_centre/press_releases/current/60/Coull/345/CoullannouncesgrowthwithVCfundingandnewboardofdirectors/ Coull announces growth with VC funding and new board of directors

Interactive video platform Coull announces growth with new board directors and series funding injection


22 May 2008, London, UK ---- Interactive video platform Coull http://www.coull.com , has announced two senior appointments to its board of directors and the completion of series B round of funding.  Additionally, Coull welcomes the appointment of Claudia Giovannoni as marketing director.

The first of two senior appointments to the board of directors includes Gillian Kent, former MSN UK managing director and CEO of Propertyfinder.com, who will help establish Coull as a premium online video advertising format within the digital marketing and publishing sectors.  Creative Ventures Group founder Spyro Korsanos also joins the board as non-executive director contributing extensive media and technology experience.

Giovannoni joins Coull as marketing director from S-Cool, where she was the marketing consultant, with previous positions at global companies such as Hardware.com and VeriSign.  Giovannoni will head up the marketing department at Coull, where her initial focus will be on developing Coull’s brand and supporting the growth of the company.

Bernard Holcroft, Coull chairman and director of Rupert Hambro & Partners (majority share owners in Coull) comments, “Coull is at a crucial and exciting time in terms of building upon early success and preparing for the massive growth that is expected in the digital marketing industry as a whole, with video – particularly interactive video – set to play a key role in this growth.  Both Gillian (Kent) and Spyro (Korsanos) bring valuable experience and insight to the Coull board of directors, and we look forward to capitalising on their knowledge.”

“Coull’s offering doesn’t sit firmly in one corner – interactive video appeals to publishers, content owners, brands and agencies alike.  It was therefore imperative that we appoint an experienced marketing director – which we found in Claudia (Giovannoni) who could bring clarity and depth to the Coull brand,” adds Irfon Watkins, CEO at Coull.

Gillian Kent says, “This year (2008) is heralded as the year for online video and we are certainly seeing the impact of what new and emerging interactive formats are having upon digital campaigns.  Coull’s easy-to-use products combined with its long held expertise in online video positions them extremely well for success.  Video, irrespective of the digital environment, is an exciting medium to create and build brand messages.”

Coull has received a six-figure series B financing from Finance South West Growth Fund (managed by YFM Group), Creative Ventures Group, and private investors.  The funding has allowed Coull to release two new products in 'Coull Engage®' and 'Coull Activate® ' to assist clients maximise the return on investment (ROI) of their online campaigns, which are currently being used by Agent Provocateur, Boots and Renault.

----Ends----

----Notes to editors----

Read more about Hitesh Bhatt and the Coull team at the Elemental media centre.

Click on Media Alerts to register   to receive forthcoming news from Elemental Communications and its clients.

This press release is available in PDF, plain text and Word formats.  Photographs are available of the Coull team .

The media spokespeople for Coull are Irfon Watkins, chief executive officer and Claudia Giovannoni, marketing director. 

About Coull
http://www.coull.com


Coull is a video advertising enabler.  Through its in-house interactive video platform Coull Engage®, Coull enables advertisers, brands, agencies and web publishers to create interactive video campaigns that deliver a customisable user experience with above average levels of engagement.

Supported by robust and straight-forward reporting tools, content owners can easily access real-time campaign tracking, measurement and monitoring statistics to maximise the effectiveness of content delivery and interaction.

Coull’s technology and ad formats are accepted by well-known and established publishers, including Bebo, Lycos, MSN and MySpace and integrate with existing campaign reporting and ad serving systems.

Clients that benefit from Coull’s technology include Agent Provocateur, Boots, Mindshare, Renault and Unilever.

Coull is backed by Rupert Hambro & Partners, Finance South West Growth Fund and Creative Ventures and led by an experienced management team.

About Irfon Watkins

Having spent 25 years working with blue chip companies in the IT and services arena, Irfon brings extensive commercial experience in high-tech multinationals to his role as CEO. He has had senior management roles at Dell Computers, Computacenter and CommerceQuest, where he was vice president EMEA. Irfon is the current chairman of IAB Video Council.

About Rupert Hambro & Partners


Rupert Hambro & Partners Limited invests in a mix of early stage ventures backing management in sectors where brands or IP can be developed to create value.  It first invested in Coull in late 2005 and became the majority shareholder in June 2006.

About Finance South West


The Finance South West funds are managed by: YFM Venture Finance Limited (Growth Fund), and Finance Cornwall Fund Managers Limited (Business Loan Fund), both of whom are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Finance South West also provides services, including Gateway to Finance and Gateway to Success, which are not subject to FSA regulation. Finance South West is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
 

About Creative Ventures Group


Creative Ventures GroupTM seeks to invest in, procure co-investors and assist in the corporate management of media and technology ventures. It was founded to invest in the growing opportunities at the micro segment of the market, focusing on ventures with capital investment requirements of below £2 million.

----Contact----

Elemental Communications

Tim Gibbon, Director
Mobile: +44 (0) 7930 375 663

Rachel Hawkes Account Director
Mobile: +44 (0) 776 665 1244

Email: mediacentre@elementalcomms.co.uk
Website: http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk

Telephone: +44 (0) 870 745 9292
Fax: +44 (0) 870 745 9293

####

Address: Second Floor, 145 -157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, England, UK

]]> http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk/media_centre/press_releases/current/60/Coull/345/CoullannouncesgrowthwithVCfundingandnewboardofdirectors/ Thu, 22 May 08 18:08:18 +0000 <![CDATA[Coull appoints marketing director for growth]]> http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk/media_centre/press_releases/current/60/Coull/346/Coullappointsmarketingdirectorforgrowth/ Coull appoints marketing director for growth

Interactive video platform Coull continues growth with new marketing director


22 May 2008, London, UK ---- Interactive video platform Coull http://www.coull.com, has announced another senior appointment in its continued growth by welcoming Claudia Giovannoni as marketing director.

Giovannoni joins Coull from S-Cool, where she was the marketing consultant, with previous positions at global companies such as Hardware.com and VeriSign.  Giovannoni will head up the marketing department at Coull, where her initial focus will be on developing Coull’s brand and supporting the growth of the company.

“Coull’s offering doesn’t sit firmly in one corner – interactive video appeals to publishers, content owners, brands and agencies alike.  It was therefore imperative that we appoint an experienced marketing director – which we found in Claudia (Giovannoni) - who could bring clarity and depth to the Coull brand,” says Irfon Watkins, CEO at Coull.

In February 2008, Coull announced two senior appointments to the board of directors including Gillian Kent, former MSN UK managing director and CEO of Propertyfinder.com, to help establish Coull as a premium online video advertising format within the digital marketing and publishing sectors.  Creative Ventures Group founder Spyro Korsanos also joined the board as non-executive director contributing extensive media and technology experience.

Bernard Holcroft, Coull chairman and director of Rupert Hambro & Partners (majority share owners in Coull) comments, “Coull is at a crucial and exciting time in terms of building upon early success and preparing for the massive growth that is expected in the digital marketing industry as a whole, with video – particularly interactive video – set to play a key role in this growth.  Both Gillian (Kent) and Spyro (Korsanos) has brought valuable experience and insight to the Coull board of directors, and we have capitalised on their knowledge”

Coull received series B financing earlier in the year from Finance South West Growth Fund (managed by YFM Group), Creative Ventures Group and private investors.  

The funding has allowed Coull to release two new products in 'Coull Engage ®' and 'Coull Activate®' to assist clients maximise the return on investment (ROI) of their online campaigns, which are currently being used by Agent Provocateur, Boots and Renault.

Gillian Kent says, “This year (2008) is heralded as the year for online video and we are certainly seeing the impact of what new and emerging interactive formats are having upon digital campaigns.  Coull’s easy-to-use products combined with its long held expertise in online video positions them extremely well for success.  Video, irrespective of the digital environment, is an exciting medium to create and build brand messages.”

----Ends----

----Notes to editors----

Read more about Hitesh Bhatt and the Coull team at the Elemental media centre.

Click on Media Alerts to register   to receive forthcoming news from Elemental Communications and its clients.

This press release is available in PDF, plain text and Word formats.  Photographs are available of the Coull team .

The media spokespeople for Coull are Irfon Watkins, chief executive officer and Claudia Giovannoni, marketing director. 

About Coull
http://www.coull.com


Coull is a video advertising enabler.  Through its in-house interactive video platform Coull Engage®, Coull enables advertisers, brands, agencies and web publishers to create interactive video campaigns that deliver a customisable user experience with above average levels of engagement.

Supported by robust and straight-forward reporting tools, content owners can easily access real-time campaign tracking, measurement and monitoring statistics to maximise the effectiveness of content delivery and interaction.

Coull’s technology and ad formats are accepted by well-known and established publishers, including Bebo, Lycos, MSN and MySpace and integrate with existing campaign reporting and ad serving systems.

Clients that benefit from Coull’s technology include Agent Provocateur, Boots, Mindshare, Renault and Unilever.

Coull is backed by Rupert Hambro & Partners, Finance South West Growth Fund and Creative Ventures and led by an experienced management team.

About Irfon Watkins

Having spent 25 years working with blue chip companies in the IT and services arena, Irfon brings extensive commercial experience in high-tech multinationals to his role as CEO. He has had senior management roles at Dell Computers, Computacenter and CommerceQuest, where he was vice president EMEA. Irfon is the current chairman of IAB Video Council.

About Rupert Hambro & Partners


Rupert Hambro & Partners Limited invests in a mix of early stage ventures backing management in sectors where brands or IP can be developed to create value.  It first invested in Coull in late 2005 and became the majority shareholder in June 2006.

About Finance South West


The Finance South West funds are managed by: YFM Venture Finance Limited (Growth Fund), and Finance Cornwall Fund Managers Limited (Business Loan Fund), both of whom are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Finance South West also provides services, including Gateway to Finance and Gateway to Success, which are not subject to FSA regulation. Finance South West is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
 

About Creative Ventures Group


Creative Ventures GroupTM seeks to invest in, procure co-investors and assist in the corporate management of media and technology ventures. It was founded to invest in the growing opportunities at the micro segment of the market, focusing on ventures with capital investment requirements of below £2 million.

----Contact----

Elemental Communications

Tim Gibbon, Director
Mobile: +44 (0) 7930 375 663

Rachel Hawkes Account Director
Mobile: +44 (0) 776 665 1244

Email: mediacentre@elementalcomms.co.uk
Website: http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk

Telephone: +44 (0) 870 745 9292
Fax: +44 (0) 870 745 9293

####

Address: Second Floor, 145 -157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, England, UK

]]> http://www.elementalcomms.co.uk/media_centre/press_releases/current/60/Coull/346/Coullappointsmarketingdirectorforgrowth/ Thu, 22 May 08 18:08:18 +0000