MarketingCentral

Marketing Central

2006-12-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Marketing Central Blog!

This Blog contains information about Marketing Central product releases, and contains news releases and product newsletters.

Marketing Central's Marketing Project Management system is a 100% web-based marketing management system, designed to increase marketing efficiency. Over 10,000 users depend on Marketing Central's system for Marketing Resource Management capabilities.

Also see Ad Agency Software by Agency Central.

MarketingCentral is a leading provider of marketing software tools for marketing project management and marketing resource management. MarketingCentral provides 100% web-based tools for complete automation of corporate marketing operations, including production scheduling, online proofing, time tracking, budget tracking and time tracking. For advertising, design, interactive, and public relations agencies, MarketingCentral's Agency Central division provides comprehensive client communication, collaboration, scheduling, and production ad agency software. More than 10,000 marketing professionals rely on our easy to use, quick to implement, and highly affordable marketing productivity tools.

MarketingCentral Announces First Quarter 2005 Results

2005-04-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Demand Accelerates for ASP/On-Demand Marketing Automation

ATLANTA, GA - April 15, 2005 - MarketingCentral, the leading provider of project management tools specifically designed for advertising agencies and marketing departments, today announced results for first quarter 2005.

"Quarter-to-quarter growth in gross and net income exceeded 25% over the previous quarter," stated Arch Stanton, Chief Financial Officer. "This growth trend has been consistent over the previous six quarters. Just as important, we have seen a significant increase in the overall usage metrics of the system, which indicates an even greater level of adoption of marketing resource management (MRM) and marketing operations management (MOM) tools."

Stated Freddie Daniells, CEO of Cogentum, a London-based marketing technology consultancy, "It is an exciting time in the marketing operations and marketing resource management markets. What was an immature market with erratic buying patterns has very rapidly evolved into a mature market with sophisticated buyers. As little as eighteen months ago, most companies did not have a handle on the available options and approaches to marketing automation and marketing software. Most thought marketing automation meant automated email campaigns, and most had no specific requirements. Today, buyers understand the market and, most importantly, they have a firm grasp on the specific marketing software functions they need to improve their marketing operations."

Added Mr. Daniells, "Buyers also have a much better set of expectations around costs, implementation effort and return. Global organizations with massive marketing budgets and hundreds of marketing staff may have legitimate needs for highly sophisticated, enterprise-class systems. These cost millions and can take years to deploy, but can provide millions in return. However, smaller groups of marketers and those with budgets under $100m don't need such a system. They need to be able to work smarter and faster right now. They have neither the need, the budget, nor the appetite for those longer complex IT 'software' projects.' These are the companies that fully appreciate the MarketingCentral value proposition."

A few of the notable new clients MarketingCentral added in the first quarter of 2005 were United Healthcare, ADP, Rockstar Games, Stoneham Bank, Archway Marketing Services, Bisk Education, and Express Scripts.

Marketing Central's Marketing Project Management system is a 100% web-based marketing management system, designed to increase marketing efficiency. Over 10,000 users depend on Marketing Central's system for Marketing Resource Management capabilities.

Also see Ad Agency Software by Agency Central.

Marketing Central Announces Third Quarter 2004 Results

2004-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Company posts 20th consecutive quarter of growth

ATLANTA, GA - November 15, 2004 - MarketingCentral, the leading provider of project management, collaboration, and communication tools specifically designed for marketing services agencies and marketing departments, today announced results for the third quarter 2004.

"Strong demand in the corporate marketing sector yielded solid growth through the normally sluggish summer months," stated Arch Stanton, Chief Financial Officer. "One-time license fees associated with new accounts were up 300% over the previous quarter. Year to date, our revenues are up 27% over the same period last year."

Added John Vasileff, Vice President Solutions, "The marketing automation and marketing software marketplace is maturing quickly. Two years ago, we were in an education mode, helping people to understand where they had marketing productivity problems and how to go about fixing them. Today, companies are coming to us with defined needs and budgets. We are now in the middle of the early phases of widespread mainstream adoption."

Added Dave Ryan, Chief Executive Officer, "Corporate marketing departments are once again active in the development and placement of ads and other creative materials. They have budgets and money to spend, but clearly they don't want to repeat the mistakes made prior to the recession, where the perception was that marketing was a little out of control. Now, there is a focus on marketing ROI, driven by financial management and the need for better accountability. Our solutions help maximize marketing investment returns by minimizing production costs, speeding time-to-market, and improving quality. Combined with many of the marketing program execution tools now on the market, our marketing productivity tools enable clients to develop and deliver targeted programs faster, cheaper, and with better results."

New clients include ExxonMobile, American Hospital Association, Amcore Bank, BankAtlantic, St. David Healthcare, SHR Perceptual Management, EC Connection, Kraft Foods, iPass, and midoceanbrands.

Also see Ad Agency Software by Agency Central.

Marketing Central and Strata Announce Strategic Alliance

2004-09-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Companies integrate agency software systems to automate workflow

ATLANTA, GA and CHICAGO, IL - September 14, 2004 - Marketing Central, the leading provider of project management, collaboration, and communication tools specifically designed for marketing services agencies and marketing departments, and Strata Marketing, Inc., the leader in software applications for the media industry, today announced new integration plans today.

"Strata Marketing's software is used by media planners and buyers in hundreds of ad agencies to develop and execute media plans," stated David Drucker, Vice President of Strata Marketing. "At various stages of the media planning process, each of these agencies needs to put media planning and buying documents and information in front of clients. Email is the choice today. However, email isn't really very good at helping the agencies really manage the feedback and approval process. Our clients needed a better solution, so we teamed with MarketingCentral, a company that is 100% focused on web-based review and feedback tools.

"For any agency that struggles with email, and for those whose deal with several decision makers or people in the review process, MarketingCentral is far superior to email, courier or fax," added Dave Ryan, Chief Executive Officer, MarketingCentral. "Our mission is to provide a best-of-breed solution for full client communication that includes all the files and information that flow from within the agency to the client, including media related files. This gives the client one location to check up on everything going on at the agency - media, creative, invoices, everything."

Added Bill McInerny, "It's the focus on marketing ROI that is driving agencies to provide online customer relationship management and communication systems. Marketing departments are being asked to work differently now, to be more fiscally responsible and to be more in control. So, they are asking their agencies for tools that help. They are asking for tools to make communication more efficient, tools that improve quality, and tools that speed time to market. MarketingCentral helps agencies ensure maximum marketing ROI for their clients.

About Strata Marketing, Inc.

Strata Marketing develops premier software applications for the media industry. Electronically connecting research through traffic and billing, Strata products are the first choice of over 10,000 media professional in more than 1000 companies the United States and Canada. The Chicago-based company licenses its products to the radio, television, cable, and media buying industries.

About Marketing Central

Also see Ad Agency Software by Agency Central.

Marketing Central Announces Second Quarter 2004 Results

2004-07-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Company posts 19th consecutive quarter of growth

ATLANTA, GA - July 20, 2004 - MarketingCentral, the leading provider of project management, collaboration, and communication tools specifically designed for marketing services agencies and marketing departments, today announced results for the second quarter 2004.

"Core application service provider (ASP) revenues were up 39%, and gross profits were up 53% over the same quarter in 2003," stated Arch Stanton, Chief Financial Officer. "Growth in net income remained flat over the previous quarter as the company continues aggressive investment in product research and development. All indicators are that our growth will accelerate, as new marketing campaigns launch this summer and with the major product announcements scheduled for the fall."

"By any objective measure, the second quarter of 2004 was a huge success for the company," commented Amanda Woodbee, MarketingCentral's Manager of Industry Solutions. "More than anything, we see the results as continued validation of the MarketingCentral business model and value proposition. There are systems in the market that cost more than ten times the MarketingCentral system, offer no appreciable difference in functionality, and take months to implement. Easy to afford, easy to use, and easy to implement? that's what we are all about and that is what is driving our continued growth."

In other developments for the quarter, the MarketingCentral website was updated to better reflect the company's expanded scope of capabilities and ever-expanding list of clients. The company also finalized arrangements with organizations in Europe and Australia to serve as resellers of the MarketingCentral solution, extending the company's reach in these geographies.

In addition to growth from 30% of existing clients, new clients include Arras Group, Digital Theater Systems (DTS), University of Pennsylvania Health Systems, Douglas Bell Advertising, Creative Priority, Sage Rock, Cardone Industries, Mal Warwick, United Community Bank, Memorial Hermann Health Systems, and General Growth Partners.

Also see Ad Agency Software by Agency Central.

Marketing Central Announces First Quarter 2004 Results

2004-04-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

ATLANTA, GA - April 2, 2004 - Marketing Central, the leading provider of project management, collaboration, and communication tools specifically designed for marketing services agencies and marketing departments, today announced results for the first quarter 2004.

"The recovery in the marketing industry combined with the movement up the marketing automation adoption curve from early adopter to early mainstream is fueling significant growth in our business," stated Arch Stanton, Chief Financial Officer. " Core ASP revenues were up 36% and gross profits were up 29% over the same quarter in 2003. In addition to accelerated growth in new client, growth from existing clients is also accelerating. Growth in net income remained flat as the company continues its policy of investing in product research and development."

New clients include Best, Best & Krieger, Brighton USA, Discovery Canada, Eat'n Park Hospitality Group, Invision, Red Deluxe Brand Management, and Campagne Associates.

Also see Ad Agency Software by Agency Central.

MarketingCentral Announces Fiscal Year 2004 Results

2004-01-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Company posts 21st consecutive quarter of growth

ATLANTA, GA - January 15, 2005 - MarketingCentral, the leading provider of project management, collaboration, and communication tools specifically designed for marketing services agencies and marketing departments, today announced results for fiscal year 2004.

"For the year ended December 31, 2004, core recurring revenues were up 29% over the previous year," stated Arch Stanton, Chief Financial Officer. "Total income was up 26% and gross profit was up 34%. Profits were flat as the company continues to invest heavily in research and development and infrastructure to support our clients and our growth."

Continued Mr. Stanton, "While the 2004 financial performance was very strong, most exciting are the system usage growth metrics. As measured by number of users, number of page hits, number of documents in process, storage usage, and logins, growth exceeded 100% in every major usage category, with several categories exceeding 200% growth. These usage metrics are the true vital signs for an ASP [application service provider] like MarketingCentral whose applications are available to its subscribers on-demand."

Notable clients added in the fourth quarter 2004 were BankUnited, Goody Products, AMCORE Bank, Prominent Placement, BankAtlantic, SHR Perceptual Management, and Advanced Elastomer Systems.

Also see Ad Agency Software by Agency Central.

Marketing Central Announces Fiscal 2003 Results

2004-01-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

ATLANTA - January 2, 2004 - MarketingCentral, the leading provider of project management, collaboration, and communication tools specifically designed for marketing services agencies and marketing departments, today announced results for fiscal year 2003.

"Success in renewals, new contracts, and existing client growth continued in the fourth quarter," stated Arch Stanton, Chief Financial Officer." In 2003, we doubled our client base, doubled the number of end users of the system, improved client retention, and eclipsed all financial projections."

New clients include Michael Flora & Associates, Zubi Advertising, Jan Kelly Marketing, McDonnell Haynes, Moroch Partners, Respond 360, The Marketing Store, and DCC Communications.

"January 8, 2004 is our sixth birthday," stated John Vasileff, Vice President of Solutions. "In the past six years, we have clearly set the benchmark for price performance, reliability, and functionality for web-based project management tools for the marketing community. We look forward to extending our lead in 2004 with new features and functions including tight integration with Advantage Software, digital asset management systems (DAMs), and ad configurators. We are especially excited about our new Webline? tool for online copy collaboration. Webline? will set a new benchmark for collaborative copy management.

Added David Ryan, CEO, "Most of our original competitors have come and gone, and many technologies introduced for marketing automation have fizzled. Marketing automation is not factory automation. Marketing people need easy to use, high-impact tools to improve marketing operations, not overly complicated systems that are expensive to deploy and tough to adopt. Our tools benefit the users as much as the management and that has been our key to success. The right balance of productivity enhancement and marketing process automation create a universally appealing value proposition for marketing groups. We expect accelerated growth in 2004."

Also see Ad Agency Software by Agency Central.

Marketing Central Appoints New Board Member

2003-10-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Alston Gardner Appointed to Board

ATLANTA - October 18, 2003 - Marketing Central, the leading provider of project management, collaboration, and communication tools specifically designed for marketing services agencies and marketing departments, today announced Alston Gardner has joined its Board of Directors.

"We are thrilled to have an entrepreneur of Mr. Gardner's stature join our Board of Directors," stated David Ryan, Co-Founder. "From the beginning, we have worked hard to build a company whose value is unequivocally derived by traditional business measurements, like revenue growth and customer satisfaction. Mr. Gardner has a proven track record, having conceived and built a $75 million revenue service business without a penny of outside capital. His leadership will be invaluable."

Alston was the founder and CEO of OnTarget, Inc. a leading sales training and consulting firm. Under Alston's leadership, OnTarget grew from a start-up to a $75 million revenue business with 100+ professionals in fifteen countries. Siebel Systems (Nasdaq) acquired OnTarget in 2000. OnTarget's clients included Hewlett Packard, Cisco, Dell, Microsoft, Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, IBM, Bell South, Cable & Wireless and many other leading technology and telecommunications companies.

Recognized as a thought leader on sales force issues, Alston has written articles in industry publications including, Sales and Marketing Management, Selling Power, and Marketing Management. He co-authored two academic research papers: Selling to Senior Executives (1995) with Dr. Jay Klompmaker, UNC and Strategic Account Management (1998) with Dr. Wesley Johnston, GSU. Alston authored several commercial training programs, including Target Account Selling, Selling to Senior Executives, and Managing Strategic Relationships.

Alston is the founder and principal in Fulcrum Ventures, LLC, a venture development firm focused on early stage information technology, biotechnology, and health care companies in the southeast US. Mr. Gardner is a founding board member of Chatham Capital, a mezzanine finance firm. He helped organize and served as director of North Atlanta National Bank from 1999 to 2003. He currently serves on the advisory board of Bandwidth.com (Cary, NC). He previously served on the board of Forte Software (Nasdaq) prior to its sale to Sun Microsystems in 1998.

Stated Alston, "The team at MarketingCentral has demonstrated an ability to manage steady growth through one of the most difficult economic periods in many years in an industry that was exceptionally hard hit. They did it by focusing on providing a great solution and great customer service. They innovated, but innovated at a rate the industry could absorb. I look forward to working with this team to help them establish MarketingCentral as the standard marketing project and collaboration management solution."

Also see Ad Agency Software by Agency Central.

Marketing Central Announces Third Quarter 2003 Results

2003-10-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Company posts 16th consecutive quarter of growth

ATLANTA - October 15, 2003 - Marketing Central, the leading provider of project management, collaboration, and communication tools specifically designed for marketing services agencies and marketing departments, today announced business results for the third quarter of 2003.

"Traditionally, the summer months have been our slowest. This year we bucked the trend. The industry is back at work and our business has clearly benefited," stated Arch Stanton, Chief Financial Officer. "Subscription revenues are up 40% over the same period last year. Despite significant investments in R&D and infrastructure, profits rose 8% over the previous quarter."
New agency clients include Aquent, Bigfoot Interactive, Keating Concepts, Rutter Communications, and Siddall. New corporate marketing clients include Cisco Systems, URS, and Fiserv.

"We have been in business now almost six years," stated Bill McInerny, President of MarketingCentral. "We have worked hard to provide the right combination of power, affordability, and customer service and our time has definitely come. You would be hard pressed to find a better solution for marketing communication and collaboration problems. You most certainly can't find one that provides our robust feature set for the price."

Added David Ryan, CEO, "We look forward now to extending our lead and dominance in this evolving space. With an expanded R&D budget for the rest of the year and into 2004, we look to make a great solution that much better. We plan to double our development staff over the next sixty days to keep up with client and market demands for enhancements. And, through our partnership with Advantage Software, we will deliver in 2004 a comprehensive end-to-end agency automation solution that no marketing services firm can live without."

Also see Ad Agency Software by Agency Central.