By newswire

April 28th, 2009

Prompt secures Sogeti UK PR account

Prompt secures Sogeti UK PR account

Division of Capgemini appoints London office of Prompt Communications to design and execute media campaigns to complement aggressive sales goals and drive growth

London, UK – 28 April 2009 – Prompt Communications, a specialist in PR, copywriting and marketing, has secured the UK PR contract for Sogeti, a division of the Capgemini Group.

Sogeti is the UK leader in providing software testing and infrastructure services for corporate and publicsector clients. The company has ambitious growth plans for 2009 that will ensure its continued dominance of the UK testing services market following the acquisition of Insight Test Services in April2008 and Vizuri in October 2008.

The Prompt team will represent Sogeti to the UK business, technical and trade press, as well as influential online media services and key vertical journalists covering markets including finance, telecommunications and utilities. The team will create and execute a series of campaign‐based PR strategies developed to complement the vendor’s marketing and sales plans for the UK.

Richard Terry, deputy ceo for Sogeti UK said: “Our aggressive growth plans demand sales and marketing strategies capable of driving and fulfilling our ambitions. We will be working closely with Prompt to roll out campaigns that will clearly demonstrate Sogeti’s expertise and leadership in software testing. Together we will explain the underlying business need for testing, while highlighting the benefits of our range of services, including the launch of innovative products such as Software Testing as a Service (STaaS).”

He added: “We selected Prompt to represent us because we believe that its team of consultants genuinely understands our markets and what we do. During our initial experiences working with the team, Prompt has demonstrated a high level of engagement and enthusiasm that will ensure a good client‐consultancy relationship.”

Hazel Butters, managing director of Prompt Communications said: “Sogeti has built an enviable position of growth in the current economic climate. Not only does the company enjoy a solid sales pipeline and strong and continued demand for its services, it is also working to increase revenues, customers, partners and employees throughout 2009. The Prompt team is enthusiastic about playing our part in driving Sogeti’s future growth and continued success.”

About Sogeti UK

Sogeti UK is a premier provider of software testing and infrastructure services to corporate and public-sector clients. Our collaborative approach is grounded in proprietary and innovative methodologies that manage risk and produce identifiable results. Sogeti’s team of experienced IT professionals works closely with clients to design, develop and deploy adaptable solutions that address the unique needs of their business and industry. For more information, please visit www.uk.sogeti.com

About Prompt Communications

Founded in January 2002, Prompt Communications is a communications agency with European offices in Chiswick, London and US offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and San Francisco, California. Prompt Communications offers expertise across all marketing disciplines, teaming its consultants’ extensive knowledge of start‐ups, technology market with experience of pan‐European and American media, analyst and marketing campaigns. Using highly targeted marketing, PR, analyst relations, social media and corporate copywriting initiatives, Prompt helps its clients gain the visibility they need to achieve their business objectives, from increasing sales to enhancing reputation with stakeholders. The company has five business divisions: PR, Analyst Relations, Copywriting & Creative; Marketing Services and Social Media.

Prompt’s technology clients include ApacheCon, Barros Technologies, Colosa, Concursive, Corizon, GenSight Group, Hippo, Openbravo, Oracle Corporation, Foviance, and Webtide.

For more information, visit www.prompt‐communications.com

By PromptBoston

April 20th, 2009

Oracle buys Sun

Oracle buys Sun

There was official confirmation today that Oracle, already ‘the largest business software company in the world’, had acquired Sun Microsystems, the major global provider of business servers, workstations, operating systems and applications.

A definitive agreement for Oracle to acquire Sun for $9.50 per share in cash has now been unanimously approved, and is “anticipated to close this summer”. The transaction is valued at approximately $7.4 billion, or $5.6 billion net of Sun’s cash and debt.

Oracle president Safra Catz said: “We expect this acquisition to be accretive to Oracle’s earnings by at least 15 cents on a non-GAAP basis in the first full year after closing. We estimate that the acquired business will contribute over $1.5 billion to Oracle’s non-GAAP operating profit in the first year, increasing to over $2 billion in the second year. This would make the Sun acquisition more profitable in per share contribution in the first year than we had planned for the acquisitions of BEA, PeopleSoft and Siebel combined.”

Oracle has confirmed that “until the deal closes, each company will continue to operate independently, and it is business as usual.”

You can view Sun’s official press kit here, and Oracle’s announcement here.

By Media Team

April 3rd, 2009

Next generation mobile advertising

Next generation mobile advertising

Mobile advertising is something that has always fascinated me. There’s been a lot of hype about for the past few years but is only just starting to be utilised effectively. While there’s been lots of talk about ad revenues slowing down there still is big opportunity and high ROI.

Last night my colleague Max McConnell and I attended the AIME seminar on Advertising and Social Networking to hear more about trends in this industry. Filled with gurus from the GSMA, Nokia, Bango and key UK telecoms blogger and journalist Peggy Anne Salz.

Some points we found interesting:

Successful advertising is really about engagement. One company that spoke that really was that is effectively engaging with their customers is Flirtomatic. Their VP of sales and marketing, Matt Dicks, discussed how they used currency i.e sending an image such as a box of chocolates to another user and also to tell them that an actually box of chocolates would be delivered.
He said there is untapped potential for the brands to sponsor the service i.e. Lindt branded chocolates. This really showcased how mobile payments and social networking can come full circle and bridged the digital world with the real world.

Time of day is crucial in mobile advertising. 7am-10am is peak usage time for mobile browsing and is usually the quietest times for a fixed PC

What’s next on the horizon?
Enterprise social networking and send to pay technology are slated be the next big thing for mobile advertising. We’ll have to wait and see!