The Four Questions for Lotame, and The Four Answers – Part 1 of 2.
After reading a poignant article about IBM’s long-time CEO Samuel J. Palmisano who recently stepped down, I made an attempt to answer the key questions Palmisano asked himself throughout his successful tenure at IBM as it relates to the business here at Lotame. I found both the article and Sams guiding vision fascinating and noteworthy. Two of these answers are below as part 1 of “answering Sam.” I think this exercise is relevant for leaders of companies to do for their employees, their customers, and their shareholders.
“Why would someone spend their money with you — so what is unique about you?”
Clients spend money with us for one simple reason - to generate even greater value from their own businesses. How does our platform enable this outcome? It's no secret that enterprises are generating enormous amounts of data every day. Crowd Control empowers clients to capture, organize and activate this client data - to offer their advertising clients more targeted and effective ad campaigns; to deliver to consumers content that is relevant and engaging; and to provide the business with mission-critical consumer insights and analytics which inform overall business strategy, in real time.....
Our platform is built to drive results. The real question is, "what are real results when it comes to my data?" And, furthermore, "what is data?" At Lotame, we help our clients figure out the answers to both questions — and we aim for them to be more than buzzwords.
We help make client’s data useful, informative, and most of all DRIVE a desired result. The types of outcomes we aim to drive are:
INCREASE IN REVENUE.
BETTER COMMUNICATION & RELEVANT MESSAGING WITH THE RIGHT CONSUMER.
MORE INFORMED STRATEGY IN REAL-TIME.
COMPREHENSIVE INSIGHTS & INTELLIGENCE.
One thing we have consistently heard is that enterprises want to take control of their data management - and our UI makes that possible. We have some key unique features "under the hood" - including a fully customizable taxonomy, automated audience optimization tools, and a real time insights engine that delivers world class research and analytics around data and audiences. We also offer our clients the unique benefit of a proven platform - one which we previously used with great success to deliver billions of audience-targeted impressions.
To begin achieving the above goals with Lotame, many companies must first answer a big question —"what is data?" Data means different things to different companies, but for many it refers to information created by the consumers you are trying to reach and want to better understand.
Data is more than demographic information you used to sign up for something. And it can be used for more than retargeting a visitor to a site. If data is more than this, what can it be?
Data can enable you to:
a) Gain information on how your users carry on a conversation and interact with your site, brand and/or products.
b) Expand your horizons and grow your business by learning what else captures your audiences attention and who else acts and behaves similarly to your core audience.
c) Leverage this behavioral and interest level data to produce more relevant content to drive your business strategy and growth.
“Why would somebody work for you?”
In short, we were ahead of many platforms when we started. Our business was founded in 2006 as a platform to help publishers and marketers manage the immense amount of data generated by their sites. Back then, publishers had no idea they were giving away their data, and worse yet, many were unaware they were even generating it.
Our site from 2006 explains precisely what we set out to do. Along the way, we created a business that allowed us to generate many millions of dollars in revenue by using the technology for our own purposes and sharing those results with our clients. Our ad network helped us refine, update and run billions of impressions. It also empowered us to generate tons of research and to understand best practices around data. But most importantly, Lotame's ad network helped put us in a position to return to our roots as a platform to generate results from data for Crowd Control clients.
We shuttered our ad network, (rather than sell it, after many offers) in order to stay focused with laser-like precision on our mission to make Crowd Control the pre-eminent Data Platform in the market. Our company is cutting-edge, with leaders who will make tough decisions and not postpone them. We let data and instinct guide our choices. We are not shy. We have a culture predicated on freedom, risk taking, and most of all, good energy. Leading this organization the past few years has been by far the highlight of my professional career. I am proud of what we have built, and I value the contribution of each team member. If you like good energy, risk taking and working in "organized chaos” (like for engineers, "Scrummy is Yummy" release schedules) then Lotame is the place for you. If you like selling and supporting a cutting-edge product that our customers view as "new and experimental" — but are willing to commit time and resources to the value proposition, then this is a place for you. If you are driven by an intense, "fear of failure" mentality -- then, Lotame may be the place for you.
The next two questions that Sam asks of business leaders may be answered by our clients, and investors.
Coming soon. Stay tuned.
Coming soon. Stay tuned.
