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Smart Notifications Take Gold in New Research on Top Customer Journeys and Channels

CSG’s State of the Customer Journey 2022 report shows brands going the extra mile to win in the battle for customers

DENVER, US – News Direct – 17 February 2022 – CSG® (NASDAQ: CSGS), the leader in innovative customer engagement, revenue management and payments solutions that make ordinary customer experiences extraordinary, today released its 2022 State of the Customer Journey report. Drawing on over 10 billion customer journey interactions, the research found that companies reached their customers through an ever-broadening mix of digital channels, finding increasingly sophisticated ways to connect with their customers at scale.

 

The report highlighted the efforts of global brands to deepen levels of engagement with their customers by shifting focus away from sales and customer acquisition toward long-term loyalty and customer goodwill, both at and after the point of sale. As such, use cases like smart notifications and digital customer service became vitally important and made significant gains during socially distant times, with consumers now expecting these instant interactions online or in-store.

 

Top takeaways from this year’s research include:

  • Smart notifications take customer journey gold as top channel: With the world moving faster than ever, brands embraced “micro-moments” to capture customers’ attention at the right time and in the channels they already use. Case in point: smart notifications accounted for more than 50% of journey interactions and took the top spot as the number one customer journey use case in 2021. Notably, SMS texts presented a unique opportunity for immediacy, engagement and personalization. CSG found that SMS notifications increased by almost 1,000% year over year, and for good reason: 90% of messages are read within 3 minutes.
  • Voice and SMS make a powerful 1-2 punch: It turns out consumers still want to “phone a friend,” as total phone calls increased in volume by 290%, with inbound calls accounting for 31% of total calls in 2021. This trend highlights the growing importance and value of intelligent automated phone system technologies like interactive voice response (IVR), which can better understand customer needs and offer more self-service options for faster resolution. Like voice, SMS saw a big increase in adoption, with overall message volume more than quadrupling year over year (304%). As businesses adapt to notifying consumers in real-time, whether to confirm a delivery or provide a fraud alert, SMS will soon become a requirement to compete.
  • Email makes a rebound: Despite the rumors heard year after year, email is not dead. Email interactions grew steadily since last year’s report (+145%). It triumphed as the most popular channel for journey interactions for customer notification, onboarding, digital customer service and acquisition. Email’s scalability and low technical requirements for personalization continue to make it a powerful “must-have option” for any company’s digital channel mix.
  • Journey interactions rise across the board, across industries:
    • Financial services: Timely, accurate communication is especially important when it comes to managing and protecting our wallets. To meet this expectation, financial services institutions became the ambassadors for channel mix diversity, with 40% more variety in their communication channel delivery than other industries. Not only are banking customers being kept better informed, but banks are building greater trust and confidence with their customers, which will lead to more business down the road. Interestingly, phone channels reigned supreme, accounting for 69% of digital customer service interactions.
    • Telecommunications: The telecom industry also had a lot to gain from channel diversification. Communications service providers (CSPs) got savvier with their channel mix (+36% than average) to retain customers long-term while also pursuing innovative ways to acquire new subscribers. In a highly competitive market, CSPs can ensure current customers are happy by making their experiences simple and easy. On the acquisition front, CSPs need to leverage sophisticated segmentation and analytics to show that they know what future customers are looking for, and then be able to adapt their communications and interactions in real-time to deliver value even before the customer signs up.
    • Retail: Retail brands are mastering the channels they’ve used for years — on average tapping two — but are now standing out in other ways. They are broadening ways for customers to interact with the brand, whether through e-commerce with convenient upsell suggestions during checkout (the digital version of snacks in the checkout line) or hybrid options like buy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS). Overall, the opportunity to create the best journeys in retail will come from increasing everyday value-add and orchestrating transactional messages through the most intelligent journey workflows possible.

 

“Winning with customer journeys is quite straightforward: be where your customers are,” says Mark Smith, VP of digital engagement solutions at CSG. “If it’s across six channels, your brand should have a uniquely enticing presence in each, but also ensure you offer consistent value and experience. The goal, especially after the hardships of the pandemic, is to uplift your customer and elevate the experience they have with your brand in the most proactive, predictive and personalized way possible. This digital transformation shift is here to stay, and businesses are realizing the benefits of digital communications that are intelligently coordinated, as evidenced by the expanding channel mix and rise in smart notifications.”

 

Methodology

CSG tracked more than 10 billion customer journey interactions in 2021 through its customer journey orchestration platform, a component of CSG Xponent™ . CSG defines a customer journey interaction as an instance where an API triggers an action to be taken on a channel within the customer journey. New this year, CSG supplemented its journey orchestration data with data from voice and messaging channels (U.S. only), also spanning 2021, with 2020 volumes for comparative reference.

 

Read CSG’s full analysis, findings, and recommendations in the global industry report: State of the Customer Journey 2022.

 

About CSG

CSG is a leader in innovative customer engagement, revenue management and payments solutions that make ordinary customer experiences extraordinary. Our cloud-first architecture and customer-obsessed mindset help companies around the world launch new digital services, expand into new markets, and create dynamic experiences that capture new customers and build brand loyalty. For over 40 years, CSG’s technologies and people have helped some of the world’s most recognizable brands solve their toughest business challenges and evolve to meet the demands of today’s digital economy with future-ready solutions that drive exceptional customer experiences. With 5,000 employees in over 20 countries, CSG is the trusted technology provider for leading global brands in telecommunications, retail, financial services and healthcare. Our solutions deliver real world outcomes to more than 900 customers in over 120 countries. To learn more, visit us at csgi.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

#CSG

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Stagwell’s (STGW) Assembly Unveils Fresh Brand Identity

NEW YORK,  US – News Direct – 16 February 2022 – Global omnichannel agency Assembly has launched a refreshed brand identity to reinforce the agency’s worldwide scale and dynamic, collaborative nature, while signaling the next era of growth. The new identity, designed by creative media consultancy and fellow Stagwell agency, GALE, will be represented globally across the more than 30 markets Assembly serves, uniting our 1,500+ talent network under a focused vision.

The brand refresh comes shortly after the combination of ForwardPMX and Assembly in September 2021, a move that cemented the group’s position as the flagship media asset within Stagwell‘s global portfolio. Since the combination, the agency has strengthened our integrated full-service media offering, while expanding into more comprehensive business, data, and technology consulting services, including the continued buildout of our proprietary technology and data solutions platform, STAGE. All of this has culminated in the agency taking on more scaled, global AOR engagements for leading brands.

“We’ve looked inward to find change and fuel growth within our own business, and in evolving the brand, we’re moving confidently into a space where our Assembly of data, talent, and tech can deliver a leading set of solutions for the best brands in the world,” said James Townsend, Global CEO of Assembly and Global CEO of Stagwell Media Network.

The visual identity plays intentionally with bold, bright colors to humanize and create a sense of accessibility, while also exploring an expanded palette and photography style that reflects the rich diversity of the talent within Assembly and the consumers our clients serve.

“Our vision was to reinvigorate the most iconic elements of the former Assembly brand while also leaning further into a visual story that would be intrinsically connected to how we deliver our work,” said Sara Pollack, VP of Marketing at Assembly. “This new brand further solidifies our common purpose and an identity which connect us, no matter where we are in the world.”

Assembly has also placed significant emphasis on Impact, both in our efforts led internally by staff around the world, as well as through more dynamic partnerships and innovation in sustainable media, making the agency a key consultative partner to clients navigating their own sustainability agendas in media and beyond.

The rebrand effort offered an opportunity for a different kind of collaboration between Stagwell agencies Assembly and GALE, the latter of which has been known for transforming brand identities and challenging perceptions through storytelling and media for the likes of MilkPEP, H&R Block, Chipotle, and Truth Initiative.

“Media today is more than data and targeting. It’s also about both culture and collaboration. With this rebrand we wanted to create something that leaned into those two ideas in an energetic, dynamic, and attention-grabbing way,” said Winston Binch, Chief Brand and Experience Officer at GALE.

Binch continued, “The big idea here really is the logo change. The original Assembly logo had the “/” on the left side of the “+.” We flipped it. Through this simple change, we’ve created a logo that is inherently more open and inclusive. Assembly is all about collaboration, and we felt that it needed to be conveyed through the logo itself. Great branding is all about the details.”

“Our network is designed to transform marketing and the Assembly-GALE team designed a strong new brand that reflects that ambition,” said Beth Lester Sidhu, Chief Brand and Communications Officer at Stagwell. “Assembly’s new identity is a great representation of the brand’s ability to deliver the best in media and beyond.”

Assembly’s new brand identity is complemented by the full relaunch of the agency’s website at www.assemblyglobal.com.

ABOUT ASSEMBLY:

Assembly is made of the ingredients of the modern agency, bringing together data, talent, and technology to deliver a connected set of solutions for media + more to the best brands on the planet. We’re home to more than 1,500 of the industry’s top talent, who bring unmatched global omnichannel media expertise + data, technology, and business consulting capabilities that help brands find the change that fuels growth. Assembly is a proud member of Stagwell, the challenger network built to transform marketing. Visit www.assemblyglobal.com for more information.

ABOUT GALE:

GALE is a Creative Media Consultancy, with data at the core. With expertise in business strategy, CRM, loyalty, brand storytelling, performance marketing, experience design and media, GALE creates marketing systems and communications that grow businesses. GALE delivers strong business outcomes for its partners in automotive, QSR, retail, gaming, entertainment, telecom and more. Founded in 2014, the agency currently has offices in New York, Singapore, Toronto, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, London, Austin and Bengaluru. In 2021, GALE was named Data & Analytics Agency of the year on the Ad Age A-List. For information on GALE, its customer data platform Alchemy™ and its consumer research capability ASK GALE, visit: https://gale.agency/.

ABOUT STAGWELL:

Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 10,000+ specialists in 20+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.

#Assembly

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Otello Ceci, Nerodilambrusco Star Ingredient of The “Otello Ceci Lambrusco Sour” Cocktail

TORRILE, ITALY – EQS Newswire – 16 February 2022 – As part of the Mixology project, CECI 1938 has created the “Otello Ceci Lambrusco Sour” cocktail in collaboration with Italian professional barlady Valentina Cantarelli. The recipe includes Otello Ceci Nerodilambrusco, an unusual choice in cocktail mixology.

 

The CECI 1938 winery’s most iconic Lambrusco bears the OTELLO CECI 1813 Nerodilambrusco label. With CECI 1938, Lambrusco becomes the manifesto for a young, contemporary way of life, a wine that expresses joy through the charm of its red bubbles. A true ode to Made In Italy.

 

The ultimate Lambrusco with a multifaceted personality, OTELLO CECI has a rich palette of colours, from the intense ruby red of the nectar to the lighter crimson of the froth that forms when pouring and lights up the glass brilliantly. A full-bodied wine with a sparkling, social character and a smooth flavour, to be enjoyed cold.

 

The Mixology project (recipe book available at www.lambrusco.it) takes the world of wine to a new, contemporary dimension with an international flavour and a playful spirit.

The “Otello Ceci Lambrusco Sour” blend captures the flavour of the Emilia region and expresses the unmistakeable CECI 1938 lifestyle, drawing on all the senses. The new cocktail rewrites the rules of a popular technique. The acidity of lemon and the sweetness of sugar combined with Bourbon define the shaken base, on which the Lambrusco literally floats.

 

The CECI 1938 winery is renowned for its ongoing product research and unique approach to bottle design. OTELLO CECI 1813, the feather in the cap of the company’s production, is like an exclusive garment, a contemporary, unconventional style that envelops a wine waiting to be discovered, enclosed in the unmistakeable bottle with a square base, the first of its kind. This regular, discreet shape is also adopted on the label, where the words celebrate Otello Ceci, the creative visionary who founded the Italian winery.

 

To make “Otello Ceci Lambrusco Sour” you need 30 ml of lemon juice, 30 ml of sugar syrup, 60 ml of Bourbon and of course, Otello Ceci NerodiLambrusco. Fill the shaker with ice, add all the ingredients with the exception of Otello Ceci NerodiLambrusco, and shake vigorously. Transfer to a glass filled with ice and float the Otello Ceci NerodiLambrusco on top.

#CECI 

Brand South Africa to host a special debate on the sidelines of the EU-AU Summit

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – African Media Agency – 16 February 2022 – The debate titled “The South Africa perspective: Can the EU & Africa reboot their relationship” will be hosted in partnership with Euronews, Europe’s leading international news media, and its sister channel Africanews. The live debate will take place on the first day of the Summit, 17 February 2022, at 16:00 CAT and will be live-streamed on euronews.com and africanews.com, and across their social platforms.

The internationally acclaimed former Euro News anchor, Chris Burns will host the session. The debate will focus on main issues shaping South Africa-EU relations, including vaccine production, sustainable development, security, energy, education and economic integration and recovery.

 “Africa has come a long way since the first summit held in Cairo in 2001. The upcoming sixth summit presents an opportunity to achieve the vision of the 2001 summit, something that has been elusive for two decades. This sixth installment is taking place at a time governments are implementing recovery plans to rebuild their economies dented by the pandemic, the worst to hit the world in more than 100 years,” says Sithembile Ntombela, Acting CEO of Brand South Africa.  

 

Chris will be joined by Colin Coleman, former CEO of Goldman Sachs and former senior fellow at Yale University; Domenico Rosa, Head of the Task Force on Post Cotonou at the European Commission; Bajabulile Tshabalala, Senior Vice-President at the African Development Bank Group; Ronak Gopaldas, Director at Signal Risk; Dr Carlos Lopes, economist and honorary professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Governance at the University of Cape Town (UCT); and Luisa Santos, Head of International Relations at BusinessEurope.

“No emerging market has the sophisticated capital markets, strong business sector, independent judiciary, central bank and free press that South Africa has; yet the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality threaten its’ stability. Come discover if and how the nation can thread this needle.” Colin Coleman 

 

“As South Africa, we would like to play a key role in leading the discussions on how EU can partner with African countries to rebuild their covid-19 ravaged economies, thereby contributing to solutions to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. There are opportunities for the two continents to co-operate in the manufacturing of covid-19 vaccines,and increased efforts in reducing vaccine hesitancy.. All nations, rich and poor, have an obligation to work together to end the pandemic,” adds Ntombela

 

The debate will be live streamed on: https://www.euronews.com/2022/02/04/euronews-debates-can-the-eu-africa-reboot-their-relationship1, viewers can also follow the conversations under the hash tag, #EUSouthAfricaFocus and #BrandSouthAfrica. The audience is invited to send their questions to the experts via social media.

About Brand South Africa

Brand South Africa is the official marketing agency of South Africa, with a mandate to build the country’s brand reputation, to improve its global competitiveness. Its aim is also to build pride and patriotism among South Africans, to contribute to social cohesion and nation brand ambassadorship.

This electronic communication and the attached file(s) are subject to a disclaimer which can be viewed at http://www.brandsouthafrica.com/terms-and-conditions . If you are unable to view the disclaimer, please email info@brandsouthafrica.com for a copy.

Last Irrawaddy Dolphin Dies in Waters Between Cambodia and Laos

Last Irrawaddy Dolphin dies between Laos and Cambodia

The last freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin living on a section of the Mekong River bordering northeastern Cambodia and Laos has died, reportedly as a result of becoming entangled in a fishing net.

Oracle Red Bull Racing Trades Up to the Next Level as Bybit Joins the Charge

  • Cutting-edge cryptocurrency exchange Bybit joins the charge as Principal Team Partner.
  • Multi-year agreement installs Bybit as the Team’s top tier ally behind Title Partner Oracle.
  • This deal marks the largest per annum deal of crypto’s foray into sports to date.
  • Collaboration includes fan engagement programmes through digital assets and positive change agenda.

MILTON KEYNES, UK – Media OutReach – 16 February 2022 – Oracle Red Bull Racing is delighted to announce a partnership with leading cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, bringing the power of the digital economy to the Team, in a multi-year agreement that will see Bybit take on the role of Principal Team Partner.

 

Established in March 2018, the cryptocurrency exchange has grown exponentially and now boasts more than six million registered users worldwide. As part of the new agreement, Bybit will also join the charge as Oracle Red Bull Racing’s exclusive Cryptocurrency Exchange Partner.

 

The collaboration will also expand Oracle Red Bull Racing’s mission to grow fan engagement, with Bybit taking on the role of Fan Token Issuance Partner and Tech Incubator Partner. This will see the cryptocurrency exchange not only support the Team with the distribution of its growing digital asset collections but also see Bybit and Oracle Red Bull Racing engage with promoting STEM careers and introducing coding to new audiences. Bybit’s core ethos is to support the Next Level of innovation, talent, and technology development – which aligns with Oracle Red Bull Racing’s own ambitions as the Team develops and expands their Red Bull Technology Campus in Milton Keynes.

 

The partnership fee will be paid in a combination of cash and BIT, BitDAO’s native governance token. BitDAO is one of the world’s largest decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) supporting builders of the decentralized economy, allowing BIT token holders to vote on proposals to foster technologies that present entirely new ways for people to work, engage, and transact together.

 

Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner said: “I’m delighted to welcome Bybit to the team. It’s fitting too that as we enter a new generation of competition of F1 in 2022, with an advanced and potentially game-changing new philosophy of cars taking to the track, that Bybit also exists at the cutting edge of technology. They share the Team’s passion to exist at the forefront of technological innovation, to set the competitive pace and to disrupt the status quo. Allied to that is Bybit’s commitment to enlivening the fan experience in F1 through digital innovation. This is also a key mission for the Team and Bybit’s assistance will help us build a deeper more immersive and unique connection with the team for fans around the world.”

 

Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit said: “Oracle Red Bull Racing’s relentless passion and dauntless resilience inspires us. The team has changed the game in the same way that digital assets have changed the global financial system. As a young exchange we connect with Oracle Red Bull Racing at the core of our values — age doesn’t matter, hierarchy is of no significance, and legacy is not what is passed to you but what you make. Bull or bear, everyone has the opportunity to take financial freedom in their own hands at the dawn of the digital economy. Bybit has found our kindred spirit and the perfect harmony of speed, safety and reliability is everything our users are looking for on our platform. A moment on the track is made possible by tireless work to perfect the chassis, the engine, the craftsmanship, and by the racing drivers’ relentless pursuit for precision and focus in an adrenaline-fuelled game.”

 

About Bybit

Bybit is a cryptocurrency exchange established in March 2018 to offer a professional platform where crypto traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, excellent customer service and multilingual community support. The company provides innovative online spot and derivatives trading services, mining and staking products, as well as API support, to retail and institutional clients around the world, and strives to be the most reliable exchange for the emerging digital asset class. Apart from Oracle Red Bull Racing, Bybit also sponsors esports teams like NAVI, Alliance, Astralis and Virtus.pro; German soccer club Borussia Dortmund and Japanese soccer club Avispa Fukuoka.


For more information please visit: https://www.bybit.com/

For updates, please follow Bybit’s social media platforms on

https://discord.com/invite/bybit

https://www.facebook.com/Bybit

https://www.instagram.com/bybit_official/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bybitexchange/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bybit/

https://t.me/BybitEnglish

https://www.tiktok.com/@bybit_official

https://twitter.com/Bybit_Official

https://www.youtube.com/c/Bybit

#Bybit

Thai Baht Reaches Five-Month High

Thai baht reaches five-month high

The Thai baht hit a five-month high on Monday with optimism over the nation’s tourism sector boosting inflows.

Online tutoring innovator AmazingTalker secures $15.5m Series A funding

Funding will power international expansion and service development for the platform as it advances on its mission to simplify tutor and student discovery.

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 16 February 2022 – AmazingTalker, a Taiwan-based global platform designed to help students find private tutors of languages and other subjects including mathematics, has received  $15.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by CDIB Capital, with participation from JAFCO Asia and from 500 Global.

AmazingTalker announced $15.5 million in Series A funding. AmazingTalker founders (from left), co-founder and COO A-May and co-founder and CEO Abner Chao

 

Over the past five years, AmazingTalker has attained an annual revenue growth rate of nearly 500 percent, with 60 percent of revenue coming from overseas. To date, it has around 8,000 registered tutors and 1.1 million registered users, and has clocked 5.5 million online course reservations.

 

Launched in 2017, AmazingTalker aims to make it easy for anyone to learn through technology. It uses algorithms to match students and tutors precisely and efficiently within a few seconds. It provides an interactive learning environment that supports independence for both teachers and learners. Students can communicate their needs directly with prospective tutors without a binding contract or long-term payment obligation.

 

From a tutor’s perspective, the platform widens the pool of prospective customers, and the core value is to enable them to maximise their earning potential by setting their fees independently. It also generates insights through data analysis of user behaviour to help tutors continuously improve the quality of their teaching services.

 

AmazingTalker plans to use the latest investment to grow its business in Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, Europe and North America. It currently serves more than a million people across 190 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia. It will also channel funds into recruiting global talent and growing the number of international users.

 

“It is our goal to become the world’s largest online tutor matching platform,” said Abner Chao, Co-founder and CEO of AmazingTalker. “The injection of $15.5 million in Series A funding will help reinforce our product development efforts. We are expanding our offering to cover subjects beyond language and are recruiting experienced service providers in new fields. We look forward to helping more tutors maximise their earning potential and continuing to improve the online learning experience for all our users.”

Up to now, AmazingTalker has received more than 15 million fundings from investors, including  CDIB Capital,  JAFCO Asia, 500 Global and SparkLabs Taipei.

 

The global appetite for learning continues to grow. According to UNESCO, 470 million people will seek higher education over the next 15 years, a figure that far outstretches university capacity and that underscores the need for alternative learning sources. By 2026, the total global e-learning market is set to nearly double its 2019 level to close to $400 billion according to Statista.

 

About AmazingTalker

A global online tutoring platform which enables people to change their lives through knowledge sharing. AmazingTalker has spanned three continents in Europe, the U.S., and Asia and has more than one million users, aiming to help tutors monetize without limits while empowering users to find the best way of learning.

#AmazingTalker

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.