Stevie® Awards Extends 20th American Business Awards® Final Entry Deadline

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Mar 10, 2022 @ 09:00 AM

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of The American Business Awards®, announced today that the final entry deadline for the 20th annual competition has been extended through April 8, 2022. No additional late fees will be charged. Entries submitted through the new deadline will not be penalized in any way in the judging process.

“We’ve received so many requests for individual deadline extensions that we’ve decided to extend the deadline for everyone,” said Stevie Awards president Maggie Miller. The original final deadline was March 9.

Request the entry kit

ABA22-Extended-Social

The American Business Awards are widely considered to be the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations— public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large, and small. The 2022 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2020. Entry details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

New category groups for 2022 include:

More than 250 professionals nationwide will participate in the judging process through mid-April. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners will be announced on April 28 and celebrated during a gala event in New York City on June 13.

Every new product or service nominated in The 2022 American Business Awards will automatically be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, an annual feature of the ABAs in which the general public votes for their favorite new products. Voting will open on April 29.

The list of past Stevie Award winners in The American Business Awards reads like a who’s who of innovation and business success in the U.S.A. Explore the list of last year’s winners.

Sponsors of The 2022 American Business Awards include HCL Technologies, John Hancock, Melissa Sones Consulting, and SoftPro.

Topics: social media awards, marketing awards, American business awards, company awards, Thought Leadership

Discuss.io Helps Brands Secure Consumer Insights

Posted by Hailey Roos on Thu, Oct 14, 2021 @ 11:00 AM
  • Discuss.io is a smart video platform that connects brands to consumers and provides insights into conversations 
  • Leading global companies use Discuss.io to capture and share insights in real-time
  • The company’s products saw a surge in use as a result of COVID and provides tools to fill the gap in the video conferencing market 

About Discuss.io

Discuss.io is an enterprise-level smart video platform helping businesses make better-informed decisions by using experience and innovation to set up, capture, analyze and share consumer conversations to generate aha-moments and insights at scale. Leading global companies and their partners trust Discuss.io to enable deep, purposeful connections with their key audiences and to securely capture and share insights across their organizations in real-time.

Traditional enterprise video conferencing technology is generic and built for broad use. Discuss.io is purpose-built to enable meeting rooms of the future that allow companies to get more out of their video conversations. Brands connect with customers anywhere around the world and easily and securely record, categorize, transcribe, share and store insights, allowing companies to make better informed, strategic business decisions, whether big or small, based on their own direct experiences with consumers, rather than assumptions based on historical, behavioral, and third-party data. 

The company’s mission has always been focused on helping customers get insights from having more conversations with more consumers through innovations in video and workflow. While Discuss.io has developed several new products to combat the challenges brought on by COVID specifically, the company has worked to develop products that allow brands to adapt to changing and more agile environments since its founding by looking to the future of video conferencing. In 2019, Discuss.io launched its Pulse program, which enables live video conversations directly between consumers and marketers globally, enabling all marketers within an organization to build and strengthen consumer empathy. In 2020, the company refined and developed several products to enable businesses to better adapt to their new virtual settings, including private and enhanced chat features, new options for message editing and deleting, and personal meeting rooms that have also been built to provide users with the efficiency benefits of the platform, like interactive whiteboards, and integrated discussion guides. 

More recently, the platform launched its Respondent Management tool, an industry-first DIY hub feature that allows agencies and brands with their own panels and databases to connect and manage their respondents in one place, eliminating the need for multiple tools and systems, thus reducing friction in the consumer insights process.

While video conferencing has seen an uptick in light of the pandemic due to the need to connect virtually, many video platforms weren't developed with the intention of being used for important business conversations and lack a number of features that can be beneficial for a professional setting. The products that Discuss.io has developed as immediate solutions for COVID-19 also speak to a current gap in the video conferencing market, specifically, by providing a number of integrated tools that can aid all aspects of internal and external business communications across multiple industries.

Discuss.io helps enterprise market researchers, UX researchers, product managers, sales professionals, brand managers, and CX departments ramp consumer conversations and streamline the workflow. 

Discuss.io won the Silver Stevie Award for Company / Organization Categories - Most Innovative Company of the Year - Up to 100 Employees in The 2021 American Business Awards®.

Interested in entering The 2022 American Business Awards? Request the entry kit

Request the entry kit

Topics: video awards, American business awards, company awards, discuss.io, video platform, video chatting

Wabtec is Transforming Railway Transportation

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Oct 12, 2021 @ 03:58 PM
  • Wabtec provides integrated solutions and digitization for the freight and transit rail sectors
  • The company is committed to reducing emissions and has created the first 100% battery-powered locomotive 

About Wabtec

Wabtec is a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions, and value-added services for the freight and transit rail sectors. Drawing on over 150 years of experience, Wabtec is leading the way in safety, efficiency, reliability, innovation, and productivity.

Wabtec is an integrated solutions provider delivering lifecycle products and services for the transportation industry by improving interoperability, efficiency, and competitiveness for customers. With more than 23,000 locomotives in Wabtec’s global installed base, and components on many of the locomotives, freight cars, and transit cars around the world, Wabtec is developing tomorrow’s logistics and transit solutions. 

The company’s digital solutions, combined with Positive Train Control (PTC) and electronics capabilities, unlock significant productivity components - saving billions of dollars for rail customers and operators, all while creating pathways to advanced automated operations. These digital tech solutions improve safety and efficiency for the transportation industry, helping address the growing demand for improved rail performance. 

Wabtec has made great strides in the past two years. It started with the merger with GE Transportation in 2019; this accomplishment brought together industry leaders with complementary and unique technologies to create a leading rail technology company. It also established Wabtec as a Fortune 300 and S&P 500 company. Since the merger, Wabtec has introduced innovations that enable customers to succeed in transforming the rail industry. Some major accomplishments include: 

  • Designed, built, and shipped the world’s first 100% battery-electric locomotive
  • Won the NYC Transit order to extend battery technology to passenger transit
  • Completed over 500 million auto miles and has saved customers 400 million gallons of fuel with the Trip Optimizer System
  • Helped 70 railroad customers meet the first US-mandated PTC deadline
  • Tested, introduced, and sold zero-to-zero train operations (starting a train from 0mph and stopping the train automatically using various controls integrated with PTC)
  • Introduced and began testing the new, innovative Green Friction braking solution for transit rail to reduce friction particle emissions on metro trains by up to 90%
  • Launched Wabtec’s first sustainability strategy and report as a new company 

Wabtec’s Commitment to Cleaner Transportation

Trends show that freight and passenger activity will more than double by 2050, and with it, demand for cleaner, more energy-efficient transportation solutions. The rail industry is on the cusp of technological advancements required to power locomotive fleets with alternative green energy sources. Wabtec is leading this environmental shift with the FLXdrive Battery Locomotive - the industry’s first and only heavy-haul, 100% battery-powered locomotive operating in revenue service with BNSF Railways. This technology will provide up to 30% in fuel savings for the complete locomotive consist. Pairing the alternative power solutions with automation and digitization is an essential driver for the modernization of the entire transportation system, making it seamless, more efficient, and key to driving increased levels of safety, security, reliability, and reduced emissions. Wabtec’s dominant market share in Positive Train Control (PTC) systems, which span 70,000 miles of track, is the foundation for a more autonomous network. 

Wabtec won the Gold Stevie Award for Company / Organization Categories - Company of the Year - Automotive & Transport Equipment in The 2021 American Business Awards®.

Interested in entering The 2022 American Business Awards? Request the entry kit. 

Request the entry kit

Topics: American business awards, company awards, Automotive awards, auto industry awards, wabtec

Winners Announced in 2019 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Wed, Jun 05, 2019 @ 10:07 AM

MONAT PET’s Gentle Cleansing Dog Wash received the most votes of any nominee in the 2019 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, a feature of The American Business Awards®, the U.S.A.’s top business awards program, which are now in their 17th year.

The worldwide public vote was conducted last month, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in a variety of product categories. More than 43,000 votes were cast.  To win, a category’s leading vote-getter had to have received at least 100 votes. MONAT PET’s Gentle Cleansing Dog Wash collected almost 8,000 votes.

ABA 2-2

The crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards will be presented to winners at The American Business Awards banquet on Tuesday, June 11 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. There, the winners of peer-adjudicated Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards will also be presented their awards. More than 650 executives from across the USA will attend. Watch the ceremony live on June 11 at 7pm ET on LiveStream.

All new products and services nominated in the new product awards categories of this year’s American Business Awards were eligible to be included in voting for the people’s choice awards.

The winners of the 2019 People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products are:

Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Solution: Applause for Amazon Alexa
Business-to-Business Product: Fannie Mae - CAS REMIC
Business-to-Business Service: Stay In The Game BPO Services
Big Data Solution: Workiva Wdata
Business Technology – Other: TEKLYNX' 2018 Barcode & RFID Labeling Solutions
Cloud Application/Service: Information Builders Cloud
Cloud Storage / Backup: Quest Software's QoreStor
Collaboration/Social Networking Solution: Passageways' OnSemble Employee Intranet
Consumer Electronics (tie): Carnival Corporation's OceanMedallion and Relay by Republic Wireless
Consumer Product/Service: MONAT PET’s Gentle Cleansing Dog Wash
Content Management Solution: John Hancock Business Communications' Omni
Content Solution: Thomson Reuters Checkpoint Catalyst:  US GAAP Accounting for Income Taxes
Corporate Learning/Workforce Development Solution: Skillsoft Aspire
Digital Process Automation Solution: Datamatics Global Services's TruBot
Education Solution: Pearson K-12 Learning - Project Imagine: U.S. History
Endpoint Security Management Solution: SaltStack SecOps
Financial Service: Bank of America Digital Mortgage Experience
FinTech Solution: Fiserv's Card Risk Office Fraud Warning
Governance/Risk/Compliance Solution: Mentor by eDriving
Healthcare Technology Solution: Lumeon's CPM 4.0
Healthcare or Pharmaceutical Product or Service: Virtrial's Patient Management Program
Human Capital Management Solution: Apex Informatics' Sendtral
Identity & Access Security Solution: EZShield Mobile Defense Suite
Insurance Solution: BenefitMall Client Ready Quote System
Integration Solution: Squelch
Marketing/Public Relations Solution: TapClicks Marketing Operations Platform
Payments Solution: Wisely Pay by ADP
Platform as a Service: Urjanet Utility Interval Data Platform
Software Development Solution: Wind River's Helix Virtualization Platform
Supply Chain Management Solution: UltraShipTMS Spot Quote Solution
Vendor Management Solution: goLance online workforce platform

Topics: American business awards, company awards, new product awards

See What’s Behind the Latin American Tech Boom

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Fri, May 24, 2019 @ 04:21 PM

As little as 20 years ago, there was hardly any discussion of technological advancements coming out of Latin America. Rather, people were laser focused on Silicon Valley and the waves of talent and innovation flocking to San Francisco, California, United States. However, with the help of government initiatives, large private investments, and significant economic growth in the early 2010s, as well as the sheer will and drive of local citizens, many Latin American countries entered into the technological arena. They were soon producing products and talent on a scale comparable to anything seen in the First World. The countries most often associated with this boom are Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.

Fully understanding this phenomenon is not possible by simply identifying individual contributing factors. The movement is a response to many complicated and interconnected social, political, economic, and geographic influences. Here are just a few of those constituent reasons Latin America has enjoyed this development.

belatrix

The Transformative Influence of the Internet

In this instance, the transformative effect of the internet cannot be understated. While many industries rely on physical infrastructure or advanced equipment, IT companies can thrive with little more than internet connectivity, a laptop, a proclivity for the material, and hard work. Coming from a place with limited physical infrastructure or resources does not preclude you from succeeding in the digital sphere, and the opportunities that affords people throughout Latin America have been statistically significant.

One 2015 report by the World Trade Organization identified Argentina as the world’s eighth-largest exporter of computer services. This can be seen in companies like Belatrix Software, which was founded in Mendoza, Argentina, and currently innovates and thrives in the digital arena.

Belatrix Software helps companies turn ideas into great software products,” says Alex Robbio, the company’s president and cofounder. “We currently have over 700 employees, as well as offices in the United States, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and Spain. We’re growing rapidly, but our vision remains the same: to be the best Latin American software product development and innovation firm.”

The work being done in these Argentina-based computer companies isn’t isolated to Latin America, either. Many of the companies are earning international acclaim and recognition. Belatrix Software, for example, was recently recognized with a Silver Stevie® Award for Company of the Year in the category of Computer Services in The 2019 American Business Awards®. Robbio also earned an individual Bronze Stevie Award for Executive of the Year in Computer Services.

The 2020 edition of The American Business Awards will open in October. If you are interested in winning a Stevie Awards in 2019 request the entry kit for The International Business Awards.

Request your entry kit here

English as the Unofficial Language of Business

Despite not being the world’s most widely spoken language, English is, for all intents and purposes, the de facto language of international business. While China used to top the charts for English proficiency, Latin American countries have started to surpass the Asian power in this metric. According to the 2018 EF English Proficiency Index, Argentina was the highest-rated South American country on the list (coming in at #27), while China fell to the 47th spot.

Many speculate that its increasing proficiency in English has helped launch Argentina to the forefront of international business, including those projects within the technological realm.

Time Differences Make a Difference

Especially when technology and innovation are involved, it’s more conducive when people work collaboratively. Although it might seem like a throwaway factor, the time difference between the United States and any given Latin American country is significant. For example, the time difference between San Francisco, California, United States—a major U.S.-based technological hub—and Beijing, China, is 15 hours. That makes coordinating workdays and efforts extremely difficult. The time difference between California and Buenos Aires, Argentina, however, is only four hours—a much more surmountable obstacle.

Government Initiatives Provide Financial and Logistical Help

Arguably one of the most significant factors that pushed technology throughout Latin America is the support and efforts of the nations’ governments. Argentina, for example, offers all adults free higher education. Plus, its government invested significantly in Program.AR, an initiative to help teachers integrate computer programming into the national public-school curriculum.

Similarly, in Colombia, 80 percent of the costs associated with studying in the information technology field are covered. In Mexico, thanks in part to governmental initiatives, the country produced the eighth-highest number of engineer graduates in 2015.

With the financial backing and logistical support of national-level governments, results in this sector have been quick and effective.

The Future of Tech

While no one can say definitively what the future of technology holds, Latin America seems poised to continue ascending in the industry. If more national-level and regional policies throw money and support behind engineering and computer science education, it’s conceivable the next seat of tech insight will be a lot farther south than Silicon Valley.

Topics: American business awards, company awards, tech awards, tech award

Call for Entries Issued for Sixteenth Annual International Business Awards®

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Mar 21, 2019 @ 10:45 AM

The Stevie® Awards has opened entries for The 16th Annual International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organizations in more than 70 nations and territories each year.

All individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small—may submit nominations to The International Business Awards. The early-bird entry deadline, with reduced entry fees, is 10 April. The final entry deadline is 8 May, but late entries will be accepted through 12 June with payment of a late fee. Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

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Juries featuring more than 150 executives will determine the Stevie Award winners. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced pm 13 August. Stevie Award winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet in Vienna, Austria on 19 October.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

There are many new and revised features of the IBAs for 2019:

  • A variety of new categories, including the IT categories Best Technical Support Strategy and Implementation and Best Technical Support Solution. In categories for business-related media, there are many new Live Event, Publication, and Video categories.
  • Entry fees have been eliminated for nominations to the Company of the Year categories. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie winners in these these 35 by-industry categories will again be included in the worldwide public vote called the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies.
  • In the Marketing, New Product & Service, and Public Relations categories, nominees may now submit a video of up to five minutes in length, instead of the traditional written Stevie Awards essay or case study.

Stevie Award winners in the 2018 IBAs included DHL Express (worldwide), Dubai Health Authority (United Arab Emirates), GXEVER (China), iFinance Canada, Kia Motors Corporation (South Korea), LLORENTE & CUENCA (Spain), Megaworld Foundation (Philippines), NBCUniversal (USA), Net World Sports (Wales), Shinhan Bank (South Korea), Telkom Indonesia, and many more.

Topics: marketing awards, International business awards, PR awards, company awards, International Awards

How to Improve Labor Market Equality by Establishing Childcare Standards

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Mar 12, 2019 @ 11:18 AM

With day-to-day economic demands rapidly increasing, many households can simply no longer afford to have a stay-at-home parent. Many people, however, find childcare options either of uncertain quality or prohibitively expensive. To compound the problem, women today consistently find their earning potential exceeds that of their partners, but they are forced to choose between securing childcare they do not trust 100 percent or attempting to get by on a single salary—and foregoing their careers.

This problem is widely recognized in countries across the developed world, and many nations have state-run daycare or centers or subsidize private childcare. However, these measures continue to fall short. Even the most generous analysis of gender employment and income gaps must concede that while there is no outright discrimination, there is a persistent, discernible, and significant structural difference in employment rates and remuneration. This is almost entirely attributable to time women spend out of work because of the exclusive prioritization of childcare.

Amslee

With that said, it’s evident that improving access to top-level quality childcare would have significant, indirect economic effects. As things stand, the slow but steady march toward income and employment equality will likely result in more men becoming stay-at-home parents, and the number of women almost exclusively dedicated to their careers will rise as well.

While the push toward equity is desirable, having one stay-at-home parent—of either gender—is far from the optimal outcome. It’s not ideal for the household itself or for the economy as one parent continues to all but give up a career, while the other misses out on a considerable part of family life.

The professionalization of childcare necessitates moving away from the existing model, where families secure childcare primarily based on personal, informal relationships. With no current standardized means of formalizing these relationships with service providers, such as nannies and au pairs, it’s clear that a certified, standardized, widely available service provider model would be a significant step toward optimizing the childcare situation.

Qualifications and a college-level education have traditionally only been required for high-level childcare positions. Elizabeth Malson is a single mother, entrepreneur, and founder of the Amslee Institute, which specializes in the certification of childcare professionals. She helps explain this model.

“Traditionally, nannies in the United States have been trained by other nannies and nanny agency owners through workshops because there are no government regulations or standards,” she says. “To qualify for top jobs, a nanny had to invest in an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. These options require a significant commitment to and investment in a two- or four-year college program, and because of the time and expense involved, college-level training for future childcare professionals, in many cases, is simply inaccessible.”

Through her company, based out of Sarasota, Florida, United States, Malson proposed to do something about this. A 2018 Gold Stevie® Award winner in the category of Best New Consumer Service, the Amslee Institute provides affordable online college-level classes. Despite adhering to high standards, the classes require a lower financial investment than traditional college courses, and they take no more than 12 weeks to complete. Malson acknowledges the economic necessity of two working parents in many households and adds that childcare can be made more affordable in several ways, such as by families sharing the expense of a childcare professional.

Professionalizing childcare and introducing certifications and standards can help boost workforce participation, create a thriving new market, and give parents peace of mind. Malson also points to a broader effect. Childcare professionals from all over the world aspire to come to the United States (Some even go into childcare merely for the opportunity to come to the country.) This means U.S. childcare standards will eventually be exported across the globe by the childcare professionals who return home, says Malson. Raising childcare standards in the United States, therefore, will mean raising childcare standards across the world.

Topics: stevie awards for women in business, company awards

The Glue for Popular Consumer Products is the Users

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Wed, Jan 16, 2019 @ 04:04 PM

Even early in the development process, Irish inventor Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh believed she was onto something special: a moldable glue that sticks to virtually any surface and forms a strong, rubber-like material overnight.

With the help of entrepreneur Roger Ashby, she launched FormFormForm Ltd. (based in London, England) and started marketing her flexible new product, dubbed “Sugru,” to retailers in 2009. The challenge was convincing big-box stores they needed yet another glue product on their crowded shelves.

Ni Dhulchaointigh, though, had a compelling way to show just how versatile her product was: thousands of user-generated YouTube videos and pictures on the company’s website. The company even devised a Twitter hashtag (#MySugruFix) for customers to share their creative solutions.

sugru

There’s the homeowner who resealed his torn swimming pool liner, the guy who fixed his tattered laptop charger, and even an adventurer who used the silicone-based glue on his ski poles during a trek in the Arctic Circle. In one case, a motorcycle enthusiast used Sugru to stick a camera on his helmet, which he used to film his journey on the open road. To stimulate participation, the company provides discounts to the most impressive social media submissions.

The uniqueness of the product—a pliable glue that can withstand moisture and extreme temperatures and cling to any number of surfaces—was a powerful selling point, but the social media strategy helped showcase Sugru’s usefulness in tackling a broad range of everyday projects. What’s more, it created much-needed buzz around the adhesive during its start-up phase.

Over the past few years, the company’s customer base has swelled. To date, the company has sold more than 14 million single-use packs of Sugru to people in over 175 countries and territories worldwide. Time magazine went so far as to include it on their “50 Best Inventions of 2010” list (12 spots ahead of the iPad.)

“Start Small, and Make It Good”

The idea for Sugru dates back to 2003, when Ni Dhulchaointigh was working toward a master’s degree in product design at the Royal College of Art in London, England. Rather than attempting to develop a whole new product, she decided to work on something that could extend the lives of things people already owned.

Her first prototype for a moldable glue—a substance she describes as foul smelling and slimy—was well short of the mark. She was convinced, however, the idea itself was valuable.

“I knew that by tapping into people’s innate creativity, all kinds of products could be fixed and reimagined,” she writes.

In addition to hiring Ashby, she enlisted two former Dow Corning scientists who served as consultants on her project. Ni Dhulchaointigh set up a small lab to help refine the formula, and she relied on family and friends to provide real-world feedback.

“The company motto has always been to start small and to make it good,” she says.

In 2009, she offered samples to several journalists. When one of them gave the product a glowing review on a popular U.K. news site, it turned the company’s fortunes around immediately. The first product run sold out in a mere six hours. More importantly, she and her business partner, Ashby, started to gain interest from investors who could help them ramp up the operation.

Eventually, the company won over product buyers from national chains, such as Target and the Container Store, moving the entrepreneur closer to her lofty goal of getting Sugru into every kitchen drawer.

The company’s tinkering didn’t stop with its original product, though. FormFormForm Ltd., which now employs a team of 70 people, later introduced a family-safe formula that’s gentle enough for even younger users to try. This latest iteration also proved a winner, earning the 2018 Bronze Stevie® Award for New Consumer Product.

Ni Dhulchaointigh hopes the ability to get kids involved will lead to even more creative ideas for users to share on platforms like YouTube and Twitter.

“Repair inspires creativity," she says. "People are more creative than they think, especially when it comes to saving things they love—and potentially some money at the same time.”

Topics: International business awards, company awards, new products

Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality Apps Are Changing the Fashion World

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Fri, Jan 04, 2019 @ 05:07 PM

There is a tech side to just about every industry, including fashion. It goes beyond purchasing a new favorite sweater on Amazon. Today, you can scroll through Instagram, click on a photo, zoom in to see a product, and buy it with one click.

AI technology is even finding its way into traditional store shopping. You can go to a store and take a picture of a shirt, pants, or a jacket—and using one of several apps, such as Kim Kardashian’s Screenshop app, you can upload the picture and find similar styles and products all over the world. There are even avatar-based apps, such as Dressing Room, that allow individuals to try on clothing virtually. When ready, you can pay for the item with Apple Pay, which is located in your smartphone’s digital wallet.

joorLike any industry, the bottom line drives fashion-related businesses, and technological advances are constantly challenging that bottom line. However, the data points collected from searches and purchases are narrowing the gap between product supply and demand, meaning product numbers are more accurate, and fewer materials are wasted. Data are also helping companies predict trends and provide products their customers actually like and want.

As with most business verticals, the fashion industry maintains wholesale production intermediaries. JOOR is one of those companies leading the digital wholesale charge, using analytics within the fashion vertical. Their digital platform connects buyers and sellers online, helping buyers save time and cut costs and leading sellers to better analyze the performance of their inventory.

The company’s model embraces the global shift to mobile-first access and capitalizes on the ease and convenience of streaming handheld devices. Digitizing streamlines the fashion buyer’s process, and as is typically the case when digital technology is implemented, this reduces errors and saves time. The success of JOOR was recognized with a Stevie® Award in Best New Software Product or Service Category.

JOOR was founded in 2010 and is based in New York City, New York, United States. CEO Kristin Savilia is at the helm. She came on board in March 2017 and brought with her 18 years of retail experience and over five years in e-commerce with XO Group (the parent company of popular websites The Bump, The Nest, and The Knot). Even in the hustle and bustle of a technology-driven fashion industry, Savilia—a proactive mother of four—strives for a positive work-life balance.

While she helped lead JOOR to the head of the fashion AI and VR app curve, more technological changes are on the horizon. NextWeb reports the world is ready for the Internet of Things (IoT).

“Apparel items will have digital capabilities that open communication between retailer and customer, such as NADI X, yoga pants with built-in sensors that guide users into alignment by vibrating as they move through the various yoga poses. This example and other IoT apparel items interact with the user to collect data that help retailers understand the needs and concerns of buyers, and then companies can implement solutions to create a more personalized experience.”

In this landscape, individuals will be able to interact with businesses through their yoga pants, informing the companies that made them what they liked best and least. This will allow the companies to make more of those kinds of pants or to offer improved versions, depending on feedback.

That is technology and fashion coming full circle. Try clothes on a virtual reality avatar, search AI apps for any and all styles you like, and then communicate with the product and company directly using the IoT. Companies analyze the data, and the technological personalization and product customization cycle evolves.

In the long run, this seems cost effective and efficient while reducing waste—but it remains to be seen if consumers want to wear yoga pants and other products with AI sensors. Many consumers, however, already talk to Siri (Apple) and Alexa (Amazon), so it might not be too long before this is the product norm.

Topics: stevie awards for women in business, company awards, female entrepreneurs

Using Creative Talent to Battle Cancer

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Dec 20, 2018 @ 10:55 AM

Oncology is the study and treatment of tumors. Although three major fields exist within oncology -- medicine, surgery, and radiation, it’s generally understood as a branch of medicine that treats cancer. What do creativity, brands, design, and advertising have to do with any of that? A lot, as it turns out.

Navicor is an integrated marketing communications agency with oncology at their core. In an effort to make a difference in the world, employees use their creative talents to make compelling brand stories that are inspired by real patients. The Navicor team is comprised of oncology experts, clinicians, and award-winning creative professionals dedicated to launching successful platforms that support life-saving therapies.

Inavicor for blogt’s the perfect example of a meaningful marriage between the arts and health care.

“We expertly use the data to tell the most compelling brand story, but we also see the people behind the data points on that K-M (Kaplan-Meier) curve,” says Marvin Bowe, managing director at Navicor. “Each one of us is inspired by the patients whose lives we help touch. They’re the reason we get up for work in the morning. Or stay up late at night.”

Bowe profoundly believes in using personal talents to make a difference in the world, which the general public doesn’t regularly connect with creativity and marketing to patients with serious ailments.

Universal Truths

Oncology is the most progressive therapeutic area at the moment. With hundreds of new treatments in development, this field is seeing some of its biggest breakthroughs to date.

Bowe lists his organization’s core values. Although oncology demands specific attention—both surgical and managerial—the list contains items any organization can identify with. To that end, Navicor operates on the following principles:

1. We can do well by doing good.
2. Everyone is an idea person.
3. Good work is the enemy of great work.
4. Feedback is essential in business.
5. Befriending our clients leads to long-term business relationships.
6. Optimism is a force multiplier.
7. We should operate with integrity.
8. Working hard requires playing hard with your colleagues

Most of these tenets are tailored to ensure staff members are getting the support they need. The company also clearly understands the value of having fun while at work.

“Happy employees truly do produce the most creative ideas,” says Bowe.

The company’s history proves that having fun at work can yield huge gains. They participate in walks and 5K runs as a team to help raise awareness and money for cancer advocacy groups. Last year, Navicor raised over $20,000, ranked as the eighth-largest corporate supporter of Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Philadelphia, and received an award for the most creative idea to raise money.

Doing Great Work

Most people can relate to that feeling of not doing enough for those in need. Cultivating a genuine concern for the lives of strangers and putting that concern into action is an amazing feat.

Garnett Dezember, the CEO and founder of Navicor, expresses the foundation on which he built the organization.

"Cancer is our cause. Cancer has affected each of us, and we use that experience to motivate us daily."

Empathy and the will to use one's talents to help others resulted in Navicor winning the Silver Stevie Awards for Employer of the Year in the 2018 Stevie® Award for Great Employers.

“While oncology is highly scientific, that doesn’t mean your brand communications should be clinical white papers,” says Dezember. “We use some of the best creative strategies to ensure your brand’s message is received, and our industry recognizes our efforts by honoring us with trophies from some of the most prestigious award shows.”

It’s easy to measure success by prescription data and usage trends, but Navicor exemplifies what can happen when you add award-winning creatives to your team, help clients achieve their goals, and capture the attention of a global audience.

Topics: company awards, public relations awards, Marketing, great employers