Gutenberg Technology's End-to-End Content Authoring Platform Offers Organizations a Revolutionary Way to Cost-Effectively Create Content, Speed Time to Market

Posted by Amanda Del Signore on Wed, Mar 15, 2023 @ 01:31 PM

ABA22_spotlight Square-9Stevie-winner Gutenberg Technology (GT) powers content management and transformation in some of the world’s leading education publishers, higher education institutions, and certification organizations. They aim to transform how companies create, re-use, and deliver content at scale to multiple and changing digital and print experiences.

Founded in 2010 and now with offices in Paris and Boston, the company’s end-to-end content management platform enables organizations to author, transform, and distribute print and digital content from a single workflow – dramatically reducing cost and time to market. The world’s largest publishers and educational institutions rely on GT to transform legacy content into new, engaging web and mobile products.

GT's end-to-end content authoring platform won a Gold Stevie Award for Content Authoring Development or Curation Solution in the New Product & Service Categories - Content in The American Business Awards®.

Gutenberg Technology's End-to-End Content Authoring Platform
Traditionally, creating, updating, and distributing educational print and digital content is a highly manual, time-consuming, redundant, and expensive process.

GT’s platform helps content creators re-engineer their processes, implementing a single, unified workflow—regardless of the end product—that enables a more agile approach to content creation and distribution. This modern approach removes cost barriers, enables more engaging learner experiences, accelerates time to market, and presents new revenue opportunities for educational content providers.

Key platform features include:

  1. Efficient collaboration. Collaborate inside one user-friendly, cloud-based interface.
  2. Interactive content. Easily incorporate sophisticated interactive features, including assessment tools.
  3. Streamlined courseware creation. Create, scale and easily update personalized learning experiences.
  4. Content reuse. Leverage legacy content to create new products and courses.
  5. Simultaneous print & digital publishing. Simultaneously create and distribute to print, ebooks, mobile devices, the web or any LMS.

GT has released their first version of the highly requested IMS Common Cartridge as a new out-of-the-box export format. This new feature is aligned with their continued commitment to making content as portable as possible by enabling more standard export formats than any other authoring tool.

Common Cartridge is a specification that describes a format for creating and sharing primarily educational digital content, including courseware content for use in a third party LMS. This feature will provide customers that rely on Common Cartridge with many benefits, including easily repurposing existing content for use as courseware. This is especially remarkable if you wish to reuse content from a digital ebook and/or print book.

GT is calling this new capability the “Instant Course”: users who create a book on the platform can immediately export a course-repurposed version to Common Cartridge. This overcomes the relatively high cost barrier that prevents publishers from creating courses for upper-division, graduate, and other courses with more limited enrollment, where the economics have always been a challenge.

Creating and updating digital and print content at scale is challenging. The traditional process is manual, error prone, and inefficient. Generally, it takes publishers 12 to 18 months to create a print and digital product, and creating a digital course can take an average of six months.  Today’s “digital natives” expect feature-rich, interactive experiences, including opportunities to assess progress and create personalized learning pathways.

Since Winning Their Stevie
GT's content authoring platform offers organizations a completely revolutionary way to create content by allowing content authors to collaborate more efficiently and intuitively, ultimately speeding time to market and significantly reducing costs.

In addition, the ability to create multiple products using legacy content from within a single collaborative platform has proven invaluable to clients, saving them time and money, and drastically streamlining their creation processes.

GT is continuously innovating, introducing product updates to increase the platform's flexibility, often in response to the needs of users. Recently, they released a new one-click content reuse feature for project elements, enabling even faster and simpler creation of derivative products. On the user side, they've introduced a new "global notebook" view for mobile app users that allows them to see all their ebook annotations in one place.

The company’s acceleration reflects the large and urgent transformations that education publishers and certification providers are going through to reduce costs, accelerate time to market, and deliver more engaging student digital experiences.

GT also saw growth from higher education institutions who turned to Online Program Management (OPM) companies to help them get courses online quickly through COVID but are now seeking more cost-effective and sustainable technical solutions that better leverage their own teaching talent.

Gutenberg Technology won a Gold Stevie Award for their Content Authoring Development or Curation Solution in the New Product & Service Categories - Content in The 2022 American Business Awards®.

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Topics: American business awards

Remote Virtual Assistant Side-Hustle Turned Start-Up Demonstrates Clear ROI for Businesses

Posted by Amanda Del Signore on Tue, Mar 14, 2023 @ 11:28 AM

ABA22_spotlight Square-8Stevie-winner Virtudesk is a virtual assistant company that focuses on equipping business owners in a variety of industries and verticals with remote-working professionals from the Philippines.

Virtudesk's mission is to help business owners optimize and automate company systems and processes, teach them how to delegate responsibilities, and focus on revenue-earning activities. By leveraging well-trained virtual assistants, business owners can grow and scale their businesses at cost-effective rates. 

They offer competitive rates with a streamlined process and virtual assistants well-trained in business services such as marketing, administration, customer service, prospecting and inside sales, and real estate transaction coordination. 

History 
In 2016, US-based real estate broker Pavel Stepanov was still working primarily in real estate when he realized the benefits of employing virtual assistants for his business. 

Prior to hiring assistants, he had been working 12 to 16 hours a day. Hiring a virtual Inside Sales Agent changed his life. He was able to delegate all the tedious administrative tasks that used to consume so much of his time and refocus his attention on building relationships. When he had his virtual assistant responsible for booking appointments, Pavel was able to almost triple his yearly revenue.

After seeing the results from his own experience, he started helping the agents in his brokerage hire virtual assistants. Then, he started Virtudesk to help more entrepreneurs. Starting with only one virtual assistant helping Pavel in 2016, Virtudesk has since grown by over 400%, employs hundreds of people, and serves all industries.

Virtudesk also prides itself on providing livelihood to hundreds of Filipinos. The company gives them an opportunity to work remotely, provides complete benefits, and nurtures professional growth in their role with international clients.

Since Winning Their Stevie Award 
In the time since winning their Silver Stevie, Virtudesk has secured an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. They will continue to work to further improve many of their internal systems for operational efficiency and better client experience, including training and client support.

Virtudesk won a Silver Stevie Award for Fastest Growing Company of the Year among companies with Up to 2,500 Employees in The 2022 American Business Awards®.

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Topics: American business awards

K-12 Publishing Company, TCI Wins Gold Stevie Award for Social Studies Alive! Program

Posted by Amanda Del Signore on Tue, Mar 14, 2023 @ 10:16 AM

ABA22_spotlight Square-6In The 2022 American Business Awards®, TCI's Social Studies Alive! program won a Gold Stevie Award for Social Studies Instructional Solution, part of the New Product & Service Categories - Education.

Social Studies Alive!’s engaging activities, easy-to-use materials, and ELA integration help teachers bring learning alive in elementary classrooms across the country. 

TCI creates efficacious, engaging K-12 social studies programs and K-8 science programs. For more than 30 years, the company has partnered with the education community to change classroom instruction. TCI’s programs are based on proven teaching strategies and practices that achieve consistent, positive classroom results.

TCI excels at making curriculum adoption and implementation easy. They provide training with self-paced professional development courses and live webinars , as well as continuous support before, during, and after adoption. Teachers trust TCI to match interactive, standards-aligned learning experiences with unparalleled teacher support so that they can focus on student success.

TCI’s Social Studies Alive! Program
Used in thousands of elementary classrooms around the country, Social Studies Alive! immerses students in learning about their communities, country, and the world through engaging, hands-on activities. Aligned with state standards and national frameworks, such as the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies, the program is constructed with inquiry-based instruction at its core.

Social Studies Alive! also offers teachers easy-to-use lesson plans and activities for engaging their students in learning. Built-in technology guides students through multimedia and learning games while helping them grade assignments and track student progress.

Since Winning Their Stevie Award
Hands-on learning and engagement are at the heart of everything TCI does. TCI's continued dedication to creating memorable classroom experiences through engaging activities, meaningful technology, and compelling content ensures that students remain invested and enthusiastic about learning.

TCI won a Gold Stevie Award in Social Sciences or Studies Instructional Solution within the New Product & Service Categories - Education in The 2022 American Business Awards®.

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Topics: American business awards

Stevie Awards Extends 21st American Business Awards Final Entry Deadline

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Mar 09, 2023 @ 09:00 AM

Top Business Honors to Accept Final Nominations Through April 5

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of The American Business Awards®, announced today that the final entry deadline for the 21st annual competition has been extended through April 5. No additional late fees will be charged. Entries submitted through the new deadline will not be penalized in any way in the judging process.

ABA23-Extended-Entry-Deadline-Horizontal

“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 8.

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 2023 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2021. Entry details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

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

  • Entrepreneur Awards
  • Achievement Awards
  • Management Awards
  • Company / Organization of the Year Awards
  • Customer Service Awards
  • Human Resources Awards
  • Technology Awards
  • Marketing Awards
  • New Product Awards
  • Public Relations Awards
  • Social Media
  • Thought Leadership Awards
  • Website Awards, Smartphone and Tablet Apps, and other Media Awards

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 27 and celebrated during a gala event in New York City on June 13.

Every new product or service nominated in The 2023 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 28.

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.

Topics: American business awards

Grand Stevie Award-Winner Ingersoll Rand Continues Long History of Progress With Multiple Stevie Awards for Outstanding Growth, Management Personnel

Posted by Amanda Del Signore on Tue, Feb 28, 2023 @ 02:27 PM

Ingersoll Rand_aba22Spotlight SquareIngersoll Rand is an American multinational company that provides flow creation systems and industrial products, including air compressors, pumps, blowers, the well-known Club Car brand of electric vehicles and systems for fluid management, loading and material handling.

A global market leader with a broad range of innovative and mission-critical air, fluid, energy and medical technologies, Ingersoll Rand provides services and solutions to increase industrial productivity and efficiency.

Today’s Ingersoll Rand touts a rich history of two leading industrial manufacturers who united in 2020, yet have been making life better for employees, customers, and the planet for more than 160 years. The merger of Gardner Denver, Inc. with the Ingersoll Rand Industrials segment on March 1, 2020, created a global provider of mission-critical flow creation and industrial solutions.

The company has been listed on the NYSE for more than 120 years, making it the 16th oldest company and the 12th oldest continuously listed company. Its journey is carved by innovation, beginning in the 1850s with the debut of a revolutionary effective speed control for steam engines and the invention of its steam-powered rock drill in the 1870s.

The company’s excellence was recognized among 3,700 applicants in The 2022 American Business Awards®, earning honors with a Grand Stevie Award and a Gold Stevie Award for its Achievement in Growth, and a Bronze Stevie Award for its Achievement in Management by an individual leader. One of five Grand Stevie Awards, Ingersoll Rand won the Grand Stevie Award for the Highest-rated nomination of the year among all Stevie winners.IngersollRand_people_aba22

Sustained Achievement in Growth
Ingersoll Rand has grown steadily throughout its history but has experienced some of its largest growth in the past two years, largely due to corporate expansion through mergers, acquisitions, and portfolio transformation. Today, the company has approximately 16,000 employees, more than 100 locations across six continents and more than 40 premium brands that serve a wide variety of industries. It operates in two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services and Precision and Science Technologies.

Achievement in Management
Mary Betsch, Vice President of Sustainability, was recognized as a “Maverick” for her leadership at Ingersoll Rand. Since launching “Operate Sustainably,” a strategic imperative launched in 2020, Mary and her team have yielded impressive results, both internally and across supply networks. In addition to reducing its footprint, new products, innovations, technologies, and investments have created tremendous value for customers addressing their own environmental objectives.

Since Winning in The 2022 American Business Awards
Ingersoll Rand’s growth strategies remain the same. The company leverages its established growth strategies by aligning its portfolio with three global megatrends: digitization, sustainability, and quality of life. The execution of these opportunities is supported by ample liquidity and a strong balance sheet.

The company has seen its largest growth in the past two years. Even during the integration of companies in the middle of a pandemic, Ingersoll Rand not only achieved great financial results, but it also built a strong foundation for long-term success. Driven by the culmination of employee ownership, strategic expansion strategies, innovation, sustainability and purpose-driven execution, its achievements and growth make the company an outlier.

This is the second consecutive year Ingersoll Rand was honored at The American Business Awards. In 2021, the company was honored with three Gold Stevie Awards (Achievement in Management, Campaign of the Year Communications, and Achievement in Human Resources) and two Silver Stevie Awards (Events and Observances Campaign of the Year, and Most Valuable Corporate Response).

Ingersoll Rand won a Gold Stevie Award for Achievement in Growth - Manufacturing, a Bronze Stevie for Maverick of the Year, and the Grand Stevie Award for Highest-rated Nomination of the Year in The 2022 American Business Awards.

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Topics: American business awards

Nobul's Open Real Estate Marketplace App Brings Transparency, Accountability to Real Estate Industry

Posted by Amanda Del Signore on Tue, Jan 31, 2023 @ 02:22 PM

Nobul_ABA22Spotlight_SquareStevie-winner Nobul real estate marketplace platform was built to disrupt North American real estate by empowering home buyers/sellers and increasing healthy competition and transparency among agents.

Nobul empowers home buyers and sellers with unprecedented information transparency,
choice and control when it comes to their real estate transactions, which, for many people, is the largest transaction of their lives.

Approximately 90% of today’s consumers rely on online reviews (such as Yelp, Google, etc) before choosing/visiting a business. Until now, there hasn’t been the right resource with aggregated ratings for prospective home buyers/sellers to objectively evaluate real estate agents. What’s worse, they usually end up paying a price far removed from the actual estimated property value.

Nobul solves this problem by providing a transparent, centralized platform that supports all aspects of the real estate experience, including traditional multiple listing service (MLS) listings, agent transaction history, services offered, and more. After a user inputs information about a property that they may be looking to buy or sell, the Nobul platform leverages advanced AI technology to assign a “match score” for each agent based on criteria applied by the consumer, for instance, years of experience, local knowledge, language, etc.Nobultech Graphic_ABA22Winner

Consider this example: if a user is looking to purchase a condo or lock in a 4% commission agreement over a 5% one, they will get matched with someone who has a high-rank score based on those factors. Users then receive multiple bids from these agents, who are further evaluated based on commission, real estate transaction track record, and other key data points.

And, realtors win, too. Real estate agents get matched with buyers and sellers who are a good fit for their services and expertise without having to spend money upfront on marketing and advertisement.

Finally, Nobul provides the consumer with an upfront estimate of how much they will spend or save by working with that agent. The goal is to put the transaction power back in the hands of the home buyers/sellers and elevate the overall experience of real estate transactions for a new generation.

Since Winning Their Stevie
Nobul has achieved billions of dollars in sales across more than 100 markets throughout North America. In December 2021, Nobul surpassed over $5 billion dollars in completed sales.

Nobul is continuing its nationwide rollout into key markets across the United States. In May 2022. Nobul made its marketplace available throughout Texas, including but not limited to Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso. With Nobul, buyers and sellers in Texas can now review criteria and data to help them choose the right real estate agent for them while agents compete for their business in real time. 

Nobul won a Gold Stevie Award in the Mobile Web & App Awards category - Real Estate in The 2022 American Business Awards.

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Topics: The American Business Awards, ABA, American business awards

Gold-winning IMPACT App Helps Users Make Socially Responsible Investment Choices

Posted by Amanda Del Signore on Tue, Jan 31, 2023 @ 01:57 PM

Screen Shot 2023-01-03 at 4.33.03 PM copy-1Stevie-winner Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is an American multinational brokerage firm. It operates the largest electronic trading platform in the United States by number of daily average revenue trades. The company brokers stocks, options, futures, EFPs, futures options, forex, bonds, funds, and some cryptocurrencies.

IBKR conducts its broker/dealer business on over 150 market destinations worldwide, providing direct access (“online”) trade execution and clearing services to institutional and professional traders for a wide variety of electronically traded products including stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, gold, crypto, and funds.

IBKR is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA, and has over 2,650 employees in its offices in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Hungary, India, China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), Japan, Singapore, and Australia.

IBKR won a Gold Stevie Award for their mobile trading platform for socially conscious investors called IMPACT.

IMPACT by Interactive Brokers
IMPACT is a mobile trading platform for socially conscious investors that is bringing transparency to investing. IBKR believes that everyone should know as much as possible about the business practices of the companies they invest in. IMPACT was created as the simplest way to invest in companies that are aligned with the values investors care most about.

IMPACT allows investors to select their personal investment criteria from 13 impact values and principles: Clean Air, Pure Water, Ocean Life, Land Health, Consumer Safety, Ethical Leadership, Gender Equality, Racial Equality, LGBTQ Inclusion, Company Transparency, Sustainable Product Lifecycle, Mindful Business Models, and Fair Labor & Thriving Communities.

Investors can also exclude investments based on 10 categories: animal testing, business ethics controversies, corporate political spending and lobbying, energy-intensive, fossil fuels, greenhouse emissions, hazardous waste, high water usage, tobacco, alcohol and gambling, and weapons and gun manufacturers.

Based on these selections, the app provides impact scores on existing portfolios and holdings and identifies companies that align with investors’ selected criteria. Ultimately, IMPACT makes it easy to find and invest in companies that share your values, helping to better align your portfolio with the kind of world you want to create.

IMPACT: Post-Launch
Since launching IMPACT by IBKR, the team has continued to evolve the product to better enable access across the globe. This includes not only regularly reevaluating and enhancing the app’s tools to further educate clients and simplify sustainable journeys, but also adding new features such as “Carbon Offsets,” which allows users to take control of and reduce their individual carbon emissions.

Looking forward, they aim to continue to develop and introduce new features as part of their ongoing effort to encourage investment that will ultimately improve lives today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.

Interactive Brokers won a Gold Stevie Award in App & Mobile Website - Financial Services/Banking in The 2022 American Business Awards®.

Interested in entering The 2023 American Business Awards?

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Topics: The American Business Awards, ABA, American business awards

"Mercenaries of the Business World": Veteran-Run Consulting Firm Wins Gold for Workforce Solutions

Posted by Amanda Del Signore on Mon, Jan 30, 2023 @ 11:02 AM

OSMEAC Solutions_ABA22Winner_SquareStevie-winner OSMEAC Solutions is one of America's leading-edge accounting consulting firms. They are considered to be in the top 1% of accounting and finance professionals and are publicly marketed as such by their network partners.

With a mission to be "Mercenaries of the Business World," OSMEAC Solutions works to ensure that every client has clear and legible accounting records, financial foresight, and the ability to make sound business decisions. They utilize a fully remote team that spans the United States, assisting clients across North America and now Europe, and facilitating the future evolution of back-office workforce solutions.

President and Founder Charlie Osborne, a US Marine veteran, grew OSMEAC Solutions from $120,000 per year in revenue from 2019 to over $1.2 million in annual revenue in one and a half years, with revenue projected to double over the next 12 months.

From Military Service to Consulting Services
After separating from service with the US Marine Corps, Charlie earned both his bachelor’s and Master's degrees in Accounting. He went on to work for several companies and industries in construction, gaining skills related to SaaS, Tech, Education, Insurance, and eCommerce. He Charlie Osborneheld every position in the accounting and finance field before leaving the corporate world as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and starting his own Contract CFO firm.

After a few years on his own, seeing the lack of communication and full-service offerings from other firms in his field, he brought a team of highly skilled individuals together to provide a wide array of services to best meet his client’s needs on a contracted basis.

Navigating the Pandemic
In 2020, COVID-19 hit most companies hard. Charlie continued to provide support to his clients despite not always getting paid on time, or at all due to the hardships that were endured. As a result, Charlie found a way to continue growing his business tenfold from 2020 to 2021.

With that growth, he was able to hire over 13 employees in a very short time frame and give opportunities to those in the accounting industry who had been laid off or put out of business. That number continues to grow, with a plan to add 5 more accounting professionals in the next few months.
Team
OSMEAC Solutions provides a fully remote work environment, staying ahead of the curve from most accounting professionals that are afraid to make the jump. Charlie hired employees in 10 different states, and that allowed OSMEAC Solutions to service clients nationally, but also internationally where there is a need for back-office support in an era of increasing mergers and acquisitions.

Through Charlie's leadership skills gained while leading Marines in high-stress combat situations, he has honed-in on the needs of people, clients, and employees to help everyone find that success they are looking for. He attributes his success to his Marines, employees, clients, and family who have helped shape him into the leader he is today.

Since Winning a Stevie Award
OSMEAC Solutions has continued to provide a fully remote, flexible work environment to retain and hire the top accounting talent in the United States. They now provide back-office accounting and finance solutions all over North America and Europe.

They have helped several small businesses scale by providing accurate data and reporting so business owners can make crucial decisions. OSMEAC Solutions has also moved over 6 different corporations from a cash-based accounting method to accrual to comply with US GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) and gain better insight into their margins.

OSMEAC Solutions won a Gold Stevie Award for Veteran-Owned Business of the Year in The 2022 American Business Awards.

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Topics: The American Business Awards, ABA, American business awards

Gold Stevie-winning IMPACT App Helps Users Make Socially Responsible Investment Choices

Posted by Amanda Del Signore on Fri, Jan 27, 2023 @ 11:46 AM

Screen Shot 2023-01-03 at 4.33.03 PM copyStevie-winner Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is an American multinational brokerage firm. It operates the largest electronic trading platform in the United States by number of daily average revenue trades. The company brokers stocks, options, futures, EFPs, futures options, forex, bonds, funds, and some cryptocurrencies.

IBKR conducts its broker/dealer business on over 150 market destinations worldwide, providing direct access (“online”) trade execution and clearing services to institutional and professional traders for a wide variety of electronically traded products including stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, gold, crypto, and funds.

IBKR is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA, and has over 2,650 employees in its offices in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Hungary, India, China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), Japan, Singapore, and Australia.

IBKR won a Gold Stevie Award for their mobile trading platform for socially conscious investors called IMPACT.

IMPACT by Interactive Brokers
IMPACT is a mobile trading platform for socially conscious investors that is bringing transparency to investing. IBKR believes that everyone should know as much as possible about the business practices of the companies they invest in. IMPACT was created as the simplest way to invest in companies that are aligned with the values investors care most about. Interactive Brokers_aba22 - Edited

IMPACT allows investors to select their personal investment criteria from 13 impact values and
principles: Clean Air, Pure Water, Ocean Life, Land Health, Consumer Safety, Ethical Leadership, Gender Equality, Racial Equality, LGBTQ Inclusion, Company Transparency, Sustainable Product Lifecycle, Mindful Business Models, and Fair Labor & Thriving Communities.

Investors can also exclude investments based on 10 categories: animal testing, business ethics controversies, corporate political spending and lobbying, energy-intensive, fossil fuels, greenhouse emissions, hazardous waste, high water usage, tobacco, alcohol and gambling, and weapons and gun manufacturers.

Based on these selections, the app provides impact scores on existing portfolios and holdings and identifies companies that align with investors’ selected criteria. Ultimately, IMPACT makes it easy to find and invest in companies that share your values, helping to better align your portfolio with the kind of world you want to create.

IMPACT: Post-Launch
Since launching IMPACT by IBKR, the team has continued to evolve the product to better enable access across the globe. This includes not only regularly reevaluating and enhancing the app’s tools to further educate clients and simplify sustainable journeys, but also adding new features such as “Carbon Offsets,” which allows users to take control of and reduce their individual carbon emissions.

Looking forward, they aim to continue to develop and introduce new features as part of their ongoing effort to encourage investment that will ultimately improve lives today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.

Interactive Brokers won a Gold Stevie Award in App & Mobile Website - Financial Services/Banking in The 2022 American Business Awards®.

 Interested in entering The 2023 American Business Awards?

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Topics: The American Business Awards, ABA, American business awards

How Gold Stevie-Winner LINK Agency Enabled Pura Vida to Go Viral on TikTok

Posted by Amanda Del Signore on Mon, Jan 23, 2023 @ 03:30 PM

Franscisco CO-FounderStevie-winner LINK Agency is a Los Angeles-based social media marketing company specializing in data-driven, short-form advertising optimized for the attention span of the TikTok generation. At LINK, they seek to make ads entertaining and to empower digital content creators to become entrepreneurs with their own content.

Their patent-pending methodology links brands with TikTok trends and creative strategy to produce extremely high-performing content. They support companies with content production, media campaigns, auditing/consulting/strategy, and viral campaigns, using a combination of targeted and paid media.

LINK Agency campaigns have, to date, produced over 3 billion organic impressions and over 2 million in user-generated content. Their campaigns result in an average of $2.30 organic CPM and have a 24-hour average watch time for monthly active users.

Jewelry company Pura Vida approached LINK when they wanted to develop more disruptive campaigns on TikTok to take their presence to the next level.

The Pura Vida TikTok Campaign
Pura Vida is a jewelry company committed to providing sustainable employment for communities of artisans who handcraft bracelets to spread the “pura vida” lifestyle and ignite positive change for people and the planet.

Pura Vida got in touch with LINK Agency to gain more coverage about LINK's partnership with the influencer Charli D’Amelio and seek creative ideas for the execution of the TikTok campaign.
LINKAgency_Square
LINK Agency conducted a deep dive of Pura Vida’s brand identity and designed a creative
strategy for their 3-week optimal TikTok campaign to support their new product launch. They also created multiple pieces of content for the Pura Vida page, which were concentrated over a 15-day timeline for maximum impact. LINK takes a unique approach to campaigns—they are detail- and data-driven, and have a knack for picking sounds that have the potential to go viral and also reflect clients' brands perfectly.

LINK provided creative input and executional support for the production of the song and its implementation, as well as guidance about music licensing on the growing video platform – a disruptive method for establishing brand awareness at scale.

The chosen campaign song, Pura Vida Feel Like By Andrey Azizov, went viral on TikTok with over 11,000 user-generated videos and over 100 million organic views in the #ShowUsYourHappy challenge period. The use of micro creators was leveraged thereafter to amplify the challenge.

Since Winning Their Stevie Award
With their Gold Stevie Award-winning campaign for Pura Vida, LINK achieved a 2.2x growth of the brand channel from 117,600 to 256,400 followers on TikTok during the 3-week promotion time. The campaign resulted in over 100 million total views from the TikTok videos using the Pura Vida sound and a total of 10.8 million likes as of May 2021.

In the last 18 months, LINK has collaborated with clients like Gameloft, Pura Vida, Supercell, Space Ape, Steve Madden, Sky Castle, Exodus, Guru Energy, Lingokids, among others. They have been hiring top-class talent to support creative needs, most recently hiring Frederico Lopes as COO and Joaquim Salgueiro as Paid Media Director. With both joining as Partners in the Company, LINK aims to raise the bar of operational excellence and continue reaching more brands and help them take advantage of new and ever-changing disruptive social media marketing opportunities.

They are also developing a new platform and implementing processes that allow clients to review, approve, and provide content feedback faster and more effectively. This will enable them to provide real-time data work and results updates to clients.

LINK Agency won a Gold Stevie Award for Influencer Marketing Campaign of the Year in The 2022 American Business Awards®.

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Topics: The American Business Awards, ABA, American business awards