Mediaboss Marketing

By Maria Armental

Baidu Inc. reported a roughly 5% revenue increase for the fourth quarter, driven by cloud and other services, and projected a 26% to 39% year-over-year core-revenue increase in the first quarter. Here's what you need to know:

PROFIT: Net income for the quarter fell to 5.17 billion yuan ($794 million) from CNY6.35 billion a year earlier.

REVENUE: Total revenue rose to CNY30.26 billion ($4.64 billion) from CNY28.88 billion a year earlier and core revenue rose 6% to CNY23.1 billion ($3.54 billion). Baidu had projected CNY28.6 billion to CNY31.3 billion and projected a 1% decline to 10% increase in core revenue.

IQIYI: Baidu reported CNY7.5 billion ($1.14 billion) in revenue from iQiyi Inc., down 1% from the year earlier. IQiyi had projected CNY7.28 billion to CNY7.73 billion.

YEAR: Baidu ended the year at a profit of CNY22.47 billion ($3.44 billion) on CNY107.07 billion ($16.41 billion) in revenue, compared with a profit of CNY2.06 billion and CNY107.41 billion in revenue a year earlier.

OUTLOOK: This quarter, Baidu projects CNY26 billion to CNY28.5 billion ($4 billion to $4.4 billion) in revenue, compared with analysts' CNY25.79 billion. It expects core revenue to increase 26% to 39% year over year. The guidance, Baidu said, doesn't include potential contribution from the acquisition of YY Live.

AUTONOMOUS DRIVING: Baidu completed phase I of the smart transportation project in Guangzhou, which includes the deployment of Apollo V2X smart road infrastructure and Apollo Mobility as a Service, the compamy said.

Baidu has also disclosed a partnership with auto maker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to produce electric cars.

PANDEMIC: Company officials had pointed to an advertising turnaround. On Wednesday, Robin Li, co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement: "Baidu ended 2020 on a solid note with our business benefiting from improving macroeconomic environment and the digitalization of industrial Internet. "As we enter 2021, Baidu is well positioned as a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation to seize the huge market opportunities in cloud services, autonomous driving, smart transportation, and other AI opportunities. We also hope to capitalize on our huge Internet reach with more non-marketing services."

Herman Yu, chief financial officer, said: "Through years of investment in research, AI chip design, developer community, patents and talent development, we are turning AI into innovative use cases. For example, Baidu AI cloud differentiating with AI solutions grew 67% year over year in Q4, reaching an annualized run rate of US$2.0 billion."

Shares of Baidu increased 2.7% to $316.99 in after-hours trading.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 17, 2021 17:05 ET (22:05 GMT)

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Baidu Projects 26%-39% Increase in Core Revenue in 1Q Earnings Review - Morningstar.com

DURHAM Success did not come overnight for Durham-based ProcessMaker, which just raised $45 million from Aldrich Capital Partners in its first outside investment for its open source automated workflow product.

It was a long haul, said CEO Brian Reale in an interview with WRAL TechWire. We took a lot of different paths. Most people dont do that.

The funding is big news in the emerging field of no-code/low-cide that ProcessMaker has helped pioneer.

The promise of no-code platforms is that theyll make software development just as easy as using Word or PowerPoint so that the average business user can move projects forward without the extra cost (in money and time) of an engineering team, notes VentureBeat.

And here comes ProcessMaker.

ProcessMaker is a no-code/low-code open source process automation platform founded during the dotcom boom and bust of 2000 by Bobby Vernon and Reale. The bootstrapped startup had no funding, So the only way to generate forward momentum is to sell, Reale said.

Unfortunately, if you have no funding, you also dont have anything to sell, he noted. So, in addition to working on the product development, the company did consulting to help pay bills. A venture capitalist told me you should never do that, combine consulting with a product company. But if you dont have any funding, I dont see how else you could do itj. Thats exactly what you should do to organically build a business.

The two entrepreneurs failed often during their initial years.

For a time, Reale was in Bolivia, where he had built an earlier company to provide internet service there. Some of his scrappiness was already in evidence because he talked his modem making employer into giving him outdated modems for the service. He said he originally agreed to do the Bolivia project thinking it would be an adventure. It was, he said.

The internet venture eventually sold to a U.S.-based public company. ProcessMaker still maintains offices in La Paz, Boliva and Bogota, Columbia.

Over the years, the entrepreneurs continued to refine and find the focus for their product. in 2008 they launched what is now known as ProcessMaker one of the first open source workflow software solutions in the industry at the time.

The fact that they didnt have a lot of competitors helped them hire and retain employees, Reale said.

Weve run ProcessMaker really lean and scrappy for 20 years. The hard work paid off.

The company grew from zero to 140 global employees, boasts several million open source downloads, and hundreds of customers across 52 countries.

The platform focuses primarily on mid-market banking, higher education, and manufacturing. Customers include community banks, multi-nationals, and more than 150+ universities. In 2020. The company will continue to focus on those verticals, Reale said, as it builds its executive team and sales and marketing with new hires. We expect to go from 30 people in Durham to 50 by the end of the year.

In its mid-market banking vertical ProcessMaker offers an off-the-shelf commercial account opening process that can be deployed by community banks in a couple of weeks. The result, the company says, is that community banks can now deliver to their customers an experience that rivals the digital experience of banks 10 times their size at a fraction of the cost.

During COVID, this meant the banks were able to pivot from in-person commercial account opening to a fully digital experience while still focusing on building relationships with their customers.

In Higher Education, ProcessMaker automates student-facing processes like transfer of credit approvals and grade change processes. At one of the largest public university systems in the US, ProcessMaker reduced the average time for approving transfer credits from 5 months to 19 hours.

Reale said the company relocated to the Triangle for its attractive business atmosphere. We chose the right place, he said.

The company refreshed its product prior to the new funding, so its faster and cleaner, Reale said. So it will be able to use the funds to increase its sales and marketing rather than upgrade its product.

Aldrich Capital Partners Managing Partner, Mirza Baig said in the funding announcement, Aldrich invested in ProcessMaker because it is a highly capital efficient founder-run business that has a respected global brand. ProcessMaker is a market innovator that has proven that it knows how to be profitable and thrive even during a once in a century world-wide pandemic.

She noted that low-code automation of processes is a hot commodity right now.

At ACP, we love low-code process automation and fully expect hundreds of market verticals to be transformed in the next decade, she said.

The global process automation market is expected to reach nearly $17 billion by 2023 with a CAGR of 5.8% according to a recent report.

The investment from Aldrich Capital will allow ProcessMaker to continue to invest in its market-leading digital process automation platform and build out its presence in community banking, higher education, and manufacturing.

Startup profile: ProcessMaker, aiming to automate key business processes (+ video)

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'A long haul' from bootstrapping to $45M in funding: The saga of Durham's no-code ProcessMaker - WRAL Tech Wire

Theres a lot of pent-up desire among seniors, and a sense of life running out, said Jeff Galak, a professor at Carnegie Mellon Universitys Tepper School of Business. Theres a theory called mortality salience: When your own mortality is brought to mind, behaviors change. Were going to see upgrades to better cabins on cruise ships, and booking of better hotels.

For travelers in their 60s, 70s and 80s, said Conor Goodwin, corporate marketing manager of Charlestowne Hotels, the ticking of the clock is another strong motivation to book as soon as an inoculation makes it safe.

The 65-plus demographic is losing out on their golden years and theyre understandably eager to get back out there, he said.

The Bristol Hotel in Virginia, which is part of Charlestownes portfolio, saw revenue from travelers over the age of 65 increase 179 percent between Dec. 13 and Jan. 22. The French Quarter Inn, in Charleston, S.C., which is also managed by Charlestowne, saw 11 percent more bookings from people over 65 between Jan. 10 and 28 compared Dec. 22 to Jan 9.

Some older travelers are even opting to finally book those big-ticket dream trips. Fernando Diez, who owns Quasar Expeditions, a luxury cruise operator in the Galpagos Islands, says that in December, when frontline health care workers were among the very first Americans to receive vaccines, he saw a wave of requests for trip information from doctors and nurses.

Since Jan. 1, however, 70 percent of his booking inquiries have come from guests over the age of 65 in previous years, that number was closer to 40 percent. Most inquiries are for travel from June onward.

Most of them say theyve been vaccinated, and theyre comfortable now traveling to a destination like Ecuador and the Galpagos, Mr. Diez said. The vaccination gives them the confidence to travel to a remote spot.

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A Different Early-Bird Special: Have Vaccine, Will Travel - The New York Times

Ubi MACs, an agile and futuristic media & communication agency launches today to offer a one-stop solution for media consultation by industry veterans. Ubi MACs is a startup and an Ad agency with the objective to service mid and small capped businesses. With five clients on board already, Ubi MACs is backed up by 7 partner agencies, 23 experts and 9 core team led by 5 founders.

Ubi MACs is founded by stalwarts from the media and marketing industries. Its philosophy and approach rests on the decades of experience and knowledge of the founding partners. The founders of Ubi MACs are:

Speaking at the launch, Mr Avijit Dutt, Founder of Ubi MACs and an advertising veteran, actor, and speaker said, The year 2020 taught us that there's another way to live and make sense of it all. It also showed us ways to increase the hit ratio, while maximizing the rupees power. This is one such innovation that will give the small spender the firepower of an experienced, proven team, without having to spend vast amounts of resources.

Mr. Dutt further added that Ubi MACs aims to be a hard-working solution for small advertisers and start-ups whose advertising needs are significantly different and are not met by big network agencies due to low budget and other structural issues. It is focused more on width and expansion than on maximizing revenues from a set of clients.

Ubi MACs aims to specifically offer to small advertisers and start-ups two kinds of services. Firstly, Media management for accounts who dont have one and charge only for the hours deployed. Here the pre audit of strategy, planning and buying is designed to be done only by veterans, and advertisers will only pay for the hoursdeployed. Secondly, harness consortium agencies for advertisers who also need crafting and execution of plans, to cater to their communication needs.

Mr. Vinit Kumar, Founder of Ubi MACs and who comes with vast experience with big agencies and clients across categories, has a lions share in bringing about this launch and consortium. Mr. Kumar said, Theres a huge surge in the number of start-ups, stacking up to 55K+. Also, we have a fairly large number of advertisers in India about 200K+. However, the smaller advertisers dont get access to expertise, experience or required Ad tech due to low investment levels. Mostly, they get serviced by independent consultants and multiple small agencies. By launching Ubi MACs and creating a consortium of six agencies, our ambition is to be the Ola/Uber for the AdCom industry by offering accessible, affordable yet boldly effective solutions.

The newly found advertising and communication start-up has formed a consortium of seven independent agencies from different domains i.e., Digital Marketing, Broadcast media, Creative and Content. The seven agencies are INK Advertising owned by Pradeep Yadav, Monkey Minds founded by Amit Duggal, Pixel Rush founded by Atul Soni, Bluetickmark founded by Gaurav Dikshit, Pub Com Media founded by Sandeep Dodhaan, Visual Craft owned by Sudeshna Das and Akhiro Interactive.

Heres some of the views shared by partner agencies on Ubi MACs:

Amit Duggal, Monkey Minds: Advertisers have always been scouting for a medium which can give them best ROI be it reach, GRPs or any other metrics. I feel nothing has changed in the current dynamics, we still have to give highest ROI and on digital as a medium specifically. My vision is to give the best ROI to first time advertisers to grow business pan India.

Atul Soni, PixelRush: With the entire national narrative focused towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat, we believe its high time that the same narrative also applies towards the agency ecosystem here. Emphasis should be towards creating successful Indian businesses catering to advertisers needs in the best possible manner devoid of any foreign firm royalty obligations, sinister back hand publisher deals and specific agenda driven performance push. We at PixelRush believe that this step towards creation of a consolidated marketing entity by Vinit under the umbrella Ubi MACs is a step in the right direction and we are honoured to be part of this consortium to deliver disproportionate value to advertisers small as well as big ones in the best possible manner.

Pradeep Yadav, INK Advertising: Consumer dynamics are changing and so does the requirement of advertisers. At this hour, convergence and coherence are required to have effective campaigns. With Ubi MACs, we are capable to solve for any kind of communication requirements a marketer might have.

Ubi MACs will play a critical role for the regional advertisers as small and medium sized businesses are facing a challenge to reach out to their target audiences. With their differentiated approach and one-stop solution, the agency will deliver both impactful and result oriented media campaigns.

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Ubi MACs kickstarts with five clients on board - Exchange4Media

In the rapidly expanding and ever-shifting digital age in which we live, therole ofInternet marketingin modern marketingis no longer a minor one. Internet marketing is a vital part of the success of any organization. From IT support to lead generation to sales, Internet marketing is beneficial to nearly every aspect of the business.

Internet marketing, which also goes by the names of online marketing, digital marketing, web marketing, e-marketing, etc., is defined as the process of promoting brands, products, or services, over the Internet. It includes any promotional actions that are done via the Web or wireless media, including email marketing, blogging, SEO, and social media.

The worldwide reach of the Internet has made it possible for businesses to easily reach hundreds of new customers and has redefined relationships between businesses to businesses (B2B) and businesses to consumers (B2C). Through the Internet, marketers from organizations of all sizes are now able to share brands, products, and services on a global scale and can do so all the time. Through websites, blogs, and social media platforms, consumers are able to find and access information about and from an organization twenty-four seven, from wherever they are.

Due to the majorrole ofInternet marketingin modern marketing, organizations cannot afford to ignore marketing online. Because the vast majority of people spend a significant amount of time online, whether they are at work or home on a desktop computer, at school on a laptop, or waiting at the airport on a smartphone or digital device, marketing through the Internet provides organizations a more effective way to promote themselves. It also provides a more efficient way because it does not involve the costs that often come with traditional marketing. Costs that often include printing brochures, shipping out promotional mailers, and paying for billboard advertising. By cutting down on expenditures, Internet marketing allows organizations to experience higher revenue.

Internet marketing also helps organizations in achieving better global branding and in building greater awareness of the products or services that they offer. Through marketing online, organizations can more strategically reach their target audience; and if Internet marketing is done right, campaigns can easily be tracked, measured, and tested to ensure proper results are being received.

Having the right Internet marketing strategies is an important part in helping organizations successfully market and advertise their products and services to consumers, connect with customers, and make sales.

It increases the visibility of an organization.

In days past, most businesses were limited to one brick and mortar location that was only visible to those who lived in the vicinity of that location. Every now and then, out of towners might come to the location after hearing about it through word of mouth. Today, however, an organization can be visible to millions of people at once through multiple digital locations. Establishing a solid presence on the Internet through a website, a blog, paid advertising, social media platforms, etc., allows organizations to expand their visibility in ways that were previously thought impossible.

It allows for two-way communication with customers.

The Internet has enabled the rise of the smart consumer. Organizations are no longer the only ones dictating how their brands, products, and services are seen; consumers are too. Through social media channels, rating and review boards, and forums, consumers are able to connect with other consumers, give their approval or disapproval of a product or service, and influence the buying decisions of potential customers. Consumers are also able to connect directly with organizations and vice versa. By keeping in touch with customers through follow-up emails, personalized offers, and thank you letters, organizations can build relationships and establish a sense of community around their brand.

It enables more detailed market research.

Doing research about the preferences, habits, and demographics of consumers is an importantpart of marketing. Its hard to target the right audience if the right information is not first gathered and documented. Additionally, its hard to create and offer the right products or services, if an organization doesnt know who their customers are, what they want, how much they are willing to pay for it, and who their competitors are in the industry. The Internet has a wealth of resource portals and tools that allow marketers to more accurately gather data on consumers and track their activity and preferences.

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Role of Internet Marketing in Modern Marketing World