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Digital customer experience transformation provider recognized for its commitment to delivering innovative, people-first solutions

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hero Digital, a leading customer experience digital transformation company, announced today that it has been selected as a winner in the 2022 MarTech Breakthrough Awards program, taking home the Customer Experience Innovator of the Year Award.

The Customer Experience Innovator of the Year award reinforces Hero Digital as a leader in the industry and commends its dedication to providing best-in-class digital customer experience (CX) solutions. Hero received the award due to its robust CX digital transformation approach, which consists of a holistic review of each client's business and customer opportunity to identify the ideal customer experience strategy based on data and analytics.

Hero Digital's world-class experience design and engineering team leads clients through customer journey mapping, service design, technology selection, enterprise architecture planning and technology implementation.With this recognition, Hero joins the ranks of other past winners such as Adobe, Axciom, and Mailchimp, as a key leader in customer experience.

"Hero's unique, human-focused approach to digital customer experience transformation is rooted in what people value most and supporting companies in leveraging marketing technology that enhances people's lives," said Patrick Frend, President of Hero Digital. "Receiving the Customer Experience Innovator of the Year award is validation of our efforts to further the digital customer journey, and we could not be more honored."

The mission of the Martech Breakthrough Awards program is to recognize excellence and champion the creativity, prowess and success of companies, technologies and products in the fields of Marketing, Sales and Advertising Technology. This award is an additional recognition of Hero Digital's industry leading MarTech consulting, implementation, and performance that has gained recognition from leading MarTech companies including Adobe, Oracle and Optimizely.

This award continues a pattern of momentum for Hero Digital following the recent recognition as Adobe's Emerging Partner of the Year, solidifying Hero Digital as a leader in digital transformation. Hero Digital's one-of-a-kind customer experience approach is trusted by companies such as Airbnb, Comcast, US Bank and Salesforce to help power digital transformation through a cohesive customer-employee ecosystem. For more information about Hero Digital, please visit http://www.herodigital.com.

About Hero Digital

Hero Digital is a leading independent digital customer experience company leveraging strategy, design, technology, marketing, and data, to solve the critical digital transformation needs of the Fortune 1000. Hero Digital's purpose is to bring moments of Truth & Beauty into people's lives by creating customer experiences that are good for people and good for business. Hero Digital's blended teams help Fortune 1000 companies like Comcast, U.S. Bank, Salesforce, Twitter, UnitedHealthcare, and TD Ameritrade Institutional invent, transform, and perform to deliver new business value.

To work with Hero Digital or learn more, visit http://www.herodigital.com.

About MarTech Breakthrough

Part of Tech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence and recognition platform for global technology innovation and leadership, the MarTech Breakthrough Awards program is devoted to honoring excellence in marketing, ad and sales technology companies, products and people. The MarTech Breakthrough Awards provide a platform for public recognition around the achievements of breakthrough marketing technology companies and products in categories including marketing automation, AdTech, SalesTech, marketing analytics, CRM, content and social marketing, website, SEM, mobile marketing and more. For more information, visitMarTechBreakthrough.com.

Media Contact:Richie Roesner[emailprotected]

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Hero Digital wins "Customer Experience Innovator of the Year" award in 2022 Martech Breakthrough Awards - PR Newswire

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MONAT Global Corp. (MONAT) was honored with a total of four Stevie Awards in The 19th Annual International Business Awards. More than 3,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories.

MONAT Global received the following awards:

Congratulations to Stuart on this well-deserved recognition! said Ray Urdaneta, CEO of MONAT. His leadership style is all about building relationships; it has powered MONATs growth and success these past eight years.

Bestselling author, speaker and leadership expert John C. Maxwell had this to say: Lives are changed by the right mentors. Stuart MacMillan has been the right mentor at the right time for thousands of people over his lifetime. Ive been honored to partner with him in amplifying his lifelong passion; helping others grow, develop, and succeed.

Judges comments on MONATs nominations included:

Details about The International Business Awards and the lists of Stevie Award winners are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

About MONAT Global

MONAT Global is an international healthy aging haircare, skincare and wellness brand founded to help people everywhere enjoy beautiful, healthy, fulfilling lives through exceptional, naturally based products; a fun and rewarding business opportunity; and a culture of family, service, and gratitude. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, MONAT provides ground-breaking opportunities through a novel Social Marketing approach to Direct Sales. MONAT's product development is led by Chief Science Officer Alan J. Meyers and supported by a Scientific Advisory Board comprised of eminent professionals in medicine, cosmetics, haircare, science, and health. MONAT offers a unique and exciting business model and one of the most generous compensation plans in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Lithuania, Spain, Poland, and Australia.

About the Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 nominations each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

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MONAT Global Wins Four Stevie Awards in the 2022 International Business Awards - Business Wire

August 30, 2022

Experts highlight drought-tolerant landscaping and resources to help customers reduce outdoor water use

Fremont, CA State leaders and Bay Area water agencies gathered today at a drought-tolerant garden to highlight conservation efforts currently underway and discuss important outdoor water saving devices and practices that can collectively save thousands of gallons of water for Californians.

California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot joined water agency leaders at the Quarry Lakes Demonstration Garden to announce resources to assist and inspire Bay Area residents in their efforts to reduce outdoor water use as California prepares for a fourth dry year amid extreme drought.

Drought across the west is bad and getting worse. In response, were taking actions to stretch our water supplies and deliver projects that help us adjust to a hotter, drier climate, said Secretary Crowfoot. Thanks to our local partners and leaders in the Bay Area, we are making progress to conserve water and improve water efficiency. Its time to double down on these critical efforts.

For the period of January to June 2022, Bay Area residents reduced their water use to an average of 60 gallons per person per day compared to the state average of 82. More work is needed, however, to curb daily waterusage, especially outdoors where most water waste occurs. Water agency leaders serving the Bay Area expressed the need for continued partnerships and urgent action by all residents to build drought resilience both in the near- and long-term.

Regional and state partnerships like we have help save our water as we manage through drought and adapt to a changing climate, said ACWD General Manager Ed Stevenson. Residents and businesses in Alameda County Water District and throughout the Bay Area have done a very good job of conserving water during this extreme drought and we're better prepared if next year is dry. Still, we cannot take our foot off the pedal; as we face a possible fourth year of drought, every drop of water becomes more precious every day.

With California undergoing a climate transformation bringing hotter and drier conditions and more extreme weather, Bay Area water agencies along with state and local leaders are encouraging customers to make permanent water wise changes to their landscaping this fall.

EBMUD customers are phenomenal at conserving water. Our customers have conserved 46 million gallons every day compared to historic use, and by 2050 we want to increase that to 70 million gallons saved daily, said EBMUD General Manager Clifford Chan. With climate change resulting in more frequent and severe droughts, we all need to conserve to ensure our water future is reliable. Our goal may seem like a lot, but if everyone makes wise water-use decisions whether its fixing a leak, or cutting back on outdoor irrigation, or using new irrigation technology we will meet that goal. Making conservation a way of life will benefit all our communities.

We thank our customers who continue to be water wise, and we encourage those with room to save more to reach out to us for help, said SFPUC General Manager Dennis Herrera. Just as our customers are doing their part, we are doing ours to make the most of our water supplies. In San Francisco we are building a new recycled water treatment plant, initiating innovative partnerships and exploring pilot programs. As the warm months continue, now is the time for everyone to do what they can to reduce outdoor water use in particular.

Actions highlighted during todays press conference are a direct response to Governor Newsoms statewide call to action for residents to reduce their water use by 15 percent in response to the extreme drought throughout California.For more information on how Californians can take immediate action to save water, visit SaveOurWater.com. To learn more about available rebates, free water saving devices and programs provided by Bay Area water agencies, visit SFPUC.org/BayAreaAgencies.

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Bay Area Water Agencies and State Leaders Urge More Conservation Outdoors as California Prepares and Braces for Fourth Dry Year :: East Bay Municipal...

Weve all scrolled through social media and come across a witty post shared by a friend. Perhaps it references a favourite TV show, or speaks to your current mood. If you were intrigued enough to click on it, you may have been surprised to discover its actually an ad for fast food, fashion or even gambling.

Such ads, with no apparent connection to the product and which are not overtly trying to sell you something, are called content marketing. The UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has recently decided that most content marketing ads fall under its regulations. While this decision was in relation to gambling specifically, an ASA spokesperson provided the following statement to The Conversation:

Our remit applies in the same way to advertising for all sectors, so the statement we published for gambling reflects how wed approach content marketing from other industries such as alcohol brands or fast food chains. The vast majority of social media content from marketers is within our remit and therefore subject to our rules.

This could cause a major shift in the types of ads we see online.

Content marketing is everywhere on social media big names like supermarket chain Aldi and sports brand Nike use it with great success. Forbes Magazine has suggested that brands should invest up to a third of their overall marketing budgets in this type of ad, with other research showing the average among North American companies is close at 26%. And its no wonder this form of advertising is becoming more popular, when it generates three times as many leads as other types of marketing yet costs 62% less to produce.

But if youre still wondering what content marketing is, thats not necessarily by accident. Content marketing ads are designed to go under the radar, so that you may not actually notice a funny meme has been posted by a brand in this case, the fashion retailer ASOS:

While the main purpose of content marketing is to enhance brand reputation and ultimately increase sales, the big benefit for the companies is that these ads are designed to make you do the work. By sharing, liking or commenting, youre expanding the brands audience via the myriad networks of social media users. You may not do this for a Buy 2 for 1 supermarket ad, but an image of a cute cat next to a fan posted during a national heatwave could be a different story.

Of course, the idea behind content marketing is that you will make the brand connection subconsciously, as will everyone in your network who you share it with. This will create a positive relationship with the brand. Research shows these positive emotions will strengthen every time you (subconsciously) see funny or cute content from the same brand, eventually leading you to start consuming its products. Its a sneaky but very powerful form of advertising, but its also one thats changing.

Until July 2022, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) did not recognise content marketing as a form of advertising, so its regulations did not apply to such ads. This meant that, in theory, content marketing posts from gambling firms could feature children, alcohol brands could encourage drinking and driving, and fast food chains could target kids, all without breaking any advertising regulations.

While encouraging drinking and driving is a far cry from a funny cat meme, regulation of social media content marketing ads is crucial. For one thing, these posts are deceptive because most people dont realise they are advertising something. They can bypass the cognitive defences we all use when we see an ad to protect us from buying unnecessary stuff. Of course, the effects of this missing link are more harmful for certain products or services.

Gambling is known to be addictive, for example, so a traditional gambling ad will get most peoples alarm bells ringing. But if gambling companies use content marketing, users may engage with the post without even thinking and eventually follow the account. Once this happens, they will be exposed to all of the accounts content not just the funny memes but also the highly appealing, immediate-action ads encouraging users to click here for a free bet.

Read more: How children are being targeted with hidden ads on social media

We know that this is happening on a large scale. We have already written for The Conversation about our study of more than 888,000 gambling ads on Twitter. We found that around 40% of those ads were content marketing, and many were highly appealing to children.

After pressure from our academic publications, a debate in the UK House of Lords and an episode of comedian Joe Lycetts Channel 4 show Got Your Back, the regulator stepped in to expand its rules to content marketing. The ASA now recognises that most content marketing posts are actually ads, and that all existing advertising codes should apply to these posts.

This means that posts like the overheated cat could still appear in your social media feed, but it would now have to adhere to all regulations. For gambling, fast food or alcohol brands, this could mean they cannot use content marketing at all without breaching regulations. Our previous research, for example, showed that 11 out of 12 gambling content marketing posts were strongly appealing to children something not allowed under the existing regulations for adverts.

The regulators decision on content marketing is a seismic shift in advertising regulations. But the real work has just begun, because the expansion also brings up new issues. Enforcement will be tricky, for example, considering everyones social media feed is different, and content marketing pieces are often posted briefly and then spread by users, not advertisers.

But the most fundamental question will be whether, under these new regulations, it is even possible to post content marketing that is not obviously recognisable as such. The whole point of content marketing is that we dont recognise it, otherwise we wouldnt share it. But this breaks one of the first rules of advertising standards so, presumably, every content marketing piece will have to be marked ad or sponsored so that we recognise it, making it considerably less cool to share.

As such, this regulation could kill off the practice of content marketing completely, which in our view would be a good thing. Memes can be cute and funny, but using them to sell unhealthy food or gambling services is sneaky, deceptive and potentially very harmful.

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Social media ads are about to change how new rules on content marketing will affect what you see and share - The Conversation Indonesia

Sprotts Lindsay McShane receives SSHRC grant to examine the role of chatbots in customer experience - Sprott School of Business Skip to main content

Lindsay McShane, associate professor of marketing at Carleton Universitys Sprott School of Business, has been awarded the Explore Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in the June 2022 competition to deepen our understanding of the role of chatbots.

Companies are increasingly using chatbots as a way to manage their online service interactions with consumers and their incorporation represents a significant cost savings for the company. Yet, current research indicates that 87% of consumers prefer interacting with live agents.

Lindsays research project, Chatbot or Live Agent? The Effects of Relational Value Threat on Consumer Receptivity to Chatbots, aims to address this gap by developing a more clear and systematic understanding of consumers' responses to chatbots and how these reactions shape their relationship with a company. Emerging research on consumers reactions to chatbots examines the issue primarily from the perspective that chatbot receptiveness is shaped by how efficiently consumers can achieve their service encounter goals. Instead, this research will examine the potentially critical role of how such encounters influence the extent to which consumers feel valued and respected by the company.

SSHRCs Explore Grants are part of their Institutional Grants that provide support to help Canadian postsecondary institutions fund small-scale research and research-related activities by their faculty and students in the social sciences and humanities. They are intended to assist in strengthening research excellence in the social sciences and humanities areas of Canadian postsecondary institutions.

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Sprott's Lindsay McShane receives SSHRC grant to examine the role of chatbots in customer experience - Sprott School of Business - Carleton University