SkyGo Expands into the Alley
Redwood City, Calif.-based wireless ad firm SkyGo continues to expand its
operations, opening an office in New York City. SkyGo said the new office
would serve as the hub of its East Coast technology and ad sales operations.
The firm also added Arin Wolfson, former Director of Strategic Planning
at Alley-based 24/7 Media, to head the company’s carrier business division.
At 24/7, Wolfson helped found the company’s wireless, broadband and emerging
media division.
Barbara Read, who joined SkyGo in April, will oversee the firm’s East
Coast sales. Prior to joining SkyGo, Read was the vice president of ad sales
at LookSmart.
WebCriteria and K2 Digital Announce Partnership
Interactive agency K2 Digital Monday signed a partnership with CRM
intelligence provider WebCriteria.
Under the agreement, K2 Digital will use WebCriteria’s automated customer
experience analysis technology to bolster its own in-house site assessment
practice. Specifically, K2 will use WebCriteria’s Site Analysis and Task
Analysis services internally, during the development and testing processes
of the Web sites the firm creates.
K2 also will offer WebCriteria’s products to its client base. Terms of the arrangement were
not disclosed.
Alley-based iXL Unit Morphs Into Indie Shop
Efforts by the management of i-shop iXL to trim some of the fat mean more
than simply shutting offices. Instead, slimming down has allowed some of
those offices to branch out and go independent.
To wit, the firm’s New York-based Digital Video Group recently bought
itself out.
The core competencies of that firm, Creative Bubble, include providing
video, design and interactive solutions to broadcasters, cable, advertising
and corporate clients. Its ad creatives and designers have produced promos
and image campaigns for clients including Sesame Workshop, HBO, and MTV,
among others.
The group also performed special effects and graphic design services for
agency clients, including BBDO Worldwide, for which Creative Bubble provided
effects for two Super Bowl spots this year.
Principals in the company include Rob Ortiz, John Tierney, Doug Dimon,
Robin Horlick, Pat Carpenter, Tim Dwight, Karl Pilegis and Carl Levine. Jim
Rocco, co-founder and former president of iXL, will be a board member and
advisor for the new company, a spokesman said.
“We consist of video veterans who have learned a lot working with an
Internet company, who are following basic business principals of following
client needs, and doing great work,” said executive producer Carl Levine.
“We are Emmy-award winning creatives who have converged with people who work
with high-end Internet solutions, work seamlessly with video going into
Internet solutions, and are running a very tight business.”
Levine said the firm is particularly focused on implementing streaming
video for B2B Web applications.
Men’s Footwear Line Debuts Site
Men’s footwear manufacturer Ovadafut Hosiery Company debuted its Web
site, integrating “bon vivant” content with e-commerce opportunities.
The site, designed by Alley-based i-shop Situation Marketing, features
the likenesses of such notables as Clark Gable, Tony Bennett and Frank
Sinatra, and exhortations to live life to its fullest.
The company is aiming to parlay Web surfers interested in the site’s
articles into paying customers: the Web site e-commerce features and
newsletter signups are complemented by wine and cigar reviews, golfing tips
and pics of celebrities who wear the company’s signature OVADAFUT FRANCE
line.
