PLEASANT RIDGE ? The rising popularity of smartphones made ePrize, the global promotions company based in suburban Detroit, to change its name last week to HelloWorld to reflect the new ways people engage digitally.
ePrize decided to leave 15 years of brand equity on the table for a name that better reflects the company?s recent growth, acquisitions and its launch of a SaaS platform focused on mobile marketing, live event activation, promotions, loyalty program and in-store activation.
?It?s unusual for successful brands to change its equity,? said HelloWorld CEO Matt Wise ?The first 10 years was extremely good for ePrize. The last couple years, our promotions business was great, but we asked what core value do we bring to our customers. We could see as smartphones came along, the way people related to brands changed.?
Wise said ePrize looked at all the available names over the past year and came up with HelloWorld.
?When you meet someone the first thing you say is Hello,? Wise said. ?HelloWorld works well.?
Wise said the reviews from clients so far have been favorable. Some of the older clients, he admitted, were a little surprised by the name change, announced a week ago.
“Rapidly-evolving technology like smart phones and social networks have created marketing opportunities ? but have also made engaging with consumers complicated with multiple vendors and complex software,” said Wise.
“In the same way Salesforce.com and Oracle solved this problem for CRM, the HelloWorld SaaS platform solves this problem for rich consumer engagement,? he said. ?It was time to reinvent the way things are done and build one platform to help brands connect with consumers across channels. We’re proud to pave the way for brands to take advantage of this exciting and evolving medium.?
The majority of the Fortune 500, including brands like Coca-Cola, Microsoft and P&G, currently leverage HelloWorld’s rich engagement platform to motivate consumer behavior. Having administered four times more promotions than its top competitor, the company?s solutions will continue to spark a dialogue between brands and consumers through contests, chance-based campaigns, loyalty programs, mobile messaging, and live event engagement. These solutions create an ongoing line of communication all the way to point-of-sale.
The HelloWorld platform includes the following solutions that can be deployed across microsites, SMS, social, mobile sites, apps and in-store.
● Mobile marketing: SMS, in-app push notifications, custom mobile app experiences, mobile clubs, alerts, mobile coupons and location-based services.
● Live event activation: Jumbotron games, photos, tweets and texts to screen, for concert tours, sporting events, tradeshows and retail.
● Promotions: Sweepstakes, instant-wins, trivia, photo contests and advergames.
● Loyalty programs: Points-based, social engagement or advocacy programs with a range of reward options and prize catalogs.
● In-store activation: Digital coupons, scavenger hunts, mobile clubs, and POS integration.
In the last three years, the company has nearly doubled in revenue and tripled the number of clients it serves. ePrize acquired a division of the predictive analytics company Apollo Data Technologies, mobile technology provider Cellit, mobile live event activation firm Mozes, app engagement startup Bulbstorm and online promotions company Promotions.com.
In addition, the company itself was acquired by the private-equity firm Catterton Partners and incubated a new startup in the enterprise gamification space called LevelEleven. HelloWorld has more than 400 employees across seven different offices, most of them in Pleasant Ridge.
For more information, click on HelloWorld.Com
