Posted by tom on January 26, 2012 under Company News | 
Recently FreeCause welcomed experienced technical executive Antoine Hage as the new Chief Technology Officer to our team. (You can read the press release here.) Antoine will lead the talented team of FreeCause engineers in planning and developing FreeCause and Rakuten loyalty and rewards technology.
We sat down with Antoine to discuss his vision for FreeCause and the future of rewards technology.
What attracted you to FreeCause?
FreeCause has experienced tremendous growth in a relatively short period of time in the loyalty technology space. As I learned more about the company and spoke to many of the people here, I became more and more impressed with what the company has accomplished and what its potential is.
What is your vision for FreeCause?
I want to take what the company has already done to the next level. We have created a strong foundation of rewards technology solutions, but now we need to build off of that and continually innovate in order to accelerate growth and maximize end user satisfaction.
What are some of your initial projects to help meet this vision?
There are several areas we are focusing on including:
Transition current products into a high performance state which will allow us to grow both in the industry and also in the Rakuten group. We have targeted several areas for enhancements including toolbar customization, extensions for Chrome and Safari, and modular cloud architecture to support mobile devices.
Create high performing services which will allow us to better collect, analyze, and share detailed data generated through our technology. We will work to refactor our transaction engine and toolbar service while also building the most trusted reporting product in the industry.
Build the next generation of loyalty technology which will further enhance our leadership position in the industry while providing our clients and end users with an unmatched experience. Solutions incorporating targeted messaging, targeted ads, and targeted prediction solutions for eCommerce are all products on our horizon that I and the FreeCause technology team are very excited about.
Posted by tom on January 25, 2012 under Company News |
We recognize outstanding employee achievements each month through the presentation of our “Shugi” Awards. Competition is always fierce, but for the month of December a few employees went above and beyond to drive results.
The winner of the December Shugi Award was Pamela Goloskie for her outstanding work during the month with our data and reporting systems. Her dedication and knowledge was vital to ensuring a successful end to 2011. Great work Pam!
Runner up winners include Sam Tymorek, Huy Ngu, Feng Zheng, and Megan Carvalho for their fantastic work and tireless efforts that lead to phenomenal results for the month.
Congratulations to all of our winners!
Posted by tom on January 23, 2012 under Uncategorized |
One of our most recent successful client launches, this one for NeighborOil, was featured on Boston.com. NeighborOil helps people utilize technology to obtain the best price on oil.
Our toolbar and shopping technology is referenced as one of the innovative ways NeighborOil is helping users quickly accumulate points that they in turn can use to purchase oil.
Posted by tom on January 20, 2012 under Company News |
Interested in learning more about joining FreeCause, one of the fastest growing technology companies in Boston?
Attend our “FreeCause Mixer” taking place Tuesday, January 31 between 5-7PM at the FreeCause office, located at 294 Washington St., 11th Floor in Boston (close to Downtown Crossing).
Stop by anytime between 5-7PM to check out our cool office, learn about FreeCause, meet and talk to current employees, and introduce yourself to us.
View our jobs page to see some of the positions we’re currently hiring for. However, we’re adding positions all of the time and always interested in talking to talented engineers, developers, product, sales, and marketing professionals, as well as interns, so stop by and get your foot in the door before positions are posted publicly!
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Posted by tom on under Company News |
What a year 2011 was! FreeCause surpassed its budget goals by leaps and bounds and we look forward to making 2012 even more successful.
As research has shown, consumers convert with our online retailers 230% more often when using FreeCause solutions due to our market-leading technology. In 2011, more than ever, we proved that we successfully align the interests of our consumers, our online retail affiliates, and our clients – and we plan to continue delivering this level of value this year.
Our 2011 milestones include:
• Launched a Google Search Partnership
• Named Google Affiliate Network – Affiliate VIP
• Named LinkShare – Platinum Publisher
• Named Commission Junction – CJ Performer
• Awarded A4U Best 3rd Party Affiliate Application Honorable Mention
• Awarded Home Depot Top 10 Affiliate of the Year
With this momentum and a strong foundation, we look forward to continuing this success in 2012.
Moving forward, FreeCause has a singular and clearly defined mission – to “Inspire Loyalty Through Innovation”. Our award-winning team of engineers will strive to develop technology that focuses on the consumer and the consumer experience above all else. We are enthusiastic about the impact these efforts will make on behalf of our product offering, and in parallel, the positive impact that will be felt by our clients and partners.
I look forward to sharing updates as the year continues and to Inspiring Loyalty Through Innovation in 2012.
Michael Jaconi, CEO
Posted by tom on under Company News, eMarket |
FreeCause DealMaker table
The FreeCause team has been busy of late traveling to affiliate events. This week we attended LinkShare Symposium West in San Francisco, an intimate learning and networking opportunity of approximately 500 affiliate marketers, merchants, industry experts, and publishers. The Symposium provided several days of valuable education, business planning, and most importantly, networking.
The theme for this year’s Symposium was “Think Forward” and the team learned about the latest eCommerce trends and evolutions in consumer behavior. The event kicked off with opening remarks from Rakuten Founder and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani who shared his views of the eCommerce landscape as well as his vision for Rakuten and LinkShare. Another highlight of the event was the opening keynote session from Andy Hoar, Senior Analyst at Forrester Research, Inc., who provided indispensable insight into the online retail space including projected growth, consumer behavior trends, and opportunities for affiliate marketers, advertisers, and publishers to drive sales.
LinkShare Symposium’s main focus was providing attendees with ample opportunities to connect with others throughout the event. It’s the networking opportunities the Symposium offers that truly makes this a must-attend event. During the primary networking portion of the event, DealMaker, we were able to meet with and strengthen relationships with new and current advertisers of our network. Our team was able to discuss with advertisers our eMarket shopping mall solution as well as various effective promotion opportunities to help them reach any of our more than 30 million users. The FreeCause team left LinkShare Symposium with a collection of great leads as well as an enhanced understanding of where the affiliate industry is headed and how our solutions can best help companies better reach targeted consumers.
Posted by tom on January 16, 2012 under Company News, General News, eMarket |
Photo courtesy of Affiliate Summit
Last week our eCommerce team attended Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas, a gathering of more than 5,000 affiliate marketers, merchants, publishers, and vendors.
We asked Robert Land, our VP of eCommerce, to share his thoughts of the event.
What is FreeCause’s goal for attending Affiliate Summit?
We maintain over 3,500 merchant relationships through our network and Affiliate Summit is one of the 13 or so critical shows we attend each year to help foster those relationships. Our goal for attending is to constantly learn about new deals, merchants, and products so that we can provide the best shopping experience for our clients’ end users.
How did we spend our time there?
Over a 3-day period we attended over 40 meetings with retailers large and small. These included Rue La La, LEGO, Staples, Priceline, Kohl’s, and most importantly at this time of year, TurboTax and H&R Block.
What did we get the most out of attending?
Affiliate Summit features a “mini” tradeshow in addition to the exhibit hall called the Meet Market. For 5 hours on the first day of the show we were able to go table to table for 15-minute “catch-ups”. You’d be surprised how much information you can cover in that short of time. We talked about all the new promotion and seasonal guides FreeCause has coming up in Q1 and Q2, and they talked about what hot new sales or products they have coming out.
How was the event venue and Las Vegas?
Vegas never gets old! The oxygen they pump into their casinos mixed with the cigarette smoke of patrons makes for a head spinning experience (almost literally). The added challenge with Vegas as a venue is that the conference centers seem like miles away from your hotel room. Wearing comfortable shoes is the best advice one could ever receive. Overall the entire event provided an enjoyable, productive few days where we could strengthen our relationships with retailers and in turn further add value for users of our eMarkets.
Posted by tom on December 29, 2011 under Brand Loyalty, Company News, General News |
Here are some of the latest relevant loyalty industry reads we thought you might enjoy.
First we start with a blog post from our very own Mellissa Santos. Mellissa is our Human Resources Manager and is an expert at recruiting and hiring technical talent. Mellissa wrote a blog post for the job board Glassdoor.com on several simple tips job seekers can use to help land a dream tech job.
Smaller organizations are battling like never before for the attention and loyalty of consumers. Some companies are moving away from plastic cards and instead utilizing mobile apps to more effectively engage and retain customers. Read one example of how a company has succeeded with this approach in this Internet Retailer article.
Want a Nook eReader? Receiving one is as simple as choosing to fly out of one airport rather than another. In this USA Today article, you can see how airports are luring frequent flyers with loyalty programs and rewards for their traveling business.
You more than likely know by now that Facebook has changed their Profile page for each person to the new Timeline feature. However what you might not know is what does this change mean for merchants and businesses? In this Practical eCommerce feature, ramifications and opportunities for businesses regarding Facebook Timeline are discussed.
Posted by tom on under Company News |
2011 was a banner year for FreeCause. We helped a record number of clients implement innovative new loyalty and rewards solutions to help engage their members and create recurring revenue streams. As you can imagine, there are a number of development and product support resources that need to be effectively organized to ensure client implementations launched on time and successfully met goals. It requires a lot of coordination to make this happen, and that is why we rely on Kyle Gifford to lead us through it.
Since joining FreeCause last June as our Senior Software Engineer – Team Lead, Kyle has been instrumental in making the implementation process as smooth as possible. He leads our Scrum Process, serving as the team leader, working to remove any roadblocks for the team that would slow down implementations. His tremendous effort has helped cut down the time it takes to implement solutions while still guaranteeing that RewardsBar and eMarkets have gone through the necessary quality control process. Kyle also wears several other hats as the technical owner of our Toolbar Builder platform and developer of our exciting new Push Notification feature which allows clients to connect with their users in an engaging, unobtrusive fashion.
Currently Kyle is leading the migration of our older RewardsBars to our new Toolbar Builder 2 platform. This upgrade will allow clients to engage their users like never before, leveraging our latest toolbar technology, including Chrome Support and Push Notifications. “We are releasing some really exciting new features to our technology,” said Kyle. “We are determined to continue improving the process of implementing quality solutions for our clients as effectively and efficiently as humanly possible.”
Kyle is a graduate of Truman State University, where he majored in Computer Science. When not leading our teams to get client solutions launched, Kyle enjoys traveling, skiing, cooking, and hunting for the best deals. He also is quite creative, having won our Halloween Costume contest (pictured here – he’s the old FreeCause logo in the background). Kyle is also the first recipient of our monthly Shugi Award, which recognizes those employees who went above and beyond during the month to help clients and fellow FreeCause colleagues.
Posted by tom on December 23, 2011 under Company News |
There is no better way to give back to a community than donating your time and abilities to help those less fortunate. FreeCause couldn’t agree more, and that is why our employees were excited for the opportunity to spend a few days during the holidays volunteering at Boston Rescue Mission.
Employees spent time cleaning, preparing food, organizing and stocking materials, and lending a hand wherever they were needed. This rewarding experience was just a small way employees could give back and help make a difference during the holidays. Employees enjoyed the experience and look forward to similar opportunities to donate their time and talents in 2012.
Recently FreeCause welcomed experienced technical executive Antoine Hage as the new Chief Technology Officer to our team. (You can read the press release here.) Antoine will lead the talented team of FreeCause engineers in planning and developing FreeCause and Rakuten loyalty and rewards technology.
