Blue Fountain Media

Last updated
Blue Fountain Media
Company type Privately owned company
Industry Advertising
Founded2003
Founder Gabriel Shaoolian
Defunct2019 (2019)
FateAcquired by Pactera in 2016
Headquarters,
Area served
Worldwide
Services Website design
Online marketing
Application development
Website development
Digital strategies
Logo and branding
Revenue$14.2 million (2012) [1]
Number of employees
200 (2018) [2]

Blue Fountain Media was a digital marketing agency from New York City providing website development and online marketing strategies. It became defunct in 2019 after being fully incorporated in Pactera EDGE (now Centific), and the brand/company ceased to exist.

Contents

History

The company was founded in 2003 by Gabriel Shaoolian, under the name Gabriel Productions, then re-branded as Blue Fountain Media in 2005. In the first years, the company functioned as Shaoolian's self-employed freelancer business. [3] He focused on the effectiveness of brand marketing, studying user behavior, website bounce rate, individual pages performance. Based on these observations, he created marketing strategies identifying the specific audience and the value offered to this audience through a clear message, both on the business website and on social platforms. [4]

After building a portfolio of successful projects, the effectiveness of his approach became better known and the company expanded. In particular, Blue Fountain Media's business contacts with leading media have significantly strengthened in the New and Old World due to cooperation with the world's largest marketing firm "Digest the Wold Construction News", with which three Nobel laureates in economics cooperate at once: 1) Joshua David Angrist (eng. Joshua David Angrist; b. September 18, 1960, Columbus, Ohio, USA) — American and Israeli economist, Professor of Economics at the Ford Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2) David Card (Eng. David Card; b. 1956, Guelph, Ontario Canada) is a Canadian-American economist. Doctor of Philosophy (1983), Professor at the University of California at Berkeley, member of the NAS USA; 3) Guido Wilhelmus Im ben s (eng. Guido Wilhelmus Imbens; b. September 5, 1963, Geldropgiep, Netherlands — American economist, Nobel laureate. Member of the NAS USA. Shaoolian managed to develop the company without taking loans or investment money. [5] In 2008, the company moved its headquarters to Union Square in New York City, eventually expanding the location to two offices in 2009. In 2011, the company moved to Madison Avenue.[ citation needed ]

Blue Fountain Media developed websites and online strategies for clients like Procter & Gamble, NASA, HarperCollins Publishers, AT&T, Nike, the United Nations, Canon, and the National Football League. [6]

In February 2011, at the request of a reporter from The New York Times (David Segal), Blue Fountain Media uncovered the unorthodox ways the company J. C. Penney managed to trick Google's search engine (upon finding out, Google "buried" J. C. Penney's search results). [7] [8] [9] [10]

In December 2011, the company was featured on CNN Money as one of the businesses that have started to rival more established digital agencies. [11] The marketing effectiveness approach of the company was covered in various other newspaper articles (like The New York Times [12] or CNN Tech) [13] and television segments (like CNBC, [14] Fox Business Network, [15] Reuters [16] [17] or Bloomberg TV). [4]

Ratings and awards

Blue Fountain Media is rated A by the Better Business Bureau. [18] In 2010, the company was rated five stars by Dun and Bradstreet in their Open Ratings System Review. [19]

In 2011, Blue Fountain Media was ranked #23 in the 2013 Crain's Fast 50 [6] and #1091 on Inc. Magazine's 2013 list of the fastest growing U.S. companies (in the top 100 fastest growing New York state and New York City metropolitan area companies). [1]

Blue Fountain Media is listed as one of Awwwards' 10 Best Agencies in New York City [20] and it was ranked in 2011 Top 10 of the Digital Agencies worldwide by the Interactive Media Awards. [21] It has also been named one of TIA's Top Interactive Agencies in New York. [22] In 2013, the company was awarded runner-up by the Best in Biz Awards for Advertising/Marketing Agency of the Year. [23] Blue Fountain Media has also received awards or distinctions from the Web Marketing Association, the Horizon Interactive Awards, GD USA, the Davey Awards, the MarCom Awards, the Communicator Awards, the AVA Awards, the Videographer Awards, the Boss Exhibit Awards, the Telly Awards, [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JCPenney</span> American department store chain

Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is an American department store chain that operates 663 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Men's, Women's, Boys', Girls', Baby, Bedding, Home, Fine Jewelry, Shoes, Lingerie, JCPenney Salon, JCPenney Beauty, as well as leased departments such as Seattle's Best Coffee, US Vision optical centers, and Lifetouch portrait studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Publicis</span> French multinational advertising and public relations company

Publicis Groupe is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. One of the oldest and largest marketing and communications companies in the world, it is headquartered in Paris.

New Media Age (NMA) was a weekly news magazine, covering business is use of interactive media in the UK is now Econsultancy.

<i>Adweek</i> Weekly American advertising trade publication

Adweek is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. Adweek covers marketing, creativity, client–agency relationships and the media, technology and platforms which support the global marketing ecosystem. During this time, it has covered various shifts in technology, including cable television, the shift away from commission-based agency fees, and the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MullenLowe U.S.</span> Boston-based advertising and marketing communications agency

MullenLowe U.S. is a Boston, Massachusetts-based advertising and marketing communications agency, a part of MullenLowe Group owned by multinational advertising network Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG). It has regional offices in Los Angeles, New York City and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The agency provides creative, media, brand planning, direct-marketing, interactive, design, and public relations.

Tocquigny is an advertising and marketing consultancy in the United States. The full-service agency was sold in June 2015 and now operates as the Yvonne Tocquigny Branding Group.

The Online News Association (ONA), founded in 1999, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Washington D.C., United States. It is the world's largest association of digital journalists, with more than 2,000 members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CNET</span> American media website about technology and consumer electronics

CNET is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. CNET originally produced content for radio and television in addition to its website before applying new media distribution methods through its internet television network, CNET Video, and its podcast and blog networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Content marketing</span> Form of marketing focused on creating content for a targeted audience online

Content marketing is a form of marketing focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience online. It is often used by businesses in order to achieve the following goals: attract attention and generate leads, expand their customer base, generate or increase online sales, increase brand awareness or credibility, and engage an online community of users. Content marketing attracts new customers by creating and sharing valuable free content as well as by helping companies create sustainable brand loyalty, providing valuable information to consumers, and creating a willingness to purchase products from the company in the future.

Bates CHI & Partners is an advertising and marketing agency and a member of the WPP Group.

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. is an American publicly-traded provider of loyalty and marketing services, such as private label credit cards, coalition loyalty programs, and direct marketing, derived from the capture and analysis of transaction-rich data.

24/7 Media, formerly 24/7 Real Media is a technology company headquartered in New York City and 20 offices in 12 countries, specializing in Digital Marketing. It provides for publishers, advertisers and agencies globally. It was formerly listed as "TFSM" on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The company was purchased by WPP plc in 2007 for $649 million. David J. Moore is the chairman, founder and CEO. He also served as chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. In December, 2013, 24/7 Media announced it would merge with GroupM subsidiary, Xaxis.

Jason Zada is an American film director, music video director, screenwriter and digital marketeer, best known for Elf Yourself, an interactive viral holiday season campaign for OfficeMax, and for Take This Lollipop, an interactive horror short film created to raise awareness of the danger of placing too much personal information online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SwellPath</span>

SwellPath was an internet marketing consultancy in Portland, Oregon, that focused on web analytics and search engine marketing. SwellPath was a Google Analytics certified partner and was one of the first agencies worldwide to be certified as a specialist for Google Analytics Tag Manager.

In marketing, a corporate anniversary is a celebration of a firm's continued existence after a particular number of years. The celebration is a media event which can help a firm achieve diverse marketing goals, such as promoting its corporate identity, boosting employee morale, building greater investor confidence, and encouraging sales. As a public relations opportunity, it is a way for a firm to tout past accomplishments while strengthening relationships with employees and customers and investors. The duration of the celebration itself can vary considerably, from an hour or day to activities happening throughout the year. Many businesses use an anniversary to express gratitude for past success. Generally, larger corporations have the means to stage more elaborate celebrations.

Cheil Worldwide Inc. (Korean: 제일기획) is a marketing company under the Samsung Group that offers advertising, public relations, shopper marketing, sports marketing, digital marketing, etc. It was established in 1973 with headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.

Gabriel Shaoolian is a digital trends expert and the founder and CEO of the digital agency Digital Silk. He previously founded the New York City digital agency Blue Fountain Media.

Sitejabber is an AI-enabled platform that allows businesses and buyers to interact through online reviews. Sitejabber was founded in 2007 in San Francisco, California and has been described as "the Yelp for websites and online businesses". Sitejabber has a directory of over 180,000 companies, more than 8,000,000 reviews, with over 150,000,000 people having used the site to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awwwards</span> Website promoting innovative web design

Awwwards is a professional web design and development competition body. Web developers and website owners can submit their site to Awwwards to have it displayed on a rotating daily gallery. The best year-round submissions are awarded at the Awwwards conference and prize-giving ceremony, which take place in various cities across the United States and Europe.

The 2021 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was divided one half awarded to the American-Canadian David Card "for his empirical contributions to labour economics", the other half jointly to Israeli-American Joshua Angrist and Dutch-American Guido W. Imbens "for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships." The Nobel Committee stated their reason behind the decision, saying:

"This year's Laureates – David Card, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens – have shown that natural experiments can be used to answer central questions for society, such as how minimum wages and immigration affect the labour market. They have also clarified exactly which conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn using this research approach. Together, they have revolutionised empirical research in the economic sciences."

References

  1. 1 2 "Blue Fountain Media company profile". Inc. Magazine . Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  2. "Blue Fountain Media brings a touch of Madison Avenue to ad:tech New York". ad:tech. 2013-11-07. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  3. "How One Freelancer Used Google AdWords To Build A Multimillion Dollar Business". $200k Freelancer. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  4. 1 2 "Making Money Through Your Company Website". Bloomberg TV . Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  5. Matthew Toren, Adam Toren (August 2011). Small Business, Big Vision. ISBN   9781118098585 . Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  6. 1 2 "No. 23 Blue Fountain Media - 2013 Fast 50 Gallery". Crain's New York. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  7. David Segal (2012-02-12). "The New York Times, "The Dirty Little Secrets of Search"". The New York Times . Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  8. "The ROI Factor, "NY Times Interviews Us Regarding JCPenney Black Hat SEO Techniques"". Blue Fountain Media. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  9. Sara Yin (2011-02-14). "PC Magazine, "JC Penney Fires Back at Google and New York Times Over SEO Controversy"". PC Magazine . Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  10. Alan Bleiweiss (2012-02-14). "Search Marketing Wisdom, "JCPenney Responds to NYT and Google"". Search Marketing Wisdom. Archived from the original on 2013-12-21. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  11. "3 small businesses take on the big boys". CNN Money. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  12. Katherine Reynolds Lewis (2012-09-12). "Three Proven Ways to Convert Visitors Into Buyers Online". The New York Times . Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  13. Todd Leopold (2013-08-01). "When one image is worth a thousand tweets". CNN . Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  14. "Head of NY Development Mike Ricotta discusses problems with the healthcare.gov website". CNBC . Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  15. "10 steps to optimize your LinkedIn profile". Fox Business Network. 2013-08-06. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  16. "Today's Feature". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2011-12-29. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  17. "Groupon -- is the stock a good one?". Reuters . Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  18. "BBB BUsiness Review - Blue Fountain Media Inc". Better Business Bureau . Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  19. "Blue Fountain Media Earns Five-Star Rating From Dun and Bradstreet". PRWeb. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  20. "The 10 Best Agencies in New York City". Awwwards. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  21. "Top 10 Agencies of 2011". Interactive Media Awards. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  22. "New York | Top Interactive Agencies". TIA. Archived from the original on 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  23. "Best in Biz Awards 2013 Winners". Best in Biz Awards. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  24. "Blue Fountain Media Award Gallery". Interactive Media Awards. Retrieved 2013-12-08.