Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

smartFOCUS appoints Bryan Black to head up Email Reaction

New MD will develop Email Reaction as leading e-mail and online marketing company

Bristol, UK, 23 November 2006: smartFOCUS, an international vendor of enterprise marketing software, has appointed Bryan Black as MD for its subsidiary Email Reaction.

Email Reaction provides hosted and installed online marketing software that is characterised by a user friendly and powerful interface. Clients such as Help the Aged, Penguin, MessageLabs, Lovereading.co.uk and The Labour Party use Email Reaction software to manage communications with customers, prospects and members.

smartFOCUS acquired Email Reaction in May 2006. The first joint product, smartREACTION, was launched in October 2006. smartREACTION is a new solution for the analysis, management and execution of marketing campaigns via online channels, capable of handling 100's of millions of digital messages, including e-mail, SMS, RSS flows and microsites.

Bryan Black brings over 20 years’ experience in the IT and software industry, working in senior UK and international roles within private and public companies. His past roles include Chief Executive Officer at Protogona, the enterprise campaign management software company acquired by DoubleClick, vice president for Americas at McCormack and Dodge; MD at Pilot Software; and applications alliances manager at Oracle Corporation. He has also taken lead roles in developing start-ups, including Chief Executive Officer for UTLUK, a digital asset management and website development company.

In his new role, Bryan Black will report to smartFOCUS Chief Executive Officer Chris Underhill. Black will head the Email Reaction management board, which includes Email Reaction co-founders Mike and Pete Austin.

smartFOCUS Chief Executive Officer Chris Underhill said: “Bryan’s experience in developing business directly and through partners combined with his marketing software expertise will support us in our goal to establish Email Reaction as a leading e-mail and online marketing company.”

Bryan Black said: “It’s an exciting time to be leading a company engaged in permission marketing. More and more companies are realising the benefits of having fully integrated and trackable marketing communications, and being able to offer a personalised and consistent response to customers however they interact with a company. Email Reaction nearly doubled its turnover last year and with the market outlook as strong as it is, I look forward to growing the business further.”

About Email Reaction – www.emailreaction.com

Email Reaction is a specialist in enabling online customer communications. Its proprietary Email Reaction technology is available in both a hosted and installed version. It allows users to manage their entire online marketing campaign from planning and testing through to broadcast, tracking and measurement of results.


About smartFOCUS – www.smartfocus.com

smartFOCUS provides software and services that enable companies to manage and coordinate marketing across multiple channels, including e-mail, SMS, RSS, telemarketing, and direct mail.

The company provides a complete portfolio of data integration, analysis, modelling, on-line execution, campaign planning and management, with integrated budgeting and finance solutions. The result is ‘Intelligent Marketing’, driven by a single view of the customer’s activities across all channels. Marketers can target their communications more accurately, cutting wastage, increasing conversion rates and achieving a better understanding of the customer base.

Users of smartFOCUS Intelligent Marketing Solutions include AAA, ABN AMRO, Avis Europe, Carrefour, France Telecom, Harrods, Hilton International and News International.

smartFOCUS in headquartered in Bristol, UK, with offices in the USA and continental Europe.

Sally Forge / Elissa Fry
Prompt Communications on behalf of Email Reaction
Tel: 020 8996 1653 / 07780 687813
Email: hbutters@prompt-communications.com / efry@prompt-communications.com