System links agents, data warehouse

Not that he’s bragging or anything, but Norm Francis, president of Vancouver-based CRM software maker Pivotal Corp. calls the launch of his firm’s eRelationship 2000 suite of business-to-business e-commerce solutions "a watershed event" in the rapidly changing world of e-business.

"What it does is combine the technologies required to build successful e-business relationships," he says.

The product announcement draws on a technology alliance between Pivotal and automation specialists E.piphany and Interactive Intelligence to add support for customer analysis and multiple points of interaction.

ERelationship 2000 includes specialized "engines" for real-time intelligence, personalization and interaction. E.piphany’s core analytic software gathers customer data from various points of contact – such as sales and customer service functions – and then segments it. That data can then be used to tell businesses which customers are most important and how to tailor offers to specific customers. This information automatically pops up in a new user interface when an agent speaks to a customer.

"I think the Holy Grail today for e-business and marketers who want to lead the way in customer relations is in handling every phase in the closed-loop relationship," says Roger Siboni, president of E.piphany. "Right from initial contact, we have to respond to customer needs in real time, communicate with them and make sure that all people who ‘touch’ customers know that.

"This platform is really a breakthrough for those companies."

Adds Don Brown, president of Interactive Intelligence: "We understand the revenue-generation potential of the front-line employees who are interacting with customers and partners on a day-to-day basis. It’s ideal for fast-growing companies doing business on the Net."

However, E.piphany functions such as campaign management, outbound e-mail management, and personalization for Web sites were not included in the launch. Pivotal and E.piphany will sell those as additional products after eRelationship 2000 ships in the spring.

Not everyone is as impressed with eRelationship 2000 as the partners behind the project.

Erin Kinikin, a CRM analyst with the Giga Information Group in Santa Clara, Calif., says there is a good deal of promise in this announcement, "but much of the interaction with customers still requires a human to put it all together."

Even so, she says the integration of business intelligence solutions is a growing trend, especially in marketing.

"The challenge that we all have in the front office, and this is especially true with marketers, is integrating and combining the automation of front-office employees with data warehouse operations," she says. "What we’re seeing here is companies asking themselves what the key interaction points are with their customers, and how do we build on that."

Also in this report:

– The next generation of Net tools: Permission-based e-mail, online behaviour profiling, customized content delivery on the rise p.D12

– Why the current opt-in e-mail model won’t work: Three major problems – and a bunch of minor ones – to consider p.D15

– Direct Tech p.D18

Cannes Lions 2025: Canadians nab more medals on final festival day

Strategy is on the ground in Cannes, bringing you the latest news, wins and conference highlights all week long. Catch all the coverage here.

Friday’s batch of Silver and Bronze winners included the oldest category at the Cannes festival, Film, as well as Sustainable Development Goals, Dan Wieden Titanium, Glass: The Lion for Change and Grand Prix for Good. Canadians were recognized with four Lions today: two Silver and a Bronze in Film, as well as a Bronze in Sustainable Development Goals.

FCB Toronto was given yet another nod for its work, “The Count,” for SickKids, bringing the medal count for that campaign to four, including a Gold for Health & Wellness. Another Canadian agency recognized on the final day of the festival was Klick Health Toronto, which earned a Silver in Film for its work “Love Captured” for Human Trafficking Awareness and a Bronze for “18 Months” for Second Nurture. And over in Sustainable Development Goals, the Bronze went to Publicis Canada and its “Wildfire Watchtowers” work for Rogers.

Another massive win for Canada included not one, but two Young Lions (pictured above) taking home medals in the annual competition. In Design, the Gold Young Lion was awarded to Rethink’s senior motion designer Jesse Shaw and ACD Zoë Boudreau. The second, a Bronze in Media, went to Cossette Media’s business intelligence analyst Samuel David-Durocher and product development supervisor Tristan Bonnot-Parent.

Film (2 Silver, 1 Bronze)

1 SILVER: “The  Count” by FCB Toronto for SickKids Foundation

“The Count,” a striking campaign from FCB Toronto for SickKids Foundation, has earned 1 Gold, 2 Bronze and now 1 Silver for Film at Cannes. If you watch it, it’s easy to see why. The collaboration between brand and agency honoured the hospital’s “VS” platform, while steering it in a new direction from its initial development by previous AOR Cossette. The creative celebrates childhood cancer patients who have to fight for every birthday, while honouring the hospital’s own milestone – 150 years and counting.

 

1 Silver: “Love Captured” by Klick Health Toronto for The Exodus Road

Klick Health Toronto added to its medal tally with a Silver in Film for it’s work “Love Captured” for The Exodus Road. The creative features a romantic getaway that isn’t what it seems in an experiential short film for the global anti-trafficking organization. The experience takes viewers through a tragic and twisting experience of exploitation.

 

1 BRONZE: “18 Months” by Klick Health Toronto for Second Nurture

Klick Health Toronto also won a Bronze in the Film category for its work, “18 Months,” done for the charity organization Second Nurture. The animated film is based on a real-life story in which a same-sex couple adopts a baby found in a subway station, and the 18-month journey into a story of hope.

Sustainable Development Goals (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Wildfire Watchtowers” by Publicis Canada for Rogers

Publicis Canada landed on the winners board for its work, “Wildfire Watchtowers,” for Rogers. The Canadian-developed wildfire-detection tech – which has been billed as “a fire alarm in the forest” – uses AI-powered sensors installed on 5G towers to monitor vast remote areas in real time. By scanning, identifying and reporting early signs of wildfires (up to 16 minutes faster than other systems), the technology helped prevent 54 fires in 2024 alone.

Catch the Gold winners later today when they’re revealed at the gala in Cannes.