Passenger Launches Self-Service Application for Managing Communities
that Drive Customer Insight and Advocacy
New Product Release Enables Brands and Agencies to Build and Manage
their own Private Branded Online Communities to Improve Customer
Connection
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Passenger,
creator of online brand communities that drive customer advocacy and
insight, today announced the availability of a new version of the
Passenger platform, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that enables
brand marketers, researchers and marketing and advertising agencies to
build and manage private online communities on a self-service basis.
Passenger will continue to offer a full-service model where the company
manages the community on behalf of the brand, but will now also provide
the platform and tools necessary for brands and agencies to build and
manage communities through an easy-to-use, web-based interface. In
addition to the new delivery model, the announcement includes several
new features that will help companies extract maximum insight from the
community, while improving the overall user experience and building
brand advocacy. Passenger has begun implementing the new platform with
brands that are managing their communities in-house as well as agency
partners that are beginning to offer the platform as a part of their
community service offerings.
?We?ve had fantastic success with our community; the consumer insights
are incredibly valuable as we develop various marketing promotions
because they ensure we are giving our customers what they want,? said
Chris Murphy, director of digital marketing, adidas. ?We?ve integrated
the community into several areas of our business, and Passenger?s new
self-service model gives us the flexibility to run activities from any
department?s desktop so we can generate consumer insight in real time.?
Passenger works with some of the world?s largest consumer brands to help
them engage directly with their customers to drive insights while at the
same time building brand advocacy and word-of-mouth marketing. In
response to demand for a scalable, comprehensive community solution that
requires zero involvement from IT or outside community managers, the
company developed this web-based application that can be easily managed
in-house through a simple online interface. In fact, once the content,
scope and goals of the community are determined, Passenger-powered
communities can be set up within 24 hours, allowing companies to
immediately start engaging directly with their customers without
technical assistance.
Even with the self-service model, however, brands and agencies will
still benefit from Passenger?s years of experience in successfully
building and maintaining communities for some of the biggest companies
in the world. A comprehensive training program and extensive educational
materials will make any marketer confident that they can manage a
community effectively and get the insight and data they need to make
actionable decisions.
According to an independent Forrester Research, Inc. report, ?Smart
marketers are learning that gathering true consumer insight works better
when it?s not an episodic event. By making consumers part of an ongoing
dialogue and expanding how and when they meet their customers? needs,
marketers gain innovation traction.? 1
Pulling from their marketing leaders survey, that the report continues
saying that ?almost half of marketing leaders say they will tap into
consumer communities to help guide new product development and design.
Compared with expensive focus groups or surveys, social technologies are
cheaper and give almost instant consumer feedback, while they embrace
consumers as participants in the innovation process.? The report
recommends that ?marketing leaders must help employees gain firsthand
knowledge of the firm?s customers and what they need by creating ways to
facilitate regular direct contact with them.?
Key Features
Passenger?s new platform combines community, administration and results
tools into one web-based user interface so administrators can create
events, manage content and configure the community in one place. New
features include:
-
Session, discussion, survey and poll templates based on community
design best practices so administers can quickly get the community up
and running
-
Web-based creation and moderation of content requiring no knowledge of
html or other coding
-
Increased scalability: the platform can scale from intimate groups of
20 to as many as 50,000, depending on the client?s individual needs
and objectives
-
More advanced reporting tools: real-time reporting capabilities that
can be downloaded to Excel and formatted according to preferences and
needs
-
Enhanced features to increase user engagement: full profile views,
member-initiated discussions, ability to write on other member?s walls
and comment on user-generated content
?Our experience with our clients has confirmed that the online customer
connection has become critical to brands? overall success, as they have
realized the proven value of our communities for consumer insight,
innovation and brand advocacy,? said Steve Howe, CEO, Passenger. ?Our
highly scalable, easy-to-use platform is filling a void in the market
for a comprehensive community platform available on a self-service
basis. Now, brands can generate and manage consumer insights from their
own desktops, and marketing, consulting, ad and market research agencies
can develop their own community practices around the platform to offer
their clients.?
About Passenger
Passenger creates and manages online brand communities for some of the
world?s leading companies that increase customer engagement, encourage
consumer advocacy and harness community insight to drive better business
decisions. With its highly-trained services team and the intuitive
platform of social networking, collaboration and analytics, Passenger
helps clients such as JC Penney, Chrysler, Coca-Cola and Fox directly
connect with their customers. Founded in 2005 with offices in Los
Angeles, Palo Alto and New York, the company is privately held and
funded by Shelter Capital Partners, StarVest Partners and Steamboat
Ventures. For more information, please visit www.thinkpassenger.com.
1 How CMOs Lead Consumer-Driven Innovation In Tough Times,?
Forrester Research, May 5, 2009
Bateman Group for Passenger
Shannon Walsh, 415-503-1818
passenger@bateman-group.comRead more