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Marketing Tech Company Celebrates Move, Hiring Spree

TROY (WWJ) - A Troy company that started in 2003 as a typical advertising and Web agency but is now a provider of sophisticated marketing technology celebrated a move into a new headquarters Wednesday night.

118id LLC is now a tenant of 12,000 square feet on the third floor of 3331 W. Big Beaver Road.

The company is also on a hiring binge. It has just 15 full-time employees now, but CEO and founder Mark Powers said he plans to add 40 more employees in August and September.

Skill sets sought include business insight analysis, PHP advanced developers and digital strategists.

118id's major product is called Connect the DOTS, which stands for Data Optimization Targeting Strategy.

In an exclusive interview Wednesday, Powers said that soon after founding 118id, he realized that he was part of the problem of modern marketing.

"We were adding to the problem of giving clients more and more data, without any way to use it," Powers said. "There had to be a way to align that data to goals and objectives, so the client can actually use it to reach a targeted, qualified audience."

118id's DOTS service collects data from all marketing channels -- TV, email, print, mobile, online, assesses it, and determines which channels are most effective to reach the desired audience. The service also offers ideas on how to improve the effectiveness of the less effective channels. And it combines the data from all divisions and product lines in a company, breaking down information silos.

The company has a seven-step process in performing its analysis -- establish a baseline, develop a strategy, implement, execute, measure, optimize and innovate.

The company is compensated through fixed price contracts involving specific charges for various level of staff and the cost of connecting to data sources like Google Analytics or Salesforce.com on behalf of the client.

"We turn data into true insight," Powers said. "We are accountable marketers. We get to a true ROI for our customers."

Wednesday, Powers also announced a new product that would add a full campaign management system to the company's offerings. Now, a marketing manager can input the type of campaign desired, the desired audience, and the budget, and the system will tell you how to reach that audience most effectively.

Powers also said the company intends to expand internationally -- to Dubai later this year, and to England and China next year.

Powers is a 20-year veteran of the marketing industry who previously helped manage global Web strategy for General Motors and Microsoft.

Oh, and the company's name? Powers said that came from his brother, who in 2003 was running the Michigan Snowmobile Drag Race Association. "I went to him looking for a name that conveys energy and youthfulness, and he said his racing sleds use 118 octane racing fuel," Powers said. "So there was the name."

More at www.118id.com.

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