Clickability Extends Market Leadership with Launch of Media Solution

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Clickability, the global leader in on demand Web Content Management (WCM) (http://www.clickability.com/company/About.html), today announced the immediate availability of the Clickability Media Solution. The Media Solution (http://www.clickability.com/solutions/Media_and_Entertainment.html) provides a centrally managed SaaS content repository that enables large media companies to efficiently and rapidly share digital content across their entire organization and publish it to multiple devices and web channels. Companies of all sizes can leverage the multi-tenant content repository as a hub for innovative content sharing, syndication and distribution strategies. Additional benefits to companies large and small include reduced operational costs through greater efficiencies and the ability to build active social media communities.

The Clickability Media Solution builds on the company's proven success in the media industry. Clickability partners with many of the world's largest newspapers and broadcast media companies (http://www.clickability.com/customers/), enabling more than 150 media sites to become successful revenue-producing online businesses. The on-demand capacity of the Clickability Media Solution, along with the company's passionate customer support, helps media companies such as Gray Television, Journal Communications, NBC, Philadelphia Media Holdings (parent company of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News), Smithsonian Media, Star Tribune Company and the Tribeca Film Festival easily manage huge spikes in traffic, with absolutely no investment in hardware or software.

Through Clickability's easy-to-use Web Content Management (WCM) solution, editorial and advertising teams are empowered to rapidly experiment and innovate. "Because it's so quick to change things through the Clickability Media Solution, we are able to try out things that we haven't tried out before," said Jason Erdahl, Executive Director, Digital Media at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "We're proud that StarTribune.com has become the top newspaper in the country in terms of length of visitor stay. Clickability has been a key driver of our higher traffic and resultant revenue."

In a related announcement issued last week, Clickability held its inaugural meeting of its Media Board of Advisors (http://www.clickability.com/company/MediaBoardofAdvisors.html). As part of Clickability's ongoing commitment to drive technology innovation and further align its WCM platform to new industry trends, the Board includes senior executives from many of the world's most prestigious media companies, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time Inc. and NBC. (See press release of November 13, "Clickability Board of Advisors Unites Major Media Thought Leaders.")

About the Clickability Media Solution

The Clickability Media Solution is a robust and scalable WCM solution that allows media companies to leverage the power of a secure content repository and the latest in Web 2.0 technologies to increase efficiencies and revenue opportunities across the entire content lifecycle -- from creation and management to publishing and monetization.

Companies can manage all of their content for multiple Web channels from a single outsourced repository. Media conglomerates can use the shared repository to distribute digital content and metadata across multiple divisions or affiliates, allowing for more efficient reuse and enhanced cross- channel synergies.

The solution is designed to maximize the value of every piece of content in a customer's repository. Content can be tagged and annotated for efficient search and reuse. Assets can be linked and shared across channels and publications, driving increased depth and duration of audience page views while increasing CPMs. The repository allows companies to create highly targeted microsites or regional portals that rely on metadata to automatically populate with appropriate content and contextual links.

The innovative architecture of the Clickability WCM platform also offers media and entertainment companies the opportunity to implement the latest in multimedia and Web 2.0 features, including advanced social media tools that deliver an engaging customer experience. Clickability offers a comprehensive package of interactive features, which includes social networking, blogging, video serving, ticketing, personalized calendars, site customization and an on-demand ad server that ties ads to specific sections and pages of a site.

The Clickability platform easily integrates with media companies' existing video platforms, making the back-end management and front-end user experience completely seamless. Clickability has successfully integrated with both homegrown systems and major press vendors, including Hermes/Atex, DTI, CCI Newsdesk and Morris Digital Works.

New Opportunities for Challenging Times

The recent economic downturn is only accelerating the need for new efficiencies and new business models. The Clickability Media Solution's SaaS- based delivery platform means customers don't have to worry about building and maintaining their own dedicated infrastructure. And, unlike traditional installed software, customers don't have to wait months or years for new improvements to be released and installed. Clickability's agile development model enables customers to make ongoing enhancements to their site and quickly take advantage of new technologies and trends, such as social media, as they evolve.

"In order to overcome immediate market challenges, media companies need to explore new business models and technology options right now," said John Girard, Clickability's CEO. "Those who aren't bold enough to move aggressively and transform their businesses are unlikely to survive. The constantly evolving Clickability Media Solution gives media companies the platform they need to prosper financially."

Because Clickability already works with so many media industry leaders, the company is in a fantastic position to provide ideas, best practices and technology to help its customers succeed in challenging times, including:

-- Fast, affordable implementation. Companies can't wait years to build out their online businesses. Together with Broadcast Interactive Media, one of Clickability's broadcast channel partners, NBC has launched nine sites on the Clickability Platform in just seven months. Journal Communications uses the Clickability Platform to share news content and media feeds across multiple websites and media brands.

-- Higher traffic. At Philly.com, the online home for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, traffic climbed 40% within just a few months after moving to the Clickability Platform. Traffic at StarTribune.com has climbed 70% since they began using the Clickability Platform less than a year ago.

-- Longer visitor stays. In July 2008, Nielson named StarTribune.com the top newspaper in the nation in terms of length of visitor stay, an important predictor of ad click-throughs.

-- Greater ad revenue. At 2theadvocate.com, the online voice of The Advocate newspaper and WBRZ TV, ad revenues increased 120% year-over-year after migrating to the Clickability Platform.

Media Solution Partners

The Clickability Platform allows Clickability to integrate other innovative offerings and content services to deliver world class, multi-vendor solutions to our media customers. The following companies represent a few of the best-in-class technology and channel partners that Clickability customers can incorporate into their end-to-end publishing environments:

    -- Ad Serving: DoubleClick
    -- Analytics: Omniture
    -- Community: Jive
    -- Content Delivery: Akamai
    -- Content Services: Associated Press (AP), Reuters
    -- Content Tagging: Inform
    -- Marketing Automation: Eloqua, ExactTarget
    -- Monitoring: Gomez
    -- Pagination: Managing Editor Inc. (MEI), CCI Europe
    -- Reseller: Broadcast Interactive Media
    -- Social Media: KickApps, Pluck
    -- Video: Twistage, VMIX
    -- Web Site Optimization: Google

"It's essential that media companies look for new ways to leverage and monetize their content assets at this time," said Bill Trippe, lead analyst, XML Technologies and Content Strategies, at Gilbane Group, an analyst and consulting firm specializing in the strategic use of information technologies. "Sophisticated SaaS-based Web Content Management systems, such as Clickability's, provide a wide variety of compelling benefits for this industry, including options for increasing revenue and productivity. We're intrigued by the potential for new innovations in how content repositories can be used."

About Clickability, Inc.

Clickability(TM) is the global leader in on demand Web Content Management (WCM). The company enables customers to take content from any source and publish to any device, managing their entire content repository of digital assets more effectively in "the cloud." The Clickability platform is unique in leveraging four pillars to support the complete content lifecycle: Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service, Innovation as a Service, and On-Boarding and Support as a Service. Enterprise customers such as Amcor, Cantor Fitzgerald, and NetApp, as well as media and entertainment leaders such as CNN, Smithsonian, Time, the Tribeca Film Festival, and the Wall Street Journal, rely on Clickability to reduce costs, increase revenues, build global brands, and foster stronger customer relationships. Hosted in three secure, energy-efficient data centers, the multi-tenant Clickability platform offers customers an environmentally friendly alternative to hardware ownership. Founded in 1999, the privately held company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York and London. Clickability garnered the Software and Information Industry Association's 2008 CODiE Award for best content management solution. More information is available by calling 866-276-4580 or visiting http://www.clickability.com.

(C)2008 Clickability, Inc. Clickability is a trademark of Clickability, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.