Cision and Vocus Unite, Ushering in the Future of PR and Social Software
Chicago (PRWEB) October 14, 2014 -- Ushering in the future of public relations (PR), Cision and Vocus have officially joined forces, finalizing their combination. The integrated company, which will operate as Cision, brings two of the most successful PR and social software providers together.
“PR has expanded, and traditional PR is just one part of our job. Our roles now include digital, social and content – with a new emphasis on measurement and analytics,” explained Cision Chief Executive Officer Peter Granat. “This news — combined with our recent acquisition of Visible Technologies, a worldwide market leader in social media listening and analytics, insights and engagement — creates a comprehensive solution to track and analyze earned, owned and paid media.”
"This business combination brings together, under one roof, all the key assets to address the software and information needs of a public relations professional,” said Chris Porter, analyst for Burton-Taylor International Consulting LLC. “The combined company also has significant geographic reach, putting it in a strong position to bid for leadership in this $2.2 billion global market.”
While the integration of the two brands will continue over the next few months, Vocus and Cision customers have already begun experiencing some of the benefits. For example, Cision users received access to the premium edition of Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and PRWeb, two of Vocus’ most popular services. Similarly, Vocus users can access premium news content from LexisNexis, building on a relationship Cision established in 2012. Though the company has taken the Cision name, the iContact, PRWeb, HARO and Visible brands will continue.
“The PR industry is overdue for disruption, and new technology is only going to push it forward,” said Brian Solis, principal analyst at Altimeter Group. “But technology is just the beginning. Companies that empower PR professionals through technology to innovate in how they create, communicate and invest in relationships are overdue and promising. I look forward to watching how the combination of Cision and Vocus influences the industry.”
The combined company’s new global headquarters will be in a 50,000-square-foot space at One Prudential Plaza in Chicago. This moves the current headquarters of both Vocus (Beltsville, Md.) and Cision (Stockholm, Sweden), making the now over 1,500-person company U.S.-based. The combined organization will maintain offices in the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Finland and China.
“We are thrilled to move an international company’s headquarters here to the U.S. and be part of Chicago’s budding tech scene,” explained Granat. “Cision is poised for growth, and locating the new global headquarters in Chicago gives the company access to talent and a strong customer base to fuel that expansion.”
In addition to Granat, Cision’s new leadership team includes a range of industry veterans: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jack Pearlstein; Chief Operating Officer Dawn Conway; Chief People Officer Maureen Calabrese; Chief Marketing Officer Mark Thabit; Chief Technology Officer David Pearah; Managing Director, Europe Magnus Thell; President, Canada Terry Foster; and President, iContact Geoff Alexander.
“As the scope of work for PR evolves beyond traditional PR, our roles must also evolve or they will become obsolete,” explained Granat. “As we focus on the intersection of content marketing, PR and social, our combined company will continue to invest in the communication space to serve the PR and communication professional’s complete workflow.”
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About Cision
Cision is a leading provider of public relations software that enables professionals to plan, execute and measure influencer-oriented campaigns in one integrated platform. Communication professionals use Cision to access the world’s largest pitchable media and blogger database, distribute press releases, manage influencer outreach, measure social media activities, and analyze the effectiveness of campaigns. Cision, which recently combined with Vocus, is the parent company to Visible Technologies, PRWeb, Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and iContact. Headquartered in Chicago, Cision has over 120,000 customers and maintains offices in Canada, England, France, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Finland and China. For more information, visit http://www.cision.com or follow @Cision on Twitter.
Breeanna Straessle, Cision, http://www.cision.com/us/, +1 301.479.3921, [email protected]
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