Member News

ITV Commercial and FremantleMedia UK today announced that, for the first time in the show’s history, The X Factor viewers will be able to vote for their favourite acts through a new in-app voting system.

The brand new service, which was created in partnership with Tectonic Interactive and Tellybug, will give viewers a sleek, in-app voting alternative on iOS devices.

Ann Cook, ITV’s Director of Interactive and MD of ITL said: “We are delighted to join forces with Tectonic Interactive and Tellybug, who understand completely our desire to provide a robust, user-friendly service for The X Factor viewers. This is a strategically important move for ITV as we seek to further engage with our audiences across multiple platforms.”

From Friday 11th October, viewers can download the iOS version of The X Factor app, which will display a range of voting options for the live shows, which kick off on Saturday 12th October. When the voting window opens at the end of the programme, viewers will be able to cast their vote immediately through the app.

Before voting opens each week, fans will be able to pre-purchase votes to cast during the voting window. Votes are purchased in packs of two at £0.69 with an option to buy a pack of 6 votes at £1.99. Viewers can use them one at a time or all together in a Super Vote for one act. Viewers can only buy a maximum of six votes at any one time and must use them all before purchasing more.

Peter Cassidy, Head of FremantleMedia UK Interactive said: “In-app voting in The X Factor is a natural step for viewers. This is an already highly-engaged, technically-literate audience looking for seamless second screen experiences. This new app upgrade is a great addition to the truly interactive experience that is The X Factor.”

Andy Shaw, CEO and Co-founder of Tectonic Interactive, said: “This is a bold and interesting move for ITV. They are pioneering in this space and we are delighted that they have recognised our technical capability and experience to help them bring this innovative proposition to market.”

Matt Millar, CEO Tellybug, said: “We are proud to be part of the X Factor app’s continued growth and evolution. The Fifth Judge play-along is a huge success, and with the addition of the Tectonic platform and In-App Voting for the live shows this year’s app is better than ever.”

The X Factor app, which is sponsored by Dominos, has already been downloaded more than 800,000 times.

Belfast-based technology solutions and consultancy company; SLA Mobile will celebrate their 10th anniversary of successful business in the mobile industry.

Since opening in 2003, SLA Mobile has grown a Professional Services and Software Development business in the mobile ecosystem. Now with over 90 specialist employees, SLA Mobile is putting their expertise to work for mobile operators and merchants delivering future-orientated solutions and services that enable them to compete and increase customer lifetime value.

Nic Stirk, CEO of SLA Mobile said, “We are delighted to reach this 10 year milestone as it is a great achievement for the company and demonstrates our commitment to providing mobile operators and merchants with valuable propositions that deliver competitive advantage.”

SLA Mobile has worked with the world’s leading mobile operators and content providers, helping them grow revenues through enhanced customer engagement. Key mobile technology propositions include Direct Operator Billing and Right Time, Right Place Marketing. Supporting their growth in the last 10 years, the company has gained support from key organisations, including Vodafone, XL Axiata and Vodafone Hutchinson Australia ( VHA ).

The company has been awarded a number of top industry awards over the years, including the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Award for the last three consecutive years from 2011 to 2013. The company also received the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 award in 2010 as it ranked as one of the country’s 50 fastest growing technology companies.

“The last 10 years have been filled with both challenges and achievements,” said Nic Stirk, CEO. “Moving forward we will continue to work with mobile operators to explore and drive new opportunities, maximising revenue streams that in turn deliver real commercial value to mobile users and merchants alike.”

Grabyo, the real-time TV clip-sharing platform, is today launching its offering for broadcasters with Sky’s coverage of transfer deadline day. Grabyo Studio, which enables broadcasters to grab, edit and share TV clips in real-time across social media and their own websites, will be used by Sky Sports to drive online conversation around one of the biggest days in the football calendar.

Following the recent launch of its consumer-facing TV clip-sharing platform, Grabyo Studio now enables broadcasters to select and share TV clips in real-time via a browser-based interface. Clips can be previewed and edited before being shared with hashtags and a description across Twitter, Facebook and their own websites. Thanks to Grabyo’s integration with Twitter, users can view clips as Twitter cards without leaving Twitter, as well as directly within Facebook’s newsfeed.

Grabyo Studio’s focus is on simplicity, ease and speed – ensuring that broadcasters are the first to share clips, enabling them to drive social media engagement and grow both their linear and on-demand TV audiences. Leveraging the viral reach of both Twitter and Facebook, Grabyo Studio ensures clips are seen and shared by as many viewers as possible. In addition, Grabyo Studio’s integrated ad serving also enables monetisation of the online conversation around shows, via a branded TV clip experience with video ads.

With its launch today on transfer deadline day, one of the biggest days in the football calendar, Sky Sports is using Grabyo Studio to share breaking news and other clips from its rolling nationwide coverage in real-time on Twitter, Facebook and skysports.com. Clips also feature Sky Sports subscription ads.

“We’re really excited to be launching Grabyo Studio on transfer deadline day, one of the most important dates in the football calendar and a major social media event,” comments Will Neale, founder at Grabyo. “The real-time nature of our platform drives conversation by helping broadcasters publish live TV content onto these platforms faster than ever before.

Broadcasters not only retain ownership of their content by releasing it before others, but also have the opportunity to monetise it with ads. We’re working with a number of broadcasters to launch real-time clip sharing on a wide variety of programmes in the coming months.”

Mobile Messaging and Mobile Billing specialist, Dialogue Communications, announces its partnership with Pouncer Media to provide the mobile payments service for the last-minute discount dining service TablePouncer. Expanding upon TablePouncer.com’s existing web-based service, Pouncer Media has integrated Dialogue’s Payforit UK service into their mobile app to allow consumers to purchase dining deals at local restaurants, on the move.

TablePouncer, which has just this week launched its first mobile app on iOS and Android, offers exclusive deals by allowing consumers the opportunity to enjoy the finest local restaurants at discounted and affordable prices, whilst benefitting businesses by attracting new customers and increasing fill rates. Founded in 2011 in Bournemouth, TablePouncer has since launched in Bristol, Bath, Brighton & Hove, Southampton and most recently in London in July 2013.

The service allows restaurants to freely advertise last-minute deals to customers on the website, who after a simple registration process can book reservations easily and securely through TablePouncer.com and save up to 65%. When TablePouncer users book a table online or through their mobile app they will be charged a booking fee per person using Dialogue’s UK Payforit service. This charge will be applied directly to the consumer’s mobile phone bill, who in return will receive an exclusive deal, such as 65% off their food bill or a special set menu deal.

The TablePouncer mobile app has been developed in response to increased demand from consumers to book tables via their mobile phones – last month alone over 27,000 visits to TablePouncer.com were from iOS devices and 10,000 from Android. The new TablePouncer app featuring Dialogue’s Payforit UK service, allows users to book last-minute discounted tables at the touch of a button. Thanks to integrated geo-sense technology, an SMS message will be automatically sent to mobile users when they walk within 250m of restaurants featured on the TablePouncer app, ensuring users never miss the best deals in their area.

“The launch of our mobile app and partnership with Dialogue means we can provide our customers with even easier access to our service using safe and trusted mobile platform technologies. Users just need their mobile phone to search, book and make a payment. Our aim is to make TablePouncer as user-friendly and convenient for customers as possible, saving them both money and time. Working with Dialogue is yet another step to ensuring the user-experience is the best on the market. ” says Phil Lewis, COO, TablePouncer.com.

TablePouncer is also investing heavily into a large-scale marketing campaign, worth £250,000, across the UK and includes bespoke in-carriage Tube promotion across the London Underground network. This will also see the delivery of a targeted SMS and digital campaign.

Paul Garner, Head of Global Sales at Dialogue Communications, adds: “We are delighted to be working with Pouncer Media, and since TablePouncer’s successful launch in London and the launch of the mobile app, we’re incredibly excited about the future. We’re confident that this partnership will help promote our Payforit service as users become increasingly familiar with the mobile payment platform.”

Unloc, a specialist in cloud-based industry solutions, is using C3’s Fusion IVR Software to develop new services for its target markets in Real Estate, Education, Healthcare, Hospitality, Banking, Insurance and Retail.

Unloc, whose name stands for Universal language of communication, specialises in Vertical Applications as Service ( VaaS ) solutions that improve business processes within specific industry segments.

Deploying its vertical applications worldwide is a strategy that Unloc is committed to.

The company is currently using Hosted Fusion IVR to develop a unique self-service application for its customers in the UK Real Estate market, which will be rolled out to the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Dubai.

“With Fusion IVR, it is easy to design advanced call applications and make changes to any existing services,” said Anand Babu – Product Development Manager.

“The software supports us in getting our innovative applications to market quickly, ensuring that our clients always remain one step ahead of the competition.”

Fusion is a game-changing IVR scripting tool that makes it possible to design advanced IVR services within minutes, using the intuitive drag and drop tool and extensive function ( node ) library to establish the call flow.

“We are all praises for Fusion IVR, for its seamless integration with third party voice and SMS gateways. We will be recommending C3 and Fusion to our own clients for voice-based self-service.”