Execs and Accounts for May 6, 2002

Interactive agency Sharpe Partners has completed a relaunch of The Minute Maid Company’s Web site. The new corporate homepage presents logos and direct links to each of the company’s domestic and international brands, satisfying the primary reason people come to the site — which is for product information. The site also features faster navigation to promotions and special offers. Additionally, the redesign includes a more robust press area and a store locator indicating where Minute Maid products can be purchased.

ValueClick subsidiary Mediaplex, known for its MOJO ad technology, has been selected by media planning firm PinPoint Media to power online campaigns for Radisson Hotels and Country Inns and Suites.

“Mediaplex’s MOJO AdServer solution complements our strategy in meeting Radisson Hotels’ and Country Inns and Suites’ business goals of driving targeted traffic and maximizing the return of investment on their site,” said Adam Kaufman, chief executive officer of PinPoint Media.

PinPoint Media has also said it plans to migrate other clients, including Northwest Airlines and ICM, to the MOJO platform.

Respond.com, which partners with online directories to connect local businesses with buyers, has changed its name to Respond Networks. The new name highlights the company’s structure, which is made up of partners who collectively form a network of directory publishers and buyers through which new customers can generate online leads.

Respond’s newest Internet yellow pages clients include Cincinnati Exchange, the online Yellow Pages from Cincinnati Bell Directory, and QwestDex, the directory publishing and online advertising arm of Qwest.

Pulse Veepers, a provider of rich media tools for the creation of virtual characters, will be used to build online counterparts for hundreds of Denver-area RE/MAX agents. The Veepers character-generation service will be offered to RE/MAX sales reps by Innovative Marketer, which reps the real estate giant.

The virtual characters, also known as avatars, will be deployed on the agents’ Web sites and will greet site visitors in the agent’s voice, introduce the agent, and provide prospective home buyers and sellers with background information and navigational assistance. Agents’ veepers can also be updated with new information, providing spoken commentary on individual homes for sale or responding to predetermined lists of common questions.

Under the agreement, RE/MAX sales associates in the greater Denver area will be able to email a single 2D image of themselves to Innovative Marketer. The Veepers technology will transform that image into a functional interactive character. Innovative Marketer will then integrate and deploy it on the representative’s site, complete with an unlimited amount of speech in the representative’s own voice.

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