2007 year

• Search-based digital marketing agency Spannerworks

  Simon Handby joins Spannerworks from Computer Shopper magazine, Britain’s best selling computer monthly. Also joining is former freelance journalist Charlie Peverett, who has written for media including HERO, the official online portal for higher education and research in the U.K.

  The journalists will receive training in social media networks and search engine marketing, and will have access to Spannerworks’s innovative Network Sense mapping tool, unveiled last month. They will use bespoke news aggregators to see what’s being talked about in each brand’s network, and will produce content that is relevant and timely to the discussion.

  The original material created by Spannerworks’s editorial team will allow clients to contribute engaging, open and useful online content. This will help them earn attention within their online network, enabling them to appear higher up in natural search rankings and to build solid natural link equity.

  Several leading brands are already lined up to benefit from Spannerworks’ expanded Content & Media services, and demand for this editorial content is expected to be high.

  Antony Mayfield, Head of Content & Media at Spannerworks comments: “To make brand content useful we need journalists as well as copywriters, as a journalist’s instinct is to be on the side of the reader rather than the side of the brand.

  “If brands are going to compete for attention in their online networks, they need to become part of those networks by adding to the conversation in a useful and non-commercial way. In short, to win attention brands need to be useful, not just look useful.

  “I expect our journalists to innovate and add ideas to the development of Content & Media services at Spannerworks. It really is very exciting.”

  Commenting on his appointment, Simon Handby adds: “This is a chance to shape a new, more connected kind of journalism. I’m excited about writing for such a forward-thinking company.”

  About iCrossing, Inc.iCrossing is a different kind of digital marketing company. Driven by customer insight, the company creates programs and engaging experiences designed to help brands be found, help them talk to their customers, and help them achieve marketing success. Through a proven combination of talent and technology, iCrossing helps its global client base – including Travelocity and 40 Fortune 500 companies like The Coca-Cola Company – find solutions to their digital marketing challenges. Founded in 1998, the company has 350 employees worldwide. iCrossing is headquartered in Scottsdale with U.S. offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York and San Francisco, and U.K. offices in London and Brighton.

  About Spannerworks. Spannerworks is a search-based digital marketing agency, specialising in natural search optimisation, paid search and social media. The company was founded in the UK in 1997 and acquired by US digital marketing agency iCrossing in February 2007. Spannerworks has proven expertise in the retail, automotive, financial and travel sectors. Its current clients include Best Western Hotels, HBOS and BT. Find out more at http://www.spannerworks.com/.