BUSINESS NEWS
SA outfit follows in eBay's footsteps
Posted Fri, 13 Oct 2006
A Cape Town-based internet company has won a global marketing award a year after eBay walked away with top honours.
Clicks2Customers, an incuBeta search marketing company based in Cape Town's city centre, won the award from worldwide affiliate marketing giants, Commission Junction. eBay won the award in 2005.
Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Vinny Lingham (27), collected the Commission Junction Horizon Award for Global Vision in Santa Barbara. The award is presented to one client, either advertiser or publisher, whose action, strategy and initiatives best reflect a commitment to realising the global potential of affiliate marketing. The company specialises in online advertising for big corporates.
"To be put into a category with eBay is a monumental achievement for incuBeta," said Lingham. "The nature of highly successful internet business depends on global reach and winning an award that was previously won by eBay reinforces our potential to operate as a major
player in the worldwide online arena."
The company was founded in 2003, "sitting around a swimming pool with a couple of laptops", the firm's PR consultant Mandy Schreiber said. The firm employs some 50 people, and also has offices in Los Angeles and the UK.
incuBeta also recently won the CJ (Commission Junction) UK 2006 Award for Leadership in Innovation due to their contribution to the growth of CJ’s European market and were also the winners of the 2004 CJ Horizon Award.
Locally the company was recognised as a Small Enterprise Finalist in 2004 and as the Most Promising Emerging Enterprise in 2005 by the Technology Top 100 awards. In addition to a large presence in the US, they are launching new programs in China, France, Germany, India, Austria, Australia, Belgium and Netherlands, among others.
"Awards like the Global Vision award and Vinny being invited to sit on advisory boards such as CJ are invaluable for the company," said Giles Douglas, CEO
of incuBeta.
"The global exposure and networking opportunities enable incuBeta to operate on a global scale and compete with some of the biggest names in affiliate and search marketing."
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