I know it has been a while since I have written, but that is because we have been so busy. We have so much exciting news! Call2Action Finds Financing We are thrilled to announce that Call2Action has successfully closed a round of financing that will enable us to grow in substantial and exciting ways. Watch this space! iOS Spark for iPhone, iPad and iPod We are very excited to announce that we are rolling out an iOS version of our Spark this month for Apple handheld devices. Working in Flash has enabled us to have complete functionality within the Facebook newsfeed and is best for ad network distribution. So with the development of this HTML5 mobile version, Sparks will be fully functional and optimized in all locations. Viral Campaigns Need Momentum: Use Ad Spots
We all want our campaigns to go viral, but experience teaches us that an initial 10,000 views can really help to get the campaign rolling. A great way to seed a campaign is to get it into prime real estate ad spots.
Great news - we've launched Spark 2.0, meaner and greener than ever before. Spark 2.0 is IAB compliant, which means it can be distributed through ad networks and placed on any major publisher's site (NYTimes, Huffington Post, etc.) where ads normally sit. We can now offer distribution, or media buying, as a Call2Action service. Want to reach 3 million women in their 30's? No problem. Do you have corporate sponsors ready to donate space on their sites? Or better yet, might those sponsors want to add their logo to the campaign and pay for those 3 million hits? We'll make the case - Call2Action campaigns yield much higher returns than normal ads - because people WANT to engage with our campaigns.
New Integrations: Convio and Salesforce
We have integrated successfully with Convio and Salesforce so that any names and emails acquired through Call2Action Sparks are immediately deposited into the existing Customer Relationship Management database. You can see a Salesforce integration in action through our latest rock-star client Race To Nowhere. For an example of the Convio integration, see any of the Feeding America Sparks below.
This exciting movement is clearly hitting a nerve with teenagers across the country. Watch and find out why:
Feeding America Rocks Our Sparklet Nationally and Locally
You may recall that we launched the Sparklet with Do Something at the beginning of the year. A Sparklet is a campaign that can be modified and personalized by individuals. We applied that concept to Feeding America's national PSA for Hunger Action Month to benefit the local chapters. More than 200 food banks have tailored Sparklets with Matt Damon videos that link to their local events. The technology offers a perfect solution for national brands with chapter affiliates, a celebrity campaign with a hyper-local execution. Here are a few examples (please note Sparks and Sparklets may be removed from client sites at any time).
 | | Chicago Sparklet |
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 | | Springfield MO |
 | | Mesa AZ |
Please click through and find out about your own local events and spread the word through our Spark now as September is HUNGER ACTION MONTH. This is a tremendously innovative campaign already attracting buzz. To see what some people are saying about it, check out these articles by Kate Kaye at Clickz, and The Agitator. The Internet Is My Religion Jim Gilliam is an official Call2Action advisor and never were we more proud to know him than when sitting in the audience for this extraordinary speech. What you can't see in the video is the 10-minute standing ovation. We recommend you watch this. Jim, we'll join your religion.  | | PdF 2011 | Jim Gilliam: The Internet is My Religion |
Awesome Accolades A big thanks to the brilliant Stephanie Bleyer for her high praise of Call2Action in "9 Must-Have Tech Tools for Film Engagement." We are thrilled to see that our happy client Dawn Crawford working with Autism Speaks dedicated a slide on her Spark's success in her "Intersection of Social Media and Fundraising" slideshare presentation. And we are honored to be mentioned by Heather Gardner in her IdealWare blog post "Why Use Widgets Anyhow." | 
