Globes Names YCD Multimedia as One of The 10 Most Promising Companies of 2008-09

Posted November 11, 2008 in YCD Multimedia in the News

Translated from the Hebrew Edition of Globes, November 16th 2008

For the fourth consecutive year, the Israel based business publication Globes presented the list of their 10 most promising startups of 2008-2009. These are companies that committee members believe have long-term market promise, quality management, and financial strength. They also believe they'll be able to weather the storm and continue to grow.

One of the 10 featured companies is YCD Multimedia and in an interview with CEO Barry Salzman, reporter Tzahi Hoffman learned about the company and what makes them one to watch.

YCD Multimedia By Tzahi Hoffman

A visit to the supermarket, pharmacy or your favorite fast food chain almost always ends with a line at the cash register. Retailers realized long ago that consumers get bored while standing in line. So what is more logical than trying to sell them another product or two while they wait? Even better, what if businesses knew which ads were effective and motivating to customers and which ones were not?

In recent months we have noticed cash registers with flat screens attached to the back of them facing the customer and displaying ads featuring products and the latest promotions. In many locations around the world YCD Multimedia is the company delivering this technology.

"We can combine information about the featured images with sales data, so that the retailers know which promotions are successful and which are not," says Barry Salzman, YCD Multimedia's CEO. "Our technology platform enables retailers to immediately change the less successful messaging; making certain their in-store media is driving their bottom line and delivering a message that is compelling to their customers."

The company was established in 1999 by Noam Levavi and Dani Zeevi. Salzman joined as CEO in 2007 and previously served as President of DoubleClick’s global media business. YCD Multimedia has 80 employees in the United States, United Kingdom and Israel.

"The original idea Noam Levavi and Dani Zeevi had was to leverage the Internet to create a more efficient way to deliver music to pubs, restaurants and coffee shops," says Salzman. "That was ten years ago and at that time Apple had not yet introduced the iPod. YCD was one of the first companies in the world to distribute digital content to businesses over the Internet. Over the last ten years we have continued to develop our content distribution platform. A few years ago we added video capabilities, and today YCD offers a technology platform that is smart, scalable and flexible, providing digital content management and distribution to businesses around the world."

A few years prior YCD began providing a service that made it possible to order songs by text message at coffee shops – a mobile version of the classic jukebox. The service was done in cooperation with different partners and allowed the company to learn about the flexibility in the application of their offering.

"YCD Multimedia developed our core technology on an open platform. This gives our company a competitive edge that lies in our ability to combine our services with a large number of applications. One of the services we offer our customers is the ability to combine mobile technology with onsite media. Aroma Espresso Bars, for example, today uses our service which enables people to order a song over their mobile phones," says Salzman. "Israel Discount Bank uses a similar technology to allow branch managers to select specific employee training programs. The corporate communication or training can be selected from their mobile phone and is then displayed on screens at that specific branch." adds Salzman. "A similar application could allow members at a gym to receive training tips and workout routines directly on screens in front of them or on the treadmills. Our open platform technology works across a wide range of businesses delivering a customized solution to thousands of locations.”

YCD Multimedia says that their solution is suitable for retailers in the current economic crisis too. Salzman says "Our tools enable businesses to generate a measurable return from their investments in digital media by reaching customers at the point of decision with dynamic, targeted, relevant messaging that can be changed based on inventory levels, time of day, location or just about any other variable."

So what is the possibility of going public? "That is not our priority at this point in time," says Salzman. "YCD is focused on continuing to build itself as a leading player in a rapidly developing and competitive market.”