CHICAGO, May 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Escoffier Online International Culinary Academy today announced a series of monthly contests to give away free cooking school scholarships and American Express gift cards – just for using social media. Aspiring chefs can win a free ride to Escoffier Online’s culinary or pastry chef program – a $4,000 value. For home cooks, free cooking web site LearnToCook.com will offer a $250 American Express gift card each month. To enter, just follow Escoffier Online or LearnToCook.com on social media, including Twitter, Google+, YouTube, or Facebook.

“The Escoffier brand is all about igniting a passion for all things culinary, whether for the everyday cook or the future professional,” said Chef Mark Dowling , Vice President of Academics and Executive Chef for Escoffier Online and featured contributor to LearnToCook.com. “By joining us on social media, followers will gain access to useful news and tips from our chefs, while also getting the chance to win great prizes!”

Escoffier Online puts cooking school within reach of aspiring chefs everywhere, leveraging the convenience and affordability of the web. The school offers a prestigious curriculum designed by world-renowned chefs, with tracks for culinary and baking & pastry. LearnToCook.com makes cooking more accessible for the everyday chef, offering a comprehensive library of free how-to videos and easy-to-follow recipes for anything from steak to pie and more.

The contest is now open, and the first winners will be announced on June 3. For complete contest rules and social media links, visit http://www.escoffieronline.com/attend-online-culinary-school-for-free/.

About Escoffier Online International Culinary Academy
Escoffier Online is the first-ever online culinary school, offering professional culinary training for aspiring chefs and food enthusiasts alike. Modeled after the most prestigious culinary institutes in the world and inspired by the world-renowned Escoffier name, Escoffier Online offers a comprehensive curriculum of cooking techniques and fundamentals – without the physical, financial, and time constraints of a traditional school. Escoffier Online was launched by Triumph Higher Education Group (www.triumpheducation.com), a company dedicated to elevating the quality and experience of vocational educational programs both on-site and online.

SOURCE Escoffier Online International Culinary Academy

RELATED LINKS
http://www.escoffieronline.com

CUPERTINO, Calif., May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — Ensighten, innovator of Real-Time™ Tag Management Systems and online customer engagement technology that optimizes website performance and digital marketing agility, announced today it had been selected as a finalist for Red Herring’s Top 100 North America award, a prestigious list honoring the year’s most promising private technology ventures from the North American business region.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130517/CG16093)

Red Herring has been selecting the most exciting and promising startups and “scale-ups” since 1995. Finalists are still evaluated individually from a large pool of hundreds of candidates based across North America. Twenty major criteria underlie the scoring and process. They include, among others: the candidate company’s addressable market size, its IP and patents, its financing, the proof of concept, trailing revenues and management’s expertise. Each company goes through an individual interview after filling out a thorough submission, complemented by due diligence. The list of finalists often includes the best performing and prominent companies of that year.

This unique assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the company’s actual track record and standing, which allows Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and make the list a valuable instrument for discovering and advocating the greatest business opportunities in the industry.

2013 will be remembered as a special vintage. “The finalists list confirms the excellent choices made by entrepreneurs and VCs and the startups’ solid roots in corporate America, embracing their innovations. By all metrics, it emphasizes the United States‘ entrepreneurial excellence,” said Alex Vieux , publisher and CEO of Red Herring.

Finalist selections for the 2013 edition of the Red Herring 100 North America award are based upon technological innovation, management strength, market size, investor record, customer acquisition and financial health. During the several months leading up to the announcement, hundreds of companies in the fields of security, Web 2.0, software, hardware, life sciences, cloud, mobile and others completed their submissions to qualify for the award.

Finalists are asked to present their winning strategies at the Red Herring North America Forum in Monterey, Calif., May 21 to 23, 2013. The Top 100 winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony the evening of May 23 at the event.

Please follow the Red Herring conference at https://twitter.com/digitalherring hashtag #RedHerring100

ABOUT ENSIGHTEN
Ensighten boosts marketing agility and eases privacy compliance with the industry’s first Real-Time™ Tag Management System, built for the needs of sophisticated enterprise websites. With Ensighten, businesses can decouple digital marketing processes from Web development cycles, enabling digital marketers to easily add, remove, or modify any third-party digital marketing tag or pixel — and see instant results. Ensighten tag management technology gives marketers and website analysts precise tag control by visitor, session, and page; and harmonizes tag data collection from websites, mobile apps, tablets, smartphones, e-readers, kiosks, game consoles, and more. Ensighten’s cloud-based tag delivery accelerates page-load times and processes billions of tag requests from 75,000 Web domains across 150 countries, representing more than $30 billion in ecommerce for more than 100 Fortune 1000 brands that include Ice.com, Microsoft, MoneySupermarket, Monster.com, RAC, Sony Electronics, Staples, Subaru, Symantec, TUI Travel, T-Mobile, and United Airlines. Visit us on the Web at www.ensighten.com, and follow Ensighten on facebook.com/ensighten and Twitter @ensighten.

Media Contact: Tim Cox , ZingPR, +1-650-369-7784, tim@zingpr.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

SOURCE Ensighten

RELATED LINKS
http://www.ensighten.com

ARMONK, N.Y., May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Mother’s Day online shopping grew 15 percent in the week leading up to Mother’s Day, compared to the same time period last year. Spurred by mobile commerce, mobile percentage of sales reached 17 percent, according to IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) Digital Analytics Benchmark, a cloud-based analysis of the online retail market.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO)

With the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimating Mother’s Day sales reaching $20 billion this year, retailers made it easier for consumers to buy for mom through their smartphones and tablets. 

According to IBM’s Benchmark, mobile commerce led the way this Mother’s Day. In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, consumers flocked to their mobile devices, with mobile traffic reaching 25 percent, an increase of 43 percent year over year, with the Apple iPhone and iPad as the consumer shopping devices of choice.

As retailers are making it easier for mobile shoppers to browse and buy with a tap of a finger, customizing mobile apps and web sites for on-the-go consumers, the mobile customer experience has become a top priority for retailers looking to streamline the buying process. In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, mobile shoppers browsed and completed purchases in three-and-a-half minutes, while desktop users took twice as long, more than six minutes, to complete their shopping session.

As merchants continue to invest in upgrading support for digital shopping channels, retailers are designing for a MobileFirst market by simplifying the client experience and deepening connections to consumers.

Key findings from the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark:

• In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, online shopping grew by 15 percent, with average order value reaching $209, representing a four percent increase compared to the same period last year.
• Department store sales grew by more than 20 percent in the week leading up to Mother’s Day compared to the same period last year. Retailers simplified the digital buying experience for customers, with iPad conversions increasing dramatically by more than 315 percent, with iPhone conversions increasing 184 percent.
• In the three weeks leading up to Mother’s Day, online jewelry sales steadily increased, nearly tripling with a 180.6 percent increase in that same period. In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, mobile traffic reached 42 percent, up almost 59 percent over 2012. Mobile sales reached 48 percent, an increase of 38 percent compared to 2012.
• Online sales of gifts including flowers and chocolates more than doubled the week just before Mother’s Day compared to the week before, an increase of 140 percent. Mobile percentage of sales was up 109 percent, reaching 28 percent and mobile site traffic was up 95 percent, reaching 34 percent, in the week leading up to Mother’s Day, compared to the same period last year.
• In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, health and beauty sales were up 40 percent compared to the same time last year, with similar mobile commerce gains. Mobile percentage of sales reached 18 percent, a gain of 16.4 percent, with mobile traffic reaching 27 percent, up 33 percent over last year.

By analyzing these trends, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), sales, e-commerce and customer loyalty executives can better understand and respond to the needs of customers in terms what and how they prefer to buy.

Today’s news is based on findings from the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, the industry’s only cloud-based Web analyticsplatform that tracks more than a million e-commerce transactions a day, analyzing terabytes of raw data from 500 retailers nationwide.  The IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark uses anonymous data to provide the most accurate and immediate snap shot online shopping trends.

For more information about IBM Smarter Commerce, click here.

Contacts:

Amanda M. Carl
IBM Media Relations
914-766-1362
amcarl@us.ibm.com

Rebecca Mettler
IBM Media Relations
914-766-1551
rmettle@us.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM

RELATED LINKS
http://www.ibm.com

TORONTO, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — The Rockley Group Inc., the world’s most sought-after content strategy consultancy, announced today the licensing of The Rockley Strategic Method™ to Content Rules Inc., global content strategy and development experts.

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The Rockley Strategic Method enables organizations to design adaptive structured content to reach customers anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Used by the world’s leading brands, the method: 

• Identifies customer requirements
• Defines structured content models for adaptive and responsive content
• Determines how content will be reused and repurposed across media and devices and how it will adapt to changing customer needs
• Identifies the tags (metadata) for retrieval and dynamic delivery
• Determines how content should be managed throughout the entire content lifecycle
• Defines the governance policies to manage the content from creation to retirement
• Recommends appropriate tools and technology
• Helps organizations to adapt to change

The Rockley Group has honed The Rockley Strategic Method for more than a decade; helping a broad range of organizations — from small, privately-owned firms to multinational Fortune 100 companies in the Life Sciences, Financial and High Technology industries — create, manage, and deliver content efficiently and effectively.

“We have worked closely with Content Rules management and staff on content strategy projects and have certified their team in our methodology,” said Ann Rockley , Founder and President of The Rockley Group and the designer of The Rockley Strategic Method. “This relationship will extend the reach of The Rockley Group while providing Content Rules with a methodology that extends and augments their global content strategy services. We feel confident that they will provide the quality of service customers have grown to expect from The Rockley Group,” Rockley said.

“We’re excited to be able to add The Rockley Strategic Method to our service offerings,” said Val Swisher , Founder and CEO of Content Rules. “In a global, mobile, always-on marketplace, our clients need to deliver the right content to the right people at the right time in the right format and language, on the device of their customers’ choice. That’s no easy feat. To do it right, you need a rock-solid, road-tested approach. That’s why we’re pleased to be able to use The Rockley Strategic Method to fill out our end-to-end content services solutions. It’s the most comprehensive methodology available.”

The Rockley Group, Inc. (www.rockley.com) is an international content strategy consultancy with a reputation for developing multichannel content strategies and digital publishing solutions. Instrumental in establishing the field in content strategy, The Rockley Group has defined best practices for content reuse, intelligent content development, multichannel / multi-device delivery, eBook production, and content management. Ann Rockley , known as the “mother” of content strategy, introduced the concept of content strategy in 2001 with her best-selling book, “Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy,” (www.managingenterprisecontent.com) now in its second edition.

Content Rules, Inc. (www.contentrules.com) based in Silicon Valley, provides consulting and professional services to assist companies with the entire content lifecycle. Clients served range from new technology startups to Fortune 100 companies across the High Technology, Life Sciences, and Manufacturing sectors. Content development services include technical documentation, marketing collateral, and training courseware development. Services are provided through a large network of technically-astute, senior consultants located throughout the U.S. Its consulting practice specializes in content strategy, structured authoring, new content delivery technologies, and global readiness. Content Rules is also a preferred implementation and services partner of Acrolinx, a leading content optimization software for the enterprise. 

Media Contact:

Scott Abel , The Content Wrangler, Inc., +1 415.857.2235, scottabel@mac.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

SOURCE The Rockley Group

RELATED LINKS
http://www.rockley.com

SHANGHAI, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — SINA Corporation (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013.

First Quarter 2013 Highlights

• Net revenues increased 19% year over year to $126.0 million.  Non-GAAP net revenues  increased 19% year over year to $121.3 million, exceeding the Company’s guidance between $115.0 million and $119.0 million.
• Advertising revenues grew 20% year over year to $94.3 million, within the Company’s guidance between $94.0 million and $96.0 million.
• Non-advertising revenues increased 14% year over year to $31.7 million.  Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues increased 17% year over year to $27.0 million, exceeding the Company’s guidance between $21.0 million and $23.0 million. 
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $1.5 million, or $0.02 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. 

“As we start 2013, we are making good progress in transitioning from a PC-centric to a mobile-centric Internet company with new product launches and improved monetization,” said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA.  “In April, we formed a strategic alliance with Alibaba Group to catapult us into social commerce.  By partnering with Alibaba, Weibo is well positioned to play a key role in the future of e-commerce, particularly in mobile commerce as we explore ways for our users to search, share and buy the goods and services of the millions of merchants on Taobao and Tmall.”

First Quarter 2013 Financial Results

For the first quarter of 2013, SINA reported net revenues of $126.0 million, compared to $106.2 million for the same period last year.  Non-GAAP net revenues for the first quarter of 2013 totaled $121.3 million, compared to $101.5 million for the same period last year. 

Online advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2013 were $94.3 million, compared to $78.5 million for the same period last year.  Non-advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2013 totaled $31.7 million, compared to $27.7 million for the same period last year.  Mobile value-added services (“MVAS”) revenues for the first quarter of 2013 decreased 17% year over year to $15.9 million, while the rest of non-GAAP non-advertising revenues grew 180% year over year to $11.1 million.  The year over year growth of non-advertising revenues came primarily from Weibo value added services (“Weibo VAS”), which included revenue share from web games and membership fees on Weibo.  

Gross margin for the first quarter of 2013 increased to 51% from 46% for the same period last year.  Advertising gross margin for the first quarter of 2013 increased to 49% from 44% for the same period last year, due to advertising revenues growing faster than advertising cost of revenues.  Non-advertising revenue gross margin for the first quarter of 2013 increased to 57% from 53% for the same period last year, primarily due to the increase in proportion of higher margin Weibo VAS.

Operating expenses for the first quarter of 2013 totaled $74.5 million, compared to $67.2 million for the same period last year.  Non-GAAP operating expenses for the first quarter of 2013 were $69.8 million, compared to $64.1 million for the same period last year. The increase in non-GAAP operating expenses was primarily due to higher personnel costs, professional services and bad debt expenses, which were partially offset by lower marketing expenditures.

Loss from operations for the first quarter of 2013 was $9.9 million, compared to $18.1 million for the same period last year.  Non-GAAP loss from operations for the first quarter of 2013 was $9.3 million, compared to $18.9 million for the same period last year. 

Non-operating loss for the first quarter of 2013 was $4.5 million, compared to $2.7 million income for the same period last year.  As a result of E-House’s issuing new shares to its management at $3.52 per share on March 25, 2013, SINA incurred a non-cash $10.2 million loss on the dilution of equity interest in E-House from 25% to 22%.  Non-operating loss in the first quarter of 2013 also included $1.5 million, or $4.8 million on a non-GAAP basis, in earnings from equity investments, which were accounted for under the equity-method accounting and reported on a one-quarter lag basis.

Net loss attributable to SINA for the first quarter of 2013 was $13.2 million, compared to $13.7 million for the same period last year.  Diluted net loss per share attributable to SINA for the first quarter of 2013 was $0.20, compared to $ 0.21 for the same period last year.  Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA for the first quarter of 2013 was $1.5 million, compared to net loss of $14.0 million for the same period last year.  Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA for the first quarter of 2013 was $0.02, compared to net loss per share of $0.21 for the same period last year.

As of March 31, 2013, SINA’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $681.9 million, compared to $713.6 million as of December 31, 2012.  For the first quarter of 2013, cash used in operating activities was $5.9 million, capital expenditures totaled $25.4 million and depreciation expenses amounted to $8.1 million.

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the second quarter of 2013 will be between $143 million and $147 million, including advertising revenues to be between $117 million and $119 million, and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $26 million and $28 million.  Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenues related to SINA’s equity investment in E-House/CRIC.

Non-GAAP Measures

This release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP net revenues, non-GAAP non-advertising revenues, non-GAAP advertising gross margin, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP income/(loss) from operations, non-GAAP equity earning/(loss) from equity investments, non-GAAP net income/(loss) attributable to SINA and non-GAAP diluted net income/(loss) per share attributable to SINA.  These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, measures of the Company’s financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.  The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures may be defined differently than similar terms used by other companies.  Accordingly, care should be exercised in understanding how the Company defines its non-GAAP financial measures.  Reconciliations of the Company’s non-GAAP measures to the nearest GAAP measures are set forth in the section below titled “Unaudited Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Results.”

The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures exclude certain items, including share-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets, recognition of deferred revenue in relation to the CRIC Transaction and gain/loss resulting from the disposal, purchase or impairment of a business, investment or non-controlling interest in a subsidiary.  The Company’s management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in their financial and operating decision-making, because management believes these measures reflect the Company’s ongoing business operations in a manner that allows more meaningful period-to-period comparisons.  The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in the following ways: (i) in comparing the Company’s current financial results with the Company’s past financial results in a consistent manner, and (ii) in understanding and evaluating the Company’s current operating performance and future prospects in the same manner as management does, if they so choose.  The Company further believes the non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain expenses, gains/losses and other items (i) that are not expected to result in future cash payments or (ii) that are non-recurring in nature or may not be indicative of the Company’s core operating results and business outlook.

Use of non-GAAP financial measures has limitations.  The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures do not include all income and expense items that affect the Company’s operations.  They may not be comparable to non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.  Management compensates for these limitations by also considering the Company’s financial results prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Conference Call

SINA will host a conference call at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on May 16, 2013 (or 9 a.m. Beijing Time on May 17, 2013) to present an overview of the Company’s financial performance and business operations.  A live webcast of the call will be available through the Company’s corporate website at http://corp.sina.com.  The conference call can be accessed as follows:

A replay of the conference call will be available through midnight Eastern Daylight Time May 23, 2013.  The dial-in number is +61 2 8199 0299.  The passcode for the replay is 64835151.

About SINA

SINA is an online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities.  Our digital media network of SINA.com (portal), SINA.cn (mobile portal) and Weibo.com (social media) enable Internet users to access professional media and user generated content in multi-media formats from the web and mobile devices and share their interests with friends and acquaintances.

SINA.com offers distinct and targeted professional content on each of its region specific websites and a range of complementary offerings. SINA.cn provides information and entertainment content from SINA portal customized for mobile (WAP) users.  Based on an open platform architecture to host organically developed and third-party applications, Weibo.com is a form of social media, featuring microblogging services and social networking services that allow users to connect and share information anywhere, anytime and with anyone on the platform.

Through these properties and other product lines and businesses, SINA offers an array of online media and social networking services to its users to create a rich canvas for businesses and brand advertisers to connect and engage with their targeted audiences.  SINA generates the majority of its revenues from online advertising, MVAS and fee-based services.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to, among other things, SINA’s expected financial performance and SINA’s strategic and operational plans (as described, without limitation, in the “Business Outlook” section and in quotations from management in this press release).  SINA may also make forward-looking statements in the Company’s periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties.  SINA assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements in this press release and elsewhere.  Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties.  A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.  Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to:  SINA’s limited operating history in certain new businesses; the global financial and credit market crisis and its impact on the Chinese economy; the uncertain regulatory landscape in China; fluctuations in the Company’s quarterly operating results; the Company’s reliance on online advertising sales and MVAS for a majority of its revenues; failure to successfully develop, introduce, drive adoption of or monetize new features and products, including Weibo.com and MVAS products; the Company’s reliance on mobile operators in China to provide MVAS and changes in mobile operators’ policies for MVAS in China; failure to successfully integrate acquired businesses; risks associated with the Company’s investments, including equity pick-up and impairment; and failure to compete successfully against new entrants and established industry competitors.  Further information regarding these and other risks is included in SINA’s annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2012 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

Investor Relations
SINA Corporation
Phone: 8610-82628888 x 3112
Email: ir@staff.sina.com.cn

 Sales (EUR million) 2013 2012 Variation 1st Quarter 54.2 44.8 +21%