The Sage Group Reveal Winners of First Annual Marketers That Matter(TM) Award, Sponsored by The Wall Street Journal

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 26, 2013) - Executives and industry leaders gathered to honor the finalists and announce the winners of the inaugural Marketers that Matter™ awards (www.marketersthatmatter.com). Launched by The Sage Group and sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, the Marketers That Matter award recognizes the leading Bay Area marketers that are on the forefront.

The Marketers That Matter award recognizes exceptional marketers who are transforming consumer engagement, utilizing big data, and impacting product definition by implementing creative and successful marketing strategies and tactics to create measurable results. Finalists included senior marketers from some of the Bay Area's most well-known brands alongside marketers from fast-growing, up-and-coming companies that span a number of industries. The full list of winner includes:

• Antonio Lucio, Chief Brand Officer, Visa, B2C | Large Company
• Chris Borr, FACHE VP Marketing (Former), McKesson, B2B | Large Company
• Christopher Lukezic, Director of Communications for EMEA and LATAM, Airbnb, Product/Service | Small Company
• Don Kingsborough, VP Retail Services, PayPal, Product/Service | Large Company
• Francesca Schuler, CMO, BevMo!, Customer Engagement | Large Company
• Ian Vacin, VP Marketing & Product, Xero, Global Integration | Small Company
• Jeff Yoshimura, VP Marketing, Ayasdi, Big Data | Small Company
• Julie S. Washington, SVP & Chief Brand Officer, Jamba Juice, B2C | Large Company
• Kat Gordon, Founder, The 3% Conference Customer, Engagement | Small Company
• Kira Wampler, VP Marketing, Lytro, B2C & New Channels | Small Company
• Lisa Joy Rosner, CMO, NetBase, B2B | Small Company
• Matt Stander, Group Product Line Manager, VMware, Big Data | Large Company
• Meredith Hoffer, Director of Marketing, Google, Global Integration | Large Company
• Sandra Lopez, Marketing Strategy Director- New Business, Intel, New Channels | Large Company

"There is a sweeping trend of truly innovative and high impact marketing germinating in the Bay Area," said Cara France, Sage Group CEO. "The depth and breadth of what the winning marketers are doing is extraordinary and the value they bring to their companies is both measurable and impressive."

An elite panel of judges comprised of executives from Williams-Sonoma, Wells Fargo, LinkedIn, Intuit, Adobe, Jamba Juice, Twitter, VMware, PayPal and others selected the winners from amongst the 36 finalists that demonstrated proven success in a rapidly changing environment. As Nick Besbeas, VP of Marketing at LinkedIn and one of our judges said, "A marketer that matters has the ability to focus on the customer and focus the organization on the customer."

The winners stand out in their field and their submissions show true inspiration and measurable success for their companies. Videos and additional information can be found at www.marketersthatmatter.com.

NOTE: All finalists & winners were selected by an independent panel of judges without representatives from The Wall Street Journal or The Sage Group. This advertising initiative was created without the involvement of The Wall Street Journal's news department.

About The Sage Group
The Sage Group provides marketing and business consultants and contractors to leading Bay Area companies. As one of the largest women-owned Bay Area businesses, clients include 50 percent of Silicon Valley's top technology firms, largest banks, and best global brands. For more information, visit www.thesagegroup.com or follow @The_Sage_Group.