Sysomos Acquires Leading Social Marketing Platform Expion

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 22, 2015) - Sysomos, the social intelligence company backed by data science, today announced the acquisition of Expion, a leading social marketing platform. Together, Sysomos and Expion technology will allow more than 15,000 marketers, representing 1,500 companies, to better understand their customers; reach new, relevant audiences; and deliver more compelling customer experiences.

The addition of Expion, recently recognized by Forrester Research (The Forrester Wave™: Social Relationship Platforms, Q2 2015, subscription required for access) brings industry-leading content management and publishing capabilities to Sysomos' robust, data-driven analytics platform. The combined force will be a complete content marketing and analytics solution, empowering the world's biggest brands by adding context to millions of online conversations while giving them the tools to immediately respond and engage in those conversations.

"The evolution of data science has coincided with the scale of online sites and data, and yet many companies are still unsure what to do with this huge wealth of insights into customer wants and needs," said Lindsay Sparks, CEO, Sysomos. "For companies to excel in this environment, they not only need the ability to understand their customers, but also to translate that knowledge into actions and engagements, learn from the customer response to those actions, and iterate. The Expion acquisition makes Sysomos the undisputed leader in this area."

Sysomos has long been a leader in earned social media analytics, and the acquisition positions them to provide unrivaled analysis on brand-controlled content as well. With this expanded access into online customer conversations, Sysomos will not only be able to provide companies with insights into common customer characteristics and motivations, but will also enable marketers to more effectively create and distribute content that guides consumers through the journey of awareness, education, purchase, and advocacy.

The two technologies will ultimately be fully integrated to provide the most comprehensive, complete, and easy-to-use social intelligence solution in the marketing industry. The combined company plans to more than double headcount, reaching 500 by year-end. Additionally, it will expand its global footprint to 10 cities in six countries, adding offices in Singapore and Shanghai, as well as on the East Coast of the United States.

"The shared vision of Sysomos and Expion, coupled with strong capital backing, enables us to grow and scale as a combined force," said Peter Heffring, CEO, Expion. "The amount of data Sysomos is currently processing beats out anyone else in the market. Adding that data science expertise and their technical infrastructure into Expion's ecosystem -- content management, industry leading user experience, and popular roles-based architecture -- creates a company positioned to lead the industry."

The two companies' strategic partnerships, client rosters, and global offices are also complementary. Sysomos, as a long-time Twitter Official Partner, and Expion, as a marketing partner of both Facebook and Pinterest, combine to offer clients the best data and solutions across the social spectrum. Integrations with Chinese platforms WeChat and Weibo further expand their social footprint globally. The two company's growing customer base combines Sysomos' 1400 customers, covering 80 percent of the most valuable global brands, as ranked by Interbrand, as well as Expion clients Coca-Cola, Mondelez, Estee Lauder, iHeartMedia and Porsche.

"The Expion platform allows us to listen, understand and engage with customers in a way that helps us build one-on-one relationships with them," said Kelly Cates-Thornton, Digital Marketing, Brand Relationships, at HanesBrands Inc.

This acquisition follows on the heels of Sysomos' recent hiring and product announcements, which strengthened its data science capabilities, infrastructure, and ability to scale.

About Expion
Expion's social marketing software makes it easy for marketers to manage, optimize and distribute content at scale to drive engagement and sales in real-time. Market leaders partnering with Expion for their social media management include Coca-Cola, Heineken, Hilton, Mastercard, Mondelez and Singapore Airlines. With unmatched company, industry and competitive insights, and centralized governance across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Weibo, and WeChat, Expion's platform ensures our clients' strong social marketing performance. For more information, please visit www.expion.com.

About Sysomos
Sysomos is the social intelligence company backed by data science that gives businesses immediate context to the hundreds of millions of conversations happening online every day. The Sysomos social intelligence platform continuously decodes these conversations and news stories to give marketers real-time answers about what their customers think and feel. More than 1,400 brands and agencies, including 80 percent of the most valuable global brands, as ranked by Interbrand, trust Sysomos for their social intelligence. Sysomos has offices in seven cities worldwide, including London, New York, San Francisco and Toronto. Learn more at www.sysomos.com.