American Family Insurance and Mindshare NA Reveal Startup Competition Winner

Madison, WI, May 11, 2016 (Newswire.com) - American Family Insurance selected cloud-computing company LiveTechnology as the winner of Fast Forward, a live pitch and technology competition done in partnership with Mindshare North America, the global media agency network that is part of WPP.

Diving deep into the startup space, the Mindshare Fast Forward program identifies rising digital companies and new solutions for brands. American Family Insurance and Mindshare NA initially identified a list of participating companies through the agency’s media, startup, and technology database, in partnership with GroupM. After multiple rounds, an initial list of more than 50 candidates was reduced to 21, and then cut down to the nine finalists who participated in a live pitch competition to choose the winner.

This challenge was one of the most exciting and forward-thinking approaches we have been involved in." said Wayne Reuvers, Chief Strategy Officer of LiveTechnology, "It was exciting to creatively apply ideas to the evolving concept of Personal Clouds, and end up with an easy way to ensure policy holder's "stuff" is protected, and connected to relevant information

Wayne Reuvers, Chief Strategy Officer

As the winner, LiveTechnology will partner with American Family Insurance to bring its new personal cloud computing application to life. The program will help American Family Insurance accompany policyholders in their daily lives via connected mobile technology, to better help protect and insure their consumers.

“We’re always looking for new ways that we can help people achieve and protect their dreams, and we’re not afraid to get a little unconventional to do it,” said Emily Adler. “For Fast Forward, we dug into a wide array of emerging technologies to find the very best new ideas and companies. We’re excited to work with closely with LiveTechnology and to help people better connect their physical world and digital lives.”

“This challenge was one of the most exciting and forward-thinking approaches we have been involved in.” said Wayne Reuvers, Chief Strategy Officer of LiveTechnology, “It was exciting to creatively apply ideas to the evolving concept of Personal Clouds, and end up with an easy way to ensure policy holder’s ”stuff” is protected, and connected to relevant information”

This is the first year that American Family Insurance is participating in Fast Forward. In the last couple of years, Mindshare NA has also conducted the program with a select handful of clients in CPG, hospitality, and beverages.

“Culture and technology wait for no brand,” said Jim Cridlin, Managing Director, Digital Strategy, Mindshare NA. “Through the Fast Forward program, we’re able to able quickly to cull through the latest emerging technologies and programs to find the best new solutions and strategies for clients. It’s not just about learning and development; it’s about giving brands their best competitive advantage.”

American Family Insurance has launched a number of other emerging tech activations over the last year – particularly in the wearables space, partnering with Under Armour and Mindshare’s Life+ division on campaigns through the MapMyFitness app on the smartwatch and other connected devices.

About American Family Insurance:
American Family Insurance is a private mutual company that focuses on property, casualty and auto insurance, but also offers commercial insurance, life, health, and homeowners coverage, as well as investment and retirement-planning products. For more than 85 years, American Family Insurance has built its reputation on sound principles. We strive to provide you industry-leading service, exceptional claims experience and products that build long-term relationships. This is accomplished by treating policyholders fairly in a helpful and caring way and making it easy and convenient to work with us. We know our customers like family. American Family Insurance thrives by conducting its business in accordance with the highest ethical standards and the law at all times. Integrity is part of our culture and always has been. The reputation we enjoy and trust-based relationships we have built with our customers are determined by the example set by management and the character and good judgment exercised at all levels of our organization. It’s a way of doing business that our customers have come to expect from us and a standard that we continue to live up to.

About LiveTechnology:
LiveTechnology, Inc., Headquartered in Tuxedo NY, provides LivePlatform to Fortune 1000 companies to help automate and streamline their communication, marketing and advertising across all channels and touchpoints. LiveStuff, with over 3 million products, is an evolutionary iteration from LivePlatform that connects a consumer’s Physical World with their Digital Life, and in doing so has created two revolutionary new concepts for consumers: Personal Clouds and Connected Content. LiveStuff is available in web and mobile formats, as a browser button, online app Android app, iOS app, major TV’s, Roku, Amazon FireTV and Android Media Players. Visit us at LiveTechnology.com

About Mindshare:
Mindshare is a global media agency network with billings in excess of US$34.5 billion (source: RECMA). The network consists of more than 7,000 employees, in 116 offices across 86 countries spread throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Each office is dedicated to forging competitive marketing advantage for businesses and their brands based on the values of speed, teamwork and provocation. Mindshare is part of GroupM, which oversees the media investment management sector for WPP, the world's leading communications services group. Visit us at Mindshareusa.com 

Source: LiveTechnology Holdings, Inc.

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