Passenger announced today that customers JCPenney and ABC Studios were honored as finalists in the prestigious Forrester Groundswell Awards program, which recognizes excellence in effective business uses of social technologies. Winners and finalists were selected from over 150 submissions spanning seven categories that represent the main goals Forrester Research recommends companies consider as reasons to use social technologies to interact with customers. Passenger’s Ambrielle community for JCPenney was honored in the Embracing category, and its “Lost” Emmy nomination community for ABC Studios was recognized in the Listening category.

“It’s an honor to be recognized for the role our communities are playing in advancing the business and organizational goals of our clients,” said Justin Cooper, co-founder and chief innovation + marketing officer, Passenger. “JCPenney and ABC Studios’ commitment to listening to and engaging with their customers on an ongoing basis to drive innovation and meaningful change is inspiring; this is why we do what we do.”

JCPenney “Embraces” Its Customers
JCPenney worked with Passenger to launch the Ambrielle Team, a private online community for the JCPenney lingerie line, with the goal of learning more about the Ambrielle customer and her fit and design preferences. Passenger’s team helped JCPenney gain an understanding of their fit and quality issues through a series of engaging online discussions within the private community, and then conducted a “wear” test to gain more detailed feedback on specific products. Participating members were invited to voice their opinions via discussion boards, online activities and live chats with the product design team. Based on this customer collaboration and feedback, JCPenney made several significant product changes to the lingerie bands, straps and overall sizing to better meet customers’ needs. The changes were reported back to the community to show how they embraced their insights and feedback; the Ambrielle products hit stores in July, with much stronger sales.

ABC Studios “Listens” to Viewer Feedback
ABC Studios and Passenger created the ABC Studios Advisory Panel community to give producers and executives an opportunity to directly connect with viewers, engaging them in ongoing dialogue and incorporating that voice into the development of their shows. In preparation for the upcoming Emmy submissions for the popular TV series “Lost,” ABC Studios sought reactions from those not familiar with the show to get an objective opinion on each episode's standalone appeal. Producers reached out to community members who were *not* “Lost” viewers to preview several episodes from season four and elicit feedback on which should be submitted for an Emmy nomination. The engaging discussions in the community and valuable insight from this collaboration directly influenced the producers' decision to submit the episode "The Constant" for Emmy consideration.

The Forrester Groundswell Awards program was developed to support and recognize the principles outlined in the Forrester book Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies (Harvard Business Press, 2008). More information about the awards is available here.

Passenger has been honored with another emerging media award this time by the Summit International Awards (SIA). Passenger received the "2007 Innovator Award” under the Social Media category for the Passenger platform. This is a great accomplishment, as the “Innovator” award is one of the top recognitions by the Summit International Awards. The award highlights Passenger as a leader in bringing new technology advancements/methodology to the social media space and helping to set the pace for emerging media.

The Summit International Awards (SIA) organization is dedicated to furthering excellence in the communications industry. It administers rigorous awards competitions throughout the year with the goal of recognizing companies and individuals that go beyond the expected. Throughout its fourteen-year history, the SIA has established itself as one of the premier arbiters of creative and communication excellence. Companies and individuals, from more than 50 countries and five continents, participate in the awards programs.

The pace of change in the tech sector is accelerating. This year's AO 100 list of the hottest private companies includes a big batch of young innovators paving the way in emerging markets.

With the large number of promising contenders, deciding which companies make the AO100 list is always complex. To pick the final winners, AlwaysOn editors, KPMG, Bridge Bank, Merrill Corp., Level 3 Communications, and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips surveyed industry insiders and sorted through the 600-plus global company nominations. We then evaluated each company against several criteria: innovation, market opportunity, commercialization, media buzz, and stakeholder value creation.

We are honored to be recognized by AlwaysOn as one of the Top 100 Private Companies. Passenger is the direct result of market innovators voicing their need to engage and activate customers. Passenger's accelerated growth, customer adoption rate and being named to the AlwaysOn Top 100 list validates our innovation and success.