Buddy Media Names Internet Veteran Jeff Berman to Board of Directors

NEW YORK, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Buddy Media, the leading social marketing company for the world's largest brands and agencies, has tapped industry pioneer Jeff Berman for its Board of Directors, building upon its category leadership and momentum. Berman, the former president of sales & marketing for MySpace, brings a wealth of knowledge to Buddy Media, with an extensive career that has spanned the legal, political and policy sectors.  

"In just two years, Buddy Media has grown from a small social media technology and services startup into one of the most innovative, well-managed and enviable companies in the social media space," said Berman.  "I'm pleased to join the Buddy Media board and I look forward to helping Buddy Media attain its next stage of its growth and expansion."

In the ever-changing arena of social media, Buddy Media has signed more than 150 brands and agencies as customers in 2009, igniting a banner year in which the company further distanced itself from the competition.

"Our growth over the past year was driven by brands' continued embrace of social media and by agencies' recognition of social media as a scalable platform that can effectively meet client needs," said Mike Lazerow, CEO of Buddy Media.  "As the technology restraints continue to loosen, we expect social media to help deliver an increasingly unified brand experience to people wherever they consume content."

The company has gained significant traction through the innovative Buddy Media Platform, which empowers agencies to license and use Buddy Media's technology on behalf of their clients.  More than 35 advertising, PR, and interactive agencies have licensed the Buddy Media Platform to provide social media solutions to its clients. These agencies include established players like Razorfish, TBWA\Chiat\Day, WPP's M80 and Universal Music/Geffin Records.

"With the Buddy Media Platform, we can effectively build and manage engaging Facebook pages," said Todd Steinman, chief operating officer, M80.  "The Buddy Media Platform simplifies the process of creating tabs and reduces the time it takes to roll out new user experiences for our clients."

The Buddy Media Platform enhances the technologies Buddy Media has built over the past two years, and permits advertising, branding and marketing agencies the ability to access and use the platform on behalf of their clients.  This has introduced a new level of empowerment for those responsible for efficiently and effectively creating, managing and tracking social campaigns and has established Buddy Media's credibility in being named a preferred Facebook developer.

About Buddy Media

In today's social media world, every brand needs a Buddy. The Buddy Media Platform gives brands and agencies total control over their social marketing campaigns, allowing them to launch, maintain and measure their brands' efforts.  Some of the world's largest brands, including Anheuser Busch, JCrew, Southwest Airlines and the NHL, work with Buddy Media to create, manage and track their social media profiles and campaigns.  Based in New York, Buddy Media is a privately held company backed by Softbank Capital, European Founders Fund, GreyCroft Partners, Peter Thiel, Mark Pincus, Roger Ehrenberg, Howard Lindzon and additional investors. For more information, visit www.buddymedia.com.

SOURCE Buddy Media