Beaddictive

Reviewed by:	Darren Hurrell (contact)
Title:	Kate Burns joins board of BeAddictive
Category:	Technology
Rating:

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New board director to drive growth of social loyalty platform

London based Kate Burns is joining Addictive Interactive as a board director. Burns, who is Managing Director of AOL Europe will advise Addictive Interactive on the business strategy and market development of its social shopping platform, BeAddictive. She brings fifteen years of leadership skills, strategic thinking and media expertise, having taken three global organisations from start-up stage to successful public companies.

Social loyalty platform BeAddictive has over 500,000 registered users on its site and launched it's loyalty scheme in December. The site, which links with Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms, rewards visitors with loyalty points for each action they take, which can be redeemed against prizes, gifts and money off vouchers on the site. Visitors can connect with people with similar interests, share photos and videos, enter competitions, read or write their own blogs and write reviews. Addictve Interactive’s management team is lead by founder Darren Hurrell and Sarah Jane Thomson, who also founded Ebiquity Plc, formerly known as Thomson Intermedia, and ‘First News’, the weekly newspaper for children which launched with Piers Morgan as Editorial Director.

Kate Burns’ experiences spans leading digital companies includingDoubleclick, AOL, Altavista and Yahoo! In 2001, Burns joined Google as its first employee outside the US and went on to develop the company’s most profitable and fastest growing, region rising to become Director, UK, Ireland and Benelux. She spent a period of time consulting for companies such asAdLink, before joining independent video sharing site, Dailymotion, then moving to social network, Bebo. In August 2009, she joined AOL to lead operations for AOL Advertising across Europe.

Commenting on the appointment, Kate Burns explains, “I was attracted to Addictive Interactive because social shopping and loyalty is becoming increasingly popular. People want more than just reviews – they want to know who is behind the review and whether they like them and feel they can trust their opinion. BeAddictive rewards users and is first social platform to increase loyalty, engagement, data and sales. The company is well managed with excellent leadership and I am confident this is this is the next logical step for the rapid growth of social media internationally.”

Sarah Thomson, Joint CEO of Addictive Interactive adds, “Kate brings an unparalleled wealth of online expertise to Addictive Interactive. She has an excellent business acumen and leadership skills coupled with a solid understanding of business strategy and market development, both in the UK and internationally. With Kate on board we can extend our reach to more leading brands and grow our consumer numbers to deliver really engaging, relevant and addictive platforms for brands and members alike.”

Founded by Darren Hurrell in 2004, Addictive Interactive is a social shopping, analytics and loyalty business. Its social loyalty platform BeAddictive.com delivers results for brands, such as retailers, travel and entertainment companies, integrating with their ecommerce systems, products and content whilst building loyalty and researching customer behaviour. Former social networking and technology expert Hurrell has previously delivered projects for major clients who saw their customer engagement and sales improve significantly as a result of early technology.

Sarah Jane Thomson joined Addictive Interactive in 2008, growing the business to serve an increasing number of brands and consumers. She founded Thomson Intermedia in 1997 and floated it within three years later for £30 million. As one of the few female CEO’s in the City, she steered its organic and acquisitive growth for ten years, recruiting new management in 2008. Now an international business it employs more than 600 people. Thomson remains on the board and is a significant shareholder. In 2006 she founded the children’s newspaper, First News. The biggest read children’s publication in the UK, it has featured a range of celebrity writers, received several awards including Save the Children’s Outstanding Contribution to the Children Award presented by Princess Anne, and celebrates its birthday every year at a party hosted by the Prime Minister at Downing Street. In 2008, Thomson co-founded an IT business, PriorityOneIT to provide innovative technology and support services to businesses. She is a Non Executive Director of Bloomsbury Publishing and a consultant to YouGov plc.

Burns joins as a Non-Executive Director alongside Richard Nichols, who built Incepta and is now CEO of the College Hill Group. In November 2010, BeAddictive.com was named by Google as ‘one to watch’.

About Addictive Interactive

Addictive Interactive is a loyalty, social shopping and analytics business. It has created a social media platform, BeAddictive, that provides brands and retailers with a social network platform that delivers results and fully integrates with their current social strategies. The platform integrates ecommerce systems, products and content whilst building loyalty and obtaining access to up to 500 pieces of data on each consumer. BeAddictive is the first social platform to significantly increase loyalty, engagement, data and sales.