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Google, eBay in Ad, Voice Partnership Western Union Gets Directors in Place CapTrust Embraces Video Conferencing
Google, eBay in Ad, Voice Partnership
Google Inc. and eBay Inc. have announced a multiyear advertising partnership.
Google, of Mountain View, Calif., agreed to become the sole provider of international advertising for eBay, of San Jose.
The companies, which announced their agreement Monday, also plan to collaborate on developing an online voice service to connect sellers with potential buyers.
Industry watchers often view Google and eBay, both of which offer payment services to online shoppers, as competitors. Last month, less than a week after Google introduced its Checkout service, eBay listed it as one of the services that sellers were barred from mentioning in online auctions.
However, Google told American Banker this month that it was open to the idea of working with eBay and did not view it or its PayPal Inc. as a direct competitor.
The companies plan to begin testing the text ads and the "click-to-call" voice service early next year. They did not provide financial details of the agreement, except to say it involved revenue sharing.
Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, said in a press release that the deal "underscores how much we value eBay as a partner."
Western Union Gets Directors in Place
The Denver money transfer company Western Union Financial Services Inc. named its board and said it would complete its spinoff from First Data Corp. this quarter or early next quarter.
In April, Western Union said that Jack M. Greenberg, a First Data director and the former chairman and chief executive of McDonald's Corp., would be the spinoff's chairman.
On Monday, Western Union named five additional directors: Dinyar Devitre, a vice president and the chief financial officer of Altira Group Inc. and a former executive vice president of Citigroup Inc.; Betsy Holden, a director at Tribune Co. and a former co-chief executive of Kraft Foods Inc.; Alan Lacy, the former CEO of Sears Holdings Corp.; Roberto Mendoza, a co-founder and the chairman of Integrated Finance Ltd. and a former vice chairman and director at JPMorgan Chase & Co.; and Michael Miles, the president and chief operating officer of Staples Inc. and the former chief operating officer at Pizza Hut Inc.
Dick Badler, a Western Union spokesman, said the newly named directors offer a "cross-section of experience."
CapTrust Embraces Video Conferencing
CapTrust Financial Advisors said it expects to save money on travel and improve employee productivity by using high-definition video conferencing for meetings.
The unit of CapFinancial Partners LLC of Raleigh oversees $14 billion of client assets. In June it installed video equipment to connect staff members in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Richmond, Va., for meetings.
Robert L. Smith 3rd, CapTrust's chief technology officer, said in an interview this month that it expects to break even on the investment in 24 to 30 months.
The firm, which serves retirement plan fiduciaries and institutional and high-net-worth investors, had reviewed the technology a year and a half ago but was initially put off by the expense and the quality of the video, he said. After acquiring the assets of Palmer & Cay Investment Services Inc. of Atlanta in December, "we gave it a little harder look."
CapTrust looked at equipment from several vendors before choosing LifeSize Room from LifeSize Communications Inc. of Austin.
Mr. Smith said CapTrust chief executive Fielding Miller was swayed by the quality of the transmission. "He wants to be able to see his employees every so often. When the CEO saw the high definition, he said, 'Hey, I like that.' "
CapTrust held its first meeting using the system in June, and employees were impressed, Mr. Smith said. "They're saying, 'How did we do without this?' "
The system can connect up to 20 locations at a time and includes a "video bridge" that will allow it to interoperate with equipment from other vendors.
"I wanted it big enough so we will have room for growth," Mr. Smith said. "We're going to continue expanding through acquisition, bringing on more advisers and more adviser groups."
CapTrust uses the equipment for monthly employee meetings, weekly group meetings, interviewing job prospects, and communicating with telecommuters, such as a home-based adviser in Mississippi.
Eventually, the firm expects to use the system to communicate with clients, but "we haven't gotten to the external part right yet," he said. "We're getting there."
