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The Truth About How 5G Will Impact Your Industry (and Your Marketing)

Merritt Group

5G will change how we live; in practice, it may look like the advanced Internet of Things (IoT) devices we use at home such as a smart refrigerator, the security systems to protect our loved ones like our Ring doorbell or the robotic surgery done from across the world in an emergency room. As 5G improves the way we live and work, opportunity for communications increases on a global level. The storytelling that PR and marketing professionals will be tasked with will help educate the masses about the impact of 5G technology across industries. It’s a big job, but someone has to do it! As communicators, we are responsible for highlighting how increased data, low latency and faster edge computing is going to make a tangible difference. Merritt Group put out a recent infographic detailing this topic and I'm here to dive deeper today. Edge computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT continue to be at the forefront of 2020’s technology trends and headlines, specifically around how 5G-enables new technologies and existing use cases. 5G technology enables a list of possibilities for explosive data since 1.4 billion devices will be connected to 5G by 2025, according to GSMA . While the 5G conversation has been heavily focused on autonomous vehicles and telecom capabilities, the truth is that there is more beyond improving our mobile connectivity with this emerging technology. To drill down, the rate of technology innovation will increase because of 5G and it will enable AI and machine learning (ML) at the edge and bring with it new companies and tech capabilities like we’ve never seen. As these devices and technology are being developed across industries, what used to take years or months to go to market, will now be done at record speeds. Bill Menezes, a senior principal analyst at Gartner Inc. said in the Wall Street Journal , “5G in the field, in real-world deployments, enhances the value of all these other technologies.” While the rate of advancement is clear, the speed and quality of data processing will also be greatly enhanced and bring new and reliable products. 5G should be seen and positioned as a technology enabler that will up-level most of what we already do and take us to where we’ve always wanted to go. The edge brings speed...and opportunities for marketers 5G will enable large amounts of data to be processed at the edge, driving new capabilities such as real-time notifications of available parking locations or smart pills with miniature chips that doctors can use to manage patient health. IoT will be empowered with the needed connectivity and processing ability that will bring us new devices that we’ve only imagined, including wearables with preventative and proactive decision-making capabilities based on your body’s temperature. Gartner predicts that the 5G IoT endpoint installed base will approach 49 million units by 2023 and within that, the largest market for 5G IoT solutions is outdoor surveillance cameras. These cameras will represent 70 percent of the 5G IoT endpoint installed base in 2020, before contracting to 32 percent by the end of 2023. By increasing the amount of data and speed processed at the edge in real-time, surveillance cameras will be able to not only visually see a situation on video, but, using AI, can analyze the data and proactively generate a response or predictive warning. Data processing speeds will increase at the edge because of 5G, but more importantly, is the data that it’s pulling. This will be a new opportunity for marketers to highlight how 5G takes company data to the next level, empowering existing technologies and enabling new products. Addressing the customer data narrative in 5G communications The speed and processing ability from 5G and edge computing will bring in more data than we’ve ever known what to do with. How IoT, telecom and medical companies use and organize their data will become even more crucial because it can either strengthen a product or weaken it. Likewise, how marketing and communication professionals express their brand’s story about how they use or protect their customer’s data will be incredibly valuable. For example, pharmaceutical development will take on an entirely new pace and a medicine or vaccination that once took years to test will be sped up as 5G speeds and data processing meets data science modeling. Finding the right formula and testing various outcomes will be so directly impacted that it will make the speed of vaccination creation prior to 5G look like the stone age. The pace of launching new products into the market will increase, along with their marketing and PR campaigns, calling for new strategies and processes to be quickly implemented. If processed data is coming in at a higher speed in real-time, remote patient monitoring, robotic surgeries guided from a doctor across the world or equipment maintenance for assisted living facilities or those with chronic illness and special needs become realities. Machines will become smarter, make better decisions and will be designed to assist humans within the medical world at an increasing rate. According to Samsung , virtual reality, at-home monitoring, rehabilitation, virtual doctor visits and more will be enhanced by 5G, reducing overall healthcare costs and bringing access to rural areas. Highlighting use cases, educating consumers and promoting the data inspired by the benefits of these technologies will be a marketer’s bread and butter. Once 5G becomes the standard level of connectivity, medical accessibility will be possible in regions that were once isolated and the hospital will meet your living room. A recent report from Market Research Future predicts that the telemedicine industry will experience a 16.5 percent compound annual growth rate from 2017 to 2023, due to an increased need for medical services in rural and underserved areas. But, the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans, and the use of telemedicine, or virtual doctor appointments, may reach one billion by the end of 2020 . This is just the beginning and with the help of 5G, more new life saving capabilities will be coming to our doorsteps. It will take time before many of these examples are implemented, however it’s important to note that they are on the horizon and the future with 5G will make the 2000’s look archaic. The speed, low latency and other capabilities that come with 5G are going to optimize most of life as we know it - from healthcare, government, IoT, supply chain and more. So what does this all ultimately mean for PR and marketing pros? Since there are many industries expected to be impacted, marketing and communications professionals need to be prepared to evolve their message and communicate the results of 5G clearly to key influencers and stakeholders. Here’s how: Embrace Thought Leadership: The potential of 5G — with everything from high-power edge computing to lightning-fast speed — is an opportunity for consumers and businesses alike. Brands should position themselves as visionaries and discuss trends and predictions while highlighting the evolution of their business, building interest and excitement around the positive impact of 5G. Validate Your Approach to 5G: Like many other emerging technologies over the years, brands associated with 5G oftentimes overstate or overhype their 5G story. From a market and media perspective, be sure to validate your story with partnerships, analyst references, tangible solutions that solve real-world problems and, of course, customer case studies (always easier said than done). Prioritize Your Data And What It’s Telling You: Because 5G-enabled technologies are in their infancy, validation can prove difficult for the players and the space will be crowded. Invest time and resources in the data that validates your business’ solution is an answer to a major market problem. Data about how the technology can address your customer’s pain points will help frame your story, which in turns amplifies your external communications, marketing and PR efforts. For more information and to create a marketing and communication plan fit for what 5G will bring, email Suzanne Block and block@merrittgrp.com . For more on how to create differentiated 5G messaging, read our blog here . Contact Details Katie Pesek +1 703-390-1505 pesek@merrittgrp.com Company Website https://www.merrittgrp.com/

September 16, 2020 12:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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US companies spending billions each month to return staff back to work

Huma

Getting businesses back up and running and employees back to work is critical to the US economic recovery. However, there’s confusion between employers and anxiety for workers returning to work. Digital health and therapeutics company Huma asked 5,000 US employees and 2,000 US employers about their views on returning to work. Only one in five businesses feel suitably informed on the specific policies/procedures they need to ensure a safe working environment for their employees. Yet employers are spending loads of money to reopen workplaces safely. Employers estimate that they will spend $3.4 billion per month overall, and $61.23 per employee each month to ensure employee health and safety. Nearly 9 in 10 employers (86%) have instituted new hygiene protocols, updated workplace layouts, and have a smaller workforce. While employers are readying the workplace, they have not planned for managing COVID-19 cases. Few employers have made accommodations for managing COVID-19 exposure. Only one-fifth of employers have updated sick leave policies (22%) or communications policies for exposure (19%). Economic realities are scaring employees more than health and safety risks Shockingly, two-thirds of employees believe their health and safety could be compromised in the workplace. Despite these fears, most employees are eager to get back to work, with over half of workers (52%) ready to get back to work today. Of those employees who have already returned to their workplace, only one in four (27%) employees are confident in the measures in place to ensure their safety and wellbeing. What’s driving employees’ concerns are interactions with other people, with respondents citing their co-workers’ hygiene (17%) and commuters (25%) as two of the three factors they were worried about, along with the workplace environment (21%). What causes the greatest fear for nearly three-quarters (72%) of employees is their coworker’s hygiene, which they rank as the single most significant factor in COVID-19 transmission at the workplace. Managing employee health for a safe workplace Employers have invested in the physical workplace, but have not put systems in place to manage employee health and COVID-19 case communications to ensure safer workplaces. Overwhelmingly, two-thirds (67%) of employees would be willing to do a daily symptom check-in with their employers, and the majority (75%) would be comfortable with employers tracking their symptoms. Moreover, nine in ten businesses (87%) are comfortable monitoring their employees' symptoms. This research shows that there’s a willingness on both sides to manage employee health, yet few are doing so. Dan Vahdat, founder and CEO of Huma, commented : “What this research identifies are the concerns of employers and employees in managing health and safety at the workplace during the COVID-19 era. Employers are spending millions to create a safe work environment, but not on solutions to manage employee health.” “Employers need new solutions and guidance on how to manage their health and wellbeing of their employees and provide assurance that they are prepared for COVID-19. Without new solutions to help manage workplace safety, businesses and the economy are going to take longer to recover.” Digital health and therapeutics company Huma is helping businesses and employees return to work safely. Huma Health Shield gives employees an easy-to-use mobile app to confidentially self-report their symptoms, track vital signs, and see their exposure risk. Employers have access to a secure web-based portal to see their workforce’s overall health while still protecting employee privacy. Ends Notes the editor Research findings based on a survey of 5,000 US employees and 2,000 US companies conducted in September 2020. About Huma Huma partners with scientists, technologists, and healthcare professionals to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent ill health. Giving knowledge and power to those with medical conditions, while saving clinicians time, energy, and valuable resources. Because, by collectively benefiting from the data we individually generate, we can all live our longest, fullest lives. www.huma.com Contact Details Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 bilal.mahmood@huma.com Company Website https://huma.com/

September 16, 2020 09:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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8 of the Top 10 Largest New York Office Landlords, Including SL Green & Rudin Management, Have Chosen VTS Market as Their System of Record for Digital Leasing & Marketing

VTS

VTS , the commercial real estate industry's leading leasing and asset management platform, today announced that since launching VTS Market —the commercial real estate industry’s first integrated, online marketing platform that enables landlords and their agency teams to market and lease their available spaces remotely for the first time—leading owners in New York and across North America have continued to choose VTS Market as their system of record for digital leasing and marketing. New clients include SL Green, Rudin Management, Columbia Property Trust, Nuveen, and Ivanhoe Cambridge. Currently, more than 15 million square feet of new office space is being signed up each week. This new group joins previous leading owners including Tishman Speyer, Brookfield Properties, Empire State Realty Trust, Hines, Oxford Properties Group, and RXR. The unprecedented uptake of the solution sees VTS Market continue to maintain its status as the most rapidly adopted product in proptech history. “Commercial real estate is and always will be a people business. VTS Market gives us a modern means to continue to engage with tenant rep brokers and their tenant clients in a way that is more efficient for them, and ultimately provides a superior experience,” said Steven M. Durels, Executive Vice President, Director of Leasing and Real Property, SL Green. “While this move towards digital leasing has been accelerated by COVID-19, it isn’t a short-term play and will continue to develop well beyond the pandemic.” To underscore this, VTS conducted a survey (VTS Market Tenant Survey 2020) to better understand and address the concerns that are top of mind for today’s tenants in relation to their office space search needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 250 U.S. tenants—including C-level executives and HR-decision makers for new space—participated. The results echoed that a majority of tenants prefer virtually touring space prior to viewing it in-person, and that will remain the preference post-COVID-19. The primary takeaways that bolster this anecdote include: Roughly 70% of respondents expressed discomfort in doing an in-person tour. 80% preferred to take a virtual tour of a space to narrow down their search before they had to tour in-person. 67% of respondents wanted to see a floor plan before touring in person “In today’s market, the traditional offline marketing methods long relied on by landlords are simply no longer possible. Without a digital option, they simply can’t compete,” said Nick Romito, CEO and Co-Founder of VTS. “With VTS Market, tenant reps and their tenant clients can virtually experience a building and interact with the owner of that building like never before. We are thrilled to be able to meet this critical industry need and get leasing teams back to work.” With VTS Market, landlords finally have a fully digital, data-driven way to market and lease their spaces online – all from within the VTS platform they use to manage their leasing and asset management activities today. In one click, agency leasing teams can review, approve, and publish spaces online to the VTS Marketplace — a listings site currently exclusively available for tenant reps to view, tour, and share virtual listing content for free. Additionally, landlords can easily publish spaces to their own websites and email listings to their network of tenant reps, directly from VTS’ platform. VTS Market provides landlords with the industry’s most comprehensive and effective marketing content, including virtual tours, photos, 3D space renderings, refurbished floor plans, and more than 250 verified data points for each space–all produced by the VTS team–ensuring tenant reps and tenants are viewing a single, highly-engaging source of truth. With VTS now managing more than 12 billion square feet of assets, including 60-percent of national Class A office space and 65-percent of the Manhattan office market — the company’s network of data reached a critical mass to support this. VTS Market and Marketplace are available in the U.S. and Canada. For more details and to request a demo, visit VTS.com . About VTS: VTS is commercial real estate’s leading leasing, marketing and asset management platform where the industry comes to make deals happen and real-time data come to life. VTS is powered by the largest single source data network in the industry, which delivers real-time data and insights that fuel faster, more informed decision making and connections throughout the deal lifecycle. Our MarketView™ offering, the industry’s first market benchmarking product, and VTS Market and Marketplace, the industry’s first integrated online marketing solution, gives landlords, brokers, and tenants unparalleled visibility into real-time market information and the direct connectivity to execute deals with greater speed at each point in the planning, marketing, leasing & asset management cycle. More than 60% of Class A commercial space in the US and 12B square feet of commercial real estate globally is managed on the VTS platform. Our user base includes over 45,000 CRE professionals including respected industry leaders like Blackstone, Brookfield Properties, LaSalle Investment Management, Hines, Boston Properties, Oxford Properties, JLL, and CBRE. To learn more about VTS, and to see our open roles, visit www.vts.com . Contact Details Elise Szwajkowski +1 212-402-3495 eszwajkowski@marinopr.com Company Website https://www.vts.com/

September 14, 2020 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Join Us Today for a Webinar on PR & Marketing Strategies for Raising Capital

REQ

Join us today, Thursday, September 10th at 4:00pm EST as REQ’s EVP of PR, Elizabeth Shea, and special guest, Parag Sheth of Outcome Capital will discuss how to position your company to be successful when pursuing a capital raise. In this session, we'll discuss: How to craft the PR and marketing strategies that position your company to be successful for a capital raise How to think creatively about value proposition and growth strategies How to navigate the current marketplace A little more about our speakers: Elizabeth Shea is EVP of Public Relations for REQ bringing more than 20 years of experience in the tech PR space, helping many companies navigate the messaging and strategies of both capital raises and merges and acquisitions. Parag Sheth is a Managing Director at Outcome Capital and serves as a Board Member of Mindshare and the Northern Virginia National Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth for over three years. He is a venture capital investor and a trusted advisor and business partner to companies in all stages of the growth spectrum. Click Here to Register About REQ A leading digital marketing and brand management company, REQ outpaces changes in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape by bringing brand marketing, reputation management, advocacy, and business results to new heights. It delivers a comprehensive suite of solutions and technologies that define, connect, and protect brands — serving global companies and leaders in technology, healthcare, government, real estate, hospitality, retail, and finance. The company has been named to both the Inc. 500 and Deloitte Fast 500 lists as one of the fastest-growing companies in America and has received over 200 creative, performance, and workplace awards. For more information, visit https://req.co/ Contact Details Lisa Throckmorton +1 703-287-7803 lthrockmorton@req.co Company Website https://req.co/

September 10, 2020 11:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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VTS Announces the Appointment of Seasoned Commercial Real Estate Executive Eli Gilbert as Head of Market Research

VTS

VTS , the commercial real estate (CRE) industry’s leading leasing, marketing, and asset management platform, announced today the appointment of Eli Gilbert in the newly created role of Head of Market Research. Gilbert will be responsible for building out and overseeing VTS’ research function and will play a key role in shaping the next generation of VTS’ data products. “I’m thrilled to welcome Eli to the team,” said Nick Romito , CEO and Co-Founder of VTS and recently recognized CRE player on Commercial Observer’s The Power 100 list. “He is an extremely well-respected commercial real estate professional with unparalleled experience working and supporting some of the world’s most influential landlord and brokerage teams. He has a deep understanding of the existing commercial real estate information landscape, and importantly, he shares our vision for its evolution. This makes him the ideal person to oversee the development of the next generation of our data offering. Eli’s unique dual perspective of the needs of both landlords and brokers will be vital in VTS' mission to strengthen our partnerships with both.” Gilbert brings with him 20 years of experience leading research departments and enabling business development efforts at the world’s largest real estate firms. Gilbert joins VTS from JLL where he served for more than a decade as Senior Vice President of Research and Business Development. There he was responsible for the creation of market research deliverables by leveraging in-depth knowledge of local real estate markets and technology sales tools for business development efforts. Prior to JLL, Gilbert served in research and sales roles at CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Grubb & Ellis, and CoStar. “What drew me to VTS was the people, the data, and the vision. The company’s direction and the entrepreneurial spirit of the team is incredibly exciting, as is the goal of creating a new operating system for commercial real estate. VTS seeks to revolutionize the entire industry into the 21st Century and what they’re doing with their product is transformative,” said Gilbert. “Commercial real estate is at an inflection point where real-time data has become critical to the success of owners, investors, and brokers. VTS is at the forefront of leading a shift in how the commercial real estate world leverages data, and I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of the journey.” About VTS: VTS is commercial real estate’s leading leasing, marketing and asset management platform where the industry comes to make deals happen and real-time data come to life. VTS is powered by the largest single source data network in the industry, which delivers real-time data and insights that fuel faster, more informed decision making and connections throughout the deal lifecycle. Together, our VTS Data MarketView™ offering, the industry’s first market benchmarking product, and VTS Market and Marketplace, the industry’s first integrated online marketing solution, gives landlords, brokers, and tenants unparalleled visibility into real-time market information and the direct connectivity to execute deals with greater speed and intelligence at every point in the planning, marketing, leasing, and asset management cycle. More than 60% of Class A commercial space in the US and 12B square feet of commercial real estate globally is managed on the VTS platform. Our user base includes over 45,000 CRE professionals including respected industry leaders like Blackstone, Brookfield Properties, LaSalle Investment Management, Hines, Boston Properties, Oxford Properties, JLL, and CBRE. To learn more about VTS, and to see our open roles, visit www.vts.com. Contact Details Elise Szwajkowski +1 212-402-3495 eszwajkowski@marinopr.com Company Website https://www.vts.com/

September 09, 2020 12:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time

The Socially and Environmentally Conscious Facemask--the New Fashion Essential

Flash Public Relations

The fashion industry has been responsible for more carbon emissions than international shipping and flights combined and labor practices can be questionable. Meet Stephanie Wagner , an entrepreneur who is changing all that—beginning with what has become a ‘new fashion essential,’ the facemask. Her company, ForTheFeel , is making great strides in personal and shared safety. What many don't know is that disposable surgical masks are jammed packed with toxic chemicals that studies have shown to be harmful to our environment AND human health. Masks can have ingredients such as: ● Petroleum ● Formaldehyde ● Azo Dyes ● Heavy Metals ● Plastic ● Ammonium Compounds ● Urea Resins ● Formaldehyde ● Phenols ● Quaternary Ammonium Compounds ● Organo-silver ….. and more These chemicals are sitting square over one’s nose and mouth—being breathed in. Unlike the nutrition facts on the back of our favorite foods, clothing and face masks don’t come with a conveniently itemized list of ingredients. Add to that that disposable masks can take up to 450 years to break down in the environment, and is affecting wildlife when they get caught in the ear loops. Synthetic particles don’t biodegrade. So when clothes are dumped into a landfill, toxic synthetic fibers pollute water sources and soil. Plus, ⅔ of all clothing sold in the U.S. is made from Fossil Fuels. The solution: ForTheFeel. Masks that FEEL good to both people and our planet. Their plant-based masks are made with 100% ORGANIC DYES--SAFE for all and are super soft and breathable. The masks are breathable and make it much easier to wear in comfort and without causing 'maskne.' The materials decompose in less than a year if discarded, and they are CDC approved and worn by doctors in one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems. ForTheFeel masks are made in America. All workers who are involved in the production (cutting, sewing, and dying) of ForTheFeel masks are paid 37% above the living wage, never handle toxic chemicals, and are treated with the utmost respect (especially during times of COVID). For further information and/or to purchase facemasks, log into https://forthefeel.com/ . ### Contact Details Wendy Gordon +1 202-412-6268 wendy@flashprdc.com Company Website https://forthefeel.com/

September 08, 2020 10:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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MarketFinance banks £50m for CBILS demand from UK SMEs ahead of deadline

MarketFinance

Fintech business lender MarketFinance has secured an additional £50m from one of Israel’s largest asset managers, Viola Credit, to lend to UK SMEs under the HM Treasury and British Business Bank CBILS initiative. The announcement comes as MarketFinance launches a “unified application” process in which SMEs will, through one application, be presented with a variety of finance options and be able to select those best suited to their needs. MarketFinance is now able to offer a combination of business loans, invoice finance and revolving credit facilities through this single application journey. Funding line to support CBILS The CBILS initiative will conclude at the end of September 2020 with pre-submitted applications in September being valid until the end of November. In readiness to service the last minute dash for CBILS loans or revolving credit facilities, MarketFinance has secured this additional funding of £50m to support SMEs with their working capital at this crucial time. Since 2011, Institutional investors such as banks, asset managers and family offices have provided the majority (70%) of capital that MarketFinance lends out to businesses. Anil Stocker, CEO at MarketFinance , commented: “Only 60,409 CBILS facilities have been approved since the pandemic started, versus 1.2m Bounce Back Loan approvals. This shows there are many businesses who could still benefit from accessing CBILS finance before the scheme ends. For many who took a Bounce Back Loan, there is now a short window where they can refinance onto a larger CBILS facility which could see them over to the new year. Vast swathes of the UK SME community haven’t applied or remain unaware of the CBILS initiative and that it concludes in a few weeks. By lining up this additional funding, we want to send a strong signal to the market that MarketFinance is here to help ”. One application, many options Alongside the fundraising, MarketFinance has rapidly improved its unified application process to allow faster decisions and access to the right funding for SME applicants. This means, for the first time, businesses will make a single universal application for finance and will be able to see, learn more about and select which option (or combination of options) is right for them. This will allow SMEs to draw down a loan today, but also set them up to use invoice finance or a revolving credit facility for when their order book fills back up. Through collecting just a few pieces of information about the applying company, MarketFinance is able to make instant decisions on 45% of applications with their automated decision engine, “Autoflow”. Their proprietary risk model, “Selector”, can assess each applicant under pre-COVID conditions, which means funding decisions are not overly biased by these unprecedented and potentially temporary conditions. This gives applying SMEs a greater opportunity to be approved compared with other financiers whose models are run only against today’s conditions. This year MarketFinance added business loans and revolving credit facilities to a product suite including selective invoice finance, contract finance and confidential whole-ledger invoice finance. Businesses are able to access a combination of these simultaneously from MarketFinance, making it the first fintech funder to offer multiple products within a single platform. Anil Stocker added: “Since launching CBILS loans, we’re already lending out around £10 million per month and our product development in invoice finance means we’re getting funds out 40% faster than 6 months ago. We’re constantly working on how we can reduce the time to funding for our new applicants and existing users. CBILS has only accelerated the pace at which we’re investing in our various products. The MarketFinance vision is to make finance available, easy-to-use and fairly priced to viable small businesses that need it most.” MarketFinance is accredited to lend under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), providing term loans from £50,001 to £150,000 and revolving credit facilities from £50,001 to £5m to UK SMEs. SME business owner Miguel Gibson, MD at tour operator Live Holidays Ltd commented: “As soon as the lockdown hit, our first priority was to refund our customers. In the meanwhile we were waiting for airlines to pay us back. The banks were slow to support with CBILS but MarketFinance understood our business quickly and provided a £150,000 CBILS loan in days. It meant there was no extra pressure on the business. We’re a £7m turnover business and this loan has helped to navigate an unprecedented time”. Anil Stocker added: “We make finance easier for business owners. Over the years we’ve refined our platform, allowing integrations with banks, online accountancy packages and credit bureaus to make lending a seamless process. This has saved time for owners and allowed them to focus more energy on the running of their business”. MarketFinance business highlights (2019/20): Updated brand name from MarketInvoice to MarketFinance to reflect launch of multi-product offering Secured £56m Series B round (debt and equity funding), attracting new investors Barclays and Santander. Strengthened leadership team with a new CFO, CRO and CTO Accredited as a CBILS lender for term loans and revolving credit facilities In response to COVID-19 impact, launched a Furlough Advance product to ease cash flow pressure on businesses as they wait to be paid from HMRC. ENDS About Viola Credit Viola Credit is a private credit fund headquartered in Israel offering multi-strategy credit products to growing technology companies in Israel and abroad. The fund provides custom-made credit solutions to technology companies through several main investment strategies including Venture Lending, FinTech Lending, Growth Lending and Tech Mezzanine Financing. Since 2000, Viola Credit has successfully invested over $1 billion in a range of businesses across multiple stages and geographies. Viola Credit is part of Viola group, Israel’s leading technology focused investment group with over $3.0 billion of assets under management. About MarketFinance MarketFinance is a business finance company with offices in London and Manchester. The online platform enables businesses to access a range of flexible finance solutions — quickly and easily. This smart technology is backed by help from real people so business owners can save time and focus on growing their business. Since 2011, MarketFinance has advanced over £3 billion to companies across a range of sizes and sectors, providing working capital and finance for everything from paying staff and suppliers to launching new products or services and accelerating growth. MarketFinance is backed by Barclays, Santander InnoVentures, European venture capital fund Northzone (invested in Klarna, iZettle and Trustpilot), private equity group MCI Capital (also invested in iZettle, Azimo and Gett). Contact Details Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@marketfinance.com Company Website https://marketfinance.com/

September 07, 2020 03:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

WATCH: Airbus Perlan Mission II Celebrates Anniversary of Record Flight, Expands Science in the Stratosphere

Airbus Perlan Mission II

On Sept. 2, 2018, Airbus Perlan Mission II, the world’s first initiative to pilot an engineless aircraft to the edge of space, succeeded in setting a new world glider altitude record of 76,000 ft. in the stratospheric mountain waves above the Andes in southern Argentina. The aircraft was the Perlan 2, an experimental space glider, designed to achieve an altitude of up to 90,000 feet, which now is on record as the second highest flying winged aircraft in history - second only to the SR-71 Blackbird. The mission of Airbus Perlan Mission II is not only about setting altitude records, but also to drive innovation, exploration and inspiration for the next generation of aerospace leaders. To support these missions, Airbus Perlan Mission II is establishing a high altitude platform for science in the stratosphere, to gain invaluable data and insights never before possible on climate, extreme weather, aerodynamics and aerospace engineering. In this video, members of the Airbus Perlan Mission II team share their excitement about the discoveries that are possible by taking science to the stratosphere, what climate and aerospace knowledge was gained last season, and how the Perlan 2 provides a tremendous stratospheric science platform like no other in history. While the Perlan 2 will not fly this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team is celebrating the second anniversary of its record breaking flight and focusing energy on its total missions, and on what can be achieved through partnerships in science with innovators, researchers and aerospace leaders around the world. Learn more by visiting Airbus Perlan Mission II at perlanproject.org Social Media and Press Kit: Follow the Airbus Perlan Mission II team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Twitter: https://twitter.com/perlanproject Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PerlanProject/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perlanproject/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PerlanProject/videos Press Kit: http://bit.ly/perlanpress Photos/Video: This 2020 Airbus Perlan Mission II video (MP4), photos/imagery and more information can all be downloaded at https://we.tl/t-ZI6L8BVChZ Please credit photos: “Airbus photo by James Darcy” or similar. All photos are copyright Airbus 2019, and provided for unlimited use by accredited media. Media Contacts: James Darcy Head of External Communications, Airbus North America james.darcy@airbus.com 571-214-1722 Kristina Messner (Focused Image for Airbus Perlan Mission II) kmessner@focusedimage.com 703-678-6023 Contact Details Kristina Messner +1 703-678-6023 kmessner@focusedimage.com Company Website https://www.perlanproject.org/

September 01, 2020 08:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Global Business Ethics Survey: Top managers twice as likely to experience pressure to bend the rules in organizations.

Ethics & Compliance Initiative

Employees are twice as likely to experience pressure if they are top-management than compared to line-level employees, according to the Ethics & Compliance Initiative’s ™ (ECI) latest Global Business Ethics Survey Report ™ (GBES) . The data suggest that the higher up the “totem pole” an employee is, the more likely they are to experience pressure to bend the rules. Overall, about 1 in 5 employees experience pressure to bend the rules. Pressure to bend the rules, as defined by the GBES report , can be caused by meeting performance goals, attempting to save one's own and others' jobs, supervisory pressure, advancing one's career or financial interests, and demands from people who support or invest in the organization. According to the data, of those that experience pressure, 30% are top management employees, 25% are middle management, 22% are first-line supervisors and 17% are individual contributors. The first 2020 report of ECI’s premier, longitudinal study on global workplace behavior, published four times per year, also found that when top management show a strong commitment to ethical leadership and organizational values, their employees are 3X less likely to experience pressure. “The data continue to suggest that high-pressure environments are not only stressful for employees, but they can actually cause a negative ROI when it comes to ethical behavior,” said Patricia Harned, CEO of ECI. “Expanding KPIs and stretching financial goals may result in a short-term gain, but the long-term consequences to the organization is a net negative.” Other Findings and Key Indicators of Pressure The report found that employees experiencing pressure was linked with the prevalence of observing various types of misconduct found in organizations across the globe, all of which were about twice as likely to occur in pressure environments versus non-pressure environments. Employees are twice as likely to observe misconduct in organizations where they feel pressure to compromise ethics standards. “As companies around the globe respond to the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the important research in ECI’s Global Business Ethics Survey (GBES) report presents a timely and accurate overview of pressure in the workplace,” said Michele M. Brown, SVP, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer and Deputy General Counsel, Leidos. “These findings provide best practices to balance organizational change while upholding the highest ethical standards. Leidos is proud to support ECI research, which is helping the member community build and maintain strong ethical cultures.” Download the latest GBES report at ethics.org/gbes Methodology The 2019 GBES is the 15th iteration of the GBES (formerly the National Business Ethics Survey). In 2019, the GBES surveyed over 18,000 employees in 18 countries (approximately 1,000 employees per country). ECI established the survey questions and sampling methodology. About the Ethics & Compliance Initiative The Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) is a non-profit organization that empowers organizations to build and sustain high-quality ethics and compliance programs. The organization provides research and a best practice community, as well as certification opportunities for ethics & compliance professionals. Through its membership, ECI represents entities across nearly every industry, located in 37 countries on six continents each dedicated to promoting the highest levels of integrity. Visit www.ethics.org to find out more about our research, membership or funding the GBES. The GBES is made possible with the support of its funders: Google, Boeing, Eli Lilly & Company, Altria, BP, GE, KPMG, Pacific Gas & Electric, L'ORÉAL, Leidos, University of Arkansas and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Contact Details Brad Fulton +1 210-278-4809 brad@ethics.org Company Website https://www.ethics.org

August 31, 2020 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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