Companies combine to champion the most scalable, trusted connection between brands, influencers and consumers.

SALT LAKE CITY and SAN CARLOS, Calif. (April 5, 2016) – Expertvoice and ReadyPulse announced their merger today, to create the industry’s first influencer company that combines an award-winning suite of tools for brand marketers to tap into more than a million real-life influencers at all stages of the buying journey including retail, online and mobile.

The newly formed company showcases a combined client list of over 750 top consumer brands including Stance, The North Face, Purina and Nickelodeon. Expertvoice’s community of over 1 million active influencers, including retail associates and category professionals, will now be partnered with ReadyPulse’s leading enterprise SaaS platform for influencer recruiting and management. Together, the new company provides consumer brands the first scalable and turnkey solution to build deeper, ongoing relationships with genuine people who are trusted for their recommendations on what to buy – wherever they are, online or offline.

Expertvoice and ReadyPulse’s shared commitment to build marketing programs that champion authentic, unpaid connections between passionate recommenders and the brands they love made for a natural alliance. This shared model clearly resonates with both brands and real-life influencers, with a focus on connecting people who share passion for the category, a genuine love of products, a desire for insider access to great brands and an opportunity to join together as co-creators of compelling content.

“Consumers are actively turning away from traditional advertising, seeking their own information about what to buy. To tap into the true power of influencer marketing, brands can’t buy a one-time post on the equivalent of a social billboard,” said Tom Stockham, CEO of Expertvoice. “Instead, they need to make genuine connections with passionate experts who are inspired by the brand and go on to inspire others about what to buy and how to get the most out it.”

“It’s clear that people trust people, not ads. The combination of Expertvoice and ReadyPulse provides a powerful, simple solution for marketers to infuse social proof into every phase of the consumer buying journey – from online social awareness to in-store purchases.” said Dennis O’Malley, CEO of ReadyPulse. “By uniting our talented teams, we can provide modern marketers with the leading solution that provides a world class experience for consumers, influencers and the world’s most loved brands.”

This new company now represents the single largest community of authentic influencers enabling brands to tap key buying recommendations at all phases of the consumer buying journey, creating broader brand awareness, trusted buying recommendations and more sales.

Expertvoice helps brands with marketing through real-life influencers, including retail associates. They have built the world’s largest community of influential category experts, connecting them with the world’s top brands to create a new breed of buying experience — one that is informed, genuine and mutually beneficial. Expertvoice’s community of more than a million experts is comprised of industry professionals, category opinion leaders and influential retail sales associates who are actively sought out for trusted recommendations on what to buy. To learn more about Expertvoice and how its rapidly growing community of brands and experts are transforming today’s buying experience, visit expertvoice.com.

ReadyPulse is the leader in influencer marketing technology, changing the way B2C companies win with digital marketing. ReadyPulse’s cloud-based SaaS platform finds valuable social influencers and amplifies campaigns and user generated content to inspire consumer purchasing decisions and brand awareness. The company’s award-winning, patented technology delivers social influencers, campaigns, ambassador programs, in-depth analytics and social content displays for hundreds of the world’s leading brands. For more information, please visit expertvoice.com.