KickApps Powers User-Generated Weather Community, Delivers Results for The Weather Channel

weather.com/iwitness Lets People Share Weather Media Captured From Around the World

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- KickApps Corporation, in partnership with The Weather Channel (TWC), powers iWitness Weather – a popular section on weather.com that allows people to post, comment on and share weather-related photos and video. Since the launch of the new KickApps-powered iWitness Weather, monthly unique visitors to the section have increased 58 percent, and total approved photo and video submissions have increased 102 percent, according to internal numbers from TWC. Available at weather.com/iwitness, iWitness Weather from TWC is the latest example of a growing number of brands that see results from integrating user-generated content (UGC) to create a richer, more social experience.

The Weather Channel recently launched a site redesign of weather.com, with a fresher, more engaging look and feel. Now with more customizable, easier-to-find content, the site offers a comprehensive user-centered experience. iWitness Weather provides a platform for visitors to share their weather story by submitting photos and video of local weather conditions and extends the weather fan community on weather.com.

“The iWitness Weather launch has resulted in an increase in the number of high-quality user-submitted photos and videos that help us tell a more localized weather story,” said Monisha Longacre, vice president of weather.com product strategy and development at The Weather Channel. “The integration of KickApps has enabled us to provide our customers with a simplified, streamlined upload process and integrated sharing and commenting features that have resulted in this increase.”

Since the KickApps-powered community first launched in May, thousands of photos and videos have been uploaded through iWitness Weather. People are able to post, rate, share and connect around the content – which can appear on weather.com and on The Weather Channel network. In addition, content within the system is geo-tagged, which allows The Weather Channel to feature location-specific UGC next to its popular weather forecast content online and for on-air broadcasts.

“We love helping our clients establish a dialogue with their audiences,” said Alex Blum, chief executive officer of KickApps, “and with iWitness Weather, The Weather Channel has done a great job inviting its audience to participate in the weather story-telling process. The Weather Channel created sharing platforms in the past by combining several separate and non-integrated application providers. But with KickApps they've been able to roll the audience experiences and community management into a single environment that not only meets today's needs, but will be ready for tomorrow’s as well.”

To make iWitness Weather the success it has become, the KickApps’ Client Services and The Weather Channel teams worked together to build a framework that could be integrated into the existing user experience. iWitness Weather content is already heavily integrated on air and in weather.com news coverage, and there are plans to expand the KickApps platform to online forums to allow consumers to participate in message board discussions about the weather.

“Socializing content is an incredibly important and powerful tool,” continued Blum, “and as more and more organizations make this capability available to their users, we expect to see a complete transformation of the relationship with the audience. Today's innovations in social media are only the tip of the iceberg.”

For more information or to share a weather story, visit www.weather.com/iwitness.

About KickApps

KickApps is an award winning Social CMS platform that provides cloud-based page building, media management, social experiences, drag-and-drop video player and widget creation, and other applications that allow Web publishers and marketers to drive deeper customer and employee relationships and grow online audiences. All KickApps applications are tightly integrated with robust media moderation, member management and reporting capabilities. Customers include NBC Universal, ProSieben, American Express, Scripps Network, H&R Block, Cox Television, the Washington Redskins, the Phoenix Suns, the New York Rangers and thousands of others companies and brands.

For more information, please visit www.kickapps.com.

About The Weather Channel Companies

The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC) is made up of The Weather Channel television network, The Weather Channel digital properties, and Weather Services International (WSI). The Weather Channel^® is based in Atlanta and is seen in more than 100 million U.S. households. TWC also operates Weatherscan, a 24-hour all-local weather network; The Weather Channel Radio Network; and The Weather Channel HD. The digital properties of TWC, which include the weather.com^® site, The Weather Channel Desktop and The Weather Channel Mobile, reach more than 40 million unique users online each month and is the most popular source of online weather, news and information according to Nielsen//NetRatings. WSI, headquartered in Andover, MA, primarily provides business-to-business weather services, particularly for the media, aviation, marine and energy sectors. TWCC is owned by a consortium made up of NBC Universal and the private equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital. For more information, visit www.weather.com/press.

CONTACT:

InkHouse Media+Marketing (for KickApps)
Greg Peverill-Conti, 781-791-4566
kickapps@inkhouse.net

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  New York

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Technology  Internet  Networks  Software  Audio/Video  Mobile/Wireless  Social Media  Communications  Publishing

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