Day: August 25, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Meltwater, a global leader in media and social intelligence, has released The Fashion Industry’s New Era. This new report based on Twitter data highlights the key trends in the fashion industry that marketers and advertisers should care about in 2022 and beyond.

Released in partnership with Twitter, this report explores the conversation drivers around top-trending fashion topics on Twitter over the past year— including luxury fashion, meta fashion, handmade fashion, inclusive fashion and retro fashion— as well as ways that brands can stay ahead when it comes to responding to these conversations.

“To create innovative and impactful marketing strategies, you must have a comprehensive understanding of your target audience. The Fashion Industry’s New Era report, developed in partnership with Meltwater, taps into the global fashion conversation on Twitter to identify meaningful insights and emerging trends within the industry,” says Lauren Jenkins, Head of the Twitter Official Partner Program. “The insights shared within the report provide fashion marketers and advertisers with a solid foundation they can use to build out their future marketing strategies.”

Key trends

The fashion world embraces luxury like never before

The past year has seen fashion lovers shedding their work-from-home sweats for capital-L Looks meant for seeing and being seen. High-end fashion conversations are flourishing on Twitter, and have grown 16.7% between March 2021 and February 2022. With an average of 20,000 mentions per day, this category saw the largest increase in mentions compared to other verticals like athleisure, fast fashion, and street style.

The rise of meta fashion

Over the past year, conversations about meta fashion have increased more than 1,500% as the metaverse, VR, and AR have entered the wider cultural consciousness. Across 1 million conversations that reached more than 330 million Twitter users, meta fashion netizens focused on luxury and designer pieces like sneakers, particularly when involving well-known, high-end brands and celebrities.

The prevalence of diversity and inclusivity in the conversation

After widespread calls for more diversity in the fashion industry in 2020 and 2021, the conversation around inclusive fashion has grown 7% in the past 6 months — averaging 1,400 mentions a day. Our analysis found that about 77% of authors in this conversation are writers, editors, designers, creators, bloggers, and models. Together, they give voice to this customer base’s values: inclusivity and innovative style.

This data is based on the research presented in The Fashion Industry’s New Era report, which analyzes global Tweets from February 28, 2021 and March 1, 2022.

Using their industry-leading social listening and analytics solutions, Meltwater analyzed more than 310 million Tweets to understand the Twitter fashion community. To learn more about the current macrotrends and how to incorporate them in their marketing strategies, marketers and industry professionals can download the full report.

“The insights in The Fashion Industry’s New Era illustrate the value of social listening and analytics. Explore, Meltwater’s AI-powered social listening platform, sifts through billions of data points each day and enables brands, marketers, and boardrooms to enhance decision making whilst ensuring their marketing strategies remain both forward-thinking and customer-centric,” said Meltwater’s VP of Partnerships and Product Marketing Johnny Vance. “By leveraging this kind of market research, brands, teams, and organizations can improve their competitive positioning, ultimately enabling an agile marketing strategy addressing the real-time shifts in consumer behavior.”

The report was created by Meltwater as part of the Twitter Official Partner Program, which recognizes those companies that serve Twitter data and insights to their customers in sophisticated and impactful ways.

See the full report here.

For further information, please contact:

Jenny Force

VP of Marketing, Meltwater

jenny.force@meltwater.com

About Meltwater
Meltwater provides social and media intelligence. By examining millions of posts each day from social media platforms, blogs and news sites, Meltwater helps companies make better, more informed decisions based on insight from the outside. The company was founded in Oslo, Norway, in 2001 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 50 offices across six continents. The company has 2,300 employees and 27,000 corporate customers, including industry leaders in several sectors. Learn more at meltwater.com.

Modelo, The Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff, is recognizing the full-time commitment and Fighting Spirit it takes to be a college football fan

CHICAGO, Aug. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Modelo^®, The Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff, is championing the Fighting Spirit of fans across the nation. Modelo knows that being a dedicated college football fan is not an easy job – it comes with late nights, early mornings and long weekends. For that reason, Modelo is celebrating college football fans by giving them the chance to prove their full-time fandom and win a $100,000 “salary” prize plus a trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship in Los Angeles in January 2023 in the Modelo Full-Time Fan Contest. One Contest First Prize winner will also win a trip to the national championship game, and Modelo is offering instant game day prizes to fans all season long in the Modelo Full-Time Fan Instant Win Game/Sweepstakes.

Modelo is partnering with college football legend and ESPN analyst Desmond Howard again this season to determine which fan has the most Fighting Spirit. At the CFP National Championship, Howard will award the winning fan their “salary” prize and a college football experience only Modelo can provide.

“After celebrating the 30th anniversary of my iconic punt return with Modelo last year, I am thrilled to continue our partnership by helping Modelo reward college football fans,” said Howard. “I turned my love for college football into a career, and now Modelo and I are rewarding that community by giving one passionate fan who loves the game as much as I do a six-figure “salary” prize and an unforgettable experience in Los Angeles at the College Football Playoff National Championship.”

To win the “salary” prize, college football fans must prove to Modelo and Desmond Howard why they should be the Grand Prize “Full-Time Fan” winner through a photo and 200-word (or fewer) essay submission. Fans can go to the contest website at modelousa.com/pages/collegefootball and can also go to the website by scanning QR codes found at bars and in-store nationally now through November 6 to enter. Modelo and Howard will judge the submissions based on originality and creativity, overall enthusiasm and appropriateness to theme of showing their “Ultimate Fandom” in order to select the best fan for the “job.”

“Modelo is ready to take its role as the Official Beer of the College Football Playoff to the next level by celebrating the Fighting Spirit that goes into being a college football fan each and every day,” said Greg Gallagher, Vice President of Brand Marketing, Modelo. “We’re excited to see how fans stick with their team through thick and thin and reward that passion with well-deserved compensation with help from our teammate Desmond Howard.”

In 2021, Modelo worked with Disney Advertising and the CFP to enter a multi-year partnership as the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. To kick off the partnership, Modelo created the Unlockzie, a beer can holder with image recognition technology, that gave fans the chance to unlock exclusive prizes throughout the college football season. During the College Football Playoff, the beer brewed for those with the Fighting Spirit also celebrated game-changing plays by teaming up with Howard to reward fans with the chance to win free beer (awarded in the form of a gift card) for the entire 2022 season.

There is no better way to enjoy college football than with Modelo Especial. Whether your favorite team wins or loses, Modelo champions the Fighting Spirit of fans who keep coming back week after week with unwavering support and dedication.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY to enter the Modelo Full-Time Fan Contest. Open only to legal residents of the 50 U.S. and D.C., 21 or older. Contest is void where prohibited. Starts 10:00 AM ET on 8/16/22 and ends 11:59 PM ET on 11/6/22. No alcohol awarded with prizes. For complete details, see Official Rules at modelousa.com/pages/collegefootball.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY to play/enter the Modelo Full-Time Fan Instant Win Game/Sweepstakes. Open only to legal residents of the 50 U.S. and D.C., 21 or older. Instant Win Game is void in New Jersey; Sweepstakes/Instant Win Game is void where prohibited. Starts 10:00 AM ET on 8/16/22 and ends 11:59 PM ET on 1/10/23. No alcohol awarded with prizes. For complete details, see Official Rules at modelousa.com/pages/collegefootball.

About Modelo^®
Born in 1925 in the small town of Tacuba, Mexico, Modelo has been bringing distinctive high-quality beer to people ever since, including Modelo Especial^®, Modelo Negra^®, and a flavorful lineup of Modelo Cheladas. Modelo Especial is a golden, full-flavored Pilsner-style Lager with a clean, crisp finish. As the #1 imported beer in the U.S., Modelo Especial recently surpassed 150MM cases sold in 2021. The Modelo family of beers are exclusively brewed, imported and marketed for the U.S. by Constellation Brands.

About the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game. This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Saturday, December 31, 2022, at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The Los Angeles region will host the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 9, 2023, at SoFi Stadium.

Media Contact:
Stephanie McGuane
Stephanie.mcguane@cbrands.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/29506784-5e15-401e-b9c7-fb0f3dad7588

Over 300,000 DoD contractors and subcontractors can address almost 90% of CMMC 2.0 Level 2 requirements out of the box

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kiteworks, the leading platform for ensuring regulatory compliance and effectively managing risk with every send, share, receive, and save of sensitive content, announced today that the Kiteworks platform makes it easy for organizations to achieve Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 compliance. CMMC 2.0 is an enhanced version of CMMC 1.0. Kiteworks enables organizations to be compliant with nearly 90% of the current practices delineated in CMMC 2.0 Level 2. This removes many of the CMMC barriers facing contractors and subcontractors that conduct business with the U.S. Department of Defense, enabling them to demonstrate CMMC 2.0 compliance in weeks versus months.

CMMC 2.0 applies to all contractors and subcontractors—which total more than 300,000—that engage directly with the DoD. The DoD launched CMMC to safeguard sensitive national security information. It is a comprehensive framework for organizations sending, sharing, receiving, and storing sensitive content with the DoD.

The initial version of CMMC was implemented in November 2020, with an updated program structure and requirements under CMMC 2.0 released in November 2021. CMMC 2.0 consolidates the five levels under CMMC 1.0 into three—Foundational (Level 1), Advanced (Level 2), and Expert (Level 3). Level 2 aligns with National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) 800-171, and Level 3 will align with NIST SP 800-172 when it is released. Compliance with CMMC 2.0 certifies that organizations have the commensurate protections in place to manage risk associated with handling and processing of Federal Contract Information (FCI) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). CMMC 2.0 simplifies the CMMC standards and provides additional clarity on cybersecurity regulatory and other requirements. It institutes best practices, controls, and assessments to confirm that DoD contractors and subcontractors are compliant with CMMC 2.0.

Kiteworks-enabled Private Content Network Delivers Extensive CMMC 2.0 Coverage

“CMMC 2.0 compliance is critically important to hundreds of thousands of DoD contractors and subcontractors,” said Frank Balonis, CISO and Senior Vice President of Operations at Kiteworks. “The Kiteworks platform provides them with out-of-the-box compliance that streamlines and automates sensitive content communications with the DoD. Kiteworks provides them with robust digital communications of confidential DoD data that is both private and compliant. The complexity of annual and perennial audits to demonstrate CMMC compliance is also streamlined—which can be a cumbersome and time-consuming process.”

The Kiteworks platform empowers DoD contractors and subcontractors to unify sensitive content communications into dedicated Private Content Networks (PCNs) and to institute automated policy controls and tracking and cybersecurity protocols that align with CMMC 2.0 practices. Some of the core capabilities in Kiteworks that enable rapid CMMC 2.0 compliance include:

• Consolidation of secure email, file sharing, file transfer, managed file transfer, web forms, and application programming interfaces (APIs) into one platform that unifies metadata
• Certification with key U.S. government compliance standards and requirements that include FedRAMP and SOC 2
• Validated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for FIPS 140-2 compliance
• Enable sensitive content communications compliance with regulations and standards such as NIST SP 800-171 and NIST SP 800-172, among others
• FedRAMP Authorized for moderate level information provides out-of-the-box compliance with CMMC 2.0 Level 2 and over 300 governance controls
• Protects CUI with enterprise-grade security such as file-level AES 256-bit encryption and key rotation, a fingerprint algorithm for proving file integrity, comprehensive password management, and more
• Single point of integration for security investments used to protect sensitive data communications under CMMC 2.0 practices
• Trusted solution engineers and customer success managers and specialists to help design and manage security and compliance in Private Content Networks

Optiv Delivers Rapid Value for Organizations Seeking CMMC 2.0 Compliance

“Organizations within the Defense Industrial Base are experiencing an exponential rise in threats from nation-states, criminal organizations, insiders, and hacktivists, causing a threat to not only sensitive data but to our national security as well,” said James Turgal, Vice President of Cyber Risk, Strategy, and Board Relations at Optiv, the cyber advisory and solutions leader that has delivered strategic and technical expertise to nearly 6,000 organizations across every major industry. “In response to this threat environment, CMMC was created to secure and ensure our supply chain is kept safe and operational. When it comes to CMMC 2.0, Optiv will meet our clients where they are, creating a solution that enables them to easily and quickly demonstrate compliance with each of the individual practice areas, without having to completely restructure their processes and operations.”

Optiv’s CMMC services assists organizations in preparing for audit and review by an accredited assessor. Meeting CMMC 2.0 requirements without slowing down business is a daunting challenge. Optiv’s CMMC Readiness Support team helps businesses think through a fully integrated federal business strategy. In addition to the practice requirements, Optiv guides businesses through their business growth, regulatory compliance, contract compliance, and operational needs to design an efficient, effective, sustainably compliant, and scalable solution.

CMMC 2.0 demands a holistic, organizational response. Many organizations view this as another compliance check-the-box requirement, not realizing the impact CMMC can exert on their company if implemented without considering their broader business. Optiv:

• Advises on a strategic approach tailored to an organization’s federal business strategy
• Provides CMMC readiness reviews, including corresponding compliance package artifacts
• Develops actionable roadmaps with remediation recommendations, should a business require maturation to meet their certification level goals
• Designs unique, comprehensive CMMC Programs, including the administrative, managerial, and technological components
• Delivers end-to-end security strategy and implementation offerings to support a business’ maturity efforts

Optiv’s end-to-end Strategy & Transformation offerings provide support and insight as organizations mature their security operations, no matter where they are at on their journey. Optiv seeks to be its clients’ security solutions partner, pulling together their strategic, technical, and operational challenges into one cohesive solution. Optiv seeks to design simple, tailored solutions for complex problems.

Optiv’s CMMC methodology follows an Advise, Deploy, and Operate model for providing cybersecurity assurance:

• Advise and strategize an approach that works for a business, developing a national security and FCI/CUI/CTI protection strategy that is effective and efficient
• Deploy policies, processes, and a technology stack to comply with CMMC 2.0 requirements
• Operate and continuously monitor the information security boundary designed to protect sensitive data

Optiv has taken a proactive approach to CMMC since the release of this security regulatory framework in 2020. Optiv has been active in the marketplace by providing thought leadership and performing readiness assessments and remediation services for clients to help them prepare for CMMC 2.0. Optiv’s team of highly skilled professionals are trained in cybersecurity and possess high levels of knowledge and experience in security assurance. To learn more about Optiv’s CMMC 2.0 service offerings, visit the company’s CMMC website.

For more information on how a Kiteworks-enabled private content network facilitates CMMC 2.0 alignment and compliance, visit the Kiteworks website.

Additional Resources

Guide: CMMC 2.0 Compliance Mapping for Sensitive Content Communications: How Kiteworks Satisfies Almost 90% of the Level 2 Practice Requirements
– Click Here

Video: Kiteworks’ CISO and SVP of Operations Frank Balonis explains why CMMC 2.0 is important and how Kiteworks simplifies compliance of sensitive content communications.
– Click Here

Kiteworks  

Kiteworks’ mission is to empower organizations to effectively manage risk in every send, share, receive, and save of sensitive content. The Kiteworks platform provides customers with a Private Content Network that delivers content governance, compliance, and protection. The platform unifies, tracks, controls, and secures sensitive content moving within, into, and out of their organization, significantly improving risk management and ensuring regulatory compliance on all sensitive content communications.

Optiv Security: Secure greatness.

Optiv is the cyber advisory and solutions leader, delivering strategic and technical expertise to more than 7,000 companies across every major industry. We partner with organizations to advise, deploy and operate complete cybersecurity programs from strategy and managed security services to risk, integration and technology solutions. With clients at the center of our unmatched ecosystem of people, products, partners and programs, we accelerate business progress like no other company can. At Optiv, we manage cyber risk so you can secure your full potential. For more information, visit www.optiv.com.

Media Contact

Liz Palaña
PR Specialist
liz.palana.kiteworks@gmail.com

Locally owned Indiana lender will leverage SimpleNexus’ homeownership platform as a competitive advantage with tech-savvy consumers

LEHI, Utah, Aug. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SimpleNexus (https://simplenexus.com/), an nCino (NASDAQ: NCNO) company and developer of the leading U.S. homeownership platform for loan officers, borrowers, real estate agents and settlement agents, today announced that Approved Mortgage has selected SimpleNexus as its point-of-sale (POS) solution. The Indiana-based lender will use SimpleNexus’ mobile-first feature set to enhance its services to clients and real estate professionals while streamlining its internal processes.

Thirty years in operation, Approved Mortgage is central Indiana’s oldest and largest locally owned mortgage bank, with over $6.5 billion in loans funded to date. Approved Mortgage offers a variety of residential, business and commercial mortgage loans from its four branches. Along with conventional mortgages, Approved Mortgage’s line of residential loan products includes FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo and specialty loans, allowing the lender to meet the diverse needs of its client base. To remain competitive in a growing market of young, tech-savvy consumers, Approved Mortgage adopted SimpleNexus’ comprehensive platform to build a fully-integrated mobile homebuying experience.

“At Approved Mortgage, we understand that technology is constantly and rapidly evolving. The way lending is done today will likely look very different a decade from now,” said Renato Lima, sales manager at Approved Mortgage. “Since consumers today have instant access to a world of information using their mobile phones, SimpleNexus’ mobile capabilities were a big factor in why we chose to adopt the technology.”

SimpleNexus creates a streamlined experience for lenders and borrowers by enabling the completion of a loan application from any device, including secure document uploads, real-time loan status updates, live loan officer support and more. Approved Mortgage clients and their real estate agents will now get instant access to all of SimpleNexus’ innovative features within a single sign-on mobile app, giving them the freedom to complete the entire homebuying process with enhanced collaboration and convenience.

“Before implementing SimpleNexus, Approved Mortgage relied on a non-mortgage-specific POS to capture loan application data. As a result, it was missing out on many of the industry-leading mobile innovations SimpleNexus has provided within the POS sphere. When their team saw what our system could do, making the switch was a no-brainer,” said SimpleNexus Chief Product Officer Shane Westra. “We look forward to supporting Approved Mortgage’s future growth via our mobile-first solutions, which consistently set the pace of innovation in the mortgage industry.”

About SimpleNexus
SimpleNexus, an nCino (NASDAQ: NCNO) company, is an award-winning developer of mobile-first technology for the modern mortgage lender. U.S. lenders depend on our namesake homeownership platform to unite the people, systems and stages of the mortgage process into a seamless, end-to-end solution that spans engagement, origination, closing and business intelligence. By helping lenders manage their teams and stay connected with borrowers and real estate professionals, we deliver a measurable return on investment in the form of reduced turn times, increased loan application submissions and more referral business. A four-time Inc. 5000 company, SimpleNexus has been recognized as one of the world’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. For more information, visit https://www.simplenexus.com or follow @SimpleNexus.

Media Contacts
Leslie Colley
DepthPR for SimpleNexus
+1 678.622.6229
leslie@depthpr.com

David Bolin
SimpleNexus
+1 414.688.6077
dbolin@simplenexus.com

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally include actions, events, results, strategies and expectations and are often identifiable by use of the words “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “projects,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “might,” or “continues” or similar expressions. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon nCino’s historical performance and its current plans, estimates, and expectations, and are not a representation that such plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. These forward-looking statements represent nCino’s expectations as of the date of this press release. Subsequent events may cause these expectations to change and, except as may be required by law, nCino does not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially including, among others, risks and uncertainties relating to the market adoption of our solution and privacy and data security matters. Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect nCino’s business and financial results are included in reports filed by nCino with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (available on our web site at www.ncino.com or the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov). Further information on potential risks that could affect actual results will be included in other filings nCino makes with the SEC from time to time.