The Sage Group Reveals Winners of First Annual Marketers That Matter(TM) Award, Sponsored by The Wall Street Journal

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - May 12, 2014) - Executives and industry leaders gathered to honor the finalists and announce the winners of the 2014 Marketers That Matter™ awards (www.marketersthatmatter.com). Presented by The Sage Group and sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, the Marketers That Matter award recognizes the leading and innovative marketers on the forefront.

The Marketers That Matter award recognizes exceptional marketers who are transforming consumer engagement, utilizing big data, and impacting product definition by implementing creative and successful marketing strategies and tactics to create measurable results. Finalists included senior marketers from the Bay Area's most well-known brands alongside marketers from fast-growing, up-and-coming companies that span a number of industries. The full list of winner includes:

• Abby Lunardini, VP Marketing & Communications, Virgin America, Customer Experience | Large Company
• Blair Christie, SVP and CMO, Cisco, Brand Building | Large Company
• David Shearer, VP Marketing, Brand, Box, Brand Building | Small Company
• Elisa Steele, CMO, Skype (now EVP, Jive), Digital Innovation | Large Company
• Eva Tsai, Former Senior Director, WW Marketing Operations, Citrix, Revenue Growth | Large Company
• Guy Longworth, SVP PlayStation Brand Marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC, Brand Building | Large Company
• Ivy Ross, CMO, Art.com, Customer Experience | Small Company
• Meagen Eisenberg, VP of Demand Generation, DocuSign, Leveraging Bay Area Technology | Small Company
• Paul Crandell, VP Marketing, GoPro, Leveraging Bay Area Technology | Small Company
• Scott Sanborn, CMO/COO, Lending Club, Revenue Growth | Small Company
• Stefania Pomponi, Founder, President, & Chief Evangelist, Clever Girls Collective, Digital Innovation | Small Company
• Sue Sweet, Director of Consumer Marketing, PayPal, Leveraging Bay Area Technology |Large Company
• Kaiser Permanente: KP Integrated Marketing, B2C Team | Large Company
• GoPro Hero Squad, B2C Team | Small Company
• Fireman's Fund Insurance Company: 150th Anniversary Team, B2B Team | Large Company
• Marketo Marketing "One Team", B2B Team | Small Company

"There is a sweeping trend of truly innovative and high impact marketing germinating in the Bay Area," said Cara France, Sage Group CEO. "The depth and breadth of what the winning marketers are doing is extraordinary and the value they bring to their companies is both measurable and impressive."

An elite panel of judges comprised of executives from Williams-Sonoma, Wells Fargo, LinkedIn, Intuit, Adobe, Jamba Juice, Twitter, VMware, PayPal and others selected the winners from amongst the 35 finalists that demonstrated proven success in a rapidly changing environment. As Nick Besbeas, VP of Marketing at LinkedIn and one of our judges said, "A marketer that matters has the ability to focus on the customer and focus the organization on the customer."

The winners stand out in their field, with their submissions demonstrating true inspiration and measurable success for their companies. Videos and additional information can be found at www.marketersthatmatter.com.

NOTE: All finalists & winners were selected by an independent panel of judges without representatives from The Wall Street Journal or The Sage Group. This advertising initiative was created without the involvement of The Wall Street Journal's news department.

About The Sage Group 
The Sage Group provides marketing and business consultants and contractors to leading Bay Area companies. As one of the largest women-owned Bay Area businesses, clients include 50 percent of Silicon Valley's top technology firms, largest banks, and best global brands. For more information, visit www.thesagegroup.com or follow @The_Sage_Group.