Appinions Appoints David Bell to Chair Its Board of Mentors

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Sep 24, 2012) - Appinions, the only opinion-powered influence marketing platform, announces the addition of David Bell, chairman emeritus of Interpublic Group, who will be Chairman of its newly formed Board of Mentors.

A renowned visionary within the advertising and marketing arena in a career that spans more than 40 years, Bell has helmed several top-tier agencies and holding companies, having served as Chairman and CEO of Bozell Worldwide, True North Communications, and the Interpublic Group of Companies, among others. Bell is no stranger to the dynamic internet world. He worked intimately with Double Click from the company's beginnings and with Modem Media during its IPO. In addition, he spent four years as senior advisor to both Google and AOL. Bell is currently involved with DoubleVerify, Resonate, M6D and Vizu (acquired by Nielsen in July 2012). In 2007, in recognition of his contribution to the industry at large, he was honored with induction into the Advertising Hall of Fame.

"As a trailblazer at the forefront of the industry, David has forged a venerable reputation for leadership and ideation. His seasoned perspective and extensive marketing knowledge will be an incredible asset to Appinions as we work to promote our platform to agencies and brands," said Larry Levy, Appinions co-founder and chief executive officer. "When it comes to marketing and advertising, David's the mold for all of the Don Drapers out there."

"Appinions is truly a revolutionary tool to help marketers harness the power of influence for their brands," Bell said. "I'm excited to have a front-row seat to the emergence of influence marketing and I look forward to helping Appinions lead and shape the discussion around this burgeoning space."

Appinions has also added five members to its Board of Mentors, including: David Armano, executive vice president of global innovation and integration at Edelman Digital; David BenDaniel, professor of management and entrepreneurship at Cornell University; Torrence Boone, managing director of agency business development at Google; Matthew Brashears, assistant professor of sociology at Cornell University; and Cory Edwards, director of social media and corporate reputation at Dell.

"It's called the Board of Mentors because Larry is extraordinary in his ability to benefit from a broad diversity of input and because we intend to use this board to help shape Appinions' growth. Mentorship beats passive advisory involvement cold," Bell explained.

"We are thrilled to add this stellar lineup of industry leaders and innovators to our Board of Mentors," Levy said. "Each of these individuals brings an incredible amount of expertise, experience and insight that will help us further position Appinions as a market leader in the influence marketing space."

Appinions currently works with more than 28 companies and agencies including American Airlines, Amgen, Conde Nast, Dell, Dole, The Economist, Edelman, Forbes, iCrossing, Materne, Reprise Media, Rosetta, Sabra, Text 100, Weber Shandwick and Zocalo Group.

About Appinions
Appinions is an opinion-based influence marketing platform that enables agencies and brands to identify, analyze, engage, monitor and measure relevant influencers. Built on more than a decade of Cornell University research, Appinions extracts and aggregates opinions from more than 5 million sources including blogs, social networks, forums, and newspaper and magazine articles. Appinions is a privately owned company based in New York City.