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September 28, 2007
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Cephrus Produces Foster’s Webcast for a Global Audience in under 3 Hours
Known for being one of Northern California’s leading producers of webcasts and podcasts, Cephrus Creative Services released groundbreaking news regarding their latest project completed for Foster’s Wine Estates. Responsible for the production of an FWEA presentation held at 1:30p.m., Cephrus was able to film, edit, encode, and gain client approval of the webcast in under 3 hours, publishing and making the presentation accessible to a global audience by 4pm the same day.
“With over 10 years of webcasting projects produced both locally and abroad, we’ve completed a multitude of webcasts and in doing so have developed precision methods of production which save time without sacrificing quality, allowing for rapid turn around times,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “Creating and publishing a complete 20 minute webcast presentation of this magnitude and quality, within this kind of time frame illustrates our quality production services. We are excited for further opportunities to demonstrate our production capacity and unparalleled turn around times,” he says. Cephrus also offers live webcasts and podcasts as additional options,” Elliman notes.
Webcasts and podcasts are the perfect forms of web delivery for archived presentations, online training, and brand messaging. Now until October 31st, Cephrus is offering an unbeatable price on a full production podcast or webcast in length of up to 10 minutes for a flat fee of $400. This Podcasting and webcasting special includes up to 30 minutes of filming, 30 minutes of editing time and the complete encoding of the videos for web delivery. Contact Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services at (888) 963-3006 for availability. Visit www.cephrus.com to view our production portfolio and receive additional information on our entire suite of design and production services.
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September 24, 2007
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Cephrus Starts Production on Beringer Rhine House Online Virtual Tour
Today, Cephrus Creative Services announced the commencement of filming for Beringer Vineyards’ Rhine House Virtual Tour which is scheduled to be available online in November 2007. To capture all of the splendor and beauty of the 120 year old landmark building, Cephrus filmed the entire interior of the historic mansion over a period of three days. Shot completely in High Definition, Cephrus will wrap up filming in the next week and is set to complete post production in one of their HD editing suites located in Napa, CA.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase our expertise in high definition and online content production,” explains Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “The entire team at Cephrus is honored to have been selected to work on such a unique, historical project with such a great group of people at Foster’s Wine Estates,” he says.
Cephrus has provided video, photography and website design services for the wine industry since 1994 and offers experience and quality for a fraction of the price. Contact Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services at (888) 963-3006 or visit www.cephrus.com for additional information and availability.
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Blicker-Pierce-Wagner Offers Podcast Video Tasting Notes to Submerce-powered Website
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Blicker-Pierce-Wagner found at www.bpwine.com is known for being one of the best-known wine merchants on the west coast, utilizing the web to offer their fine wines and rare vintages. That’s about to change as they have recently added Podcasts to their marketing toolbox. Produced and edited by Cephrus Creative Services, the Podcasts will feature mini interviews with winemakers, vineyard managers and other well-known characters from around the wine industry. Each video — not more than 2-minutes in length — offers exclusive insight into upcoming releases, harvest news and behind-the-scenes information regarding some of the vanguard wines that bpwine.com offers.
“We see this as a valuable sales tool to any website as this lets merchants provide invaluable information that is not available anywhere else through a format that keeps the audience connected,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Cephrus Creative Services. “Podcasting has become a very popular approach and since we’ve partnered with Submerce eCommerce, we’ve seen requests for podcasts grow now that you link up the videos right to your products and offer customers the ability to download them to their iPods for later viewing,” continues Elliman. “Submerce offers unique features that other wine industry-related eCommerce companies have long ignored and with our 13 years of wine industry experience, it’s no wonder Cephrus has become well known for delivering a superior product for far less than anyone thinks,” says Jonathan.
“We’ve been able to streamline the turnaround time for Podcasts so we’re offering same day service, so if you shoot it in the morning, the video will be available on your website by the afternoon. Having our own Webcast and Podcasting studio right here in the Napa Valley offers a perfect setting since we offer blue screen backgrounds that can virtually place your podcast anywhere,” continues Elliman.
Now until October 31st you can save $250 since Cephrus is offering up to 10 minutes of Podcasting for a flat fee of $400. Podcasting includes up to 30 minutes of filming, 30 minutes of editing time and encoding of the videos for web delivery. Contact Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services or visit www.cephrus.com for additional information and availability.
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Cephrus On Schedule to Open Podcasting and Webcasting Studio
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Napa, California- Part of Cephrus’ long-standing commitment of offering award-winning video production services has announced the opening of the podcasting and webcasting studio located at their Napa office. As part of the construction of their new studio, clients can choose from many different backgrounds which include green screen capability. Complete with SD or HD cameras, the studio has state-of-the-art Kino Flo fluorescent studio lighting that offers better coverage without the heat problems that traditional studio lights produce.
“With over 450 square feet of studio space, it’s a perfect size to film without sacrificing sound quality”, says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “There are very few studios in the Napa and Sonoma counties which makes it either hard to book time with or extremely expensive,” continues Elliman. “Having the studio right here in our office saves us a huge amount of wear and tear on our equipment while providing a convenient location for people to visit,” says Elliman.
Cephrus has been producing webcasts for over 10 years and in 2005 added podcasting to the line of award-winning video services. In Cephrus’ effort to make this service more affordable to everyone, their new webcast studio will offer rental of space by the hour instead of full day or half day minimums, further helping clients meet their budget requirements.
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Make Your Holidays’ Sales Even Brighter By Offering Gift Cards and Gift Certificates with Submerce eCommerce
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Napa, California- As the holiday season gets closer, many retailers want to know what will help them meet their sales projections for the 2007 holiday season. Without surprise, last year a record $24.81 billion for the 2006 holiday season were sold, nearly doubling the previous year. Many retailer’s websites or POS systems do not offer the capability to sell or track gift cards unless your store or website is powered by the Submerce eBusiness platform. Right of the box, Submerce offers the ability to sell and track gift cards and certificates which can be used online or in your brick and mortar store. With no transaction fees or hidden charges, Submerce users can offer gift cards or certificates for any value. An online-based gift card manager offers robust gift card value tracking and reporting tools with the added bonus that customers can replenish their gift cards online or in any of your stores using the Submerce POS solution.
“We’re not surprised that Submerce is one of the few eCommerce and POS solutions that offers what we consider a “must have” for companies to be competitive today, while other companies consider it as an additional option or just not on their radar as being important,” says Sarah Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “The Submerce platform has been offering gift certificates since day one, while gift cards was added a few years ago,” continues Elliman. “It’s one of the secrets of our platform and we want to make sure that people meet their sales goals for this holiday season, so we’re going to make sure everyone knows about it,” says Elliman.
Gift cards and certificates are just one of the many standard features of the Submerce platform and Cephrus makes it easy to switch POS and eCommerce solution providers. Staying with your current POS or eCommerce provider will only further hamper your opportunity to meet your sales goals, so what’s stopping you from switching to a platform that does? Give Cephrus a call today (888) 963-3006 for a full product demonstration and you won’t be disappointed you do.
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Foster’s Wine Estates Corporate Communications Turns to Cephrus for Reliable Video Streaming Hosting Services
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Napa, California- Foster’s Wine Estates announced today their partnership with Cephrus Creative Services to provide streaming media hosting services to meet the demand for their growing online communication needs. For the past five years, Cephrus has been a local leader in providing solid and reliable web streaming video production and hosting solutions for companies like Bechtel Corporation, Charbay Vodka and Kunde Estate.
“We’re very excited that Foster’s has selected us to host their video content as this will be a great opportunity for the entire organization to look at alternative ways in delivering their brand message and internal communications,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “Cephrus knowledge of streaming media dates back to the 1998 Olympics when Cephrus’ Tokyo office was selected to encode video content for the Winter Olympics which continued onto the 2000 Summer Olympics in 2000,” continues Elliman.
Cephrus can work with your IT organization to develop affordable turn-key hosting services as well as produce online training programs and videos that can communicate your brand cost effectively. Call Cephrus today, (888) 963-3006 to find out how your company can get started.
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Cephrus Completes Filming of Beringer Vineyards Winemaker Laurie Hook
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Napa, California- As part of Cephrus’ quest to push the video production envelope, Beringer Vineyards has selected Cephrus to create video-based winemaker notes that will become available on Beringer.com later this fall. As part of each video, Cephrus filmed renowned winemaker Laurie Hook discusses each of the winegrowing regions that their wines are sourced from.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to work with Laurie on a project like this since you can witness first hand her passion for the wines that she produces”, says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “She’s a natural on camera which makes a day out in the sun filming so much easier to complete”, continues Elliman. “Our entire team at Cephrus is thrilled to be given the opportunity to produce content for such a prestigious brand have our work be in front of so many eyeballs online,” says Jonathan.
Cephrus has a long history of being a pioneer producing films for the wine industry dating all the way back to 1993 with an interactive tour delivered via CD-ROM for Franciscan Estate. Today is no different, as Cephrus continues to push the limit by offering live webcasts, podcast portals and industry-leading eBusiness solutions tailored for the wine industry.
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Submerce Announces Rewards Program Expansion Module
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Napa, California- Submerce announced today that the release of their upcoming Customer Rewards Expansion module for the Submerce platform is on schedule for release in mid-September. The new module will offer Submerce users the ability to reward their customers with a credit for purchasing a configurable quantity of product, in a given time or reward wine club members who keep their memberships current for certain duration or number of shipments. The credit can be applied automatically or manually and can be used by a customer either online or through a retail environment if the store is powered by the Submerce Point of Sale system. This module is similar to the Submerce Referral Program which offers club members an incentive to refer friends and family to sign up for clubs by offering them a credit or gift card. The tool also offers restrictions on how the card can be used by limiting the credit to be used for certain products or by setting credit expiration dates.
“Both of the Referral and Rewards Program modules are an example of Submerce responding to customer’s feedback and module ideas”, says Sarah Elliman, Director of Sales and Marketing. “As the competition in the online marketplace heats up, our customers need innovative tools and features to maintain their competitive advantage”, says Elliman. “We developed our Referral Module over a year and half ago, while other eCommerce providers still don’t have it,” continues Elliman. “We’re constantly surprised how companies continue to expect their online sales to grow using outdated or unreliable eCommerce platforms that don’t even have half of the standard features and tools that Submerce offers today.”
The Submerce Rewards Program Expansion Module can be added to any Submerce installation which will offer users new ways to communicate their brand while increasing their sales with little investment. The Submerce Rewards program is only one of the many expansion modules that are currently available to further enhance the Submerce eBusiness platform.
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Cephrus Inks Deal with Foster’s Wine Estates for Six Webcasts
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Napa, California- Cephrus announced today that they have gained a contract with Foster’s Wine Estates Americas to produce six webcasts a year which will be hosted on Cephrus’ video streaming network. Over the past year, Cephrus has already delivered several webcasts which have gained the attention of the entire organization. By increasing the quantity of webcasts, Foster’s plans on focusing their webcasts towards their sales organization and national distributor network.
“Over the past year, we have worked closely with their corporate communications group to deliver webcasts that offer a quick turnaround at a very attractive price,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. With our new podcast/ webcast studio located at our Napa office, we’re taking it to the next level by lowering the costs even further to get more people thinking about how video can be used to communicate their brand or even train their employees cost effectively,” says Elliman. “By filming at our own location, we’re able to cut quite a bit of costs out of the budget since no travel is required by our staff to film,” continues Elliman. “This saves on wear and tear on our equipment while providing a quiet place to produce both standard and high-definition messages.”
Cephrus has been producing webcasts for over 10 years and in 2005 added podcasting to the line of video services. In Cephrus’ effort to make this service more affordable to everyone, they will be opening their podcast/webcast studio later this month, so be sure to look out for announcements.
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Tacoma Narrows Extends Relationship with Cephrus Creative Services
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Gig Harbor, Washington.- Cephrus announced today that their relationship with Tacoma Narrows Constructors has been extended with the request for a fifth video which cover the opening of the New Narrows Bridge. Cephrus recently completed a 15-minute video which covers the entire construction of the bridge which now offers a safer passage between Tacoma and the bustling town of Gig Harbor.
“The response to the recent video exceeded our client’s expectations and people are wanting to see more- that is driving them to create another video that covers the opening of the bridge in more detail,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “We always felt that the story wasn’t complete until after the bridge opened since the end result is not only a beautiful new bridge, but also offers drivers a safer passage across the narrows,” says Jonathan. “We’re thrilled that we have been given another opportunity to showcase our talents,” says Elliman.
The next video will cover the opening day of the bridge along with interviews with several key officials on the project to present the impressive safety record and the positive response the bridge has received. The video is currently scheduled to be released in mid September.
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Bechtel University Continues to Rely on Cephrus for Online Training Module Production
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San Francisco, California- Bechtel University has announced that they will continue their long-term relationship with Cephrus for online training course content production. For over 12 years, Cephrus has been producing content for the Bechtel organization and has been producing online training programs for the past eight years. Cephrus’ Execustream webcasting and online training platform has produced more than 500 programs in the past six years and is the backbone to many Fortune 500 company’s employee communication and training initiatives.
“We’ve enjoyed our integrated relationship with Bechtel and are pleased that they have chosen to continue to use our award-winning services,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “Our in-depth knowledge of their people and their messaging gives us a competitive advantage which also helps Cephrus create the modules quickly and accurately,” continues Elliman.
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Trapezy Software Turns to Submerce for eCommerce Services
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Covalis, Oregon.- Trapezy Software has selected the Submerce platform to offer their online customers to Trapezy.com the capability to purchase their PDF software designed for the accounting professionals online 24/7. The Submerce platform was chosen for it’s robust set of features, ease of use and it’s ability to offer customers to download their software immediately via an encrypted links to help protect Trapezy’s investment from online hackers. Designed and launched in less than 14 days, Trapezy’s website is a good example of how Cephrus gets the job done quickly without sacrificing quality.
“We consistently exceed our client’s expectations when it comes to designing and launching an eCommerce website in less than thirty days”, says Sarah Elliman, Director of Sales and Marketing. “Our proven launch strategy backed by our talented designers get sites launched without sacrificing quality while customers can get an almost immediate return on their investment”, continues Akioka. “The overall goal for an eCommerce website is to be up and running quickly, consistently and powered by software that offers our customer’s tools that not only increase their sales, but also reduce their operating costs,” says Sarah Elliman, Director of Sales and Marketing.
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Cephrus Readies Release of New Multi-Channel Inventory Management Module
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Napa, California- After months of intense development, Submerce is nearing release of their latest Expansion Module which will offer another available option to tracking your inventory. The new comprehensive multi-location inventory tracking system will offer product depletion based on the type of transaction as well as rollover inventory locations to fulfill Submerce installations who need more options to deplete products which are in limited supply. The system will also offer both manual and automated inventory transfer tools along with detailed inventory depletion reports as part of the module.
“With the success of the Submerce POS system, our customers quickly responded with feedback that what would set Submerce apart from the competition even further would be more inventory tracking options,” says Tim Holtermann, Senior Programmer. “The new Multi-Channel Inventory option allows administrators to set Submerce to deplete products from certain locations based on the type of transaction,” continues Holtermann. “So you can have all your online sales deplete directly from your warehouse, while having each store location’s POS deplete locally,” say Tim. “This system is quite unique, and still to this day, we have yet to have any other system come close to Submerce’s scalability and functionality for even 3-5 times the price,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “We built Submerce from the ground up to offer customers a system that offers so many options “right out of the box” along with customization options and expansion modules that will further enhance our customer’s experience while cutting costs”, continues Elliman.
The new Submerce Multi-Channel Inventory module is currently being beta tested by current Submerce users and will be available in late August. Submerce is currently scheduling demonstrations of the new feature set and will be offering it as an option with any new Submerce Point of Sale Merchant Edition installations starting September 1st. Call (888) 963-3006 to schedule a demonstration today.
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Cephrus Creative Services Add Video Compression Specialist to Team
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Napa, California- After Cephrus is pleased to add Andrew White to the video production services team to help keep up with the increased demand for Cephrus’ webcasting and podcasting services. Andrew has a long history of pushing the limits of video and web-based technologies for the past 10 years. With extensive knowledge of Media100, Flash video and batch video encoding tools will keep Cephrus’ computers quite busy compressing the hundreds of hours of content that Cephrus creates on an annual basis. Andrew grew up in Napa and currently lives in Fairfield.
“I’ve known Andrew for a long time and have witnessed his growth over the last 11 years, his extensive knowledge in video compression techniques helps us develop innovative solutions to beat our weekly challenges,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “Cephrus’ podcasting portal has become a big hit with our website visitors and it’s becoming a weekly hot spot for people to see what we’re going to be premiering next,” says Elliman. “We’re thrilled that Andrew will help bring Cephrus’ podcasting and webcasting services to the next level.”
More and more companies, both local and internationally rely on Cephrus’ podcasting and webcasting services to deliver messages and train employees around the world. For over 10 years, Cephrus has created more than 1,000 hours of engaging online content for companies to communicate their messages and for people to expand their knowledge.
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Beringer Selects Cephrus to Product Online Virtual Tour of Historic Rhine House
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Napa, California- Cephrus Creative Services has been selected to become the exclusive content producer for the upcoming Beringer Vineyards’ Rhine House Online Virtual Tour which will offer visitors to Beringer.com the unique opportunity to tour the mansion. The online experience will be designed to be “told” through the original Beringer family members who lived in the mansion in the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s.
“We wanted to give the online visitor more than just a virtual tour, we wanted people to experience the connection between the Beringer family and the Rhine House itself,” says Jonathan Elliman, Cephrus Creative Services Director. “Our concept is to have the family members tell the story behind the mansion as well as how each of them were an influence in it’s design and construction,” continues Elliman. “There are so many details to the mansion that I don’t think there’s enough time on a tour to give you all the historical bits of information,” says Jonathan.
The Rhine House Virtual Tour is scheduled to take three months to produce with an online premier slated for mid November.
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Race Prep relies on Submerce Enterprise Edition for eCommerce and Point of Sale
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Race Prep, a fast-growing hobby store located in Southern California, has selected the Submerce eCommerce and Point of Sale solution to meet their web and retail sales requirements. Built upon the standard installation, Race Prep revels in having one solution to manage multiple points of sales thereby eliminating the need to synchronize multiple applications. One of the biggest advantages of using the Submerce platform is having one database to manage multiple areas of sales, CRM and products. “Having POS and eCommerce powered by one application simplifies managing products, people, and orders since customers can view and modify orders they have placed both online and in the store,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “Many customers tend to forget what they bought in the store, so when they need parts, they are unsure of what they are looking for. With Submerce, customers can sign into their account, view their order history and order the parts they need 24/7,” explains Elliman.
Race Prep is set to launch in early August and offers radio-controlled hobby products at competitive prices with unparalleled customer service.
“Through one backend, Submerce makes creating and processing orders a snap because it is simple to use, yet can handle sophisticated orders with ease,” says Tim Holtermann, Senior Programmer at Cephrus.
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Chateau St. Jean Selects Cephrus to Film Winemaker Tasting Notes
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Kenwood, Calif. – Chateau St. Jean has selected Cephrus to film their winemaker Margo Van Staaveren for this year’s vintage release tasting notes which will be featured on www.chateaustjean.com and used for trade events. Filmed on location at their Sonoma Valley winery, the film will showcase their award-winning wines along with commentary about this year’s upcoming harvest.
“We are very proud to be part of this project and look forward to continuing our relationship,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “Margo provides a great on-camera delivery and it shows how passionate she is about her wines,” continues Elliman.
The winemaker tasting notes film is scheduled to be released in October.
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Cephrus Wins Caymus Vineyards’ Film Project
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Napa, Calif. – Cephrus announced today that they have been selected as the vendor of choice to complete a historical film celebrating their 100 years of being in the wine industry. Filming will begin in the next couple of weeks covering their location in Rutherford, California. Cephrus known for producing high quality films in both HD and SD was selected based on their experience and proven portfolio with over 100 films covering the wine industry.
“Our productions are proof that you don’t need more than 4-5 people to produce a high-quality film in little time”, says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “With over century of combined experience our team has the knowledge and award-winning experience to produce any type or level of film that will carry your message,” continues Elliman. “Keeping our team small allows for us to streamline logistics and make the talent feel comfortable.”
The Caymus film is scheduled to premiere at the Wine Spectator Annual Gala in October.
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Cephrus Continues to Build Up of Stellar Creative Services Team
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Napa, Calif. – As an ongoing effort to meet the demands for creative services, Cephrus has announced the addition of several new members to their team. Brian Schoenfeld, former QA engineer for Genacom, will head up Submerce’s quality assurance program while Isaac Herrera has joined the production team to assist with client on boarding, managing the DVD/ CD duplication systems and assisting with Submerce migrations.
“Both new members were selected based on their past experience, dedication, and enthusiasm for both the Submerce platform and Cephrus services,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “As we continue to build our team, we are meeting our growth goals while maintaining superior customer service at every level,” continues Elliman. “We have a rock-star team which allows us to launch sites in a matter of weeks, where other eCommerce companies struggle and take several months. We see this as unfair to the customer as it certainly affects their revenue and overall bottom-line.”
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Blicker Pierce Brings New Look to Submerce-powered Website
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St. Helena, Calif. – Blicker Pierce Wine Merchants announced today that they are working with Cephrus to create a new corporate identify for the company which will include a website redesign to reflect new strategies. Located in Napa, Cephrus is known for providing quality website designs with a short turnaround time.
“We’ve been working with Blicker Pierce from the time they launched and we are honored to continue our strong relationship with them by providing continued website design services,” says Craig Aranha, Senior Designer for Cephrus. “Bpwine.com is a major success story for our Submerce platform as they continue to see record revenue growth with Submerce as an integral part of that success,” says Aranha.
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Vintage Wine Trust Selects Cephrus for Photography Services
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San Rafael, Calif. – Vintage Wine Trust, a company that manages over a dozen properties throughout California, has selected Cephrus to photograph seven of their properties throughout the state. Vintage Wine Trust has worked with Cephrus in the past to develop marketing materials and photography and sees the continuation of their relationship with Cephrus as a valuable component of their continued success. The photography will be used to promote Vintage Wine Trust’s properties through printed materials and website design.
“Our core principle with any client is to develop a strong relationship from the start as we strive to maintain long term relationships with our clients,” says Jonathan Elliman, Director of Creative Services. “Vintage Wine Trust sees the value of what Cephrus has to offer in many areas such as photography, print and web design.”
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