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Letter from the CEO
I have no doubt that we could have gone that way, had it not been for one very important thing-- and that is our people. I am so very proud that Anxa not only survived 2009, but in fact, flourished. We found out that we were the kind of company that would soar, not just when the times were good, but also when they were bad. First off, community has grown, and we now have nearly 400,000 subscribers to our 7 coaching programs. 300,000 are following the free coaching program, while 60,000 belong to the premium programs. Internally, we've grown our offices in France and Asia. More people are joining our Paris office and we have partnered with 5agence in Bordeaux. Our Asian office has also gotten bigger, with more people taking on the responsibilities in manning brand new divisions, such as e-commerce, mobile web, and social media. We also signed on 4 new personalities and their coaching programs: Dr. Yann Rougier of SlimDATA, trainer to the stars Julie Ferrez, Olivia Adriaco and her Methodes Naturelle, and a pregnancy coaching program with Cecile Neuville in partnership with 3suisses. 2009 also saw us try our hand into two new platforms-- social media and the iPhone App Store. Facebook, of course, was the revolution in France. Anxa is right alongside the social networking site's explosive growth by garnering 1 million users for our pages and applications. As for the iPhone, it was a real treat to see our premium IQ Test application hit the top position in 12 countries. Such fantastic accomplishments for 2009 paved the way for our goals in 2010. For our customers, I have three things in mind: One is to provide them with relevant, real-time information; two, we have seek to break the disconnect between the web and the "real world", and lastly, we will use our extensive database of information to better serve and empower our customers. As for Team Anxa, the lessons we learned in 2009 made us realize how important identity and culture is to a company. Had we not incorporated our core values in the past year, we would not be where we are today. As a company, we would like to more clearly express the community within our offices. It is marked by an easy camaraderie, passion for our work, life, and well-being. This will become more apparent in the months to come as we share our experiences as a company to our partners and customers. I have no doubt that 2010 will become a banner year for Anxa. The year of the Tiger will see us leaping up and out and coming out on top! Fabrice Boutain, Chief Executive Officer Recent Events
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New Faces
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Facebook Connect allows users to bring their real identities everywhere in the web, with the assurance of the utmost security and privacy from the most trusted brands on the Internet. Aujourdhui.com CEO Fabrice Boutain expounds on the process: "We decided to integrate Facebook Connect into Aujourdhui.com for two reasons. The first is to give our users the convenience of joining Aujourdhui.com by letting them register with just one click of a button. They no longer need to validate their emails and fill up the usual forms as these are all taken care of by the connection. Second, our users can now share their experiences in Aujourdhui.com to the different networks on their Facebook!"
Apart from the registration of new members, longtime members of Aujourdhui.com now have the option of linking their Aujourdhui.com accounts with their Facebook profiles. Activity on popular Aujourdhui.com tools such as the blog, forum, and weight loss tracker can now be published on users' Facebook news feeds, to share with their friends on the Facebook network. Of course, members can be assured of their privacy and security at all times, as Aujourdhui.com employs the same type of granular privacy settings provided by Facebook. These settings let users control the kind and amount of information they want to share.
Fabrice Boutain notes that, "2009 has seen many developments in social media, and I'm proud to say that we are at the forefront." He adds, "As a company, innovation is part of our core values, as well as customer service. We cannot afford to do any less, as we owe it to our clients to provide them with very best of what the web has to offer at all times."
Anxa CEO Fabrice Boutain had this to say about the application's success: "We are extremely excited and highly encouraged with the debut of our IQ Test application in the Apple App Store. The demographic using the iPhone and iTouch are innovators when it comes to new technology and they are paving the way for the future of the Internet." He adds, "This is a sign of the other things to come from Anxa. We have a lot more dynamic products in the pipeline; collaborations with our partners will result in applications that will serve our clients' needs in the future."
The IQ Test is now available in eight languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, traditional Chinese, and simplified Chinese) as well as French and English versions for children 8 to 14 years old.
With the success of their first Facebook application, Anxa proves once again its knack for coming up with winning concepts in varying mediums. CEO Fabrice Boutain elaborates, "For every endeavor we undertake, we focus on a single goal. For Facebook, it was about creating brand affinity and awareness. To achieve it, we started engaging our audience in a new way. We took our tried and tested ideas and tweaked them to suit the social media market." As testament to this, Anxa is now able to reach over 400, 000 Facebook users with its IQ test and other well-being applications. To this, their CEO remarks, "We are definitely more than just keeping up with the rapid pace of the web and its users."
The company will be releasing more applications in the coming months as they aim to top the success of their IQ test application. The future applications will be optimized to to serve the company's Anxa Coaching Technology (ACT) platform. According to Fabrice Boutain, the future social media applications will contain "more exciting content and sophisticated technology."
Anxa's premium personality tests have already sold over two million copies worldwide in various digital forms, including versions for the Internet, WAP, iMode, and Java applications, with the IQ test being the perennial favorite and top-seller. Users can test their logical, spatial, mathematical, and verbal intelligences and then compare their results with the rest of the population.
"This is a new and exciting time for Anxa in almost all areas of the business but especially technologically." said Anxa's Chief Technology Officer Christophe Boutain. He added, "The iPhone and the App Store is a challenging market because it is constantly changing and innovating. Despite its relative youth, it already wields immense power and influence over the way we communicate and entertain ourselves today and in the future."
Apple has fully tested the new Anxa applications for compatibility on the iPhone and iPod touch and is available in the App Store for only $0.99 under the Education category.
The homepage is now divided into five main parts. At the very top, the site focuses on the 100% free programs in well-being, weight loss, pregnancy, psychology, etc. The navigation bar was retained, along with complete list of channels with the automatic drop-down menus for easy navigation. The second area features the top premium weight loss programs and their communities in Aujourdhui.com. Followers of Jean-Michel Cohen, Michel Montignac, and Jean-Michel Gurret will be able to access information and interesting content on their favorite diet experts and their programs. The third part puts the spotlight on the Aujourdhui.com community, a lively group of women who share their weight loss stories and connect with one another, through the many tools provided. Newbies to the site will get a sneak peek into the lives of these women who have made the community a daily habit. Below the community, one can find the very best in "health-tertainment," where featured videos, blogs, and pictures take center stage every week. This area is special as it is where Aujourdhui.com recognizes the best and the brightest in the community. Lastly we have the innovative "Aujourdhui.com in 1 Click" too. This tool maps out all the popular features and applications of each program so that users can have an easier and faster time accessing their favorite features in the site.
Aujourdhui.com CEO Fabrice Boutain states, “We’ve always envisioned Aujourdhui.com as a dynamic site, one that constantly evolves to suit the needs of its core audience." He adds, "Our users were very happy with the changes. We received an overwhelmingly positive response; especially on the 'one-click' functionality." The smooth transition of the redesign is indicative of Aujourdhui.com's tight technology and meticulous standards. "I am personally very happy with the redesign." one user writes in. Another one comments, "It gave us more time for what we need and want to do!" Clearly Aujourdhui.com has got the pulse on what works with their market.
From the very start, Aujourdhui.com has always prided itself in providing women with entertaining, informative, and relevant content. Since its inception two years ago, the site has grown to serve almost every need and issue of women, ranging from weight loss, to pregnancy, well-being, and health. At its very core, the site has always put its "health-tertainment" service as its number one priority, and it was heartening for the site's team to see that its audience has responded, not just favorably, but with a roar of enthusiasm! According to the Mediametie Nielsen, a highly respected and accurate publisher of Internet trends, Aujourdhui.com's users increased to over 1.4 million in April 2009, an impressive score despite stiff competition from similar portals and international networking sites.
Apart from developing consistent premium content and maintaining a vibrant community, the site has also endeavored to making all its functionalities and applications run as smoothly and as quickly as possible. This is another reason why Aujourdhui.com was reported as having one of the best numbers when it came to total Time Spent. The average time spent by each user is April was 12 minutes and 40 seconds, twice that of the other leading female portals.
"Reaching 1.4 million users was the icing on our birthday cake!" exclaimed Aujourdhui.com CEO Fabrice Boutain, as the news came shortly after the site's anniversary. He added, "We're very grateful to our users of course. They are our biggest partner in making Aujourdhui.com what it is today." He also extended credit to team behind the site, saying that their hard work, dedication, and desire to "always innovate" drove the company to new heights.
There is no way to go but up of course! With a host of new premium coaching programs and more user-friendly design changes in the website, Aujourdhui.com can look forward to reaching new milestones and stay on course towards its goal of being the preferred female portal in Europe!
About Aujourdhui.com
Launched in June 2007, Aujourdhui.com is a female community portal centered on well-being. The site currently features successful channels in weight loss, food, nutrition, pregnancy, motherhood, and psychology. The site enjoys over 280,000 active members and 2 million subscribers to its newsletters. Aujourdhui.com also offers several premium coaching programes, reaching out to nearly 40,000 paying subscribers. Among them is Savoir Maigrir from France’s foremost nutritionist, Jean-Michel Cohen; and a unique personal development program for brain training.
The humorous sketch underlined Aujourdhui.com's number one priority, which is, and has always been, the millions of women who have made Aujourdhui.com part of their daily life. "Our service-oriented mindset has kept us on the forefront of the female well-being market." says Aujourdhui.com CEO and co-founder Fabrice Boutain. He adds, "Each innovation, each new tool, functionality, and application has been developed with the needs of our customers in mind." This core value has served the company well, attracting top international weight loss and fitness coaches such as Jean-Michel Cohen, Michel Montignac, and Jean-Michel Gurret into launching their premium Internet programs with the company.
Aujourdhui.com also expanded its services beyond weight loss and fitness, by launching new channels that addressed the unique needs of women, such as Pregnancy and female Health. To enhance the connectivity and communication of their community members, Aujourdhui.com launched the hugely popular Aujourdhui Chat, becoming the first European social network to collaborate with instant messaging giant Meebo. They also put up an online directory for the world's top diets, so that users were simply a click away from their perfect diet! These technological innovations and creative content have made Aujourdhui.com one of the stickiest sites in France, with its users staying on the site almost double the time of its closest competitors.
Having already reached amazing successes in a relatively short span of time, Aujourdhui.com is looking forward to achieving even more in the future. As a sign of things to come, CEO Fabrice Boutain declares, "We always aim for number 1. Everything is going to become better, faster, and stronger."
About Aujourdhui.com
Launched in June 2007, Aujourdhui.com is a female community portal centered on well-being. The site currently features successful channels in weight loss, food, nutrition, pregnancy, motherhood, and psychology. The site enjoys over 280,000 active members and 2 million subscribers to its newsletters. Aujourdhui.com also offers several premium coaching programes, reaching out to nearly 40,000 paying subscribers. Among them is Savoir Maigrir from France’s foremost nutritionist, Jean-Michel Cohen; and a unique personal development program for brain training.
SLIM-data is the result of Yann Rougier's 25 year study on food and its impact on health. The nutrition expert has already written several best-selling books (Voulez-vous maigrir avec moi? and Prévenir et vaincre le surpoids en famille) based on his patented weight loss program, and thanks to Anxa Coaching Technology (ACT), is now able to offer a more direct and interactive approach to help people lose unwanted pounds quickly and permanently. Through exclusive videos and daily emails, Rougier takes users through the four phases of the SLIM Data method, which aims to re-educate and stabilize the metabolism.
Developed by popular television star and well-being celebrity Olivia Adriaco together with highly-respected naturopath and best-selling author (L'alimentation intelligente and La naturopathie) Alessandra Moro Buronza, 'Methodes Naturelles' is one of the top homeopathic programs in Europe today. The online version of their alternative program takes a holistic approach to weight loss by focusing not just on the physical, but on the emotional and mental aspects as well. Using all-natural methods and products, most notably 'Les Fleurs de Bach', Methodes Naturelles offers users the chance to lose weight as nature would have intended.
Anxa CEO Fabrice Boutain is very proud of these recent launches: "We are very happy that both SLIM-data and Methodes Naturelles have chosen our 'ACT' platform to launch the online versions of their coaching programs. Anxa's Coaching Technology offers a unique, full-function, user-friendly platform for brands wanting to expand their businesses to the Internet." He adds, "This new approach enables brands to utilize our technology and expertise at a fraction of the cost of trying to build their own. Lastly, it also allows them to focus all of their time on managing their online business.
About Anxa
Anxa provides interactive new media platforms in the fields of well-being, health, and personal development. Since its inception in June 2001 Anxa has developed several successful programs in weight loss, psychology, health & fitness, and pregnancy through its free community portals in Europe and Asia, and its premium Anxa Coaching Technology platform.
Aujourdhui.com has integrated Meebo's IM Community chat or "instant messaging in a box" to its platform, the same instant messaging tool being used by other leading social networks like Facebook and MySpace. This tool lets a user’s friends list and chat boxes “pop up” from the bottom of the site’s tool bar and “pop out” into separate windows. This allows for unobtrusive and continuous chatting for users as they go from page to page in Aujourdhui.com.
"We are very excited about the new experience that the IM service will bring to our members." Aujourdhui.com's CEO Fabrice Boutain remarks, "As a community site dedicated to women's well-being, this application allows our users to reach out and share more information with each other, encouraging each other to strive on with their goals."
He adds, “Now they will be able to connect with their friends from across the country and even beyond; send links, photos, and videos at a faster rate. The level of interaction will become more intimate and relevant."
Meebo is the IM platform of choice of some of the biggest players on the Internet, especially among websites with large communities. The US-based website provides its users with access to multiple chat clients like AOL, MSN, Yahoo, and more recently, Facebook. Approximately 80 million messages are exchanged daily via Meebo, making it one of the most used web applications. Time Magazine included it in its list of Top 50 Coolest websites and PC Magazine listed it as one of the Top 100 Best Products in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
About Aujourdhui.com
Launched in June 2007, Aujourdhui.com is a female community portal centered on well-being. The site currently features successful channels on weight loss, food, nutrition, pregnancy, motherhood, and psychology. The site enjoys over 280,000 active members and 2 million subscribers to its newsletters. Aujourdhui.com also offers several premium coaching programs, reaching out to nearly 40, 000 paying subscribers. Among them is Savoir Maigrir from France's foremost nutritionist, Jean-Michel Cohen, and a unique development program for brain training.
How is an ordinary person supposed to decipher the good from the bad? The safe from the downright dangerous; the truly caring coach from the gouging profiteer?
Aujourdhui.com's expert team of nutritionists and coaches have now assembled an easy to follow guide to the world’s 50 most popular diets. Users can now find comprehensive information for diets such as Weight Watchers, The Zone, the Hollywood Diet, the Miami Diet, and many more. The selection of diets in the guide is diverse and comprehensive, and comparative data is offered to enable people to more accurately choose a programme or diet that suits their lifestyle and weight loss needs.
Both a search tool and diet index are provided for users to quickly locate diets by name.
In this guide, all relevant information for each diet is clearly explained, following a specific template—origins and principles of the diet programme, long-term effects, advantages, disadvantages, and a description of a typical day and meal plan. User-generated content is also encouraged, as members of Aujourdhui.com are able to leave their comments and opinions, share their personal experiences on the diets, and even suggest additional diets to be added to the guide.
Aujourhui.com’s guide to the world’s top 50 diets can be found here: http://www.aujourdhui.com/regimes-minceur/
About Aujourdhui.com
Launched in June 2007, Aujourdhui.com is a female community portal centered on well-being. The site currently features successful channels in weight loss, food, nutrition, pregnancy, motherhood, and psychology. The site enjoys over 280,000 active members and 2 million subscribers to its newsletters. Aujourdhui.com also offers several premium coaching programmes, reaching out to nearly 40,000 paying subscribers. Among them is Savoir Maigrir from France’s foremost nutritionist, Jean-Michel Cohen; and a unique personal development program for brain training.
Over 2,000 users of Aujourdhui.com participated in the survey conducted in January of 2009. The majority of the respondents (53%), said that they wanted to lose weight simply to feel good about themselves. Other frequent responses were that they wished to gain back their formerly slim figures (21%), to improve the quality of their lives in general (18.3%), to look and feel sexy again (3.6%), and to be in shape for an upcoming important event (3.4%).
When asked about the reason for their weight gain, 33% attributed it to unnecessary snacking, and 28.4% claimed that they were eating correctly but in huge portions. When asked whether there was a behavioural reason for their weight gain, 32.6% admitted that their eating behaviour was uncontrollable; 29.8% reasoned that their eating behaviour was affected by stress or work in general. When asked whether their weight gain coincided with a change in lifestyle, 13.4% women said that they started to gain weight after getting married.
This weight loss survey also provided some important insights to the eating habits of the respondents. Only 4 out of 10 people suggested that they try to eat a balanced diet, but 1 out of every 5 skips at least one meal during the day. Many also admitted an addiction to junk food (17.4%) or to ready-to-eat (from restaurants or groceries) meals (17%). Finally, 1% of respondents said that they are on a vegetarian diet.
The survey was organised and monitored by the professional nutritionists and coaches of Aujourdhui.com in order to gain a better understanding of the issues most troubling women in France today.
The valuable feedback will go a long way towards helping the Aujourdhui.com team to constantly improve their service and to be certain that the advise and expertise offered is truly in tune with the needs of the users.
About Aujourdhui.com
Launched in June 2007, Aujourdhui.com is a female community portal centered on well-being. The site currently has successful channels in weight loss, food, and psychology; and intends on expanding its reach to other areas that are essential to women. The site enjoys over 200,000 active members and 1.5 million subscribers to its newsletters. Aujourdhui.com also offers many other coaching programs, including the acclaimed 'Savoir Maigrir' from France's foremost nutritionist, Jean-Michel Cohen. A unique personal development program for brain training is also featured. Developed by Anxa; the parent company of Aujourdhu.com. this programme is distributed throughout France by top players on the Web, including Orange, MSN, Yahoo, Alice and AOL.fr.
Much more than a simple adaptation of the books, the online program offers a rich and rewarding experience for subscribers. Michel Montignac himself coaches users through daily videos and explains the main essential foods at the core of his weight loss diet. He and his team of dietitians also individually follow the progress of online users, ensuring personal attention to each individual. The Montignac Diet online features daily emails and videos. It includes varied meal plans, delicious recipes developed by Montignac and his team, printable shopping lists, weight loss tools and calculators, and a lively discussion forum. An interactive online weight loss journal is also available for users to take note of their daily progress and for Montignac's team of dietitians to review and offer advise and assistance..
The program is simple and practical to observe daily, whether at home, at the office, or in a restaurant. Celebrities including Kylie Minogue and Hugh Grant are advocates of the Montignac Diet and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lost 11 kilos through the Montignac method.
Aujourdhui.com has now become the premier weight loss community in France with a large and highly active forum of women wanting to improve their lifestyles and well being. Aujourdhui.com was a natural choice for Montignac to launch his Internet presence considering the large team of Internet and technical expertise behind the project and the extensive network and reputation of Anxa.
Fabrice Boutain, CEO of Anxa commented, "We are delighted to welcome Michel Montignac into the Anxa family of personal development and well being products and we are confident that with our combined expertise, we will be able to offer to the public a sensational weight loss experience from one of the world's most respected nutritionists at a price that is well within the reach of the average person. Despite recent economic worries, we remain very positive for the 2009 outlook and expect that our community on Aujourdhui.com will continue to grow at a robust rate."
To learn more about the Methode Montignac online please vist :
http://methode-montignac.aujourdhui.com
To learn more about Anxa and for advertising opportunities, please visit Anxa.com
The Anxa 'Tests & Quizzes Channel' has made a successful move from the games section of MSN's portals to find a new home in the 'Lifestyle Section'. In addition, the channel will launch for the first time in New Zealand. This not only confirms MSN's faith in the quality and value of Anxa services but ensures that a much larger and more responsive audience will have access to this exciting content.
Building on its already loyal base of test-takers, Anxa, over the past two years has broadened the scope of its content offer to include editorial and popular free quizzes on a range of lifestyle-related issues.
Food and Nutrition, General Well-Being, Family Life, News and Topical Events, as well as its more traditional Intelligence and Career topics. MSN's lifestyle editors now have access to a growing catalogue of professionally-prepared content that they can use throughout the their lifestyle channels to inform and entertain the audience whilst also driving premium revenues from users who choose to subscribe to the 'Personal Development Programme'.
Fabrice Boutain, CEO of Anxa commented, "We are very proud to be able to announce today these three important new launches with MSN. Our in-house content team has worked hard over the past years to develop the content and to build and strengthen our relationships with our partners. Our goal has not changed from the birth of the company, to be a leading player in the 'Personal Development Business.' We are confident that we will continue to be a preferred partner in this important content area and that we will soon be making further exciting announcements regarding both new partnerships and new content".
For more information about integrating Anxa content to your portal or web site please contact us
In line with its firm focus on women's health and well being issues, the Pregnancy Channel will go live today.
Developed by midwives, perinatal psychologists, and pregnancy experts, this is the first 100% free Pregnancy Coaching Programme on the Internet that allows women to follow their pregnancy day by day. The channel is designed to provide solid information and support to women who wish to get pregnant, expectant mothers, and young mothers with families. Subscribers to the service will enjoy several free tools, including:
Aujourdhui.com's director of content, Philippe Monteiro da Rocha commented, "Today is a very important day in the evolution of the Aujourdhui community. Our goal from the beginning was to use the wonderful tools that Web 2.0 technology offers to enable women of all walks of life to share and grow together. Our forums and groups are growing at an unbelievable rate, and our experts listen and participate daily in the topics and concerns that are foremost in the minds of women today.
The addition of the Pregnancy Channel is a direct response to the needs of the community, and we are very proud to announce its launch today after many months of preparation."
To learn more, please visit the channel at http://aujourdhui.com/grossesse-enceinte/accueil.asp
In addition, the programme will enjoy major launches in the UK in August with both 'Virginmedia' and 'Fox Interactive Media.' These new partnerships are expected to boost the subscriber base even more rapidly, topping 10,000 paying subscribers for the UK market by year end.
The programme, developed by Anxa's team, offers web users the opportunity to engage their brain, increase their intellect and boost their career and life.
For as little as €7 per month, subscribers receive a full programme of weekly exercises, tips and techniques to stimulate their mind and to put them on track to a more fulfilling life in just five to ten minutes per day.
Anxa's Content Director Philippe Monteiro da Rocha commented. "We are delighted with the subscriber uptake and loyalty to this wonderful programme. The 1980's and 90's were tagged the 'information age' but there has been a subtle shift from the turn of the century and we have now entered the 'intelligence age'. Intelligence is the new currency and we are confident that with our now well-established place in the internet space, Anxa will continue to be the partner of choice for personal improvement and intelligence content."
For more information on the programme, please contact the Anxa sales team.
The first is a free PDF e-book called Aujourdhui.com for Newbies, which was borne out of popular demand. It is an extensive beginner’s guide on how to use all the services offered by Aujourdhui.com, designed to help those women who wish to use the weight loss program and community tools but are not yet familiar with computers. The necessity of providing a beginner’s guide underscores the high levels of interest for women to lose weight on Aujourdhui.com.
The second is a hilarious music video featuring the entire Aujourdhui.com team, from the interns up to the CEO, in dance and song. This strategy is intended to highlight Aujourdhui.com as a Web 2.0 site and motivate the online community to post their comments and spread the word via viral marketing by embedding the video wherever they wish. The site provides users with all the necessary tools to make new friends, interact, and even meet each other face to face.
Launched in June 2007, Aujourdhui.com is a female community portal centered on well-being. The site currently has successful channels in weight loss, food, and psychology; and intends to expand its reach to other areas that are essential to women. The site enjoys over 200,000 active members and 1.5 million subscribers to its newsletters. Aujourdhui.com also offers many other coaching programs, such as Savoir Maigrir from France ’s foremost nutritionist, Jean-Michel Cohen, and a unique personal development program for brain training, which is distributed by France ’s top players on the Web, such as Orange , MSN, Yahoo!, and AOL.fr.
Anxa has signed a deal with Virgin Media in the UK to launch a brand new channel of 'Personal Improvement' content inside the Virgin Media portal, complementing the already robust 'lifestyle' offering.
Virgin Media is the UK's first quadruple-play media company, incorporating television, internet, mobile, and fixed line phone services. It is rapidly becoming the largest player in the broadband business with as many as 15 million visitors per month and 3,701,200 broadband subscribers (as of end of 2007).
Part of the 'Virgin Group' founded by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Media was born out of the merger of ntl: Telewest, Virgin Mobile and Virgin.net. Virgin Media is a brand new type of entertainment and communications company that offers a brilliant array of the latest products and technology, coupled with outstanding customer service and great value. It is now the single largest Virgin Company of the group with 13,000 employees and 10,000,000 customers.
Fabrice Boutain, founder and CEO of Anxa commented; "We are thrilled to announce this important new relationship in the UK market. Virgin is a clear leader not only in brand recognition but in its ability to bring the best quality products and services, thereby building brand loyalty and meaningful value for its customers. We believe that there is an excellent synergy between the missions of our two businesses; not only to entertain the audience but to help users to better understand and improve themselves and their lives."
The now, well known and equally well respected Anxa, 'Tests & Quizzes Channel' of personal improvement tests and knowledge entertainment quizzes will go live with Virgin Media this summer 2008.
For more information please Contact Us
A study at London's King's College showed that women with similar profiles (i.e: age, weight, etc.) who communicate as a group are six to seven times more likely to be successful with their weight loss goals in the long-term.
The social network at Aujourdhui.com provides a platform for women to share their experiences and goals with other women with similar profiles through the forums, blogs, and groups. To date, there are nearly 250,000 blog posts, 650,000 blog comments, 400,000 forum messages, and 200 groups, and those numbers continue to grow exponentially each day.
Users on Aujourdhui.com have the option to follow a free weekly diet and exercise program, but members can also choose to join the community even while following other diets, such as Atkins or Weight Watchers.
"It is obvious that 2008 is the year of the 'modern digital woman," says Aujourdhui.com CEO Fabrice Boutain. "Our vision here at Aujourdhui.com is to enable women from all walks of life to use the power of the Internet to stay motivated and keep sight of their goals."
For those who need a personalized and intensive weight loss approach, members can also upgrade to one of three Aujourdhui.com premium programs and receive expert guidance from two of France's weight loss authorities, nutritionist Dr Jean-Michel Cohen and renowned mental trainer Jean-Michel Gurret. The company also employs a pool of experts, including 10 professional dietitians.
100,000 users have been registered on Aujourdhui.com's free weight loss program since its launch in June 2007. The site receives over 500,000 unique visitors per month.
Currently, Aujourdhui.com hosts Weight Loss and Psychology channels and offers free community tools such as blogs, forums, and groups. A new Food channel and flash-based video hosting platform are expected to be launched within the first half of 2008.
For inquiries and advertising details, visit http://www.aujourdhui.com
"Tens of thousands of users on Aujourdhui.com are already communicating through the blogs, forums, and groups. Now, users will be able to upload their own videos on Aujourdhui, which will only build the excitement of the users further. Everyone can publish their videos directly to Aujourdhui.com, or import videos from other sites, such as YouTube or DailyMotion using Kewego's technology," says CEO Fabrice Boutain.
"I expect that this will boost user activity and traffic to the site, and will work in favour of our goal to be one of the top female community portals on the Web. We are looking forward to letting all our members use this new tool, so that they can make the most out of their Aujourdhui.com experience."
Created in 2003, Kewego now employs some 50 people who staff its offices in Paris, Grenoble, Berlin and Madrid. Kewego offers a white label video platform that is also the official video host for the esteemed sports magazine L'Équipe, the French TV station M6, and the popular Nouvelle Star TV show.
"I see CRM as a very important part of the business, which is why there are even times when I communicate with the customers directly," shares CEO Fabrice Boutain. "This new strategy will help improve our relationship with our customers, by offering them content that is suited perfectly to their wants and needs."
Neolane is being used by some of the world's top corporations, such as Virgin, Alcatel-Lucent, and L'Oreal, among others. It is expected to be fully incorporated in Aujourdhui.com's e-mail strategy for the Weight Loss and Psychology & Tests portals in the first quarter of 2008.
Anxa, already France's leading player in the Personal Development market with solid distribution partnerships throughout the country, has taken this decision based upon the unparalleled success of its recent relaunching of aujourdhui.com which it initially acquired from PTWeb in 2001 for an undisclosed figure.
"The Internet has finally come of age," commented Fabrice. "Since the launch of Anxa in 1999, we had a clear vision of where we wanted to go. Sometimes the market and the technology were lagging behind our vision. Now, going forward into 2008, the near saturation of broadband access for European households and the emergence of WiFi and WiMAX makes it possible for people to access the Internet from almost anywhere at very fast speeds. It means that we can now deliver our unique services in a highly focused manner. Anxa has always been about the delivery of top quality personal development content in a purely online environment, and now, the latest Web 2.0 tools make our offerings even more compelling."
With women from the ages of 18 to 49 years old becoming the fastest growing sector for this kind of content, Anxa has taken a strategic decision to expand its range of services for this exciting market segment to include:
"All of these offerings will be backed up by France's top coaches and experts in the various fields, but ultimately, the users themselves will keep the audience both loyal and growing," added Fabrice. "We have already seen that the community aspect of this type of content is enormously powerful."
"We fully expect to be the most important and most profitable women's community destination on the Internet in France by the end of 2009.
The name aujourdhui.com is definitely the right name and brand image to take us there."
For further information and for sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.aujourdhui.com
For over 20 years, Dr. Cohen has been a leading specialist and author on nutrition, regularly appearing on television and radio, and more recently, on the Web.
Upon receiving his M.D. in 1981, he practised at Bichat Hospital in Paris amongst others before setting up his private practice in 1983.
Dr. Cohen is the author of several books, such as Savoir maigrir ('Know how to lose weight'), Au bonheur de maigrir ('The joy of weight loss'), Bien manger en famille ('Eating well with family'), and Savoir manger : le guide des aliments ('how to eat: : the healthy eating guide') written in collaboration with Dr. Patrick Sérog.
In 2004, Dr. Cohen received the French Republic's National Order of Merit from the Ministry of Health. In 2005, he created the Eating Disorder and Obesity Treatment Unit at the Montevideo Clinic outside Paris. He also created 'Curseur nutritionnel', a tool to interpret nutritional labels, which he developed with industrial food companies.
Anxa is working hand in hand with Dr. Cohen to adapt his unique programme 'Savoir Magrir' for distribution throughout France on the internet. Anxa's technology capabilities, combined with it's reputation, huge distribution network and internet marketing expertise will revolutionise the weight loss coaching world on the Internet.
The programme is now available at www.regime-savoir-maigrir.com
Anxa CEO Fabrice Boutain commented, 'This is a fantastic opportunity for Anxa to contribute to the booming weight loss market. Jean-Michel is a well-known personality in France and he has already sold over a million copies of his books. We are confident that this partnership will create significant waves not only in the weight los market but also in the media industry in general. it si the first time that such a programme has been brought to the general public in a seamless manner blending traditional book publishing with television, internet and web/mobile tv allowing users to enjoy the benefits of Dr. Cohens programmes at almost any time in almost any place.
I believe this is the best ever coaching programme in Europe."
The programme comprises of over 200 videos of TV shows, coaching sessions, interviews, and more. They will soon be available on a dedicated TV channel at www.savoirmaigrir.tv
The Web 2.0 site received over 300,000 unique visitors in August alone and generated more than 6 million valuable page views.
Anxa CEO Fabrice Boutain commented, 'We were always confident that a free weight loss community would attract a large audience, but we are delighted that the response has been exceptional. We already have over 650,000 users registered to receive our weight loss newsletter twice a month, and the number of users joining the daily programme is growing by the thousands per day.'
Anxa will launch three more women's communities in the coming months, on psychology, cosmetics, and anti-aging.
Firmly in line with Anxa's motto of 'Don't wait until tomorrow to enjoy a better life!' These well-being communities will allow millions of women throughout Europe to share experiences and knowledge and learn from professionals.
Gurret, president and founder of 'Hyland' has been practising his art and science for many years and has built a considerable practice over the years.
The partnership with Anxa will see a brand new weight loss and coaching programme lead by Gurret and distributed throughout France across the Anxa network of partners with a potential reach of some 3,000,000 internet users per month.
Anxa CEO Fabrice Boutain commented, "Our early experiments in the weight loss business have clearly demonstrated that this is a robust and lucrative market. We put our toes into the market to test the waters in 2006 and we were immediately impressed by the uptake, retention and positive response of customers. Anxa has therefore made a strategic decision to partner with the best weight loss coaches and experts across France and Europe and put the full weight of our internet marketing expertise behind the stategy."
This launch will be the first in a series of new coaching and personal development launches scheduled for 2007 and 2008. For partnership opportunities with Anxa, please click here.
The site is offered completely free to users but the already large and growing subscriber base offers excellent opportunities for advertisers to promote their targetted products and services in an environment that will garner the best possible results for the advertiser. Aujourdhui.com will not run the typical melange of banners and promotions from different advertisers but will offer "sponsorship" opportunities to one advertiser at a time.
Several major international brands have already taken advantage of the opportunity and the experience has been nothing but highly positive for all concerned.
To learn more about Aujourdhui.com or for sponsorship opportunities on the site please click here.
The "Programme d'entrainement du cerveau" or Train Your Brain Programme offers web users the opportunity to engage their brain, increase their intellect and boost their career and life. For as little as €6 per month, subscribers will receive a full programme of weekly exercises, tips and techniques to stimulate their mind and to put them on track to a more fulfilling life in just five to ten minutes per day.
The entire programme has been developed by the experienced Anxa team and has been initially launched with AOL in France. It will debut with AOL in the UK by the autumn of this year. Anxa is predicting 10,000 subscribers by year end.
Anxa's CEO Fabrice Boutain commented, "This is a major step forward for Anxa in the personal development sector. Our goal has always been to bring the highest possible quality products to our users at the lowest possible prices. We believe that the timing of a brain training programme is perfect right now and this product is designed to build a large community of users, who are eager to improve their lives and their situation for themselves and their famillies. We are very proud of this new launch and expect to bring the mobile web version very soon to complement the service."
For more information, please visit http://test-quiz.aol.fr
2007 is said to be a great year for start-up companies, especially in IT. That is why I am so convinced that this year will be the best ever for Anxa's online self-improvement services for mental and physical health.
I am looking forward to seeing you at the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona starting 12 of February. You will find us at Hall 2, Booth 2F49 under the French Pavilion. We will be demonstrating our latest Video on Demand Mobile services as well as our new Web coaching platform.
In 2006, we saw a major growth in our coaching services and videos. Over 1 million users have now purchased products from our Intelligence, Career, and Knowledge catalog. This year, we want to offer MORE to our clients ! We want them to benefit from our new programs regarding Healthy Lifestyle, Weight Loss & Fitness Management.
There are at least 50 million people looking for a better & healthier life style in Europe. In France alone, 20 million people are overweight, including 6 million who are obese. Anxa will provide more online tools and relevant programs to improve both their mental and physical health.
I want to thank all our partners for the very successful year we had in 2006. And now, I wish you a fantastic Year of the Pig in 2007!
Gong Xi Fa Cai...
Anxa Digital Entertainment will again be present at this year's 3GSM World Congress from February 12th through 15th in Barcelona.
The 3GSM has become the world’s foremost mobile and 3G show, attracting thousands of industry professionals and top executives from around the globe. The four-day show will feature over 1,300 companies: mobile operators, mobile phone makers, content providers, technical providers and a wealth of related services.
Each year sees a new crop of ‘big announcements’ and hundreds of exciting product launches from some of the world’s biggest names in the industry, creating an enormous media buzz around the event. Over 60,000 visitors are expected at the Fira de Barcelona, where the exhibitions and congress will take place.
This year, Anxa is joining forces with 3G Factory to highlight its latest on demand video services for web and mobile.
The Anxa team will be available throughout the show at booth 2F49, in hall 2 at the French Pavilion.
Meeting schedules at the event are hectic and limited, so please contact Anxa in advance for an appointment if you would like to discuss the latest developments and services.
Paris - Following a year of rapid growth and expansion of new services. Anxa has agreed a new technical partnership with 3G Factory, supplier of the well known VISIO services for the 3G market.
Created in 2005, 3G FACTORY designs, hosts, and utilises multimedia services for mobile and residential telephones 3G ( UMTS) by a VISIO/VIDEO call simply on mobile handsets. 3G FACTORY is the first 3G VIDEO CALLING SERVICE PROVIDER in the French market and one of the first among actors on the European scene, anticipating demand and promotion of mobile VISIO/VIDEO services by operators.
Anxa's CEO, Fabrice Boutain, commented, "3G FACTORY is a complimentary company relevant to our activity. We searched for a partner to develop our Video On-Demand offer on mobile. In 2006, we experienced an explosion of our coaching services in video on the Internet. We decided to ‘plug’ the VISIO offer of 3G FACTORY to our mobile platform to save time and to offer a maximum convergence between the Web and mobile. Internet customers will thus have the possibility of reaching our video services via their mobile phones. They will also be able to take in part in the forums and discussions by sending their videos. We will present our offer on Health and Weight Loss with 3G FACTORY at the coming 3GSM in Barcelona."
3G FACTORY co-founder, Jean François Hugot, adds, "Our technical team has great expertise in media services and ASP platforms. The development and applicable modules of our VISIODIOTEL are useful to reduce the time we spend in setting up. We are also on time in assisting our distant clients."
Both companies anticipate an explosion of demand for video on web and mobile in 2007 and beyond.
AOL has recently taken some strategic decisions to offer many new free services to the general internet audience including ‘free e-mail’, ‘5 gigabytes of free storage’ and its award winning browser and security software.
The newly launched AOL Portals now open up the wealth of AOL content to all internet users anywhere.
In line with this ‘audience centric’ strategy, AOL has identified Anxa as a strategic partner to provide a constant flow of fresh, engaging and entertaining content to its audience with a view to both building audience loyalty on the AOL property, and driving revenues for ‘Paid Services’ a new division within AOL UK.
‘Quizzes and Tests’ will offer a spectrum of "Free and Fun Quizzes", along with "Premium Personality Tests" and "Personal Coaching" products.
The new channel will be live in the UK beginning November 7th 2006.
Tf1, France2, M6, and Paris Première heavily promoted Valérie Orsoni Vauthey, official Closer TV fitness coach and coach to the Hollywood stars.
Advertisement clip available here, hosted by Kewego
Trinity Mirror is the UK's biggest newspaper publisher with over 250 titles. In the span of one week, around 20 million people, 42% of the UK adult population, read at least one Trinity Mirror newspaper.
With this deal, Anxa will be offering its line of premium tests and tutorials to readers of the online versions of Trinity Mirror's top national titles: The Mirror, The Sunday Mirror, The Daily Record, The People, and The Sunday Mail. Free fun content, such as quiz teasers, feature articles, and brain teasers will also be available across these websites.
Anxa's ever growing catalogue of tests, tutorials, and coaching programs are already available on www.mirror.co.uk with four additional Mirror Group properties to go live in October 2006.
The quality of the content offered by Anxa was a determining factor for the Mirror Group in selecting ANXA as a key content partner. Neil Kleiner, Head of Mirror’s ‘Digital Content’ strategy is particularly interested to use the engaging test and quizzes to build stickiness and audience loyalty on the Mirror properties and to build qualified databases of regular Mirror users.
This 28-day program is now available at www.closer.28jours.com .
Valérie Orsoni-Vauthey, famous coach to the stars in Hollywood, has now become a regular weekly feature and official Closer Magazine coach on TV Closer Closer TV.
On October 1st, a nationwide campaign on Closer Magazine was successfully released in France and showed the important potential of Anxa's convergence strategy between WEB and PRESS players: 1 of every 4 people who read the article eventually visited the interactive service and took a free "Health & Fitness" test.
The new channel to be named IQ Ireland, will feature hundreds of fun personality tests and engaging stories to keep iMode users entertained and informed. Anxa’s ‘Knowledge Entertainment’ catalogue, is aimed at a broad user demographic and as its name suggests; is designed to both inform and entertain at the same time.
The service will be offered on a subscription basis costing just Euro 1.50 per month. The uptake so far has been strong and users typically return to the service an average of 9.8 times per month, and spending upwards of an average of 76 minutes online.
The same service is already available on iMode in Australia , Singapore, France, UK and now Ireland.
Northern and Shell owns recognized national newspapers the Daily Express and the Daily Star. According to the company's website, the Daily Express reaches 2.2 million readers, while the Daily Star reaches 1.97 million daily. Northern and Shell also publishes several important magazine publications including the popular celebrity magazine OK!
This deal will see Anxa providing its products to the UK public via Northern & Shell’s various high profile daily and weekly publications The Daily Express, The Daily Star and OK magazine.
Readers will be able to access engaging and informative online tests and quizzes and benefit from online coaching programs from some of the world’s top personal coaches in five categories: intelligence, self growth, dating and relationships, career and business, health and weight loss.
Both the Express and the Star will feature a full suite of Premium Tests from each of the five different categories.
Anxa will be exhibiting a wide range of Knowledge Entertainment products available on both JAVA and WAP.
Founded in November 1998 in Shenzhen, China, TenCent is a leading and award-winning service provider. It focuses on stabilizing the use of IM or internet messaging system through different platforms such as the Internet, mobile phones and landlines.
The ANXA games include knowledge entertainment services which are available on WAP, i-Mode and Java supports. A monthly championship will be held between users who will compete for their region or country. Anxa feels that Jean-Michel Berille's professional sporting experience will also provide a closer relationship with the media and other top athletes.
This highly entertaining and interactive game is available on 100 phones in four languages. Enthusiasts can now access the Star Wars game via Orange in France & the UK; soon in Australia, Spain, Germany, Poland and in other countries covered by Orange.
In France, effective immediately, ANXA ensures Internet coverage of a variety of TV tests, scheduled during select evenings by the M6 national channel, beginning with a special April 11th telecast of “The Great IQ Test”. That first program turned out to be quite a hit, with a viewer-ship of over 4 million. Anxa will now distribute all M6 tests via its French network of major portals & ISPs. ANXA has simultaneously announced the European launch of its personal development catalog (IQ, EQ, Job tests and many others) in partnership with Tiscali in UK, and Terra, Yahoo and Ya.com in Spain.
Thanks to the amazing success of the wireless version of the FremantleMedia-licensed game "Question pour un champion" that was launched by ANXA back in September 2004, the company has been approached by EMW, the wireless mobile arm of EMAP France, to develop mobile services for the well-known men's magazine, FHM. Java applications, such as FHM football, have already been launched with major French operators, including SFR VODAFONE. In addition, online services on WAP and i-MODE are expected to begin towards the end of spring!
ANXA, whose primary development center is located in Southeast Asia, has also planned an aggressive conquest of the Asia-Pacific zone. A series of mobile applications, co-produced with Cosmopolitan magazine, have been launched with resounding success in two of the most mobile-hungry markets in the world, the Philippines and Indonesia! In Australia, wireless services with Anxa will soon be available through Telstra on i-MODE, and with Orange Australia on WAP.
This is ANXA's first product launch in the Asia-Pacific region for its mobile phone platform. The deal is a partnership with Summit Publishing, the Philippines' leading magazine publisher in both number of titles and circulation per category, and Globe Telecom, the country's leading telecommunication company.
The five Mobile phone games are CosmoTarot, a card game that predicts the user's future; CosmoPalm, a game that foretells the user's future through the lines of his/her palm; CosmoFashion, a short quiz that reveals the user's fashion consciousness; CosmoChallenge, an engaging game that rates the user's mental ability; and CosmoIQ, which determines the user's IQ level.
The cross-marketing activities of Summit Publishing, together with Globe Telecom's support, are essential for the success of these mobile applications, all of which were developed by ANXA Digital Entertainment, renowned for its successful European track record.
Visit us and experience for yourself our interactive games at booth CZ23 (Hall 5) of Le Palais des Festivals et des Congres, La Croisette, Cannes, France.
ANXA's Value-Added Services were successfully launched under ChinaVNet, one of China Telecom's brands. By utilizing China Telecom's platform and payment solution, Internet users can now access various tests to evaluate their intelligence and emotional quotient. In addition, they can also avail themselves of tutorials to further progress in their chosen discipline.
» http://www.chinavnet.com/
» http://chinaxtests.chinatests.com
Magazine enthusiasts can now use their mobile phones to take advantage of various Personal Improvement and Knowledge Entertainment content with the magazine of their choice.
» http://gamania.chinatests.com was launched on November 29, 2004.
WAP was launched in mid-November with Orange Gallery under the brand Francetests. In just 2 weeks time, 2,000 customers subscribed to our service. This validates Anxa's WAP business model.
Anxa has officially launched its 3 mobile catalogs during the Nokia 2004 Congress for Asian Markets. The catalogs have been unanimously acclaimed by APAC operators. ANXAtests, which consist of catalogues for men and women will soon be available for download in most Asian countries.
Anxa signed a deal with Summit Media in Manila, the Philippines.
Summit Media is the leading consumer magazine publisher in the Philippines in both number of titles and circulation per category. They have the license for international brands such as FHM, Cosmopolitan, Top Gear and Disney Princess.
The deal paves the way for Anxa to introduce its mobile applications using American and European brands. The branded applications will be launched during the mobile summit meeting in Thailand in November 2004.
This deal with Summit Media is Anxa's first in the Asia-Pacific region for mobile applications.
More deals are expected to be signed in the following APAC countries: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and India.
Anxa is set to achieve its mission of providing Personal Improvement and Knowledge Entertainment content to the general public with its continuous efforts in opening new markets worldwide. More markets will be opened before year-end.
Anxa today announced that it has secured the copyrights to the world’s most commonly used mobile technologies: WAP, IMODE and JAVA. The deal, reached with one of the largest TV format production houses, Fremantle Media, firmly positions Anxa as the leader in mobile Knowledge Entertainment technology distribution.
Anxa also announces the company’s implementation of its full European (eastern and western) strategy by the end of 2004. Distribution contracts have been or are presently being signed for Spain, Italy and Germany, and deals are being finalized as well for Poland and Russia.
Anxa can also now announce the preparation of a soon-to-be-released subscription-based business model that will allow users to gain unlimited access to its entire catalog of Knowledge Entertainment tests, games and self-help methods.
Anxa has at present already concluded about fifteen major partnerships on the French market. These will be announced in an official press release in October. An English language version, developed within the framework of an alliance with a North American company, is planned for December.
Mailmoi also provides relevant direct marketing solutions for companies which exploit on-line services. By integrating advertising spaces into the messages that it sends, Mailmoi offers powerful and appropriate targeting (or 'message targeting') that, at the same time, guarantees user satisfaction and ensures an above-average market return (clickthrough rate).
To market these spaces, Mailmoi has worked exclusively with European mail-marketing leader Buongiorno since March, 2001.
Launched in February, 1998, Aujourdhui.com, which attracted more than 300,000 unique visitors per month by the end of 1999, saw its audience decline in 2000 due to a lack of communication and abandonment by strategic partners. Anxa's ambition is to now revitalize the site by appointing a dedicated editorial team and relaunching mail services, in particular the daily humor list which generated Aujourdhui.com's success.
Anxa thus supplements its arsenal of on-line general public sites, which include the astrological forecaster Alastro.com and the Alablague.com humor sites. The company intends to carry out new acquisitions this year, seeking in particular a football site and a general directory.