City’s YomConnect expands to the US

A TECHNOLOGY company which started in Townsville is expanding to the US.

YomConnect, which is opening an office in Los Angeles, began as a consulting group providing online training through its Etrainu brand.

Now it is focused on digital advertising with an app that drives customer engagement, endorsed views on social media and the internet and provides predictive advertising and market research.

The company is led by David and Natalie Scopelliti and Etrainu CEO Paul Hoon.

While YomConnect continues to draw on services in Townsville, including from Carey Accountants who are the firm’s accountants, it is now based in Brisbane.

They employ 25 people and could be the next big digital success story to come out of Townsville.

Ms Scopelliti said YomConnect provided three to six times the engagement rates of other forms of media by using software that helps clients understand and connect with their customers, while also delivering advanced predictive advertising to allow them to grow their sales.

They have developed a network of 143 million “customers” or users, mostly in Australia and the US.

“We consistently deliver higher engagement than other mainstream and digital mediums and maximise the outcomes for brands by combining research with endorsed content views,” Ms Scopelliti said.

“The result is more cost effective predictive advertising and research data that brands can apply to all their media buys.”

She said the technology had been proven in Australia and they were now engaging with companies in the US.

They hoped to make further announcements on those engagements in about four weeks.

In Australia, YomConnect works with clients including airports, sporting franchises, tourism, financial and retail brands, breweries and entertainment companies.

Customers include Sydney Airport and Rugby League.

Townsville businessman Michael Kopittke, an investor in the YomConnect, said the company was one of several technology companies which had started in Townsville and were taking their product into national and international markets.

Mr Kopittke urged more Townsville businesses to embrace technology.

“Businesses must embrace technology or they certainly risk getting left behind,” Mr Kopittke said. the National