Marketing Automation Funds For Salesfusion; China Loves Mobile

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

Funding Automation

Marketing automation company Salesfusion raised $8.25 million in a round of funding, according to VentureBeat, while others in its competitive set are being acquired or going public. Salesfusion’s chief executive, Christian Nahas, claims innovation has slowed down with other bigger players, such as ExactTarget and Eloqua, now that they’ve been swallowed by other companies. Read more.

Mobile’s Different In China

China has more Internet users than the US has people, and 81% of that Internet population is on mobile, according to The Next Web. Microblogging users have dwindled in the country, the number of instant message users is shooting up, which is great for services like WeChat, but it could be worrisome for Twitter-like services. Read more.

That’s The Spirit

To keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive, Deutsch L.A. is allowing employees to create pitches for ideas that would then be backed by agency resources if approved, according to The New York Times. The effort could keep performing employees from venturing out to create separate companies. “We’re getting insights from the executives and partners here at Deutsch,” said David Plafchan, a senior copywriter at Deutsch L.A. “Seeing the higher-ups pulling for you, excited for you, believing in you, that’s a cool thing.” Read more.

Yahoo Has Room, Needs Board

The Wall Street Journal ruminates on possible replacements for two directors at Yahoo. The WSJ’s Joann Lublin and Douglas MacMillan write, “For its current hunt, Yahoo prefers that both new board members be seasoned CEOs, with at least one having international operating experience, the person familiar with the situation said. Those picks represent another way for Ms. Mayer to cement her turnaround strategy.” Read more.

Bold TV Prediction

At the recent Gridley & Co. investment banking conference, Simulmedia CEO David Morgan went out on a limb, declaring, “Television advertising spend in the U.S. would grow more in real dollars than spend on video ads on the Web, mobile and over-the-top combined, every year for the next five years.” In this Mediapost column he explains his rationale. Read it.