KMGi Group

KMGi Group is a private holding of Internet companies, which includes KMGi Studios, Intuic, TransparentBusiness, and WikiExperts.

KMGi
TypeAdvertising agency
IndustryInternet advertising
Founded1997
FounderAlex Konanykhin
Headquarters
New York City
Key people
Alex Konanykhin
Silvina Moschini
Nikolai Mentchokov
Elena Gratcheva
ServicesInternet commercials, web presentations, website design, commercial software
SubsidiariesPublicity Guaranteed
WikiExperts.us
TransparentBusiness
WebsiteKMGi Homepage

History

Founded in 1997 in New York City by Alex Konanykhin, Nikolai Mentchokov, and Elena Gratcheva as an advertising agency. The company later shifted focus to work primarily on website design. The company name is based on the initials of the founders' last names. The company's first headquarters were located in the Empire State Building. At that time, many of the company's employees were Russian.[1] The company began with 35 employees based in one physical location, but has since moved to the use of a virtual office, using employees from different countries instead of just one location.[2]

Webmercials

In 1998 KMGi introduced the use of Macromedia’s Flash Technology for online advertising.[3] Alex Mentchoukov, the agency's chief creative officer, created a way of using vector-based graphics for Web advertisements without using as much bandwidth as pixel-based graphics. From this work, KMGi became one of the first companies to create animated, television-style "webmercials" for the Internet.[1][4][5] In August 2000, KMGi partnered with Unicast to move from using the interstitial format for its commercials to the superstitial format, which reduced the slow-down effect of browser downloads.[6] In 2002 the KMGi website then became the first to be carried entirely in Flash Lingo.[7] KMGi's webmercial and other services clients have included Volvo, Pfizer, DuPont, Best Western, Verizon, and Macromedia.[2][3] In addition, the agency has produced advertisements for companies including Coca-Cola, Lexus, and the New York Post.[5]

Software and services

In 2000, the company began selling retail software and by 2004, KMGi had $1.4 million in sales of software.[8] Part of the company's marketing plan included the distribution of free anti-spam software to consumers who watched a 30-second commercial.[9] KMGi also created WebPresentations, a producer of online product demonstrations.[10] In 2004 KMGi released SeePassword, a program that allowed users to recover hidden or lost passwords from Internet Explorer.[11] In 2005, KMGi formed a subsidiary called Publicity Guaranteed, public relations firm.[12] In 2010, KMGi then formed a subsidiary called WikiExperts, which creates and repairs English Wikipedia articles for companies or advises them on how to create articles themselves. At the time of WikiExperts' creation, Konanykhin suggested that Wikipedia should use advertising to generate more revenue and pay "qualified experts" to improve its content.[13][14][15][16][17][18]

In 2011 KMGi released TransparentBusiness software, which allows employers or clients to monitor the activity of those working for them on computers via a cloud-supported activity monitor and screenshots.[19] In 2012 TransparentBusiness received the PC World Latin America Rising Star Award for the Best Cloud Computing Solution for Enterprise.[20]

References
  1. McRae, Susan (September 2000). "The Getaway". Los Angeles Daily Journal (reprinted at www.konanykhin.com/). Archived from the original (article) on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  2. Sonnenberg, Danielle (19 July 2007). "Foreign Entrepreneurs Finding the American Dream" (article). TheStreet.com. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  3. Greenberg, Karl (3 July 2000). "IQ Interactive Special Report - Flash Forward" (article). Adweek. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  4. Swartz, Jon (13 September 1999). "The Internet's Future is Now" (article). Forbes. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  5. Jantz, Richard (1 September 1999). "Internet Ads Get a Flashy Face-Lift". PCWorld. Archived from the original (article) on 12 July 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  6. Cotriss, David (25 August 2000). "Net-mercials Combine Affiliate Model With Rich Media Ads" (article). Online Media Daily. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  7. Glenn Fleishman; Toby Malina; Jeff Carlson (2002). Web Design Basics: Ideas and Inspiration for Working with Type, Color, and Navigation on the Web. Rockport Publishers. p. 192. ISBN 9781564968906.
  8. Henricks, Mark (1 January 2005). "Tech, Please: 'Next-generation CIOs' offer more than just tech advice" (article). Entrepreneur. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  9. Swartz, Jon (24 November 2003). "Marketers hunt for ways to score attention online" (article). USA Today. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  10. Ed Applegate (2005). Strategic Copywriting: How to Create Effective Advertising. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 178. ISBN 9780742530683.
  11. Rubenking, Neil J. (2 November 2004). "Revealing Passwords" (article). PC Magazine. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  12. Archie Obrien. "Arrogance Triggers PR Issues Between Russia and the US". Archived from the original on 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  13. "Empresa propone nuevo modelo de negocio para Wikipedia" (article). El Mercurio (in Spanish). 14 January 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  14. Salvatierra, Blanca (23 May 2011). "Los expertos de pago reivindican un hueco en Wikipedia" (in Spanish). Público. Archived from the original (article) on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  15. "Wikipleadia: The promise and perils of crowdsourcing content" (article). The Economist. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  16. McHugh, Molly (15 December 2010). "Analysts advise Wikipedia to stop asking for donations" (article). Digital Trends. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  17. Scola, Nancy (27 December 2011). "Jimmy Wales Needs Your Help" (article). The American Prospect. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  18. Newman, Andrew Adam (29 October 2007). "Publicity Firm Shames Client for Failure to Pay a Bill" (article). The New York Times. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  19. "KMGI control software presents the use of work time". PC World. February 23, 2012.
  20. "IDG LATIN AMERICA ANNOUNCES: THE 2012 PC WORLD LATIN AMERICA AWARDS WINNERS". PC World. October 26, 2012. Archived from the original on January 8, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
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