Marketing technology start-up OptiQly, which is working on optimizing the display and sales of books, ebooks, and other products at online retailers, has acquired The Logical Marketing Agency, a boutique digital marketing consultancy. Logical co-founders Pete McCarthy and Jess Johns have joined OptiQly full-time, as chief product officer and director of marketing, respectively. The third co-founder, Mike Shatzkin, will remain involved through a long-term consulting agreement, and already sits on the OptiQly board. OptiQly ceo Evan Schnittman says in the announcement, “Since the three Logical Marketing partners are among the founders of OptiQly, this is a unifying step with the intention of providing more – and more focused – value to Logical Marketing clients via expertise, scale, and software.”
Shatzkin writes about the changes in his blog, including a little more background on OptiQly, which is heading into beta shortly and is expected to come to “market in the new year” in its first version. As for Shatzkin’s own business pursuits, “My interest and involvement in trade publishing is a permanent condition, so I’ll definitely still be consulting, helping fledgling publishers and tech start-ups with a publishing angle as well as a few mainstay companies that value my knowledge and insight. But my ‘business development’ energy will be devoted to working on climate change.”
Narda Zacchino has joined Heyday as executive editor, based in Los Angeles. Zacchino, who was previously at the Los Angeles Times (as associate editor and vice president) and the San Francisco Chronicle (where she was deputy editor), will work with both Steve Wasserman and editorial director Gayle Wattawa.
New Imprints
Kensington’s Lyrical Press will add a digital first contemporary romance series imprint, Caress, and a digital romantic suspense imprint, Liaison, beginning fall 2017. Together the two lines will publish 50 titles annually and will be overseen Alexandra Nicolajsen.