DIYfreebies.com

This will be our follow up to August 1st’s entry. Why are we revisiting this? Well, I was able to unmask two industrious men– Jim Calhoun and Sage Bray. Who are they? I will tell you in a second. There were findings I wanted to include in Part 1, but never did. Read on, and have fun.

In freebies, we complete our sites and wait for our reward. But how often do we inspect the networks that pay us? Most of us don’t. Haven’t you ever wanted to go “behind the scenes” of a company to see them in action? We’re about to get our hands soiled to dig up the roots. Not all companies are peccant, their gift fulfillment programs and other provided services hurt their image. Gift program aside, I assayed the events of their company, and found they are reputable. In no way am I condoning the actions of Popular Media LLC. What they did was unwarrantable, and will not be dismissed. I’m just fascinated with the activities these companies engage in while offering gift programs.

To begin, let’s unveil the masked men.

Jim Calhoun (on the left) attending Brand Summit 09 in Coconut Point, FL. On the right is Craig Stanford, VP of Strategic Alliances.

Jim Calhoun is CEO of PopularMedia, LLC. Since 2003′s lead-off, they’ve served advertisers and publishers, helping them take advantage of “the social web.” They specialize in multiplying the impact of online ad campaigns by wrapping standard online display ad units with an interactive social media layer. Jim has worked with a wide range of businesses through technology and marketing such as Glam Media Inc., HP and IBM. Before erecting PopularMedia LLC., Jim founded CustomerClick LLC., a direct marketing firm based in San Francisco. He once was Vice President of Products at NetObjects, Inc., and the former reviews editor at CNET. Holding a degree in journalism, he graduated from the University of Missouri.

Is he the new Brad Powers? Nah. If he carted us down a long winding road knowing there was a dead end, yes. Unlike Powers, I actually get a good vibe from him. The same goes for his pal, Sage Bray.

Sage Bray on the left with Michele Azan of Terra Networks at the 2009 Brand Summit in Coconut Point, FL.

Sage Bray is CFO of Popular Media, LLC. Sage leads the finance department and diurnal operations while driving revenue and profitability. He has shown a decade of assiduity when managing finance and operational efforts of companies across multiple industries. He was Director of Operations of RGA Associates, and helped launch PopularDemand. He is an alumni of Tufts University in Massachusetts.

Jim Calhoun and Sage Bray were partners at CustomerClick, LLC. as well. Sage remains the COO of CustomerClick, LLC., though sources say Jim departed in 2006. Close-knit relationships are a family affair. It appears, James Calhoun, I’m assuming he is Jim’s brother, is also CEO of Popular Media, LLC. And Sage works at CustomerClick and PopularMedia where Jim works. Remember Kim from Brandarama? Wasn’t there a connection between her and Brad Powers’ wife? The whole thing confused me, and I may have gotten it wrong. Anyway, it’s neat how they shift to different companies together.
Speaking of a shift, Strongmail Mail, Inc., a provider of commercial-grade solutions for marketing and transactional email, acquired PopularMedia, LLC. More togetherness… I like how this ties in, lol.

The acquisition:

“June 30, 2009 — StrongMail Systems, Inc., the leading provider of commercial-grade solutions for marketing and transactional email, today announced that is has acquired PopularMedia, a leading provider of social media marketing solutions. The acquisition coincides with the closing of StrongMail’s sixth consecutive quarter of revenue growth, further strengthening its momentum in the marketplace and establishing it as the leading provider of integrated marketing solutions for email and social media. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

PopularMedia is an industry leader, providing innovative solutions that enable marketers to fully leverage the viral nature of email and social networks in a way that is both trackable and measureable. With social media emerging as a direct marketing channel, as evidenced by the results of StrongMail’s 2009 Marketing Trends survey announced on June 15, the ability to measure results and optimize programs is critical.

By acquiring PopularMedia, StrongMail is ushering in a new era of integrated email and social media campaigns that will change how businesses think about customer engagement. The integrated solution will not only enable the sharing of content with popular social networks, but also enable the creation of integrated, measureable viral campaigns that drive engagement with both the initial recipient and their extended networks of family, friends and colleagues.

“There’s no disputing the power of social networks to influence consumer behavior, and StrongMail’s acquisition of PopularMedia puts the marketer in a powerful position to fully leverage the potential of social media in a way that is both measureable and fully integrated with their email marketing programs,” said Sam Cece, CEO of StrongMail Systems. “By enabling marketers to create viral campaigns that they can monitor and optimize based on response rates, StrongMail is going way beyond the simple ‘share to social’ functionality that is offered today by most email service providers.”

PopularMedia’s social media marketing platform now serves as the foundation for the “Social Programs” component of StrongMail’s social media framework announced earlier this month. StrongMail’s Social Programs offering enables direct marketers to create powerful direct-response programs that leverage social media as the next generation of forward-to-a-friend. StrongMail is also leveraging PopularMedia’s “Social Notes” functionality, which provides marketers with the ability to easily share email or website content with the most popular social networks.

“StrongMail has made a name for itself in providing email marketers with innovative and powerful tools for driving increased revenues and lowering costs, and adding PopularMedia’s solutions to its line-up of products and services will only serve to strengthen its leadership position in the industry,” said Jim Calhoun, CEO of PopularMedia. “With the symbiotic relationship between email and social media allowing each to fuel the other, PopularMedia’s solutions are a natural fit for StrongMail’s customers, and we are happy to be joining their talented team.”

It’s the perfect marriage. With this happening June 30, 2009, I wonder who is CEO of CustomerClick, Inc. I couldn’t find my answer, but I doubt the 2006 source was a lie. His brother? Hm. Part of me thinks it’s Sage or someone close who functions as CEO, or it simply hasn’t been stated.

Let’s move on to IMedia’s Brand Summit 2009. Remember our talk about Ad-Tech? Think of it as Brand Summit. The iMedia Summits have been running since 2001. Last year alone, Brand Summit 2008 yielded 156 industry participants! The annual event is a platform for pulling together the branding and marketing community. Events are held coast-to-coast, and even as far away as Dubai.

Brand Summit 2009: http://www.iirme.com/%5Cbrand%5C#

Inside iMedia’s Brand Summit: http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits/23394.asp

The view from above of the iMedia Brand Summit Opening Reception sponsored by CPX Interactive.

Online ad network, CPX Interactive, sponsored the Opening Reception Cocktail Party at the iMedia Brand Summit in Coconut Point, FL on Feb. 8, 2009.

The “Sushi by the Shore” station.

Agencies facing off!! Whew, is it hot in here or is it just me? *fanning self*

Links of interest:

http://www.customerclick.com/ – http://www.popularmedia.com/ – http://www.strongmail.com/ – http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits/23394.asp

And since I mentioned Brad Powers earlier, here is an e-mail Brandarama sent on the 4th. Just when I thought I heard the last of them…

“Monday, August 4, 2009

Dear ::my name inserted here::,

According to our records, you may be a claimant of one or more consumer prize(s) from one of our consumer rewards sites.

Active Response Group, Inc. (“Active Response Group”) is the parent company of HouseHoldSavingsClub the Brand that you originally registered for.

As you know, many businesses have been hurt badly by the financial downturn and the credit crunch that followed the collapse of the subprime mortgage markets. Active Response Group, like many other firms, though not involved in any way in those activities, has seen its revenues drop dramatically. As a result, we found ourselves in very serious financial difficulty.

Despite taking various steps to reduce our costs and preserve value, we became unable to make our debt payments to our senior lender, Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. (“Hercules”). Hercules had lent Active Response Group ~$10,000,000, which senior loans were secured by all of our assets. Since we were unable to pay our current payments, Hercules has foreclosed on its collateral and has sold Active Response Group’s assets to a third party via an auction process. While the details of the transaction are subject to confidentially provision, the highest offer was insufficient to pay Hercules in full.

Unfortunately, Active Response Group’s inability to pay Hercules in full means that with certainty Active Response has no funds to satisfy any consumer prize claims. Our customer service center is no longer in operation, and we will be winding down the affairs of the company under state law. So this is the last communication you can expect from us and we have no means of conducting further contact with you.

We are of course very disheartened by this turn of events, as we know you must be. We thank you for your patronage and wish you the best.

Very truly yours,

Customer Service Department”

Well, they acted professionally by giving a final update, which I approve of. I will leave it at that.

I wanted to say something regarding Popular Media LLC’s. chronicle exposed Part 1. In my tone, I sounded as if freebies were all scams, which is not true. I tend to get sensational when writing! Some of you are newcomers; I try to bear in mind that not only am I speaking to a primitive audience, but I am posting to new entrants, too. I promise the next entry will be entertaining, lol. I’m surprised you guys sat through this one. I just needed to report the behaviour of Popular Media LLC. before it was too late. In the meantime, check out the I-Deal links in Part 1 Good stuff in there.

See you later!

wozniack

Hi everyone!

An entry replete with a double-dealing DIY network making rounds; ARG’s last days and letter; Nuitech’s change in terms possibly leading to new freebie opportunities; new links. This blog raises questions about the freebie industry, and how to ward off evil networks. Join me in my quest for truth…

*hot new networks*

::coming soon::

From June until now, how explosive has this summer really been? Let’s recap. Acquisis devalued members’ gifts due to missing credits. Brandarama sold their assets, producing a rigid letter. Mala fide Canadian company brailed in another victim, and perhaps others. I-Deal shipping PDAs instead of Visas, though the phones were advertised on their site. People just risked it. Despite the detonation damage, Nuitech has changed their 60-day rule; it’s now 30-day. That’s great news for us! The shorter the period, the less you spend keeping memberships. I did a brief write up on Nuitech last year. All the details remain the same except the 60-day rule. If you’re a fresh face to Nuitech, you need to read it first. Those who are in the know, scroll to the bottom for links.

2008 Nuitech write up: DIY Halloween spectacular! Proven legit DIY with 8 offers, 1.5K-2K value gifts and more!

The 30-day rule is outlined under their “cancellation limitation”, which states “You will not be eligible to receive a Gift in this Promotion if, within 30 days of your Sponsor Offer Initial Transaction Date, you cancel your participation in more than two Sponsor Offers you have completed as a part of the Program Requirements. If you were invited by a Refer-a-Friend Offer, you can’t cancel your participation in any Sponsor Offers within 30 days of your Sponsor Offer Initial Transaction Date (the “Cancellation Limitation”). The Cancellation Limitation applies regardless of whether such limitations appear in the advertiser’s terms and conditions for the applicable Sponsor Offer.”

This does not mean you have 30 days to complete the offers instead of 60. In my version I said, “Also, all offers must be completed within 60 days upon sign up.” So that isn’t related to their old rule, it simply means your offers must be done in 60 days. The aforementioned rule rests at 30 days. Before, keeping your offers for 60 days was the requirement.

With the fog networks are in, this fulgents light through the haze, pleasing the eye’s view. We need more of this, and less of what’s been offered. My disgust for Brandarama and ill luck with an I-Deal site caused me to remove myself from freebies. Knowing I wasn’t receiving my reward from Brandarama, I still hoped my $4,500.00 check would arrive. I only waited 2 years… Before “leaving”, I finished last months blog, then went head-to-head with Mpell. It sounds foolish, and I knew they would play the “ARG fired us so we aren’t responsible wah wah wah card!!!”, but in my mind they ARE liable since we followed their rules. At their behest we maxed out our credit cards, buying thousands of dollars in merchandise to collect payment within 8 to 10 weeks as promised in THEIR certificates. Of course they will say that. Wouldn’t want any trouble, eh? Ah well.

I feel they are an upstanding company, however, they unwittingly made the wrong chess move. Part of me felt bad engaging them, but my devilish side overruled. It felt good. That was the greatest reward of all. When asked offline where my gift was irritated me. Not that it was questioned, there was nothing to tell; Brandarama never paid. Freebies have always been a “fun” hobby for me, but reading, writing, arguing and dealing with Brandarama daily ruined it. It got to the point no matter where I was people asked. I was so miffed I did not want to hear “Brandarama” or “Brad Powers”, nor be told “Take them to court” anymore. The money is long gone, what matters is the war we fought. Court wouldn’t have worked anyway… There is no solution. Their publishers won’t see a dime, and neither will we. I did profit $2,850.00 off them last year. Some didn’t earn nearly that much, nor were they owed 4.5K in 2009. I’ll consider myself lucky and move on.

Now, the blow. These letters were addressed to us July 13, 2009.

“Dear ::domain name here:: Customer,

According to our records, you may be a claimant of ::domain name here::. Active Response Group,
Inc. (“ARG”) is the parent company of ::domain name here::. As you know, many businesses have been hurt badly by the financial downturn and the credit crunch that followed the collapse of the subprime mortgage markets. ARG, like many other firms, though not involved in any way in those activities, has seen its revenues drop dramatically. As a result, we found ourselves in very serious financial difficulty.

Despite taking various steps to reduce our costs and preserve value, we became unable to make our debt payments to our senior lender, Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. (“Hercules”). Hercules had lent ARG $10,000,000, which senior loans were secured by all of our assets. Since we were unable to pay our current payments, Hercules declared the loans in default and began to exercise its rights under the loan agreements and State law to recover its loans outstanding through an agreed upon asset sale process.

Through this process, ARG is working with Hercules to complete the sale of all of ARG’s assets in an auction. In the meantime, Hercules has agreed to permit us to use its collateral to fund a bare bones operating budget in order to allow ARG to continue enough operations to be able to still seek a buyer of ARG as something like a going concern. Unfortunately, since any claims you might have are unsecured, and therefore in any liquidation scenario would be junior to the claims of Hercules, who holds a valid senior security interest in ARG’s assets and any proceeds from the sale of ARG assets, no funds have been allocated in the budget to satisfy any consumer prize claims.

Hercules’ agents have scheduled the bidding on ARG’s assets to end on July 23. Only after the results of all of Hercules’ and ARG’s Management’s efforts to sell our assets and business are determined will we be able to say whether there will be any funds left over after Hercules applies the proceeds of any such sale to its loans outstanding. At this juncture, we cannot determine whether there will be any surplus at all. However, if there is sufficient interest by a sufficient number of bidders, it is still a possibility.

Should you have any questions, please contact us via email at support@cs.domain name here.com . While our customer service center is no longer in operation, if we are in a legal and operational position to do so, we shall try to keep you informed of material developments in this process. We are of course very disheartened by this turn of events, as we know you must be. We thank you for your patronage and wish you the best.

Very truly yours,

Customer Care Department”

How can I show freebies in a good light when disaster strikes? I can’t. This was beyond my control… All I could do was fight back with my bow and arrow. This will be the last time I speak of Brandarama. We’ve shared some beers and laughs, even a couple wedding dances. I will miss you!! Good-bye Brandarama. Okay, I’m not a drinker, but this calls for a dramatic ending, haha. It’s time to go forward. I’ve moved on to greener pastures by doing an I-Deal site. I just need my platinum to go through, and I might have to do a replacement on silver. I’m waiting for them to rotate the silver offers. My sign up date was July 17th. Hopefully it’ll work out. *fingers crossed*

The exigency of what I am about to reveal is important. Leery about a network that sweeps the web with spam, I investigated their activities from 2005 until now. They formed Free Super, LLC., a premier direct marketing firm based in San Francisco, CA. Under their gift program, members received ipods, laptops and gift cards. Next, Popular Media LLC. was established; they owned and operated both LLCs, respectively. They have branches in Washington, which explains the Seattle location on their sites. For a period of time people were rewarded. It wasn’t until 2006 that Operation Schema began. It’s wise to note that just because a network paid in the past, does not imply they will stay strong in the present or future. DIY networks are mutable.

Images of an authentic prize received via shipping carrier. Click to enlarge.

Months passed with people pursuing their sites. Then the unthinkable happened. Hundreds of people turned in their paperwork after approval, waited the appropriate time for their gifts, but they never arrived. Instead, they expired all their domains. Imagine all of us doing I-Deal sites, submitting our info and waiting, then they close their sites, and stop responding to e-mails and letters. I’ll assume Free Super LLC. died at this time because I checked with the Secretary of State for CA and found no such LLC., however, Popular Media LLC. is on record. And Free Super, LLC. were not a BBB accredited business.

A complaint from 2005:

“I am so angry about this company that I’m about to take this to the BBB. This company enticed people to sign up and get a free ipod. You had to have 10 people sign up with their website. Approximately 3 days later, they changed the stipulations of the website saying that you had to purchase $100 in their websites to qualify for the ipod (and they changed it from the ipod mini to the nano). So I get 10 of my friends to sign up as stated, sent in my receipts totaling $114.00 and I get a letter saying I had been in violation of the TofS laws. I refered all of my friends on the website and they are not impersonated as said so on the letter. I did not personally use multiple user accounts. I legitimately got 10 people to the website and gave them my link.”

They’re still active under Popular Media LLC. offering a gift fulfillment program. Now they serve as an independent judging organization for contests monster corporations hold. In 2008, they handled Johnson & Johnson’s Escape Your Stress competition, which promoted their Melt Away Stress product line.

The address of Popular Media LLC:

Popular Media LLC
2440 16th Street PMB# 210
San Francisco, CA 94103-4211

Some of their urls over the years: americansurveyalliance.com, fillmycloset.com, freesupergiftcards.com, superkidstuff.com, circles.spafinder.com, rewards.popstarnetworkpanel.com, rewards.fortakingsurveys.com

I didn’t quite understand the “rupees” that were offered. If the domain was alive I would examine it.

What one person posted to give you an idea:

“Hi there,

This is so easy. All we have to do is take this survey and we get 1000
Rupees! Click here:

http://rewards.popstarnetworkpanel.com/?r=MVEkOCgmiSJTBGsFDi0O&i=gmail&p=4&z=1&tc=2"

There you have it. Mystery solved! If you do their sites proceed with caution. The contact page is defunct, and the site template itself is rather bland. At least the Canadian company puts on a show with their sites, lol. I have to give them that.

As fantastical as this is, part of me suggests a mutual brotherhood between the Canadian company and Popular Media LLC. What I found may lead to something on a much larger scale. However, the connection between both parties may be nonexistent. Similarities in links, policies, and addresses alone aren’t a testament to an affiliation. Still, a sheer chance of partnership remains. Even if Popular Media LLC. isn’t the parent company to the Canadian crew, they may work together. For my safety, I state that my findings are prevaricatory until hard evidence surfaces. Everything written in this blog is veracious, following extensive research. I plan on preserving it’s good name. That being said, I will continue my research despite the outcome. If no connection is made, I will deem it untrue and close the case. Until I have answers, all I can claim is Popular Media LLC. have cheated members out of their gifts, and that is all.

Let’s make comparisons. Click to enlarge.

Canadian company info:

url style: http://track.platinum-giveaways.com/SplashPage.aspx?g=3339682508e34480ada3d30a55687e91&c=4795&s=1717&se=05 – http://web1.webrewardstream.com/SplashPage.aspx?g=0321c502065643b7b82dbdf19e26e11f&c=658&s=__DefaultSubcampaign__&se=05

Policy page.

Washington address connection.

I did a whois on webrewardstream, the domain listed in their policy, and it pulled up Bellevue, WA.

Popular Media LLC. info:

url style: http://rewards.fortakingsurveys.com/show.aspx?ck=lS2DZbD

Policy page.

Washington address connection.

ATTN: Customer Support
1606 SW 104th ST #123
Seattle, WA 98146

That’s the address taken from their policy.

This may all be coincidental, so I’m not making the bold assumption that it’s them. When I bumped into Popular Media’s sites I was skeptical, but never bothered inspecting them until kinneylamb’s post in the DIY section. The resemblance makes me go “Hmmm…” Then again, look at the Acquisis sites under *links ‘n such*, putting them alongside I-Deal’s links. Both I-Deal and Acquisis share similitude, but are clearly an entity all their own. I will update this if there is a connection. Research must be done in order to protect ourselves when seeking freebies. One thing I can’t stand is to see someone fall victim to a scam. If we band together, we can find the hardcore facts. Nothing pleases me more than stopping these criminals their tracks! You can never be too careful. Keep an open mind. Never doubt a company’s potential to flimflam you out of your gift. In the end, it all comes down to them, and what they want. They only care about you if you seek to destroy their reputation. If you slip up, don’t think they won’t disqualify you, because they will. The more DQs, the more money they make. That’s the name of the game. It’s all a gamble.

*links ‘n such*

I-Deal–

http://www.consumerbonus.us.com/?config=6322&src=WC-253351aaa:223820: – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Visa + t-shirt

http://www.smartershopper.us.com/?config=6363&src=WC-87054aaa:223323: – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Target gc

http://www.giftcardbonus.us.com/?config=6021&src=WC-253351aaa:205342: – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 supermarket gc

http://www.foodcritic101.com/?config=6359&src=WC-87054aaa:207498: – 8 offers, no refs/$250.00 Olive Garden or Red Lobster gc

http://www.dineandshop4nothing.com/?config=6208&src=WC-87054aaa:217746: – 8 offers, no refs/$250.00 restaurant + $250.00 merchant gc of your choice

Canada–

http://www.rewardscentre.net/?config=2752&src=WC-147994aaaUS87054:155863: – 6 offers, no refs/purple Motorola V3i RAZR phone

http://www.rewardscentre.net/?config=3171&src=WC-147994aaaUS87054:155863: – 6 offers, 1 ref/$500.00 Visa

http://www.rewardscentre.net/?config=4240&src=WC-147994aaaUS87054:155863: – 6 offers, 1 ref/$500.00 Visa

http://www.rewardscentre.net/?config=4562src=WC-147994aaaUS87054:155863: – 6 offers, 1 ref/$500.00 Mac’s gc

http://www.rewardscentre.net/?config=4580src=WC-147994aaaUS87054:155863: – 6 offers, 1 ref/$500.00 Jean Coutu gc

http://www.rewardscentre.net/?config=4624src=WC-147994aaaUS87054:155863: – 6 offers, 2 refs/$1,200.00 check

http://www.rewardscentre.net/?config=4786src=WC-147994aaaUS87054:155863: – 6 offers, 2 refs/gaming console of your choice + game

http://www.rewardscentre.net/?config=4787src=WC-147994aaaUS87054:155863: – 6 offers, 1 ref/Wii + Wii fit bundle

Nuitech–

http://www.wecoveryourbills.com/rd_p?p=140011&c=18252-wcybgas1yr1000 – 10 offers, no refs/$1,000.00 gift of your choice

http://onlinerewardcenter.com/rd_p?p=141017&t=3939 – misc gift site with unique requirements and prize values

Acquisis–

http://www.eshoppingpanel.com/offer?CID=2837&PID=170113&SID=613.&TID=668635628&c1=613.&c2=&c3= – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Visa

– 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Wal-Mart gc

http://www.eshoppingpanel.com/offer?CID=2963&PID=170113&SID=613.&TID=668636565&c1=613.&c2=&c3= – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 H&M gc

It’s been a while since I have written two blogs in one month, so I just might. It’s hard to find time these days. I try to squeeze as much info as I can into each entry, so it’s a decent amount for 30 days. The details on this shady DIY network are critical to learn so we can safeguard ourselves, friends, and loved ones. Any chance I get to hammer scammers, I do it!! I love how that rhymed, haha… Let’s play hammer-a-scammer! Silliness aside, this blog knows no bounds. With your support and my effort, this blog will stay successful. Thank you everyone for continuing to read my ramblings, and for all the comments. I appreciate it. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I love hearing from you!

I’m over and out…

wozniack