Jay Schwedelson (left) onstage with Constant Contact's Frank Vella
The digital-marketing platform Constant Contact has acquired select assets from GURU Media Hub, including the popular online GURU Conference, SubjectLine.com, and the Certified GURU email-marketing education and certification program. All of these products will be integrated into the Constant Contact ecosystem, with GURU Media Hub founder Jay Schwedelson and his team continuing to run the GURU company and event.
The GURU Conference, described as the world's largest virtual email-marketing event, is a free, high-energy, multiple-day event hosted by Schwedelson that draws thousands of attendees online. The program typically features multiple celebrity appearances, contests, and fast-moving educational sessions about digital marketing.
Schwedelson and crew stay on
"Most of the time when you see stuff gets sold, you immediately think that the people and things that made it awesome are going to disappear," Schwedelson said in an email to former GURU attendees. "We do everything at GURU Media Hub differently... including this! You are STUCK with me and the entire amazing GURU Conference team. Constant Contact is an incredible company, and they believe 1,000 percent in everything we have built, and they want to help make it WAAAAAAY bigger and even more awesome."
Schwedelson, who will be known as a Constant Contact Brand Ambassador, will continue to lead the creative vision and operation of the conference. Constant Contact will collaborate on content, education and engagement initiatives targeted to small businesses looking to improve marketing performance across channels.
"We are dedicated to helping our customers tell their story and connect with their audiences," said Constant Contact CEO Frank Vella. "Bringing these GURU Media Hub assets into the fold allows us to pair our powerful marketing tools with the world-class education and community that Jay has built. This acquisition supports our mission to provide small businesses with the growth tools they need to simplify their marketing efforts."
Schwedelson has previously collaborated with Northstar Meetings Group, offering audience expansion tips through the Learning Academy Express webinar, "Strategies for Growing Attendance."
GURU Media Hub will operate independently under Constant Contact. Financial terms of the transaction haven't been disclosed.