Joseph Payne joins Eloqua as CEO

Joseph Payne is the new CEO of Eloqua Corp., a demand software and services firm that claims to have doubled its customer base and revenue last year.

Mr. Payne, who will also join Eloqua's board of directors, aims to continue the company's efforts to push its platform that integrates segmentation, analytics and profiling with traditional marketing channels like e-mail, Web site forms and analytics, search and direct mail.

"The market continues to ask for a common campaign execution and automation platform where marketers can organize and analyze the results of their labor," Mr. Payne said.

"This is really where we will see the industry heading in 2007, towards more coordinated, measurable multi-touch campaigns to grab the attention of hard-to-reach prospects and deepen relationships with decision-makers," he said.

Mr. Payne brings a background in executive roles in the Internet and marketing industries. He was most recently president at iDefense, which was acquired by VeriSign in 2006.

Prior to joining iDefense, he was president/CEO of eSecurity Inc. and held the same title at eGrail. As chief marketing officer at MicroStrategy Inc., he ran the global marketing efforts in the business analytics market.

Mr. Payne also held marketing roles at Coca-Cola Co., Procter & Gamble Co. and Royal Crown Co.

At Eloqua he plans to continue product innovation to incorporate new marketing channels through new tools and partnerships.

According to Mr. Payne, partnerships with vendors, integrators and marketing agencies will be key to reaching new markets this year, which he expects will be an exciting year for marketers.

"I think we may see a major resurgence of traditional channels that were abandoned for e-mail, like direct mail and telesales," he said. "These old channels will work in conjunction with the new marketing channels of e-mail, Web properties, hyper sites and Webinars to touch customers in an integrated fashion in a manner not possible before."