Lynn is connected to the industry and trend and is a strategic thinker with intense curiosity. She is, without doubt, an eclectic user of information, and to call her an engaging storyteller would be doing her a disservice! She is a team player who is passionate, curious, positive, and courageous.

The full news release is below, but if you would like more information, on Lynn or on com.motion, please let me know.

You can find Lynn online on Twitter as @lynneastep or connect on LinkedIn or just peruse her excellent blog posts on our com.motion blog.

Toronto, September 11, 2009 — Beverley Hammond, president of Veritas Communications today announced the promotion of Lynn Eastep to the position of Senior Vice President of com.motion North America, the agency’s growing social media and online communications practice.

Eastep, whose most recent position was General Manager, will oversee the practice that offers a full spectrum of social media and digital strategies to clients. She will also be responsible for business development across North America.

Prior to joining com.motion, Eastep held the position of Senior Vice President and Partner for Fleishman-Hillard Digital, where she drove social media program development for such clients as Nestle, AT&T, and Novartis. Prior to that she worked for UK-based Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) as Director, Internet Marketing for North America, and has been Webmaster for Progressive Insurance Corporation, the third largest insurance provider in the U.S.

She is the recipient of numerous industry awards including Silver Anvils from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), ADDY^® Awards from the American Advertising Federation (AAF) and a Vision Award of Merit from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the Shop.org Innovation award.

“In her time at com.motion, Lynn has made a real difference for our clients business and for ours. She is known as a builder in the social and digital space, having spent many years – long before its emergence into the mainstream – developing smart, results-focused digital campaigns for major brands,” said Hammond. “She is an expert at grassroots community building and transferring those communities into results for brands by bringing digital ideas to life in traditional mediums from PR to Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing.”

About com.motion NA

The North American organization, com.motion helps businesses and brands amplify their marketing messages through the effective use of online communications channels. Our in-depth, collaborative approach builds strategic, successful online programs that connect our clients with their stakeholders in the places where they convene. As a practice of Veritas Communications we are able to design strong, integrated programs for a growing list of clients including Canada Dry Motts, Diageo and SUBWAY. com.motion is Toronto-based with a satellite office in Cleveland. Veritas Communications Inc. a member of the MDC Partners network (TSX and Nasdaq: MDCA).

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For more information please contact:

Ed Lee

Managing Director, com.motion

lee@causeacommotion.com

http://bloggingmebloggingyou.wordpress.com

www.twitter.com/edlee

416 482-2154

Ranging from “Name Dropper” to “Wallflower,” the app makes conclusions about your tweeting behavior. So, what about my (lynneastep) social mojo? According to the result, my social mojo is “BFF”: “Your volume of @replies makes you everybody’s best bud.” Accurate? Well, I am pretty friendly if I do say so myself.

Though the “secret algorithm” is facetious (it’s about as scientific as a Cosmo quiz), it’s a fun way to spark word of mouth about their new homepage.

Women, long the keeper of the household checkbook, are increasingly taking charge of the family investments as well. Increasingly, women are stepping into the role of family CFO. America is becoming a “Femocracy” with women making the key purchasing and investing decisions in millions of households – in effect, making “Mom” the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief purchasing officer, and chief operating officer.

Word of mouth is hugely influential among women when making financial decisions. More and more of those recommendations are coming in the form of social media engagement, particularly for financial decision-making. According to Oppenheimer, women manage 1 trillion dollars a year, yet they still often lack the knowledge and confidence to invest their money. Increasingly, women are looking to social networks for advice and information—not just on life issues but on financial decisions. A survey commissioned by Citigroup’s Women & Co. unit, which offers financial services aimed specifically at women, found that 63 percent women themselves the CFOs of their households—responsible for making the majority of financial decisions.  Additionally, women are no longer waiting for one of life’s big transition events — like divorce, widowhood — to develop a financial plan.

Women are increasingly empowered by the abundance of financial services information online, but the onslaught of information can be overwhelming. Women are strongly influenced by word-of-mouth (WOM) and look to their friends for advice. With the rise of social networking, blogs and viral video, this group has many user-generated sources for information about financial services. The fact that women favor WOM, combined with their use of social networking, indicates they are a strong audience for financial WOM marketing efforts.

Women investors have taken to social media in big numbers, and they are listening closely to what their peers have to say. A 2008 study by Cogent Research, which examines the impact of social media on investment-related decisions, reveals the following primary trends:

• Women investors are highly engaged in social media;
• WOM influences a majority of investment decisions;
• One out of every four U.S. online adult is engaged in WOM that deals specifically with personal finance and investing;
• Social media leads investors to question the accuracy of information delivered by official sources (advisors and  investment firms)

Social media offers financial services companies the opportunity to engage online, connect with women in a personal manner and subsequently become their trusted resource. Many financial services companies are missing opportunities to an leverage  social media to educate, inform and engage women. To remain relevant,  financial services companies  need to create lasting, valuable relationships with women by responding and engaging through WOM.