October 2007

Circles is Acquired by Sodexho Alliance
Circles, a leading loyalty services company, announced today that it has agreed to be acquired by Sodexho Alliance, a US$18.8 billion multinational company with a strong presence in North America and around the world.   Full Story >>

November 2006

Circling in on lifestyle target
Forget circuitous -- Circles founders Janet Kraus and Kathy Sherbrooke have graphed a straight trajectory up the success chart.   Full Story >>

July 2006

Above and Beyond
Your wish is my command. No job too bizarre for firms catering to busy VIPs   Full Story >>

June 2006

Domestic ''Insperiences'' Are on the Rise - More people are bringing "insperiences" into their domestic domain.
What do you get when you cross inspiration and experiences? Insperiences--one of the hottest new marketing trends.   Full Story >>

May 2006

Time to Refocus - A sabbatical program can help employees gain perspective
and return to work with a stronger commitment to the company.
"The stories we have will last a lifetime," Hugh Merryweather says of the monthlong sabbatical he took last summer, with time off courtesy of his employer.   Full Story >>

March 2006

How to play the VC game -- and win big
Two Stanford MBAs who built a fast-growing concierge service show how women can get venture-capital funding.  Full Story >>

February 2006

My Concierge Will Call Your Concierge
When you call Chez Escargot to plead for a reservation, do they laugh and say they have no table for you? Are you down in the dumps because an old college pal said his people would get in touch with your people, and you had to admit you didn't have any people?  Full Story >>

At Your Service: Up your productivity by helping employees juggle home and work.
In 1997, For more than a year, Tracy Lorme had been promising her family a trip to Walt Disney World. But with three children under six and a full-time job supervising transfusion services at Meridian Health in Neptune, N.J., Lorme, 38, had little time to plan the details.   Full Story >>

Employers return to luxury perks
Massages on demand and concierges at employees' beck and call seem like relics of the tech boom, but more employers are adopting such perks to stem turnover or keep workers happy in an era of health care cuts.   Full Story >>

January 2006

Building a Board
In 1997, Stanford classmates Janet Kraus and Kathy Sherbrooke formed a new company, Circles, with the goal of creating a leading experiential-marketing company.   Full Story >>

Five principles to growing a business from a small company full of potential, to a larger company that reaps results
While thousands of new businesses are started each year that are full of potential, only a small minority of start-ups blossom into a larger company that reaps results.   Full Story >>

December 2005

Workplace envy: Companies you wished you worked for this time of year 
For many U.S. workers, the holidays are a mad rush of shopping for presents, wrapping gifts, putting up Christmas lights -- all while working the same schedule as any other time of the year.   Full Story >>

September 2005

"Experiences" Drive B2B Branding
Most business and marketing leaders agree that a critical attribute of a great brand is its ability to tap into the emotions of consumers. The question most ask, however, is how do you create these emotional bonds? Full Story >>

Are You Getting the Most Bang From Your Sponsorship Buck?
From sporting events, to concerts, to cultural happenings. sponsorships are playing an increasingly pivotal role in a company's promotional arsenal. In fact, according to SponsorClick's Sponsorship Marketing Global 2004 Report, brand marketers worldwide will spend $37.8 billion on sponsorships in 2004 and anticipates that figure will close in on $50 billion by 2006. Full Story >>