Five emerging media and technology companies in the running for 'Hot Company of the Year 2013'

Organiser of The Festival of Media, C Squared, has announced the five companies shortlisted in this year's Media Accelerator Programme (MAP). New media companies Adnologies, Future Ad Labs, RealEyes, Tedemis and ZnapTag will take to the stage at The Festival of Media Global 2013, to present their companies to attending CMOs, advertisers and agencies to vie for the title of 'Hot Company of the Year 2013'.

Chosen by a panel made up of influential entrepreneurs, investors, advisors and strategists in global media, this year's shortlist represents the next generation of tailored marketing solutions. The companies chosen to speak at the Festival all present new technologies that enable brands to maximise the efficiency and impact of marketing campaigns through heightened personalisation, enhanced metrics and richer user experiences:

• Adnologies - An advertising technology platform that uses device tracking to target individual consumers across multiple devices to maximise advertising ROI through compelling consumer experience.

• Future Ad Labs' PlayCaptcha - Branded short mini-games offered as alternatives to Captchas for better user experience and crucially - a new engaged advertising platform for brands.

• RealEyes - Emotion measurement technology that analyses footage of people's faces to determine emotional reactions and the impact of advertising.

• Tedemis' Media Email Targeting - a direct marketing service based on real-time online behaviour offering complete personalisation in email advertising.

• ZnapTag - An advertising network that turns static digital photographs into vehicles for audience engagement, enhanced visitor experience and contextual advertising - enabling marketers to easily launch rich media advertising campaigns that come to life to tell the complete story of the brand.

Now in its third year, MAP, run in partnership with DMR Partners and sponsored by Vivaki, is a scheme that puts game-changing new-media businesses in front of The Festival of Media's high profile attendees, 76% of whom are director/CEO level. By linking capitalised but developing companies with The Festival of Media's powerful delegation it creates client awareness, interest, adoption and vital early stage revenues. MAP was developed in association with the former president of the World Federation of Advertisers.

Charlie Crowe, the CEO of Festival organisers C Squared comments:

"We want to champion the visionaries who have the ideas and new technologies to revolutionise the media industry. MAP celebrates great ideas, rewarding those that take part with something very valuable - the chance to get in front of the very people who can make or break your company and crucially, turn innovation into investment."

Anthony Risicato, a judge for MAP 2013 and General Manager at VideoHub - named Hot Company of the Year 2012, says:

"Building a successful organisation from the ground up takes a team of dedicated people with a wide variety of skillsets and the know-how to fill a market need-and let's face it, a willingness to work long hours to get it right. That's why industry recognition, such as this one, is so important: it gives people in a start-up culture even more motivation to carry on and innovate."

The Festival of Media Global 2013 will take place 28-30 April 2013 in Montreux, Switzerland. The five shortlisted MAP companies will make formal presentations during the Festival, with the 'Hot Company of the Year' announced in the Awards Gala dinner on April 30.