As a result, it’s increasingly important for businesses to stay relevant and on top of these changes.

Generative AI can definitely make content creation faster, easier, and at a higher quality, but when it comes to consumer trust and brand safety, authenticity and transparency should always come first. So, in this post, I want to share Bazaarvoice’s approach to generative AI with authenticity, including our development principles and recommendations for industry-wide practices in e-commerce.

What is generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Generative AI is an advanced technology that powers applications like ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Google Bard.

It enables machines to learn and create new content for a specific task without being explicitly trained on that task. That means it can generate a vast amount of high-quality and unique text, image, and audio content.

Generative AI at Bazaarvoice

We’ve been working with AI and machine learning in our products for over 10 years. It’s currently powering better moderation capabilities, deeper insights into consumer sentiment, more effective content syndication, and so much more. It’s an area we invest a lot in for research and development.

But here’s the thing: generative AI has some serious implications when it comes to online shopping. And that means we need to be responsible with how we use these tools.

If businesses and their providers use AI haphazardly, it could negatively impact consumer trust in online content. That trust is the cornerstone of building a relationship with your shoppers online. According to our own research, 97% of respondents say fake reviews make them lose trust in a brand.

In terms of generative AI, if people can’t trust whether a product review is genuine and written by a real user, they might choose to shop elsewhere. So, we as an industry need to think carefully about how we approach this technology in a thoughtful and ethical way.

How to remain transparent

Over our history, we have prioritized staying up to date with regulatory requirements around the world and giving input to regulatory bodies where appropriate. We’re committed to continuing to align our approach with FTC best-practices and other major international regulators.

We want to be crystal clear and provide strong recommendations for our fellow consumer content platforms.

1. Authenticity is paramount: We don’t use AI to write reviews on behalf of consumers. It’s important that reviews come from real people with genuine experiences
   
2. Avoid bias: We don’t give shoppers leading questions that might influence their opinions. Instead, we focus on objective and unbiased guidance so that reviews are more detailed and useful
   
3. Respect privacy and security: We never share any personally identifiable information (PII) of shoppers with AI providers. Privacy and security are always a top priority.
   
4. Give users control: We believe users should have control to edit their content
   
5. Account for mistakes and errors: We learn from mistakes to continuously improve our solution and provide a better experience

We’ll continue to keep a pulse on consumer sentiment and regulations around this generative AI and similar technology, which will certainly change as consumers shift their habits. We’ll always keep these principles at the forefront and be open to evolving our perspectives as we monitor requirements from regulators and expectations from shoppers.

Ready for generative AI: new features from Bazaarvoice

It’s an exciting time for technological innovation to enhance the shopping experience while also reinforcing our vision to keep the shopping experience radically transparent.

We know how important it is to collect content quickly and provide shoppers with the best tools to create high-quality content. That’s why we’ve been hard at work developing new features that will not only boost conversion on your site but also supercharge your marketing team’s productivity.

Review Coach

We know consumers trust the opinion of others like them and we want to help your shoppers create even better content. Our new review coaching feature provides proactive and unbiased coaching on how to leave thorough and helpful product reviews.

With sentiment-neutral, AI-powered prompts and stimulating questions, we guide your content creators to make higher-quality reviews that truly help other shoppers make informed choices. Plus, these reviews are keyword-rich, which means additional SEO benefits for your brand.

Caption this Photo

If you’re a social media marketer, you’re going to love this! Our AI-powered image captioning feature takes the guesswork out of creating effective content for Instagram. When scheduling posts, our system uses computer vision to understand the images and product tags, and generates captions that match your brand’s tone and voice. This saves you time and effort, while ensuring your social media content is on point.

Automated Answers to Questions

Say goodbye to delays in customer support! Our new generative AI-enhanced capabilities allow your high-intent shoppers to get answers to their questions in real time while providing transparency that the content is AI-generated. It’s the next evolution of our “ask a product owner.”

This means quicker and more efficient decision-making for your customers, leading to increased sales.

Improved Insights

We’re able to provide key AI-powered insights about your content and program. This means you can gain valuable insights and data-driven recommendations to optimize your marketing strategies and enhance your customer experience.

Delve into AI’s impact on content collection, creation, data analysis, consumer experiences, and workflow streamlining in our new on-demand masterclass: How to use AI strategically and responsibly.

Please note, Bazaarvoice will be closed December 26th — January 4th for our Winter break. We’re going to take this time to relax (and be merry) and we encourage y’all to do the same.

During this time period, support coverage will be as follows:

• Critical issues (defined as production outages of submission and/or display): Support will be available 24/7 via phone or Support Community (Production Outage case only).  
• Live Chat: Live Chat will not be available during the break
• Non-critical support cases: Non-critical support cases will be addressed when our offices reopen in their respective regions after the break  

Support Hotline and Support Community information:

Phone:

AMERICAS: 888 984 1381 (toll free) / 866 522 9227, Option 4 (toll free) 

UNITED KINGDOM: 0800 368 0991 (toll free) 

FRANCE: 08 05 08 94 80 (toll free) 

GERMANY: 0800 188 8904 (toll free) 

REST OF EMEA: +44(0)20 8080 1100, Option 4 

AUSTRALIA: 1300 089 962 (toll free) 

APAC (OTHER THAN AUSTRALIA): 061 2 9362 2200, Option 4 

Support Community:

https://support.bazaarvoice.com

Have a wonderful holiday season, and we’ll see y’all in the new year.

Love from Bazaarvoice xo

I was recently on a work tour visiting Europe. Having spent years in the field throughout my career, I savor meeting real people, experiencing local vibes, picking up on-the-ground insights, and learning firsthand by listening to what customers are saying (and advising).    

My family and friends often ask if I’m exhausted from work trips, particularly when they’re extensive and far away from home. On the contrary, I feel charged, energized, and exuberated. There’s something about human-to-human interaction in real-time, live settings that somehow electrifies me and those around me.

This brings me back to my current state of mind on the evolution of commerce, my role here at Bazaarvoice, and our vision of making shopping radically transparent. It all threads on a single premise — the power of the voice of the customer, your brand’s #bazaarvoice.

The original bazaar

Step into the original bazaar, a marketplace where vendors and shoppers convened. It was hustling and bustling. Think Istanbul. Think Marrakesh. Or imagine the scene in an Indiana Jones movie where Harrison Ford arrives at a buzzing bazaar where shoppers gather to find their next favorite thing. 

At the risk of dating myself, I grew up in the era of the traditional bazaar in Hong Kong where vendors and shoppers were face-to-face, conversational, and serious bargaining and exchanges happened in real-time and in person. Vendors shouted out to get shoppers’ attention. The voice that mattered was that of the consumer.

It was a simple, human-to-human connection. It was personal and experiential. And it was built on the power of the voice of the bazaar.

With the arrival of new media — newspapers, radios, and TVs — brands flourished with mass advertising in a one-to-many broadcast approach of informing shoppers about your brands and products. Commerce became segregated, channels became explicit, and brand monologue took over. Merchant and brand voices ruled in the era of mass marketing. Commerce became impersonal, and the power of the bazaar shifted back to merchants and brands.  

With no way to be part of the conversation, shoppers lost their voice. Until…

The new connected marketplace

Digital transformation accelerated the adoption of always-on digital marketing and e-commerce offerings eased shopping and purchases. All of a sudden, selling and buying are no longer confined by store hours or when agents are available to take calls. And, with the rise of the $1 trillion social commerce industry, the voice of the customer is returning in full force, creating a different and radically transparent commerce environment — the new connected bazaar. 

In this new connected marketplace, personal human connections and communications are back. Channels are blended. Commerce is everywhere and experiential. It’s where authenticity is practiced and shoppers have lots to say. Brands must now engage with real voices, in real terms, in real-time, in a consumer-to-consumer world.

In our Bazaarvoice Shopper Experience Index 2022, an annual, global report into consumer behavior, we asked over 7,000 consumers, “What advertisement would compel you most to purchase a product?”

• 32% said ads don’t work on them
• 22% find ads with a shopper’s review compelling
• 18% find ads with a shopper’s photo compelling

The truth is consumers are more effective in selling products than brands. And influencers and communities have become the centerpiece of effective online, offline, and in-store commerce.

As marketers, we’re biased toward creating branded content. We’ve spent a sizable percentage of our budget and time creating branded content. In 2021 alone, brands spent $7 billion on advertising to inform and influence consumer behavior.   

Yet, shoppers want to hear from other shoppers. 83% of shoppers surveyed in our Shopper Experience Index 2022 trust organic posts from influencers more than sponsored posts. And user-generated content (UGC) outperforms branded content on all counts, authenticity included.  

Commerce is continually evolving. With one constant: Direct human communication and connection is key.

Maybe it’s time for us to balance our content supply chain with a balanced mix of user-generated and branded content, meeting consumer demand for trusted, authentic content. 

Essentially, you have to find your bazaar voice.

Four reasons you need to find your bazaar voice

If you’re assessing the value of UGC and the power of your brand’s #bazaarvoice, you should consider the following.

1. Power of the voice of the customer returns in full force

The power of the voice of the customer has returned in full force — 78% of shoppers say product reviews from other shoppers are most influential to their purchases. Commerce is everywhere, and social natives are shaping the future of everything. Their voices are loud and clear, and they’re demanding more than ever before. They want brands to be more transparent, more responsive, and more authentic. And they’re willing to pay for it. Brands that don’t listen to their customers will be left behind.

And we see our own customers reaping the rewards of the connected marketplace. For example, since partnering with Bazaarvoice, Urban Barn, a furniture and décor company, has seen a:

• 270% lift in time on site
• 59% lift in conversion rate
• 29% lift in average order value

2. Commerce is everywhere 

Our point of view is that wherever there’s a shopper and there’s something that they want, there’s potential for commerce to happen. Commerce is everywhere, beyond digital, beyond social, and beyond stores. In our 2022 Shopper Experience Index, 64% of shoppers said a hybrid method of shopping (in-store and online) has been the primary way of shopping for the past six months. And 65% research online before entering a store.  

Forget about the notion of digital commerce, social commerce et al. There’s only “commerce.” 

Commerce is anywhere your products are and wherever consumers can find you, so the shelf is “everywhere” in that sense. 

3. Rise of the Authenticity Movement

Consumers are 2.4x more likely to say UGC is more authentic than branded content. That’s why UGC delivers uplift to sales that we see today. And Bazaarvoice’s own research tells us that visitors who engage with any UGC see conversion lifts of up to 144%.

But our customers also know that authenticity is sacrosanct.

One of the things we are not willing to sacrifice is authenticity…

Alyssa Thomas, Director of Product, Content as Commerce, Walmart.com

In order for UGC to play a meaningful part of the shopper journey it has to be authentic. Anything else won’t do. If customers believe that the photos, reviews, or questions and answers on your products are fake, then you run the risk of losing trust. Which is why we all invest in reviews and this kind of content in the first place.

And actually why Bazaarvoice exists.

4. Social natives are shaping the future of everything

Social natives are shaping the future of everything, and their voices are being heard loud and clear. Nearly 50% of Gen Z individuals like to contribute to product reviews. I know because I have two of them at home. They’re comfortable communicating in a way previous generations are not. They tell me everything. And they love to share their opinions and experiences online. 

Champion authentic voices of the marketplace

Businesses need to seize the power of their customers’ authentic voices in order to stay relevant and continue to thrive. Those who don’t will quickly find themselves falling behind in today’s competitive landscape.

So supercharge your commerce engine by finding your bazaar voice. And reap the benefits of the new connected marketplace.

Now learn more about where brands and retailers should lean in next as I breakdown the Shopper Experience Index 2022. Or read the full report for yourself below.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Bazaarvoice Shopper Experience Index 2022

Read now

Bazaarvoice is pleased to be speaking at this year’s Adweek Commerce Week. We’ll be co-delivering a masterclass, where we’ll cover how brands can use the power of the consumer voice to their advantage, serving up exactly the kind of content shoppers are looking for. Also how to encourage, gather, and distribute at scale the most effective content retailers and brands can use to get shoppers to the digital and in-store register.  

Your masterclass speakers:

• Justin Thomas-Copeland, CEO at DDB, shares his approach to transforming a brand to be relevant to consumers, and motivating a customer-first mindset across the entire organization 
• Andrea Steele, Director, Digital Marketing & Operations at The Hershey Company, teaches you the marketing skills and strategies she uses to harness the five C’s of consumers in control
• Zarina L Stanford, CMO at Bazaarvoice, gives you the perspective of a CMO, teaching you how to win the hearts and minds of shoppers with your brand’s authentic voices — your customers — to drive growth

In this session you’ll learn:

• Why you should focus on harnessing the power of the consumer voice
• How to build a consumer first mindset across your organization
• What business value, growth, and ROI can you expect to achieve

Join us at Commerce Week.

In recent years though, Pride has become synonymous with brands changing their logo to a rainbow logo on social media and doing little else. But it should be so much more than that.

B:You

We recently established a number of employee-led resource groups (ERGs) at Bazaarvoice because diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI) isn’t just something we stick on our website, it’s woven through who we are as people, and as a business. Our ERGs are there so all employees, whether part of a community or an ally, can feel welcome, supported, and involved. 

“DE&I initiatives at Bazaarvoice run throughout how we operate as a business and have improved everything from morale and camaraderie to business policies and employee retention.”

Keith Nealon, Bazaarvoice CEO

With that, I’m proud (pun intended) to introduce our ERG for the LGBTQ+ community — B:You! B:You was established to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace, and promote an understanding of the unique issues facing the LGBTQ+ community. The group is open to everyone interested at Bazaarvoice, including LGBTQ+ identifying colleagues, allies to the community, and anyone interested in learning more!

This year’s Pride Month was the first since B:You was established so we had to make sure it was extra meaningful, and extra exciting. We reached out to other ERGs, both community members and allies, for ideas, events, and resources (listed below). We thought up engaging events, as well as the following weekly communications model to celebrate and acknowledge the history and culture of those that represent Pride to our ERG members:

1. LGBTQ+ history
2. LGBTQ+ arts
3. LGBTQ+ icons
4. LGBTQ+ activism
5. LGBTQ+ culture

How did Bazaarvoice celebrate Pride?

We based each week on a different contribution the LGBTQ+ community has made to society, and provided resources to read, watch, and listen to. Not to mention special events like drag bingo and a talk on why pronouns matter!

Week 1: LGBTQ+ history

The LGBTQ+ community has an inspiring, and sometimes heartbreaking, history. While many countries provide equal rights today, it wasn’t always the case. The Stonewall Riots in New York City, the Gay Liberation Front in the UK, civil rights marches around the globe — it’s taken years of fighting and dedication to get where we are today. So for week one we wanted to honor that!

B:You’s chosen resources for the week:

1. READ:
   • Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin
   • Famous LQBTQ+ Quotes
   • The Queens’ English, by Chloe O. Davis
2. WATCH:
   • American Experience: Stonewall Uprising on PBS
   • The Danish Girl (Netflix or Prime Video)
   • A Secret Love (Netflix)
3. LISTEN:
   • Let’s take it back a few decades: Disco Forever playlist
   • Harvey Milk – The Hope Speech (1978)
   • Angela Eagle LGBT speech – “We aren’t getting back in the closet”

Week 2: LGBTQ+ arts

I think it goes without saying that the LGBTQ+ communities contribution to the arts has been huge, to say the least. It always has been, and likely always will be. Music, film, TV, radio, literature, you name it. They’ve all been dominated by the LGBTQ+ community over the years.

B:You’s chosen resources for the week:

1. READ:
   • The Naked Civil Servant, by Quentin Crisp
   • Broken Horses: A Memoir, by Brandi Carlile
   • Gay Rebel of the Harlem Renaissance, by Richard Bruce Nugent
2. WATCH:
   • Paris is Burning (Watch the Trailer) (Full documentary streaming on Netflix and Apple TV)
   • Love, Victor (Hulu)
   • Heartstopper (Netflix)
3. LISTEN:
   • B:You’s Pride Month Spotify Playlist 

Week 3: LGBTQ+ icons

We’ve all heard phrases like, “Omg he’s such an icon,” or, “She is just so iconic.” But what does this actually mean? A gay icon is someone who is recognized as a cultural icon by members of the LGBTQ+ community, though they don’t have to be a member of the community themselves. Think of Judy Garland, Princess Diana, and Lady Gaga as prime examples!

The icons of the LGBTQ+ movement have spanned a variety of backgrounds, geographies, and identities. Whether it’s a politician who paved the way for LGBTQ+ rights or one of the biggest pop stars in the world advocating for the community, an icon can represent many facets of the community.

Being an icon isn’t exclusive to the arts either, and includes athletes and even fictional characters (Xena: Warrior Princess, anyone?).

B:You’s chosen resources for the week:

1. READ:
   • Alan Turing: The Engima, by A. Hodges
   • Angels in America, by Tony Kushner
   • Black. Queer. Southern. Women.: An Oral History, by e. Patrick Johnson
2. WATCH:
   • The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (Netflix)
   • Love Me Like You Should: The Brave and Bold Sylvester (Youtube documentary)
   • MILK (Amazon Prime)
3. LISTEN:
   • Lady Gaga Stonewall speech (starts at minute 1:12)
   • Jimmy Sommerville, Smalltown Boy
   • Making Gay History (podcast)

Week 4: LGBTQ+ activism

While we’ve acknowledged the history and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community, we’re very aware the fight is far from over. Even as rights have improved for some members of the community, there’s still existing legislation that’s harmful to other members of the LGBTQ+ community within the USA and many other countries around the world.

We still have a long way to go, and it’s important for our community and our allies to recognize the ways in which we have fought historically to gain equal protection, and what we can continue to do for members of the community.

The future isn’t fixed and progress isn’t guaranteed — the overturning of Roe vs Wade has highlighted that. It’s devastating news for women, and also possibly opens the door for a revert of LGBTQ+ rights. Week four was to highlight that the fight continues, and how we can continue to be good allies.

B:You’s chosen resources for the week:

1. READ:
   • The Book of Pride: LGBTQ Heroes Who Changed the World, by Mason Funk
   • Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States, by Joey L. Mogul
   • The Guide to Being a Straight Ally (PDF) or The Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Non-binary Youth (PDF)
2. WATCH:
   • Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen (Documentary, Netflix)
   • Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness: Can we Say Bye-Bye to Binary? (Netflix Series) P.s. check out the podcast series too!
   • ALOK: The Urgent Need for Compassion | The Man Enough Podcast
3. LISTEN:
   • Angela Eagle LGBT speech: “We aren’t getting back in the closet”
   • Queer AF (podcast)

Week 5: LGBTQ+ culture

Last but certainly not least — LGBTQ+ culture! We wanted to end on a fun note, but also highlight that queer culture is more than asking, “scene or not scene?” Culture is different to different members of the communities — there’s subcultures within the overarching rainbow of the community and it’s always evolving!

So we wanted to highlight what makes LGBTQ+ culture so special, through the programs, stories, podcasts, and topical stories that make our culture so unique. The more we see members of our community shine, the more that our subculture will continue to be embraced and championed by community members and allies alike. Go us!

B:You’s chosen resources for the week:

1. READ:
   • Queer Love in Color, by Jamal Jordan
   • Drag: The Complete Story (A Look at the History and Culture of Drag), by Simon Doonan
   • What does it mean to be camp? BBC News article
2. WATCH:
   • RuPaul’s Drag Race (Netflix and Hulu)
   • The Birdcage (Hulu, HBO Max, YouTube, Apple TV)
   • Eurovision 2022 (On-demand videos from this year’s contest)
3. LISTEN:
   • Do I sound Gay? (Documentary found on Amazon Prime, AMC+, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube, and Google Play)
   • LGBTQ&A Podcast: The Most Interesting People in the World are Queer (Apple Podcasts)
   • Keeping it Queer, with Navin Noronha and Farhad Karkaria (Apple Podcasts)

What’s next?

• Pride London and Pride Austin
• Fundraising opportunities
• A presentation on LGBTQ+ history
• Exploring volunteering opportunities in our communities
• Providing our ERG members with mentoring and development opportunities

B:You will continue to encourage acceptance, foster a safe work environment, raise awareness of issues affecting our community, and provide counseling and support for our members. While having fun along the way! And Bazaarvoice will continue our commitment to championing DE&I initiatives through our ERGs, and beyond.

Check out our dedicated DE&I webpage to learn about the rest of our ERGs!

Do you want to join a company that not only champions diversity, but believes success is dependent on it? Be your authentic self at Bazaarvoice. See job openings here.

As a young center, we’ve been able to grow from 0 to 100+ team members in just over two years, and have been delivering incredible outcomes for our customers along the way. This recognition is a testament to the fact that we have been able to create those results the right way. By ensuring Bazaarvoice India is a psychologically safe, inclusive, respectful, fair, and fun workplace, where each team member is allowed to learn and develop professionally. 

What our team members say about their experience at Bazaarvoice 

“Bazaarvoice India is a great place to work. The culture is transparent, every employee, irrespective of their position, is given a chance to be heard, and there are ample opportunities available to those who want to build a career here. Great opportunity to work with colleagues across the globe. Flexible working hours have given me time to focus on work as well as family.”

“BV India promotes client focus by taking care of the employees! Happy employees, happy clients”

“BV is a great place to work because of the decisions made around employees. During the pandemic, they have supported many employees with their best capability. Even when we were returning back to the offices and the third wave started, they took back that decision and allowed the wave to settle down. Now even with the hybrid model they are flexible on time hours and focused on the work you do rather than the number of times you are coming back to the office. Management is quite understanding in nature and always helps in keeping our private life in balance with work.”

More to come

While this is a massive accomplishment, it’s just the beginning. We are continuing to grow and want to make Bazaarvoice India the best place it can be. Want to join our team? Check out our job openings here. 

Without even actively looking for something to buy, consumers are out there being influenced by friends, families, and brands like you, with more subtlety than we see in direct marketing tactics. Let’s look at an example of how Bazaarvoice’s product innovation can help both the shopper and the brand.

The consumer experience

Meet Kevin. He’s on Instagram, where he stumbles across his friend Steve’s post. Steve has recently bought a new ultra-endurance, rugged bike. Seeing the shout-out from his friend, Kevin thinks about his own aspirations to get back out on his bike, so he follows the tag through to the EnduranceCycles page.

He likes what he sees, so he follows the link (powered by Bazaarvoice) at the top of the page. And he arrives at a shoppable version of the the Instagram feed. His awareness of the product was made by social, but now he gets the details from this page he needs to have confidence in his purchase. Scrolling down, he comes across his friend’s photo, which has been product tagged, and put with other consumer photos, on a social gallery on the page. 

He could leverage the social power of the service to ask questions, but his focus is on what’s good and bad about the bike, so he opens the reviews to see what others have to say. EnduranceCycles asks reviewers questions about their skill levels, so Kevin can even filter down to see reviews from casual bikers just like him.

He’s convinced. He buys. And two weeks later, he’s been hitting the trails, but he’s back to scrolling the ‘gram. An email pops into his inbox, encouraging him to share his experiences via a simple form embedded in the email. With his review submitted, it passes through Bazaarvoice moderation. 

Perspective shift

The client experience

Ally at EnduranceCycles logs into the Bazaarvoice portal. Kevin’s new review shows up at the top of her feed. She can take actions, such as responding to the review — an easy way of interacting with Kevin. This is a subtle way of driving brand loyalty, by bringing delight to the customer experience. 

She wants to understand where else to focus her energy, so she dives into Bazaarvoice Insights, and looks for products which lack content. There’s a helmet that has no reviews. Well, that’s clearly unacceptable. Ally needs to fix it. Since they’re not getting organic reviews, she turns to the Bazaarvoice Influenster community to start the process of generating some. Her account manager helps her find the people who will be a best fit for this product. 

Products samples get shipped out, and the reviews start coming in — to Ally and to the network. However, Ally also asked people who got the helmet to post on social about it, too. Simon got a helmet. Simon posts the picture of his helmet on Instagram.

And we’re back to the beginning of the cycle(s). 

This is just the start

Simon’s photo could also have been syndicated to retail partners. Ally could have shared it out to their Instagram feed. Or Kevin’s encounter might have been in-store.

This combination of data, content and tools gives you an endless range of possibilities. Ready to try it out?

The retail industry is as strong as ever. And consumers hold the power like never before. They decide how a brand is perceived, and the risk of boycott in today’s cancel culture is very real. The dramatic power shift to customers has led to heightened actions and vocalizing for authenticity, improved experiences, and above all, for consumers to feel heard. Catch up on Bazaarvoice Summit to see how to win hearts and minds of today’s consumers.

The goal of the scholarship is to empower the next generation of female tech leaders who are pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in a technical field of study.

We’re passionate about helping to tell the stories of women in professional industries, and want to raise awareness of gender inequality in STEM fields. The academic scholarship is valued at $2,000 for the Spring 2022 semester. 

Today, we’re thrilled to announce this year’s winners of the Bazaarvoice Women in STEM Scholarship Program!

The 2022 winners

Join us in congratulating the scholarship winners!

Alexandra Moreno 

Beauty Kolade

Hannah Norbeto 

Jailene Ramos 

Jamilia Thompson 

Megan Wang

Rebecca Beswick 

Veronica Parra 

The application process

We received countless applications from women passionate about studying STEM. 

Applicants were asked to answer essay questions explaining their interest, such as: 

• Who or what inspired you to pursue a STEM career?
• What do you plan to do in your career and why?
• What are your ideas to bring more women into the STEM field? 

Applications are reviewed by Women in STEM leaders at Bazaarvoice across the entire organization, including engineering, product, client success, and more! 

Are you interested in applying for a Bazaarvoice Women in STEM scholarship? Please do! Applications open July 2022.

Within hours of reading about the vulnerability, we mobilized Bazaarvoice’s security and engineering teams to respond to the threat. First, a comprehensive assessment of all our products was performed to determine where this vulnerability may exist, and, once identified, teams swiftly applied the appropriate resolutions to address it. 

In addition to this, we leveraged several of our security partnerships to assist with its efforts. This included deployment of firewall rules to identify and block traffic associated with the vulnerability, as well as signatures used by solutions to identify activity on hosts or cloud infrastructure which could be associated with an attack. 

We’re continuing to reach out to partners who use Bazaarvoice products and services, so we can assess their response and determine if steps need to be taken to address potential risk.

At Bazaarvoice, we value the trust our clients place upon us and we work hard everyday to earn that trust. Rest assured that we will continue to closely monitor this situation and take the steps necessary to ensure the products and services we provide, and data we are entrusted with, remain well secured. 

As always, inquiries about this or any other security related matters can be directed to security@bazaarvoice.com.

Thank you — the Bazaarvoice team.

That’s why this past month, 15th September — 15th October, Bazaarvoice we were proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! We wanted to ensure we recognized not only our wonderful Hispanic colleagues, but also the wider contributions of all Hispanic Americans.

To kick things off, we created a Learnerbly playlist highlighting Hispanic and Latinx contributions to American culture and society in celebration for Hispanic Heritage Month. Hispanic Heritage Month. The educational playlist contains articles, videos, and podcasts, specifically curated to expand your knowledge on Hispanic communities, and how you can be a better ally. To compliment this, we also created a document filled with all of the incredible Hispanic/Latinx owned businesses, restaurants, brands and museums in every BV-hub location!

We also hosted our first (of many) HHM trivia! While the results were hotly-contested, we can safely say everyone had fun and learned a lot!

Employee Spotlights

A large part of Hispanic Heritage Month is being able to provide a platform for people to tell their stories. That’s why we delivered a series of BV employee spotlights, so our wonderful Hispanic colleagues could educate others about what this month and share what their identity means to them.

That’s a wrap on Hispanic Heritage Month 2021! But keep an eye out for more fantastic life at Bazaarvoice content coming soon. We bring our whole selves to the our Bazaarvoice mission and find value in diverse perspectives.

As a strong company, we build a stronger community. Learn more about Bazaarvoice culture here.