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Eric Zimostrad
Global Editorial Project Development, Apple Music at Apple
Professional Background
Eric Zimostrad is an accomplished professional in the media and entertainment industry, recognized for his strategic acumen and innovative approach in brand and media partnerships. With extensive experience at Apple Music and Shazam, Eric has played a pivotal role in transforming how music interacts with technology and enhancing audience engagement across platforms.
His career began at Better Homes and Gardens as an Advertising Sales Assistant, where he gained foundational skills in sales and client relations that would serve him well in his subsequent roles. Eric quickly escalated his career trajectory when he joined Hachette Filipacchi Media as an Advertising Sales Assistant and later transitioned to the West Coast Integrated Account Manager for Woman's Day Brand Group. Here, he honed his marketing and sales expertise, making substantial contributions to advertising strategies that resonated with the target audience.
In pursuit of greater challenges, Eric joined Shazam, a leading name in music identification technology. Over the years, he advanced through several positions, starting as a West Coast Account Executive and developing into the Vice President of Brand & Entertainment Partnerships. In these roles, he was essential in building and maintaining strategic alliances with key industry players, playing a crucial role in Shazam's growth and influence in the entertainment sector. His leadership in developing media partnerships across television and music, as a Director and Senior Manager at Shazam, showcased his ability to integrate content with brand strategy effectively, driving engagement and audience loyalty.
Currently, Eric serves in a strategic capacity at Apple as part of the Global Editorial Project Development team for Apple Music. His work involves collaborating with various stakeholders to strategize the editorial direction of music content, ensuring that Apple Music remains at the forefront of the industry through unique and compelling offerings. Eric’s expertise in both marketing and partnerships has allowed him to bridge the gap between content creators, brands, and audiences, leading to innovative campaigns that elevate the user experience.
Education and Achievements
Eric Zimostrad pursued higher education at the University of Iowa, where he laid the groundwork for his career in media and marketing. His education equipped him with essential skills in communication, analysis, and strategic planning, all of which have proven invaluable in his career.
Throughout his career, Eric has demonstrated a commitment to continuous learning and development, leveraging his background to propel companies forward in the ever-evolving landscape of music and entertainment. His achievements at Shazam were particularly notable, as he navigated numerous changes in the industry and helped position the brand as a leader in music recognition and marketing.
Notable Contributions
Eric has consistently contributed to crucial projects that align with broad media strategies and focus on brand partnerships. His work at Apple Music reflects a forward-thinking and innovative mindset, as he aligns global editorial projects with the aspirations of artists and the listening preferences of users. Through his efforts, he has helped foster an environment where music discovery meets technology in a way that is engaging, informative, and entertaining.
In addition to his corporate roles, Eric’s influence extends to shaping industry best practices in media connections, partnership development, and brand strategy. His experience navigating the digital transformation of music consumption has equipped him with insights that benefit peers and aspiring professionals alike. Eric is known for his collaborative spirit and dedication to uplifting those around him, further solidifying his reputation as a respected figure in the industry.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.