With Shopper Access, brands can connect both display and video ad campaigns with actual offline sales to understand campaign effectiveness and optimize it to increase their return on investment. This depth of data also allows brands to activate marketing campaigns using purchaser-based definitions such as light or heavy shoppers of specific products and categories, shoppers of competitive brands, “switchers” and other shopping-based behaviors.

For example, a diaper brand can use Specific Media’s Shopper Access to reach moms with an ad for baby wipes to drive cross-category and line-extension purchases. Specific Media is in discussions to apply the shopper-based solution to a number of brands from the largest CPG companies.

Nielsen Catalina Solutions, a joint venture between Nielsen and Catalina Marketing, accesses 60 million households from a subset of Catalina’s shopper data warehouse. Shopper Access provides insights into how advertising influences consumer purchase behavior. The data is anonymous and aggregated using a secure third-party agent, and does not contain personally identifiable information (PII) to protect the privacy of individuals. The shopper data is matched with Specific Media’s online audience and further modeled based on proprietary Nielsen Catalina Solutions’ shopper profiles.

“Nielsen Catalina Solutions is pleased to work with Specific Media on Shopper Access,” said Mike Nazzaro, CEO of Nielsen Catalina Solutions. “Specific Media has unmatched scale in display and video, a long history of pioneering precision marketing using behavioral triggers and a solid track record of data governance and integrity. They’ve also made significant investments in growing their CPG category and have emerged as a strong leader in this space.”

“The breadth and depth of the Nielsen Catalina Solutions data and analytics are unparalleled in the industry,” said Vic Catalfamo, vice president and head of Global Consumer Goods Category, Specific Media. “Our multi-year alliance with Nielsen Catalina Solutions will now allow our large base of CPG brand customers to reach shoppers whenever they are online, with display and video campaigns that are truly scalable across the Internet.”

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a digital media company driving viewership for content owners, engagement for brands and relevance for consumers. With capabilities spanning original programming, cross-channel distribution and addressable advertising, the company connects audiences, content and brands, adding meaning to each touch-point. As people discover new ways to consume content, Specific Media creates impactful media experiences no matter where they are.
www.specificmedia.com

CHICAGO – BrightTag, Inc., today announced the first wave of partners for its BrightTag ONE digital marketing integration platform. BrightTag is the first company to link site owners with the large and expanding ecosystem of digital service providers in real time through a server-to-server direct connection rather than through third-party code delivered through the browser. The BrightTag ONE platform replaces obstructive layers of third-party data collection code – or “tags” – on websites with a single, integrated cloud-based data server.

BrightTag ONE is predicated on the company’s belief that the current method of collecting valuable first-party website data, built on individual pixels and complex JavaScript tags loaded through the browser, has become slow, unstable and unscalable.  BrightTag’s new approach tackles these issues by eliminating legacy browser-based tracking code while ensuring complete data collection.

“BrightTag’s data integration model can address a major problem in digital marketing,” said Bruce Biegel, Managing Director, Winterberry Group. “There’s a large and rapidly increasing landscape of companies bringing innovation to the marketplace, but that innovation has come at a growing price as data needs to move between first and third parties. Server-to-server integration is a solution that promises to make digital marketing faster, cleaner, more transparent and more valuable for all parties.”

The initial members of the BrightTag ONE Partner Program being announced today – all of which have connected to the ONE platform – represent a wide cross-section of third-party digital marketing and analytics companies. The ONE platform gives BrightTag’s outstanding client roster of global brand leaders in retail, travel, consumer packaged goods, financial services and education immediate access to BrightTag Partners and the services they provide, promoting innovation and delivering richer ROI for marketers and advertisers.

“Overburdening pages with pixels has created performance problems for site owners and advertisers,” said Bill Demas, chief executive officer of Turn. “By replacing third-party tags and disseminating the data advertisers need, BrightTag offers an effective approach to addressing this problem. This partnership is perfectly aligned with Turn’s open ecosystem approach, and we are excited to show our joint customers how this technical integration can improve their digital advertising campaigns through data.”

BrightTag site owner and marketer clients can “see” what is happening to their data in real time, putting them in control over what is collected and shared.  BrightTag ONE’s integrated, server-to-server platform allows site owners to eliminate the clutter and overhead of third-party tracking code to serve clean data directly from the cloud.  BrightTag ONE is compatible with the most complex configurations and is fully backwards-compatible with legacy tracking tags when clients need a hybrid approach.

“BrightTag has set out to modernize our industry’s underlying data connectivity infrastructure. The BrightTag ONE platform provides clients with transparency around data collection and tools for controlling how their proprietary and valuable data is shared amongst their many partners,” said Marc Kiven, BrightTag’s founder. “Our clients are not asking us for ways to better ‘manage’ all of the tracking tags that litter their sites; rather, they want help removing these tags from their sites in order to deliver a better user experience and respect the privacy choices of their customers. The partners mentioned here today have joined us in improving how the digital marketing industry works.”

Michael Katz, CEO of interclick commented: “As our industry grows and develops new capabilities, so does the complexity and the problems complexity brings. The BrightTag ONE platform mitigates complexity by allowing marketers to remove tracking tags from the browser and decide what to do with data generated on their sites. Server-to-server data integration is the best approach we’ve seen to improve the customer experience and benefit every entity along the digital marketing value chain.”

“We see a great upside when we activate the Aggregate Knowledge Media Intelligence Platform with BrightTag clients,” said David Jakubowski, CEO of Aggregate Knowledge.  “BrightTag clients can leverage their BrightTag implementation to avoid the time-consuming site tagging process and get immediate access to AK for accurate and actionable audience insights. Everyone wins.”

The BrightTag ONE Partner Program
BrightTag’s ONE Partner Program, whose first members are being announced today, is designed to benefit digital marketing services providers by expediting activation of new clients, enhancing data collection capabilities and providing meaningful performance benefits for members’ clients. ONE Partner companies represent a broad set of capabilities across the entire digital marketing industry including ad networks, data management platforms (DMP), demand side platforms, search, retargeting, attribution, social targeting, and analytics.

The following outstanding organizations – listed alphabetically – are among the many BrightTag ONE Partners providing clients with the full benefits of server-to-server integration through the BrightTag ONE platform:
●      Adometry – leads the industry in online ad verification and Ad Analytics™ attribution management, delivering actionable insight to improve the performance of online advertising.
●      Aggregate Knowledge – a leading (Software as a Service) SaaS audience and campaign analytics company
●      Buysight – a leading retargeting and customer acquisition performance marketing company
●      Chango – the leading provider of search retargeting, combining the power of search with the scale of display
●      CPX Interactive – one of the largest global online ad networks serving more than 1 billion daily ad impressions across more than 60 countries
●      DataXu – the leading multi-channel demand side platform (DSP) for digital marketing management
●      HookLogic – powers e-commerce media, a revolutionary way for brands and shoppers to connect in and around the e-commerce environment
●      interclick (NASDAQ: ICLK) –  a leading provider of digital advertising technology and services
●      Legolas Media – an innovative digital advertising marketplace for premium advertisers and publishers to trade audiences in a guaranteed and transparent manner
●      LucidMedia – the most comprehensive and transparent digital advertising management platform for targeting and optimizing display campaigns
●      Marin Software – provider of the leading online advertising management platform for advertisers and agencies
●      mediaFORGE – a leader in digital display advertising that embraces qualitative, not quantitative, performance measurement, instilling unparalleled confidence in ROI
●      MediaMath – the leading provider of digital media trading technology and services
●      Specific Media – a digital media company driving viewership for content owners, engagement for brands and relevance for consumers
●      Turn – the digital advertising industry’s only open, enterprise-level marketing platform that delivers exceptional campaign performance and real-time audience insight for cross-channel engagement
●      XGraph – the first social targeting platform to use multi-graph data analysis to target Connected Audiences™ for optimal ad performance, at scale.
●      [x+1] – helps marketers connect with consumers in more meaningful, actionable ways, delivering content and offers where they’re most relevant

The BrightTag ONE Partner Program is open to providers of digital marketing and analytics services on a global basis. For more information about the program, contact Scott Grossman, BrightTag SVP of Business Development, at partners@brighttag.com or visit www.brighttag.com/partners.

About BrightTag
BrightTag is redefining the way data is collected and shared across the digital marketing ecosystem. With the BrightTag ONE integration platform, marketers have complete ownership and control of data gathered on their websites combined with freedom and flexibility to innovate by working with any third-party digital service provider. ONE, the company’s cloud-based integration platform, provides a connectivity layer between first-party data and the marketing and analytics services supporting the site.  BrightTag’s clients include many of the world’s top brands and hundreds of online marketing and analytics providers continue to integrate their technology with the BrightTag ONE platform. Headquartered in Chicago, BrightTag is funded by New World Ventures, TomorrowVentures, EPIC Ventures and I2A Fund. BrightTag was named by VentureWire and an independent board of review at Dow Jones as one of the 50 most innovative technology companies of 2011 and a member of the FASTech50. For more information, visit www.brighttag.com.

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a digital media company, announced that it has appointed Al Dejewski as senior vice president of Global Marketing. In his new role, Dejewski will lead global marketing for the company’s consumer and business-facing brands, leading efforts across advertising and promotions, strategic partnerships and corporate communications. Dejewski will also oversee all marketing for Myspace, which Specific Media acquired in June of 2011.

Dejewski brings deep consumer brand, trade marketing and digital experience to his new role at Specific Media. Before joining the Specific Media team, Dejewski spent more than two years at Turner Entertainment Marketing in New York, where he led strategic marketing, promotions, partnerships and branded entertainment for Turner’s broadcast and digital properties including TBS, TNT and truTV. At Turner, Dejewski developed award-winning marketing campaigns for on-air, digital, social and off-channel categories, working with household brands like DiGiorno, Dr. Pepper, Hershey’s, Hyundai, Miller Lite and Nationwide.

Prior to Turner, Dejewski spent nearly a decade at PepsiCo, where he touched nearly every Pepsi beverage product. While there, he eventually led marketing for Pepsi’s entire brand portfolio and managed the company’s overall media strategy and partnerships. Notably, Dejewski struck several high-profile deals with partners like iTunes, the Academy Awards, Google/YouTube, MLB, NFL, MTV, McDonald’s, DreamWorks Animation and StarWars/Lucas Arts, among others. Prior to PepsiCo, he also worked as Director of Marketing on the Skoal tobacco brand at United States Smokeless Tobacco Company.

“Our entire executive team is thrilled to be joined by Al, who brings not only the strategically creative vision of a senior marketer, but also a uniquely robust background that includes brand and trade marketing experience,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO of Specific Media. “Al’s background in both B2B and B2C marketing is directly in line with Specific’s vision to provide end-to-end solutions to brands, and compelling original content to consumers. We’re confident that we have found in Al a leader who can strategize and execute on both sides of our business.”

“I’m happy to join the Specific Media team at such an exciting time when the company is pushing the boundaries of advertising and challenging the ways in which consumers interact with brands and engage with content,” said Dejewski. “As dollars and ideas continue to pour online, I look forward to helping Specific Media achieve its vision of transforming the ways in which people think about digital media.”

Dejewski holds a B.S. in Finance from Purdue University and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ.

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a digital media company driving viewership for content owners, engagement for brands and relevance for consumers. With capabilities spanning original programming, cross-channel distribution and addressable advertising, the company connects audiences, content and brands, adding meaning to each touch-point. As people discover new ways to consume content, Specific Media creates impactful media experiences no matter where they are.

www.specificmedia.com

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next-generation media platform company, announced that its advertisers have seen a dramatic increase in the effectiveness of their online video campaigns. Less than a year ago, Specific Media acquired online video company BBE and promised to deliver the “the best of both worlds” to brands by applying the targeting capabilities of its display business to the engaging video format. Findings from an internal benchmark report reveal that, as a result of applying targeting to video, video advertising click-through rates increased 21 percent and view-through rates jumped 46 percent in Q1 2011.

Specific Media attributes this dramatic boost in performance and engagement to the months spent integrating video into its proprietary ad server immediately following the acquisition. Historically, advertisers have been attracted to online video due to its inherent story-telling abilities; however, they’ve struggled in finding their audiences efficiently.

“Specific Media’s wealth of data and ability to apply that data to reach consumers with relevant advertising has made addressable advertising a reality, whether a consumer is engaging with a display ad, video or branded content,” said Matt Wasserlauf, executive vice president of video platforms and services at Specific Media. “Specific Media has delivered on its promise to bring the data and targeting sophistication of display to the video space.”

The company also attributes the surge in video advertising effectiveness to its push for publisher diversification. Specific Media nearly doubled the publisher base for each campaign, effectively reaching broader audiences based on interest, rather than inundating the same consumers with the same ads.

The company has grown into the one of the largest and most effective media platforms in the world, due to its ability to connect brands and their target audiences across mediums. An April 2011 independent report by PointRoll affirmed Specific Media’s leadership position in the online advertising sector. PointRoll measured the performance of display ads across large advertising companies and found that Specific Media averages 10 percent greater interaction and 15 percent greater engagement duration than competitors. The report measured across all major verticals, including automotive, consumer packaged goods, telecom and travel.

“When we entered the online video market last fall, we knew applying data and targeting to video would dramatically boost engagement and effectiveness for our clients,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO of Specific Media. “Since the integration, we’ve not only increased the effectiveness of online video, but also increased our reach nearly 55 percent, delivering approximately 482 million video impressions in March alone. By combining the results-driving power of targeting with the brand-building video format, marketers can now connect with their desired audiences in ways that are more impactful than ever before.”

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media. Learn more at www.specificmedia.com.

“There’s a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect. Myspace has the potential to be that place,” says Timberlake. “Art is inspired by people and vice versa, so there’s a natural social component to entertainment. I’m excited to help revitalize Myspace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together in one community.”

Myspace has created a robust social networking infrastructure that connects people with the artists and content they love. Specific Media and Timberlake plan to evolve Myspace into the premiere digital destination for original shows, video content and music.

Specific Media will also leverage the Myspace social networking infrastructure to deploy socially-activated advertising campaigns, enabling brands to turn their campaigns viral by allowing users to share their favorite ads with friends.

Brothers Tim, Chris and Russell Vanderhook founded Specific Media in 1999 to address the needs of the burgeoning online advertising space. Since then, the company has developed into one of the world’s largest online advertising companies, with capabilities spanning addressable advertising, original programming and cross-media distribution. By bringing its advertising technology and Fortune 500 client base to Myspace, Specific Media is creating a digital hub where consumers, content and brands connect based on mutual interest and relevance.

“We’re thrilled about the opportunity to rebuild and reinvigorate Myspace,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO of Specific Media. “We look forward to partnering with someone as talented as Justin Timberlake, who will lead the business strategy with his creative ideas and vision for transforming Myspace. This is the next chapter of digital media, and we are excited to have a hand in writing the script.”

As part of the agreement, News Corporation will take a minority equity stake in Specific Media. Additional terms of the agreement are confidential and will not be disclosed.

About Myspace
Myspace, Inc. is a leading social entertainment destination powered by the passions of fans. Aimed at a Gen Y audience, Myspace drives social interaction by providing a highly personalized experience around entertainment and connecting people to the music, celebrities, TV, movies, and games that they love. These entertainment experiences are available through multiple platforms, including online, mobile devices, and offline events.

Myspace is also the home of Myspace Music, which offers an ever-growing catalogue of freely streamable audio and video content to users and provides major, independent, and unsigned artists alike with the tools to reach new audiences. The company is headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA.

http://www.myspace.com/pressroom/

About Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake is an actor-singer/songwriter/producer, and entrepreneur. He has become an accomplished artist who is now widely-considered one of pop culture’s most influential entertainers. Timberlake came to fame as a member of the pop group, *NSYNC and, through a successful solo career, has gone on to win six Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards and dozens of accolades from around the world. As an entrepreneur, Timberlake co-created the popular denim lifestyle brand, William Rast; launched a spirits company with 901 Silver Tequila; runs the Tennman Records label and founded the award-winning Mirimichi Golf course located outside Memphis, TN.

About Specific Media
Specific Media is a digital media company driving viewership for content owners, engagement for brands and relevance for consumers. With capabilities spanning original programming, cross-channel distribution and addressable advertising, the company connects audiences, content and brands, adding meaning to each touch-point. As people discover new ways to consume content, Specific Media creates impactful media experiences no matter where they are.
www.specificmedia.com.

“Myspace is a recognized leader that has pioneered the social media space. The company has transformed the ways in which audiences discover, consume and engage with content online,” said Tim Vanderhook, Specific Media CEO. “There are many synergies between our companies as we are both focused on enhancing digital media experiences by fueling connections with relevance and interest. We look forward to combining our platforms to drive the next generation of digital innovation.”

Specific Media is an innovative global interactive media company that enables advertisers to connect with consumers in meaningful, impactful and relevant ways.
Founded in 1999 by brothers Tim, Chris and Russell Vanderhook, Specific Media is currently headquartered in Irvine, CA and operates offices around the world.

About Myspace
Myspace, Inc. is a leading social entertainment destination powered by the passions of fans. Aimed at a Gen Y audience, Myspace drives social interaction by providing a highly personalized experience around entertainment and connecting people to the music, celebrities, TV, movies, and games that they love. These entertainment experiences are available through multiple platforms, including online, mobile devices, and offline events.

Myspace is also the home of Myspace Music, which offers an ever-growing catalogue of freely streamable audio and video content to users and provides major, independent, and unsigned artists alike with the tools to reach new audiences. The company is headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA.

http://www.myspace.com/pressroom/

About Specific Media
Specific Media is a digital media company driving viewership for content owners, engagement for brands and relevance for consumers. With capabilities spanning original programming, cross-channel distribution and addressable advertising, the company connects audiences, content and brands, adding meaning to each touch-point. As people discover new ways to consume content, Specific Media creates impactful media experiences no matter where they are.
www.specificmedia.com.

NEW YORK & IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next-generation media platform company, announced its certification through the new Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Ad Network & Exchange Quality Assurance Certification program. Specific Media is one of the first companies to meet the rigorous training, audit, and compliance requirements for the program, which ensures that digital advertising companies are following the IAB’s Quality Assurance Guidelines (QAG) for ad placement and context.

The QAG enhances advertisers’ control over the placement and context of their ads and offers transparency to the marketplace by standardizing the information provided to advertisers. QAG is the only industry-endorsed certification program that exists today.

This announcement furthers Specific Media’s longstanding commitment to brands, and its efforts to help create a safe environment in which their messages can live and engage receptive consumers. “We’ve always been committed to maintaining trustworthy and transparent relationships with brands,” said Ron Nielsen, senior vice president of media operations for Specific Media. “Advertisers deserve to understand how and where their messages reach consumers. Our participation in the IAB’s Quality Assurance Certification program is further validation of our adherence to accepted industry standards, and our intention to give advertisers the best possible environment for connecting with customers.”

Prior to receiving the IAB compliance seal, Specific Media has consistently been recognized as a leader in creating brand safety in the online environment. In 2010, DoubleVerify, the leader in online media verification and compliance, issued two reports, both of which named Specific Media as among the top ten safest and most compliant companies in the industry. To view the most recent DoubleVerify report and read more about Specific Media’s commitment to brand safety, click here.

Under the provisions of the new Quality Assurance Certification program, a compliance seal will be issued only to companies that undergo rigorous training on the QAG, conduct an intensive internal audit, and assign a compliance officer who will ensure that the company is delivering on the promises of the program.

More information about the IAB Quality Assurance Guidelines and the certification program can be found at http://www.iab.net/ne_guidelines.

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media. Learn more at www.specificmedia.com.

Bordages comes to Specific Media from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he served as corporate counsel to a variety of public and private companies, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, securities offerings and general corporate advice. In his new capacity at Specific Media, Bordages is responsible for managing the company’s global legal affairs, and leads Specific Media’s data protection and privacy efforts.

“Consumer privacy is something we take very seriously and Drew’s expertise will help Specific Media continue to set a high standard in this important focus area,” said Specific Media Co-Founder and CEO Tim Vanderhook. “Drew has represented Specific Media as our outside counsel for some time and has a comprehensive understanding of our company and the industry’s legal environment. We are thrilled that he has joined our executive team.”

“I’m excited to take on this new role and look forward to overseeing the company’s legal affairs globally,” said Bordages. “In particular, with the current industry focus on consumer privacy, I am eager to work to ensure that we remain at the forefront of industry efforts to promote transparency and workable solutions for the protection of online privacy.”

Bordages has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Southern California and earned his law degree magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law.

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media.

Unveiled on Tuesday at the OMMA Behavioral conference in New York, the TRUSTe program is expected to become a key tool for building and maintaining consumer trust in targeted advertising. The certification, which applies to Specific Media’s global network, indicates that the company’s internal privacy controls are fully compliant with TRUSTe’s standards of transparency, choice and accountability.

To achieve certification, an in-depth audit was conducted of Specific Media’s processes, including data collection, data retention, user choice options, privacy statement and use of third-party data. According to TRUSTe research, most consumers are receptive to relevant, targeted advertising, as long as they are informed of their choices and can be sure that their personal data is being respected.

Specific Media is a signatory to the IAB Good Practice Principles, and a member of NAI and IASH. The media company is an early-adopter of the DAA’s Ad Choices program, being the first to implement the Advertising Option Icon across its entire network to empower consumers with greater control over the advertising that they receive. Specific Media is also a member of the IAB Leadership Council who, in conjunction with the EASA, is working toward introducing the Ad Choices program in Europe — a further testament to Specific Media’s proactive approach toward privacy.

“TRUSTe compliance is a continuation of our efforts to develop and embody best practices for the industry, enabling us to provide an even higher level of transparency to both consumers and advertisers,” said Tim Vanderhook, co-founder and CEO, Specific Media. “By becoming the first digital media company to be certified through TRUSTed Data Collection, we are strengthening our commitment to consumer privacy protection and helping drive forward industry standards in privacy compliance.”

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media.

About TRUSTe

Thousands of companies rely on TRUSTe’s leading privacy trustmark to enhance consumer trust, drive increased registrations and transactions, and comply with complex privacy requirements. Consumers know that when they see the TRUSTe seal, they can “Click with Confidence” because the certified website is responsible with their personal information. TRUSTe has certified more than 40 percent of the top fifty websites, including Facebook, Yahoo, Microsoft, eBay, AOL, Adobe, AT&T, Comcast, Disney, Weather.com, Apple, LinkedIn, Web MD, and Yelp. TRUSTe also certifies many of the top advertising and technology service providers for websites. For additional information on TRUSTe and its services, please visit http://www.truste.com.

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next generation media platform company, announced the appointment of Daniel Stephenson to the newly created role of senior director of category development.

Based out of Specific Media’s UK office, Stephenson is responsible for developing business planning and marketing strategies to extend Specific Media’s relationships with clients across key industries, including government agencies. In addition to his strategic role, he will also lead a team in the development of innovative solutions to enable clients in vertical sectors to maximize their digital marketing campaigns.

Stephenson comes to Specific Media from the Central Office of Information (COI) — the UK government’s marketing and communications agency — where he was head of digital marketing. Stephenson spent nine years at the COI, where he was responsible for delivering digital strategy, planning and buying solutions to 35 government departments and agencies across display, search, social media, video and mobile. During his tenure, the COI maintained the UK’s largest digital marketing spend.

“Much of our success results from our ability to deeply understand the challenges our clients face and provide custom solutions that improve their business performance and brand goals,” said Specific Media Executive Vice President Jon Schulz, who leads the company’s category development efforts. “Daniel’s extensive experience within the COI and his work with government organizations provides that understanding from the inside and is an instrumental part of this effort.”

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives — combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original.

NEW YORK, NY – DoubleVerify, the pioneer and worldwide leader in online media verification and compliance, released findings from its 2H 2010 Trust Index. The report increases trust and accountability in the market by providing data around compliance and brand safety in online advertising. The most compliant ad networks from July to December 2010 were (listed alphabetically): AOL’s Advertising.com, AudienceScience, Casale Media, Dedicated Media, interclick, Microsoft Media Network, Specific Media, Traffic Marketplace and ValueClick Media. Advertising platforms that were most compliant include: Invite Media, The MIG’s Zeus Advertising Platform and VivaKi’s Audience on Demand (AOD).

To identify the top performers in the industry, DoubleVerify analyzed networks and platforms based on benchmarks of non-compliance, including: instances of ads served out of inclusion lists, in exclusion lists, alongside inappropriate content and ads served to international audiences. Compared to 1H 2010, the 2H 2010 Trust Index noted marked improvement in incidents of non-compliance from the industry’s best-performing companies and continued inconsistency from the worst-performing companies. DoubleVerify examined metrics from hundreds of advertisers, thousands of verified campaigns and more than 150 billion advertising impressions to produce the bi-annual report, which can be downloaded at: http://www.doubleverify.com/resources/research/trust-index-2h-2010/

“The Trust Index is a measure of how our industry is performing when it comes to compliance and accountability — two pillars that are critical in building trust and growing online advertising,” said Oren Netzer, CEO of DoubleVerify. “The improvements in non-compliance rates we’ve seen so far are a reflection of the increased use of verification services that help vendors improve their campaign traffic quality. Meanwhile, a larger conversation is surfacing around how all online ad players have to work together with everyone’s best interest in mind to make online advertising more trustworthy — advertisers, ad technology companies and publishers. We believe the efforts we are undertaking this year will shape our industry for the future and ultimately bring more investment into the space overall.”

DoubleVerify utilized additional data points in its study of the overall progress against non-compliance, including: instances when multiple ads from the same advertiser were served, when ads were served alongside a competitor and when ads were served below the fold. The Trust Index also details the overall average of non-compliance as well as the standard deviation of each group of industry players, showing how much variation there is from the “average.” The high standard deviation suggests that there is still a lot of inconsistency in campaign compliance, where two campaigns being bought with the same media seller can yield very different compliance results.

Key findings from the 2H 2010 Trust Index include:

- In 2H 2010, the most compliant advertising networks had an average rate of 2 percent incidents of non-compliance. Compared to 1H 2010, the most compliant networks’ campaigns experienced less variability of non-compliance (from 17 to 9 percent standard deviation) while the least compliant networks experienced greater variability (from 29 to 38 percent). This shows consistency among the top performing networks.
- The most compliant ad platforms showed an average of 3 percent incidents of non-compliance — outperforming the lower tier of players by almost 9 times. In this top performing group, the standard deviation of non-compliant campaigns decreased significantly from 30 percent in 1H 2010 to 6 percent in 2H 2010.
- International targeting compliance varied greatly among publishers. The top 10 performing publishers saw an average of 0.01 percent of campaign impressions served internationally with a standard deviation of just 6 percent. The bottom performing publishers saw an average of 40 percent of campaign impressions served internationally and an 18 percent standard deviation.

DoubleVerify also analyzed how non-compliance on specific campaigns changed over time. Advertisers who worked with DoubleVerify to monitor, remediate and block non-compliant impressions witnessed a 67 percent decrease in inappropriate content and a 77 percent decrease in internationally targeted traffic (up from 72 percent in 1H 2010).

Additional highlights around advertising delivery norms include:

- 37 percent of ads on verified campaigns were served below the fold (compared to 44 percent in 1H 2010)
- 11 percent of advertising pages included multiple ads by the same advertiser (compared to 10 percent in 1H 2010)
- 5 percent of ads in verified campaigns were shown alongside a competitor’s ads (compared to 4 percent in 1H 2010)

Methodology
DoubleVerify used a robust set of data analysis tools to analyze online advertising campaign activity across more than 150 billion advertiser campaign impressions from July 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010. Types of non-compliance analyzed include instances of ads served out of inclusion lists, in exclusion lists, alongside inappropriate content, multiple ads from the same advertiser, ads alongside a competitor, below the fold ads and ads served to international audiences. The data in the analysis was carefully normalized to the best of our ability. Advertising delivery providers were categorized into 3 main categories: Advertising Networks, Platforms (includes DSPs, ad exchanges and trading desks) and Publishers. Impression thresholds were applied to each group to ensure the highest level of accuracy.

About DoubleVerify
DoubleVerify (www.doubleverify.com) is the worldwide leader in online advertising verification and the top choice of marketers, agencies, ad networks and publishers looking to ensure brand safety, campaign transparency and regulatory compliance. DoubleVerify verifies more than 35 billion advertising impressions per month for hundreds of leading Fortune 500 marketers. DoubleVerify is headquartered in New York City, with engineering offices in Tel Aviv, Israel. Investors in DoubleVerify include Blumberg Capital, Institutional Venture Partners, First Round Capital and Genacast Ventures.

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next generation media platform, announced the opening of its new regional U.S. office in Seattle, serving Washington and Oregon.

Located within one of the country’s largest technology hubs, the downtown Seattle office will be led by newly appointed Director of Sales for the Pacific Northwest, Heather Conniff.

In her new role, Conniff oversees sales initiatives throughout the Washington, Oregon and Vancouver BC territories, focusing on building a local sales force and expanding Specific Media’s presence in the region. She previously spent nearly five years at Careerbuilder.com, most recently as a national advertising sales account executive.

“We are thrilled to expand our local presence into the Seattle region, an area that is highly concentrated with major innovative technology companies,” said Paul Oronoz, vice president of west coast sales for Specific Media. “The Pacific Northwest will be a key region for us as we expand our media platform and product offerings, and Heather is the ideal candidate to grow our local presence there.”

Conniff, a graduate of Seattle University and native of western Washington, is exceptionally familiar with the area and has more than eight years of experience in the online advertising industry.

“I am excited about the opportunity to work with major companies that are local to the region that I’ve called home for most of my life,” said Conniff. “I look forward to helping these companies improve their digital media efforts through the advanced technologies that the Specific Media Platform offers.”

With views of Mount Rainier and Qwest Field, the new office is located within the heart of Seattle and boasts the many high-tech and modern features seen throughout all Specific Media office locations.

About Specific Media
Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media.

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next generation media platform company, announced that High Gear Media (HGM) and AutoMedia have joined the company’s rapidly expanding Exclusive Publisher (EP) program. Based on the agreements, Specific Media becomes the only third-party content provider approved to place ads on remnant inventory throughout both publishers’ websites.

Specific Media’s EP program enables advertisers to gain exclusive access to top quality content within the company’s Premium Network of name brand publishers, ensuring positive brand association in a reputable and safe environment. By joining the Specific Media EP program, publishers are able to generate consistent revenue from branded advertisers across unmonetized areas of their sites, while maintaining a non-competitive, mutually beneficial relationship with Specific Media.

“We are aggressively expanding our EP program to include name brand publishers across a variety of sectors, enabling our customers to generate the highest return in the industry for their advertising dollar,” said Jerrold Son, vice president, network operations, Specific Media. “We’re pleased to welcome HGM and AutoMedia, two top-quality online properties in the automotive sector, to our program.”

“Specific Media consistently ranks high in customer satisfaction based in part on the strength of the premium, highly-trafficked publishers it works with,” said David Armitage, chief revenue officer, High Gear Media. “We entered into this exclusive partnership for our remnant inventory with the confidence that working with Specific Media equates to working with a quality, trusted partner that provides unmatched value to the world’s top brands. We look forward to helping Specific Media extend this value across our leading online properties.”

HGM, one of the largest producers of automotive content on the Internet, is the publisher of some of the Web’s best automotive destinations, including TheCarConnection.com, MotorAuthority.com, GreenCarReports.com and more. AutoMedia aims to be the premier provider of quality automotive content on the Web, boasting more than 60,000 pages of original content and a complete buyer’s guide for vehicle shoppers.

Through its unique mix of sophisticated targeting technologies, differentiated consumer data, exclusive access to premium publishers and unparalleled online video capabilities, Specific Media provides valuable online experiences for brand advertisers worldwide.

About Specific Media
Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media.

Larry Goodman cultivated his media skills throughout his 20-year career at Turner Broadcasting, including eight years in which he held the concurrent titles of president, CNN sales and marketing and president operations, Turner Broadcasting Sales Inc. The recipient of numerous industry awards and accolades, Goodman was previously named “Media Maven” by Advertising Age.

Bill Burke, co-author of Ted Turner’s 2008 best-selling autobiography, “Call Me Ted,” has extensive leadership experience in cable television and the interactive space. Previously, Burke served as president and CEO of The Weather Channel Companies where he oversaw all operations. Prior, Burke spent eight years at Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner, where he held senior positions including notable roles as president of TBS and general manager of Turner Classic Movies.

Ed McCarrick built a long and distinguished 35-year career at Time, Inc. that concluded with serving as president and worldwide publisher of the Time News Group. Under his leadership, McCarrick helped lead Time to be named the number-one brand in publishing by Advertising Age. McCarrick is presently the executive vice president of account management and media partnerships at ICON International.

“We are excited to have these three senior executives join our advisory board,” said Tim Vanderhook, co-founder and CEO of Specific Media. “Their collective experience and remarkable vision will be a tremendous asset as we continue to innovate across media channels and expand our global offering.”

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media.

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next generation media platform company, announced the appointments of Fabrizio Blanco as chief technology officer and Jason Knapp as executive vice president of product.

Blanco brings more than 15 years of engineering and systems architecture experience to Specific Media. He previously served as CTO at Strategic Data Corp (SDC), which was acquired by Fox Audience Network (FAN) in 2007 and later acquired by the Rubicon Project. During his tenure as SVP of engineering and chief architect at FAN, Blanco developed the world’s largest display ad serving and optimization technology. He holds multiple pending patents, several of which he co-authored with newly appointed Specific Media Product EVP Jason Knapp, including the industry’s first implementation of real-time bidding technology.

A co-founder of SDC, following its acquisition Knapp served as vice president of monetization products at FAN. There he led a number of critical initiatives including product managing the creation of FAN and Myspace’s ad serving platform. In his new role at Specific Media, Knapp leads the company’s ongoing product innovation efforts. Knapp brings 16 years of Internet industry experience, including 11 years focused on ad monetization, serving and optimization. He also aided in launching several technology ventures and provided strategic consulting for top technology companies such as Intel, HP and Microsoft.

“As Specific Media continues to aggressively expand and drive global innovation across media channels, we attract the brightest minds in the industry to our executive ranks,” said Tim Vanderhook, co-founder and CEO of Specific Media. “We are pleased to have two seasoned industry veterans at the helm, leading the effort to drive the company’s technology forward, and we are confident that Fabrizio and Jason’s tremendous contributions will make an immediate and long-term impact on the organization.”

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media.

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next generation media platform company, announced it will be the first Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) member to begin integrating the Advertising Option Icon across all online display ads distributed by the organization, effective immediately. The Advertising Option Icon is a straightforward, easy-to-use tool that empowers consumers to make informed choices about online privacy while working to enrich their Internet experience. Specific Media is currently working with PreferenceCentral, a consumer privacy and empowerment solution company, to deploy the Advertising Option Icon.

“Transparency is essential to our clients and their customers. Incorporating the Advertising Option Icon across all of the display ads we distribute marks a proactive step in helping consumers gain a better understanding of how data is collected and used for online behavioral advertising purposes,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO of Specific Media. “By implementing consumer-friendly principles and standards, we are enabling consumers to make more informed choices on the web, and helping to strengthen relationships between brands and their customers.”

The Advertising Option Program was initiated by IAB to provide consumers with a better understanding and more control over ads that are served to them based on their online behavior. By clicking on an icon within or around an ad unit, consumers can link to a disclosure statement regarding the data collection and usage practices associated with that ad; users can also opt to stop receiving behaviorally targeted ads from the company in the future.

Specific Media was recently recognized by DoubleVerify, a pioneer in online media verification, for being one of the highest rated networks in online ad delivery and compliance. In recent months, Specific Media successfully market tested the new Advertising Option Icon on behalf of several industry-leading clients including MasterCard, Zales, Electronic Arts, and high-end watchmaker Breitling.

“Transparency is at the forefront of today’s online advertising landscape, as industry leaders come to understand the significance of giving consumers choice and control over the ads they are served,” said Jeffrey Katz, GM, PreferenceCentral, which enables consumers to manage their advertising preferences across the web. “Specific Media is helping lead the way by implementing the Advertising Option Icon across its platform and setting a precedent for other media companies.”

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media.

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next generation media platform company, recently announced the acquisition of Amsterdam-based AdCombination in a move to expand its operations into the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. AdCombination is a leading display network in the region, with a premium publisher network and strong industry relationships. With the acquisition, Specific Media extends its foothold as the largest independent digital media platform in Europe.

The acquisition follows Specific Media’s expansion into the Nordic region with office openings in Norway and Denmark in 2009 and Sweden in 2010. Specific Media’s move into the Benelux region reflects the company’s strong performance and focus on European growth, with the AdCombination business being integrated into the Specific Media brand.

“Specific Media continues to strategically build out its media platform on a global scale, and our move into the Benelux will provide tremendous opportunities for advertisers in the region while bolstering our industry-leading capabilities in Europe,” said Tim Vanderhook, co-founder and CEO of Specific Media. “By bringing together Specific Media’s next generation media platform with AdCombination’s executive leadership and presence in the market, we are able to provide our customers worldwide the advantages of a global media platform, presenting a value proposition that is simply unmatched in the industry.”

“AdCombination has built a strong customer base in the Benelux, and I am extremely pleased that we are becoming part of Specific Media to continue our growth as part of a leading, global brand,” said Tim Van Der Bilt, Managing Director of AdCombination. “Marketers across Europe are recognizing Specific Media’s superior product offering and levels of service, and I am looking forward to bringing this to customers across the Benelux.”

Van Der Bilt will lead the merged operations as Regional Director Benelux for Specific Media, reporting to Philippe Besnard, MD Continental Europe. Prior to AdCombination, Van Der Bilt was Country Manager Benelux at AOL Advertising.

The Internet advertising spend continues to show strong and steady growth across the Benelux:

- The analyst house Enders estimates online advertising in the Netherlands to grow by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5 percent over the next five years to €1,225 million, representing a cumulative increase of €410 million or 50 percent versus last year.
- According to IAB Europe, online advertising overtook TV ad spend last year in the Netherlands, accounting for 22 percent of spend compared to 21 percent on TV.
- In Belgium, Enders estimates that online advertising will grow by CAGR 10.8 percent over the next five years to €523 million, representing a cumulative increase of €210 million or 67 percent compared to 2009.
- With the company’s recent acquisition of premier online video provider BBE, Specific Media continues its aggressive plan to roll out its video offering across Europe.

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media.

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, a next generation media platform company, announced exclusive agreements with ClassicCars.com, CarDomain.com and Zeroto60times.com to be the only third-party content provider approved to place ads throughout the publishers’ websites.

The agreements enable Specific Media to further expand and add value to its Premium Network, which is composed entirely of name brand publishers and top quality content to ensure advertisers the highest degree of positive brand association. Through Specific Media’s Exclusive Publisher (EP) program, advertisers gain exclusive third-party access to popular online properties spanning a number of key industries.

“We are excited to welcome three highly successful automotive websites to our EP program and will immediately extend the benefits to our customers,” said Ron Nielsen, senior vice president, Media Operations, Specific Media. “Brand advertisers and their agencies turn to Specific Media to reach their audiences in the highest quality environment, and we are making that possible through brand safe inventory and exclusive publisher relationships that are unique in the industry.”

By joining the Specific Media EP program, publishers generate consistent revenue from branded advertisers across unmonetized areas of their sites while maintaining a non-competitive, mutually beneficial relationship with Specific Media.

“We chose to work exclusively with Specific Media based on its roster of highly recognizable endemic and non-endemic brand advertisers, its customer service and its unique knowledge of the marketplace,” said Roger Falcione, president and CEO of ClassicCars.com. “This type of partnership falls directly in line with our ongoing initiative to provide the classic vehicle and collectible car market with unmatched online brand placement and product merchandising efficiencies. This effort also coincides with our work to provide the enthusiast with a wealth of services to draw from throughout the life of their vehicle ownership. We look forward to an exciting partnership with Specific Media.”

The Specific Media EP program is growing quickly and the company plans to continue adding additional publishers throughout 2010 and 2011. By combining its sophisticated targeting technologies, differentiated consumer data, exclusive access to premium publishers, and its recently acquired online video capabilities, Specific Media provides valuable and impactful online experiences to its clients and their audiences.

About Specific Media

Specific Media is a next generation media platform company that enables brands to seamlessly connect with consumers no matter where they are. Working across formats and screens, Specific Media makes addressable advertising a reality. Specific Media’s suite of products inspire brands to think differently about their marketing initiatives – combining formats such as video and display and incorporating creative original programming to drive deep engagement and loyalty. As consumers discover new ways to consume content in the digital era, Specific Media will make sure your brand reaches them in the ways they desire. Get – and stay – connected at Specific Media.

Irvine, Calif. and New York, NY – Specific Media, the world’s largest independent media platform, announced that it has acquired Broadband Enterprises (BBE), a premier online video provider. Founded in 2004, BBE is a video advertising company that helps brands to monetize, track and produce video across all digital platforms. The deal recently closed for an undisclosed amount.

BBE, which currently works with a majority of Fortune 100 brands, has developed a complete video advertising solution used by major brand advertisers. The company has also developed the industry’s first ad-serving and tracking platform dedicated exclusively to video, VINDICO, which has logged more than 23 billion impressions to date. In addition, the company’s branded entertainment division has produced more than 20 original series, including the award-winning hit show Jen and Barb, Mom Life.

“Video is an exciting market, but advertisers have been unable to capitalize on its potential because it currently lacks data, targeting and analytics. We’re bringing our expertise to this area to fulfill the promise of video,” said Tim Vanderhook, co-founder and CEO of Specific Media. “We chose BBE because the company has a complete solution for brand advertisers, proven technology and a strong leadership team.”

Digital video is one of the fastest growing categories in interactive advertising. According to a recent report from the Internet Advertising Bureau and PwC, digital video advertising is up 31 percent in the first half of 2010 over 2009. eMarketer estimates that video advertising spending will grow 43 percent in 2011 and is expected to remain the fastest growing format within the industry through 2014.

Win-Win for Customers
BBE works with more than 300 premium brand advertisers via a network of more than 2,400 publisher sites. This acquisition expands Specific Media’s already large customer base, many of which currently use solutions from both companies.

According to Scott Kelly, digital marketing manager at Ford, “As a long-time partner with Specific Media, we are pleased to see them choose BBE to expand their video advertising offerings. Online video is an ever-increasing part of our marketing mix and we’re excited to see Specific Media apply its leadership in the areas of data, targeting and analytics into the more engaging ad format of online video.”

BBE’s current media operations will be integrated into Specific Media. The BBE brand will continue to exist as an independent subsidiary of Specific Media, to be led by President Matt Timothy who will focus on the company’s technology platform, VINDICO.

“I’ve always admired what Specific Media has accomplished, as I feel their focus on data and innovation has provided a strong foundation for their growth,” said Matt Wasserlauf, founder and CEO of BBE. “Together, our ability to integrate display and video into one unified platform will lead the next phase in the evolution of online advertising.”  Wasserlauf will stay onboard as Specific Media’s EVP, Video Platform and Services and oversee its expansion of video into Europe.

About Specific Media
Specific Media is uniquely positioned as the world’s largest independent media platform, solving the reach and data problems facing today’s advertisers. Specific Media enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media’s Premium Network reaches nearly 160 million US consumers and 260 million consumers globally each month. With a relentless focus on delivering measurable, predictable results in a brand-friendly environment, Specific Media is defining tomorrow’s marketing standards, today. Visit www.specificmedia.com.

NEW YORK – Responding to marketers’ call for better brand safety and enhanced transparency online, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced that 16 member companies are the first to commit to comprehensive self-certification against the IAB “Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines.” Released in June of this year, the guidelines are part of a far-reaching industry initiative lead by the IAB to increase buyer control over the placement and context of advertising on ad networks and exchanges. The announcement was made at ClickZ Connected Marketing Week in San Francisco, where the IAB Networks & Exchanges Committee programmed a one-day forum on ad networks and exchanges.

The first 16 IAB member companies that will self-certify in early 2011 are:

24/7 Real Media

Fox Audience Network

Adify

Google

AOL/Advertising.com

ScanScout

AudienceScience

Specific Media

Burst Media

Traffic Marketplace

Casale Media

Tremor Media

ContextWeb, Inc. / ADSDAQ Exchange

Yahoo!

CPX Interactive

ValueClick Media

“We applaud the efforts of these ad networks and exchanges to be the first to commit to the standards and practices covered by ‘Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines,’” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “It is no small task to undergo the self-certification process and, once compliant, these organizations will provide marketers the highest level of brand safety. Every agency and marketer should consider compliance with these guidelines as a buying standard and we invite additional ad networks and exchanges to join the program.”

“The IAB Quality Assurance Guidelines demonstrate to marketers and agencies that we put brand safety first,” said Jay Sears, General Manager of ContextWeb, Inc.’s ADSDAQ Exchange, and Co-Chair of the IAB Networks & Exchanges Committee. “These 16 companies that have raised their hand must now engage in a full-scale implementation that will require extensive training and investment—it shows a true commitment to control, transparency and simplifying the buying of digital media.”

“The certification program we designed is a way to provide marketers and agencies a standardized approach that will make buying advertising easier and give increased control over where ads are placed,” said David Jacobs, Senior Vice President, Advertising.com, and Co-Chair of the IAB N&E Ad Certification Working Group. “We anticipate broad adoption of these guidelines by parties participating in the self certification process.”

The rigorous self-certification process requires the participating companies to:

Attend IAB training sessions developed to guide compliance officers through the proper implementations of the guidelines
Conduct quarterly internal audits to test compliance with the guidelines
Submit forms to the IAB from both the compliance officer and business unit leader attesting to adherence to the guidelines
“Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines” can be found on the IAB website at: http://www.iab.net/ne_guidelines.

About the IAB’s Networks & Exchanges Committee:

The IAB Networks and Exchanges Committee is comprised of senior leaders of ad networks and ad exchanges that are general member companies. The committee is dedicated to furthering the interests of ad networks and ad exchanges in today’s complex ad marketplace. Committee objectives are to foster the highest standards of professionalism and accountability in relationships with publishers, advertisers and the agency community, to develop programs that enable revenue growth, and to create best practices that protect consumers and the industry. A full list of Committee member companies can be found at: http://www.iab.net/networks_and_exchanges_committee.

About the IAB:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

RESTON, VA – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world reported the top 15 ad networks based on their reach among U.S. Internet users in December 2009. The ranking showed that AOL Advertising remains the top ad network, reaching 187 million U.S. Internet users, or 91 percent of the total audience, followed by Yahoo! Network (180.9 million) and Google Ad Network (178.1 million). The fastest growing ad network by audience reach among the top 15 was Microsoft Media Network U.S., which grew 31 percent versus year ago, followed by Collective Network (up 22 percent) and Audience Science (up 16 percent).

Top 15 Ad Networks

December 2009 vs. December 2008 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations

Source: comScore Media Metrix

Total Unique Visitors (000)

Dec-2008    Dec-2009    % Change

Total Internet : Total Audience  190,650     205,709         8

AOL Advertising                                173,804     187,023         8

Yahoo! Network                                 165,879     180,909         9

Google Ad Network                              157,131     178,134        13

ValueClick Networks                            159,420     170,774         7

Microsoft Media Network US                     126,158     165,470        31

Specific Media                                 153,079     165,230         8

FOX Audience Network                               N/A     156,981       N/A

24/7 Real Media                                142,448     155,856         9

Collective Network                             126,294     153,905        22

interCLICK                                     137,076     148,989         9

Tribal Fusion                                  139,778     147,169         5

AudienceScience (formerly Revenue Science)     126,261     146,428        16

Traffic Marketplace                            147,024     144,115         -2

Adconion Media Group                           142,133     141,235         -1

Turn, Inc                                      123,150     138,297        12

“Ad networks continue to be a powerful mechanism for delivering a large audience online, with eight different networks reaching at least 75 percent of the entire U.S. online population,” said comScore senior vice president Jeff Hackett. “Increasingly, however, ad networks are improving their capability for reaching more targeted audiences as well, which delivers enhanced value to advertisers and helps sustain higher CPMs for the channel. 2010 should bring us continued innovation and performance from this growing online sector.”

About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

One of the nation’s largest privately held dealer groups, MileOne Automotive represents 28 major automotive brands including Honda, Nissan, and Mercedes in 63 retail locations throughout the East Coast. In addition, MileOne Automotive manages collision-repair centers, and provides vehicle leasing and car rentals through its Allstate division.

Utilizing Specific Media’s proprietary targeted display and data technologies, MileOne will target automotive in-market shoppers across the Specific Media premium publisher network. Delivering the right message to the right customer at the right time, Specific Media will ensure that MileOne’s advertising dollars are spent talking to customers who are in-market for an automobile.

“With their vast experience in the automotive industry, Specific Media aligns perfectly with MileOne Automotive and we’re excited to partner with the organization to help us meet our online advertising goals and objectives,” said David Metter, CMO, MileOne Automotive. “MileOne is not new to online advertising, and Specific Media provides an efficient and effective solution that ensures our online advertising dollars continue to be well spent. They were an obvious choice as we looked to revamp our online efforts in order to reduce wasted impressions and maximize efficiency across our properties.”

“Automotive manufacturers and retailers worldwide are seeking new ways to cut through the clutter and enhance user engagement in order to drive sales growth in a very difficult auto market,” remarks Jon Schulz, SVP, Head of Global Automotive, Specific Media. “We’re thrilled to partner with MileOne Automotive as their exclusive online advertising partner.”

About MileOne Automotive

MileOne Automotive operates 63 retail automotive franchises representing 28 different brands and nine collision centers in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia with a focus on the Baltimore-Washington, Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton major metro areas. MileOne.com allows customers to research new, used and fuel-efficient luxury, import and domestic cars and trucks, send information about vehicles to mobile devices, schedule service appointments, buy parts and accessories, play automotive games, and download automotive wallpaper and mobile ring tones. For more information or to find a quality MileOne dealership near you, please visit (www.mileone.com).

About Specific Media (www.specificmedia.com)

Specific Media is uniquely positioned as the world’s largest independent media platform, solving the reach and data problems facing today’s advertisers. Specific Media enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media’s Premium Network reaches 160 million US consumers and 225 million consumers globally each month. With a relentless focus on delivering measurable, predictable results in a brand-friendly environment, Specific Media is defining tomorrow’s marketing standards, today.

RESTON, VA – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world today reported the top 25 ad networks based on their reach among U.S. Internet users in April 2009. The ranking showed that AOL’s Platform-A remains the top ad network, reaching nearly 176.5 million U.S. Internet users, or 91.5 percent of the total audience, followed by Yahoo! Network (167.1 million) and Google Ad Network (164.5 million). New ad network FOX Audience Network ranked sixth, reaching 149.2 million people. Several ad networks in the top 25 achieved double-digit growth during the past year, led by Turn Inc. (up 121 percent), CPX Interactive (up 88 percent) and 24/7 Real Media (up 48 percent).

______________________________________________________________________________
Top 25 Ad Networks

April 2009 vs. April 2008

Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations

Source: comScore Media Metrix

Total Unique Visitors (000)
Apr-2008        Apr-2009       % Change

Total Internet: Total Audience          190,728         192,875           1

Platform-A                              170,508         176,455           3
Yahoo! Network                          160,206         167,129           4
Google Ad Network                       155,882         164,518           6
ValueClick Networks                     140,930         160,307          14
Specific Media                          144,773         158,012           9
FOX Audience Network                        N/A         149,249         N/A
24/7 Real Media                          99,959         147,668          48
Traffic Marketplace                     114,682         143,519          25
Microsoft Media Network US              119,595         139,674          17
Tribal Fusion                           135,113         138,274           2
Casale Media – MediaNet                 127,184         137,884           8
interCLICK                              107,961         134,834          25
Turn, Inc                                60,617         134,028         121
Adconion Media Group                    117,965         133,498          13
CPX Interactive                          69,178         130,370          88
Collective Network by Collective Media   88,279         129,808          47
ADSDAQ by ContextWeb                     93,815         123,534          32
AudienceScience (formerly Revenue Science)  N/A         121,001         N/A
Burst Media                              89,670         116,727          30
Undertone Networks                       72,940          97,053          33
AdBrite                                  81,838          91,033          11
Pulse 360                                   N/A          82,574         N/A
Vibrant Media                            72,351          80,779          12
Adify                                       N/A          73,467         N/A
Kontera                                  52,159          72,870          40
______________________________________________________________________________

“Underscoring the growing importance of ad networks to the digital advertising economy, each of the top 25 ad networks has expanded its reach during the past year,” commented Jack Flanagan, comScore executive vice president. “It almost seems that new ad networks are emerging every day, each aimed at helping advertisers achieve their campaign objectives, whether it’s to deliver reach and frequency or to target a specific audience segment.”

About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

Leveraging data from Nielsen’s new NetEffects product, Specific Media Brand Awareness Reports enable advertisers to measure the impact of their campaigns among consumers across key attributes such as brand awareness, brand opinion, key messages, and the likeliness of online audiences to recommend a brand to others. Specific Media is able to evaluate a campaign’s effectiveness and share key insights with its advertisers within weeks of the campaign’s launch.

“Specific Media Brand Awareness Reports provide advertisers with a clear picture of their target audiences’ response to an ad campaign, including their ability to recall the ad, develop an opinion, and take action such as searching for more information, or recommending the brand to others,” said Daryl McNutt, vice president of client services, Specific Media. “By providing advertisers with actionable data and insights into brand perception, message decay rates and optimal impression frequencies, Specific Media helps its customers interpret their brand story, while enabling them to make adjustments and plan future campaigns more effectively.”

By applying the same principles it uses to research TV viewership, Nielsen collects data from panelists that have been exposed to the advertiser’s campaign, as well as from a control group. Nielsen panelists receive a customized survey within hours or days of a Specific Media campaign launch to track the number of ad exposures and ensure a representative control group.

Once the survey results are obtained, Specific Media experts analyze the responses and make the data actionable through a comprehensive report. Advertisers are then able to gauge whether their campaign aided product awareness, and if more consumers were favorable to the brand following the campaign. Specific Media Brand Awareness Reports also illustrate whether the campaign impacted site visitation, whether exposed consumers purchased or plan to purchase the product and whether the audience is more likely to try, continually use or recommend the product.

McNutt notes that Specific Media Brand Awareness Reports have been particularly useful to customers in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, based in part on the broad number of consumer segments within the sector, and due to the use of diverse messaging to support a variety of brand and product categories.

About Specific Media (www.specificmedia.com)

Specific Media is uniquely positioned as the world’s largest independent media platform, solving the reach and data problems facing today’s advertisers. Specific Media enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media’s Premium Network reaches more than 150 million US consumers and 225 million consumers globally each month. With a relentless focus on delivering measurable, predictable results in a brand-friendly environment, Specific Media is defining tomorrow’s marketing standards, today.

LONDON – Specific Media, the leading independent online advertising network, announced the next stage in its growth strategy for Northern Europe. Specific Media will open an office in Copenhagen, Denmark on 1st March 2009. Three strategic senior hires will support the expansion into Scandinavia.

Michael Chabert, previously of AOL’s Advertising .com, has been appointed as Vice President of Northern Europe and will be responsible for overseeing the Danish launch, establishing Specific Media’s presence in Northern Europe and growing the company’s market share in this new territory. Prior to joining Specific Media, Chabert was the Country Manager of Advertising.com’s Denmark office for seven years, during which time he grew revenue by 100% between 2005 and 2006, negotiated contracts with the top 50 advertisers and 20 leading commercial portals in Denmark and expanded the office from one person to 15 members of staff.

Birgitte Jöhncke will become the country manager of Specific Media’s new Denmark office. She brings with her with nine years of experience from Yahoo!, where most recently she held the title of Head of Sales and Business development for Scandinavia. Johncke was instrumental in establishing the Yahoo! Denmark office and building strong relationships with advertisers in the region.

Supporting Chabert and Johncke will be Claus Osterby, who also joins from Advertising.com and fills the role of Sales Director. The combined team boasts more than 30 years experience in the online advertising space and brings with them great competitive insights and knowledge to build Specific Media’s offering in Northern Europe.

Colin Petrie-Norris, International Managing Director for Specific Media, said: “Growing our presence in Scandinavia plays a central role in our aggressive expansion plans for Europe and we are delighted to welcome such industry heavyweights such as Michael, Birgitte and Claus to Specific Media. Their industry experience and local expertise will help us to develop in the Scandinavian market and further expand our offering to advertisers across Europe.”

Chabert added, “Denmark was the natural choice for Specific Media’s Northern European headquarters. Its location, transport links and flexible workforce make it perfect hub for the company as we begin to offer our services across Scandinavia. Our extensive knowledge of the Scandinavian market combined with Specific Media’s powerful targeting technology will make a compelling offering for advertisers in the region over the coming months.”

Specific Media is a global technology and online media company that enables advertisers to reach target audiences with unprecedented scale and accuracy. The company connects advertisers with target audiences across its premium network of name brand publishers through advanced demographic, behavioural, contextual, geographic and retargeting technologies.

About Specific Media

Specific Media, the advertising industry’s largest independent online advertising network, leads the industry with ground-breaking technology which enables advertisers to target consumers throughout Western Europe and North America based on demographics, behaviours, geographic locations and the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media’s Premium Network reaches more than 30 million consumers each month in the U.K and 225 million consumers globally. The combination of reach and proprietary targeting technologies allows Specific Media to create highly customised audience segments for advertisers. Since 1999, Specific Media has been enabling advertisers to build relationships with their target audiences across the top consumer branded publishers.

Visit www.specificmedia.co.uk

To Provide Brand Advertisers with Measurable Impact

Irvine, Calif. – December 3, 2008 – Specific Media, the world’s largest independent media platform, today unveiled new research that shows display advertising significantly lifts search activity. The study leverages 12 months of proprietary Specific Media Ad Effectiveness data backed by comScore, tracking more than 60+ Specific Media campaigns to draw averages demonstrating the direct correlation between display advertising and search. The benchmark study provides brand advertisers with unique, measurable insights into the effectiveness of their display advertising campaigns.

“Specific Media provides its brand advertisers with unique post-campaign reporting tools that show how their display campaigns impact search, site visitation and engagement,” said Chris Vanderhook, COO, Specific Media. “We’ve always known that display advertising significantly impacts consumer activity, now we provide brand advertisers with the tools and validation to verify and quantify that impact.”

The study demonstrates that consumers exposed to display advertising were more likely to search for brand terms (i.e. automotive manufacturer), and segment terms (i.e. vehicle class), than unexposed consumers. Segmented results include:

Display Advertising Lift on Search Activity

Advertiser Category Search (Brand & Segment)
Automotive 144%
CPG 22%
Health 260%
News & Media 144%
Personal Finance 206%
Property & Real Estate 125%
Retail 69%
Travel & Tourism 274%
Average Lift 155%

Averages based on comScore Ad Effectiveness data for Specific Media display advertising clients over 12-month period ending August 2008.

The study shows that display advertising has a direct impact on both paid and organic searches and clicks. “As advertisers look to control their media spend, measure impact and validate the effectiveness of their marketing efforts, strategies that lift organic traffic are invaluable,” said Vanderhook.

Through a suite of pre- and post-campaign reports, utilizing data from comScore and other leading industry sources, Specific Media is the only advertising network offering online advertisers a truly cumulative view of campaign effectiveness, delivering valuable best practices data for current and future media planning.

About Specific Media (www.specificmedia.com)

Specific Media is uniquely positioned as the world’s largest independent media platform, solving the reach and data problems facing today’s advertisers. Specific Media enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media’s Premium Network reaches more than 150 million US consumers and 225 million consumers globally each month. With a relentless focus on delivering measurable, predictable results in a brand-friendly environment, Specific Media is defining tomorrow’s marketing standards, today.

Irvine, Calif. – November 19, 2008 – Specific Media, the world’s largest independent media platform, today announced the launch of Dynamic Circular, an innovative solution that enables retailers to quickly and easily expand their print circular advertisements into targeted online display ads.

While retailers spend millions of dollars each year on print circulars, newspaper readership continues to decline and an ever-growing number of consumers rely on the Internet for news and local information. By leveraging Specific Media’s Dynamic Circular platform, advertisers deliver tailored ads quickly and easily to maximize the efficiency of retail circulars and improve ROI.

Specific Media Dynamic Circular leverages existing weekly print circulars by enabling retail advertisers to utilize circular content online, transforming specific promotions into online ads that target users based on geography, interest, product, gender or demographics. Combined with Specific Media’s leading targeting technologies, the Dynamic Circular platform enables retailers to strategically market product offerings that match the needs of local customers.

“The Specific Media Dynamic Circular platform gives retailers who are already doing print circulars another means of reaching consumers and driving traffic into brick-and-mortar stores,” said David Jakubowski, senior vice president, Specific Media. “With this new and efficient technology tool, retailers have the ability to augment their circular advertising strategy through the most targeted and measureable advertising channel available today.”

The automated solution enables interactive retail circular ads to be dynamically customized and served to targeted audiences within Specific Media’s Premium Network. The announcement comes on the heels of Specific Media’s Dynamic Display platform introduction, which leverages the same flexible data management process to deliver highly-relevant display ads that highlight specific combinations of messages and creatives based on audience segment.

About Specific Media (www.specificmedia.com)

Specific Media is uniquely positioned as the world’s largest independent media platform, solving the reach and data problems facing today’s advertisers. Specific Media enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media’s Premium Network reaches more than 150 million US consumers and 225 million consumers globally each month. With a relentless focus on delivering measurable, predictable results in a brand-friendly environment, Specific Media is defining tomorrow’s marketing standards, today.

Saving Advertisers Significant Time and Money

Irvine, Calif. – November 11, 2008 – Specific Media, the world’s largest independent media platform, today announced the launch of Dynamic Display™, a powerful solution that enables online advertisers to deliver customized, highly-relevant display ads to target audiences across their online media plans in real time, with minimal creative investment required.

The Dynamic Display platform simplifies the management and delivery of creative elements that appear within a display ad, providing advertisers the flexibility and control to customize up to three areas of an ad template. Each area can be populated to highlight different products, business locations, sales incentives, merchandising opportunities and more. By strategically developing a data feed with each customer, Specific Media is able to set rules that alter the customizable components of the ad template and deliver specific messages based on distinct audience profiles throughout its Premium Network.

Combined with Specific Media’s leading demographic, behavioral, contextual, geographic and retargeting technologies, the Dynamic Display platform saves advertisers time and money while enabling them to reach relevant audiences with pinpoint accuracy and unparalleled efficiency. The platform is particularly beneficial for large organizations that offer a variety of products or services, or vary their message to add relevance and impact when targeting segmented audiences.

“The Dynamic Display platform represents a significant breakthrough in the way customized messages are streamlined to a mass audience to create maximum impact,” said David Jakubowski, senior vice president, Specific Media. “We feel that this platform, combined with our leading targeting technologies, provides advertisers a way to inject new life into their display advertising strategies.”

The platform’s flexibility allows advertisers to integrate and scale campaigns based on existing data feeds and media buys, while continuously delivering real-time results that can be applied to campaign objectives. Several advertisers within the travel sector are currently leveraging the platform to reach holiday travelers, including American Airlines.

“For the fourth quarter, we wanted to maximize the reach and impact of our online advertising efforts by serving highly relevant and timely messaging to American Airlines’ broad base of travelers,” said Jessie Wallin, digital media planner for the American Airlines account at TM Advertising. “Specific Media’s Dynamic Display platform allows us to simplify the process of delivering highly customized messages by assigning each audience segment to one of dozens of creative combinations.”

Specific Media’s Dynamic Display platform is available to advertisers across a variety of industries including the retail, automotive, consumer packaged goods and entertainment sectors.

About Specific Media

Specific Media is uniquely positioned as the world’s largest independent media platform, solving the reach and data problems facing today’s advertisers. Specific Media enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media’s Premium Network reaches more than 150 million US consumers and 225 million consumers globally each month. With a relentless focus on delivering measurable, predictable results in a brand-friendly environment, Specific Media is defining tomorrow’s marketing standards, today.

Irvine, Calif. – October 21, 2008 – Specific Media, the largest independent online advertising network, today announced the launch of Offline Sales Impact™, the industry’s most comprehensive and accurate offline sales reporting product for online advertising clients across a variety of vertical markets including the automotive, retail and travel sectors. Specific Media’s proprietary Offline Sales Impact reports reveal the direct correlation between online advertising campaigns and consumers’ offline purchase behavior.

Utilizing test and control group data provided by leading third-party industry research firms including comScore and Nielsen Online, Specific Media is the only interactive media company that can track consumer purchases resulting directly from online advertising campaigns it runs on behalf of its advertisers. Specific Media provides these advertisers with the ability to understand the true impact of their campaigns and accurately measure ROI. Offline Sales Impact reports provide clients a deep view into campaign-generated unit sales, consumer purchase behavior, price sensitivity, lifestyle segmentation, and more.

“To effectively measure their spend, advertisers need to understand the direct sales impact their online campaigns are delivering in the offline marketplace,” said Chris Vanderhook, co-founder and COO, Specific Media. “This need is magnified in a volatile economy, where every ad dollar spent needs to be quantified. We developed Offline Sales Impact to provide the most highly accurate, scientifically sound offline reporting capabilities in the industry, made possible through our partnerships with the most respected third-party data sources in the online advertising world.”

Vanderhook adds that offline impact reporting is a unique benefit to online advertising. “TV and radio just can’t provide this clear understanding of consumer purchase behavior as it relates to their advertising campaigns. As advertisers continue to take a hard look at their advertising spend in traditional channels, we’re confident they will see a real benefit in the ability to better quantify their interactive advertising.”

The third-party partnerships Specific Media maintains with leading research firms ensures consumer anonymity is maintained, and that online advertising privacy standards are fully upheld. Offline Sales Impact reports are customized for clients by industry, and are currently benefitting Specific Media customers in the retail, automotive, consumer packaged goods, entertainment and travel categories.

About Specific Media
Specific Media, the advertising industry’s largest independent online advertising network, enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and/or the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media works with many of the Fortune 500 companies including seven of the top 10 brands. The company’s Premium Network reaches more than 150 million US consumers and 225 million consumers globally each month. Since 1999, Specific Media has connected advertisers with target audiences across consumer branded publishers. Visit www.specificmedia.com.

IRVINE, Calif. – Specific Media, the largest independent online advertising network, today announced it leads the industry in reaching consumers who spend the most time on the Internet, across more categories than any competitor, according to the July 2008 comScore Segment Metrix. Classified as Heavy Users, these audiences are highly desirable in-market consumers who are most likely to make purchase decisions.

By focusing on quality over quantity in seeking out its strategic Web site partnerships, Specific Media has distinguished itself from typical ad networks by developing a Premium Network of name brand publishers. Through its industry-leading Data Network and proprietary targeting technologies, the company enables advertisers to reach the largest number of Heavy Users in 16 different categories including automotive, retail and travel.

“In today’s economic climate, organizations in big ticket categories such as automotive, travel and retail are challenged to find advertising solutions that maximize efficiency while reaching consumers who intend to make purchases,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO and co-founder, Specific Media. “We’re pleased that the latest comScore rankings validate Specific Media as the premier advertising partner in helping clients reach their objectives.”

Within the retail category, Specific Media also reaches more Heavy Users in the consumer electronics, apparel and healthcare subcategories than any other top-four ad network. Other categories in which the company leads include business-to-business, business/finance, directories/resources, government, health, hobbies/lifestyle, news/information, real estate, regional/local, search/navigation, sports, technology and telecom. comScore classifies Heavy Users as the top 20 percent of consumers, based on time spent online at specific site categories.

Since debuting in the comScore rankings in February 2007, Specific Media’s reach has grown by nearly 70 percent, outpacing all other ad networks appearing in the top 10. The company’s Premium Network now reaches more than 225 million online consumers throughout North America and Western Europe each month.

About Specific Media

Specific Media, the advertising industry’s largest independent online advertising network, enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and/or the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media works with many of the Fortune 500 brands including seven of the top 10 companies. The company’s Premium Network reaches more than 150 million US consumers and 225 million consumers globally each month. Since 1999, Specific Media has connected advertisers with target audiences across consumer branded publishers. Visit www.specificmedia.com.

Irvine, Calif. — June 26, 2008 — Specific Media, the largest independent online advertising network, announced today that it will host an insightful evening of political discussion surrounding emerging interactive marketing trends. Renowned campaign strategist and political consultant Matthew Dowd will join Specific Media as a guest speaker at the private event held at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on July 8, 2008. If interested in receiving an invitation to this event, please contact events@specificmedia.com.

The symposium will feature critical insight into how creative political marketers are increasingly shifting their advertising budgets online to reach and engage more potential voters. As part of the program, Specific Media, the political segment’s leading network, will highlight how it enables top political marketers to target up to 165 unique political audience profiles online through its new, innovative technologies.

“Recent estimates show that online advertising from political campaigns and advocacy groups will reach a record-setting $50 million this year amid national and local elections,” said Dowd. “I welcome the opportunity to join Specific Media to discuss some of the trends we are seeing as the campaign process moves online at a rapid pace. Attendees will gain an understanding of how to make the best use of their online advertising dollars in an increasingly wired world.”

According to recent industry surveys, more than half of all U.S. voters get political information from the Internet, most of them searching for terms related to issues such as “healthcare,” “economy” or “war in Iraq.” However, to date, campaign managers have largely targeted their ads based on candidates’ names, thus failing to connect with the most responsive – and undecided –- segments of the political electorate. Specific Media plans to use the evening’s forum to explain how to avoid this pitfall and others.

“2008 marks an important year in advertising, as political campaigns and advocacy groups are set to increase their online spending to groundbreaking new levels,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO and co-founder of Specific Media. “To avoid wasting advertising dollars, campaign marketers need a better understanding about how people obtain information around important issues. With this forum, we hope to shed new light on online behaviors, and in the process help political marketers more directly reach their key constituents.”

About Matthew Dowd

Matthew Dowd has been a campaign strategist in races throughout the country. In 30 years, Dowd has worked for Democrats such as the late Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, and Republicans including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and President George W. Bush, for whom he was chief strategist in 2004. He currently serves as a political contributor for the ABC television network.

About Specific Media

Specific Media, the advertising industry’s largest independent online advertising network, enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and/or the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media works with many of the Fortune 500 brands including seven of the top 10 companies. The company’s Premium Network reaches more than 225 million consumers globally each month. Since 1999, Specific Media has connected advertisers with target audiences across consumer branded publishers. Visit www.specificmedia.com

Irvine, Calif. — June 17, 2008 — As the nation grapples over the final primaries and prepares for the presidential election in November, Specific Media, the largest independent advertising network, today launched a new specialized political targeting solution designed to offer an edge to campaign marketers. Specific Media already reaches more than 77 percent of American Internet users, according to comScore’s March 2008 report. With the ability to anonymously target consumers by party affiliation, segments and issues, Specific Media’s groundbreaking new offering enables political marketers to target up to 165 unique audience profiles.

According to recent industry surveys, more than half of all U.S. voters get political information from the Internet, most of them searching for terms related to issues such as “healthcare,” “economy” or “war in Iraq”. However, to date, campaign managers have largely targeted their ads based on candidates’ names, thus failing to connect with the most responsive – and undecided – segments of the political electorate.

Specific Media utilizes anonymous data from its industry-leading Data Network to identify and target very specific political audiences by a variety of indicators. These can include party affiliation, such as conservative, moderate, liberal or ethnic minority republicans, democrats and independents, as well as issues such as abortion, civil rights, education, environment, globalization, gun control, healthcare, immigration, Iraq war, budget and Medicare. Combined with its massive reach to nearly 80% of all online consumers, Specific Media gives political marketers an unprecedented opportunity to strategically connect and interact with targeted segments.

“With the high number of voter registrations and expected turnout during the current primary race season, this is a big year in American politics. It is also an important year in advertising, as political campaigns and advocacy groups are set to increase their online spending,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO and co-founder of Specific Media. “To avoid wasting advertising dollars on untargeted consumers, Specific Media has developed a solution that hones in on specific affiliations and issues, offering political marketers the most targeted and scalable way to reach the voters with the messages that matter most.”

eMarketer estimates online advertising from political campaigns and advocacy groups will reach $50 million this year amid a busy schedule that includes presidential elections, 34 Senate and 435 House campaigns, 11 open governor seats and a wide range of local legislative positions.

Specific Media will be hosting a private event in Washington D.C. to discuss topics surrounding political targeting in July. The scheduled guest speaker is renowned campaign strategist and political consultant Matthew Dowd.
About Specific Media

Specific Media, the advertising industry’s largest independent online advertising network, enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and/or the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media works with many of the Fortune 500 brands including seven of the top 10 companies. The company’s Premium Network reaches more than 225 million consumers globally each month. Since 1999, Specific Media has connected advertisers with target audiences across consumer branded publishers. Visit www.specificmedia.com

Irvine, Calif. — June 10, 2008 — As the nation’s retailers reported the weakest sales for the month of March since 1995 and sales in April declined another 0.2 percent, many retail brands are turning to Specific Media, the largest independent online advertising network for brand advertisers, to reach and engage with their target online audiences. Connecting with more than 145 million U.S. consumers online across hundreds of name brand publishers in its Premium Network, Specific Media helps leading retailers target online audiences and build their brands in the long-term, while converting shoppers’ online interests into actual purchasing decisions in the short-term.

“As a pioneer in leveraging the online ad network space for retailers, NetPlus expects only the highest level of performance from its media partners in terms of ROI, targeting capabilities and customer service,” said Denise Zimmerman, President, NetPlus Marketing. “Specific Media consistently delivers on all levels. As our clients face increasing economic pressure, we will continue to turn to Specific Media to help our clients meet their aggressive goals and expectations.”

In addition to offering retail brand advertisers demographic, behavioral, contextual and geographic targeting solutions, Specific Media provides other innovative high-impact advertising options, which enable advertisers to take over its Premium Network inventory or a demographic, behavioral, contextual or geographic segment for an allotted time. These solutions provide scalable inventory and extensive reach, which are particularly effective for seasonal or regional sales events or openings.

Specific Media also enables retail brands to measure their advertising campaigns with offline impact reports which quantify consumers’ offline purchase behavior to reveal the offline impact of online advertising campaigns. The reports include metrics such as purchases, revenue, dollars per buyer, share of purchases and share of dollars. Overall, these reports offer retail brands valuable best practices data for use in future media planning.
Power of Retargeting

In spite of the Internet’s rising popularity, as many as 65 percent of online shoppers abandon their shopping carts before completing a purchase. Specific Media’s site-level retargeting technology is regarded as the single most powerful method which can effectively find those consumers who have previously browsed an e-commerce site or abandoned their shopping carts and bring them back to complete their purchases. Studies reveal that returning customers – such as those brought back by Specific Media – spend the most time and money on e-commerce sites. Moreover, the company’s clients utilize its impression-level retargeting to extend the frequency of category buys outside Specific Media’s network.

“Retail customers can be very hard for advertisers to reach. By combining demographic targeting with behavioral, contextual and geographic components, Specific Media is the only advertising network able to reach specific consumer segments online with scale and accuracy,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO and co-founder of Specific Media. “The success clients – such as Net Plus Marketing – have had using Specific Media proves that it remains the advertising network of choice for top retail brands.”
About Specific Media

Specific Media, the advertising industry’s largest independent online advertising network, enables advertisers to target consumers throughout North America and Western Europe based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and/or the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media works with many of the Fortune 500 brands including seven of the top 10 companies. The company’s Premium Network reaches more than 220 million consumers globally each month. Since 1999, Specific Media has connected advertisers with target audiences across consumer branded publishers. Visit www.specificmedia.com

Irvine, Calif. — March 10, 2008 — Specific Media, the largest independent online advertising network, today announced a record-breaking revenue increase of more than 300 percent in 2007 compared to 2006. Further, the company also experienced unparalleled growth in year-over-year comScore rankings. Since debuting in the rankings in February 2007, Specific Media’s reach grew by 57 percent, outpacing all of the other ad networks appearing in the top 10. Specific Media now reaches more than 140 million unique users for a total U.S. reach of 77 percent and only trails the ad networks of AOL, Yahoo, and Google.

In the rapidly changing online advertising market last year, Specific Media’s growth was fueled by the quality of its publisher partners and the breadth and depth of its data network as well as the ever-growing demand for its uniquely accurate suite of targeting solutions that combines demographic, behavioral, contextual, and geographic methods. The company works with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 brands including seven of the top 10. Utilizing Specific Media’s proprietary targeting technologies, major brand advertisers in the automotive, retail, packaged goods and financial industries reach highly specific audiences.

“Online display advertising saw an unprecedented flurry of merger and acquisition activity last year that highlighted its strategic value in the online advertising industry. During the same time, Specific Media became the fourth largest online advertising network and secured $100 million in funding,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO and co-founder. “With the consolidation still far from finished, Specific Media aims to continue its rapid growth. Expect a lot more from us in the coming months.”
Company Growth Fuels Office Expansion

Specific Media recently opened an office in Boston to help drive expansion in the northeast region. The new office will further improve Specific Media’s service and offering for its new and existing clients on the East Coast. Bill Schild, director of sales, East Coast, will head up the office.

Specific Media also added more than 50 new employees in the past year alone, including such key hires as David Jakubowski, formerly general manager of Microsoft adCenter and Search Strategy and now senior vice president at Specific Media.
About Specific Media

Specific Media, the advertising industry’s fastest-growing interactive media company, enables advertisers to target consumers based on demographics, behaviors, geographic locations and/or the contextual relevance of websites visited. Specific Media works with many of the Fortune 500 brands including seven of the top 10 companies. Specific Media’s network reaches more than 140 million U.S. monthly unique users. Since 1999, the company has partnered with hundreds of top quality publishers such as: ABC, CBS, FOX, Major League Baseball, Sportsline.com and VIACOM. For additional information, visit www.specificmedia.com