DALLAS – DG FastChannel®, Inc. (NASDAQ: DGIT), a leading provider of digital media services to the advertising, entertainment and broadcast industries, announced that it has executed a media services agreement with Google. DG FastChannel will provide media ingestion, quality control and production services to enhance Google’s TV Advertising Platform.

“DG FastChannel is uniquely suited to meet the growing demands of Google TV Ads,” said Scott K. Ginsburg, Chairman and CEO, DG FastChannel. “With over 5,000 advertising and content owner customers, DG FastChannel is a market leader in content ingestion, preparation and delivery. The Company’s 10 operating offices across the U.S. and 24/7 customer service allows us to scale appropriately with Google TV Ads. Partnering with a widely respected industry leader such as Google validates the Company’s ongoing efforts to build a comprehensive content delivery solution and complete workflow toolset for both traditional and new media applications.”

“DG FastChannel’s services will help advertisers continue to get great value from Google TV Ads. We’re excited to work with them so that our clients can easily place the best ads possible,” said Keval Desai, Product management Director of Google TV Ads.

About DG FastChannel:

DG FastChannel provides innovative, technology-based solutions to help advertisers and agencies work faster, smarter and more competitively. DG FastChannel delivers the standard in digital media services to the advertising, broadcast and publishing industries. Through its Unicast and Springbox operating units, DG FastChannel is a leading Internet marketing technology company offering online marketing and advertising solutions through a powerful combination of proprietary visualization technology, and a premium rich media advertising platform for the creation, delivery and reporting of premium rich media.

The Company utilizes satellite and Internet transmission technologies and has deployed a suite of digital media intelligence and asset management tools designed specifically for the advertising industry, including creative and production resources, and digital asset management. The Company has an online media distribution network used by more than 5,000 advertisers and agencies, and over 21,000 online radio, television, cable, network and print publishing destinations. For more information visit www.dgfastchannel.

LONDON – Adstream, the global leader in digital asset management and distribution solutions for the advertising industry, announced expansion in Latin America; allowing digital distribution for broadcasters and cable channel providers in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Adstream, the world’s leading provider of creation, management and delivery solutions for the broadcast and print industries, streamlines workflows and improves efficiencies by sending on-air ready assets via the web, directly to Latin American broadcasters. Using the Adstream global digital delivery platform, broadcast delivery orders are placed online, and receive status updates through email or SMS notifications allowing tighter campaign distribution control and on-demand management tools.

Emmelie Forsyth, Director of Broadcast of Adstream America said, “The new Adstream application provides US clients the ability to deliver broadcast assets to Latin American broadcasters and to the Pan Regional Cable Channels. We are thrilled to finally facilitate this area with much sought after digital delivery solutions, and we are excited to connect Latin America to U.S. brands and agencies.”

About Adstream

Adstream, the premier provider of technology solutions to the advertising industry, through seamless validation, intelligent workflow and interconnectivity across broadcast, print and online media operates the world’s largest advertising delivery platform, with over 1600 TV stations, 25,000 publishing houses, and 5000 radio stations across 93 countries. Leading the digital asset management and distribution services by providing a broad range of interoperable, platform independent software tools and applications for the advertising community, including brand owners, agencies, publishers and broadcaster partners, Adstream’s products are the preferred choice worldwide to streamline, manage, validate, distribute, and track content across any and all media types. Headquartered in London England, Adstream serves over 5,000 companies in 93 countries supported through 23 regional offices in the UK, USA, China, Japan, Singapore, India, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Denmark and South Africa. Sweden, Denmark, India, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Brazil and Ireland.

Adstream is the world’s first global media exchange seamlessly connecting brand owners and agencies with media providers. Adstream enables brand owners, agencies, publishers and broadcasters, to manage, validate, distribute, and track media across any and all media types.

NEW YORK – MIVA, Inc. (NASDAQ:MIVA) announced the completion of the sale of assets relating to its MIVA Media operations to advertising network, Adknowledge, for cash consideration of approximately $11.6 million, plus assumption of certain balance sheet liabilities, and subject to certain retained assets and liabilities and post-closing adjustments.

The transaction further streamlines MIVA, Inc.’s operations and accelerates the company’s strategy of developing and expanding its high margin, consumer-oriented toolbar, homepage and desktop search-related products. As a result of the transaction, MIVA, Inc. has reduced total headcount from 129 on December 31 2008 to approximately 50, which includes the transfer of approximately 75 MIVA Media and certain corporate staff to Adknowledge. MIVA, Inc.’s remaining employees will work predominantly out of the company’s New York offices, with a small number remaining in Fort Myers, Florida.

MIVA, Inc. intends to use the proceeds from the sale of the MIVA Media business to focus on the expansion of its ALOT product portfolio. Peter Corrao, MIVA, Inc.’s President and CEO, commented:

“We believe that consolidation is required in the Pay-Per-Click sector and that Adknowledge is extremely well positioned to take advantage of MIVA Media’s assets.”

“MIVA, Inc.’s ongoing strategy is to focus on developing and expanding our ALOT products and monetizing the high value type-in search they deliver. The transaction delivers increased capital and, importantly, will enable us to focus our technology, business development and product marketing teams on the growth and expansion of our ALOT brand.”

MIVA, Inc.’s common stock continues to trade on the NASDAQ under the trading symbol ‘MIVA’. MIVA, Inc. intends to change its name and ticker symbol in the near future.

The investment bank Petsky Prunier LLC acted as financial advisors and Baker & McKenzie LLP and Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP acted as legal advisors to MIVA, Inc. in connection with the sale of the MIVA Media business.

www.alot.com

www.mivainc.com

About MIVA, Inc.

MIVA, Inc. (NASDAQ:MIVA) is an Internet company that owns and operates the ALOT product portfolio. ALOT’s products are designed to ‘Make the Internet Easy’ by enhancing the way consumers engage with content online. The company’s millions of active users utilize ALOT to discover ‘best-of-the-web’ third party content, display that content through customizable toolbar, homepage and desktop products and deliver high value search traffic to MIVA, Inc for in-house and third-party monetization.

PHILADELPHIA – Hundreds of entries were submitted, but only a select few earned the proverbial “Best Of” in the field of advertising, last night, at The Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Philly Ad Club played host to its annual ADDY Awards, celebrating the regions best advertisers.

During a star-studded presentation, top executives collected awards in more than 80 categories. A total of 166 honors were awarded. Six of those awards went out to a select group vying for the ADDY’s most-coveted “Best Of” honors. And they are:

BEST OF SHOW – Neiman Group, PA Department of Health, Full Apologies Campaign

BEST OF MIXED MEDIA – Mangos, Cannondale Bicycle Corporation, HiMOD Campaign

BEST OF INTERACTIVE – 1 Trick Pony, Turner Classic Movies, Summer Under the Stars

BEST OF PRINT – Neiman Group, Harbour House Crabs, Harbour House Crabs Campaign

BEST OF TELEVISION – Sleeping Tree Films, AT&T, National TV, Studying – AT&T

BEST OF PUBLIC SERVICE – Neiman Group, PA Department of Health, Public Service, Full Apologies Campaign

NOTE: Images of “Best Of” entries can be downloaded at – http://bornphotos.com/bests.zip.

The Philly Ad Club proudly boasts more than 60 years as the voice of the greater Philadelphia area communications industry and would like to thank all of this years sponsors, including, Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News/philly.com – title sponsor of the 2009 Philadelphia ADDY awards; corporate sponsors – MY PHL 17 and Razorfish; gold ADDY awards sponsor – Blue Design, NFL, and Shooters; silver ADDY awards sponsors – Baker Sound and Business Wire; and bronze ADDY awards sponsors – SJ Miller Group, Serif Design, and Cubist Media Group.

The Philly Ad Club, a non-profit organization, serves the industry’s professionals with distinction. As one of the region’s largest and most active trade associations, more than 1,200 advertising, marketing and media professionals work to improve and promote high standards in the advertising industry.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AAF represents 50,000 professionals who guide the nation’s leading brands and corporations to advertising excellence. The 210 ad clubs across the nation connect the industry with an academic base of 210 collegiate chapters to promote the well-being of advertising, educate peers, and present the industry with its future leaders.

As the advertising industry tries to tap the growing number of people using social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, the answer may lie in a little box of Godiva chocolates. This is no ordinary box of bonbons. Although it has aroused the appetites of millions of people, it can never be eaten. Its ingredients do not consist of cocoa or milk, but of bits of code. This box of Godiva chocolates exists only on the Internet and was recently promoted by the famous chocolatier as part of a recent campaign through AdNectar.

Increasing Purchase Intent and Click-Through Rates

Recent studies conducted by an online brand ad metrics company, Vizu, show that AdNectar’s campaigns are truly paying off for brands using sponsored virtual items as marketing messages.  The company’s research shows that branded social gifts increased purchase intent, awareness and engagement while actually improving the user’s experience.  “Our study showed that AdNectar’s social gifting ad approach clearly drove purchase intent,” said Dan Beltramo, CEO of Vizu.

In the Godiva study, those exposed to the AdNectar’s virtual chocolate were 20 percent more likely to purchase a real box of Godiva in the next six months than the control group that was not exposed.  This is particularly notable since most purchase intent studies of online campaigns barely break 2 percent lift according to Dynamic Logic, a leading advertising effectiveness company.

Effectively branding virtual items is not limited to well-known chocolate companies.  Method, a leading brand of eco-friendly home care products, recently launched a virtual goods campaign with AdNectar.  The results were even more impressive.
“Our campaign achieved a more than 60 percent lift in purchase intent,” said Gunther Lie, director of interactive marketing at Method. “AdNectar was very effective in driving traffic to our Facebook fan page as well as increasing awareness of the brand through the viral spread of our sponsored virtual items.”

According to AdNectar, the average click-through rate for its campaigns hovers around 0.8 percent and can reach up to 8 percent.  These clicks are generated by a hypertext link below the virtual item which directs users to the sponsor’s site of choice such as a landing page, home page or a pop-up video.  This CTR is significantly higher than the typical rates found on Facebook, which are in the range of 0.04 percent.

Preferred by User

Nir Eyal, CEO of AdNectar, believes the high purchase intent and click-through rates are a result of “user-generated targeting.”  Eyal said, “The users always know more than the marketer about what they and their friends like.  Virtual items let the users find our target audience for us.”  It is likely, for example, that a user, who voluntarily sends a virtual Sunkist soda (a recent AdNectar client) to another user, knows something about the person he or she is sending the virtual fizz to.  Eyal explains, “It is likely that the sender knows that the person being sent the virtual item, enjoys soda, loves the brand, or loves orangey goodness.  In any case, that’s a target customer for our client and is something you just can’t do with a traditional banner ad.  The best part is, it’s all voluntary.  The user chooses to send the virtual item because they enjoy doing so.  That’s why the AdNectar motto is ‘advertising people appreciate.’”

Virtual Goods Reach Tens of Millions Daily

Apparently, lots of users appreciate virtual items.  AdNectar reaches 50 million monthly unique users through its network of application partners and has agreements in place with 6 of the top 15 applications on Facebook.  The company believes virtual items are no longer a niche offering and estimates that 5 million virtual items are exchanged on Facebook every day, 90 percent of which are within the applications built on the social networks.
“Virtual items have become mainstream and are integral to many of the top social media applications,” said Eyal. “Users have come to expect them as a part of the social networking experience and they seek out better ways to communicate with friends.  AdNectar simply replaces what is are generally generic offerings, with branded virtual items that add to the user’s enjoyment while driving awareness and sales for advertisers.”

About AdNectar
AdNectar specializes in creating effective advertising that consumers appreciate.  By associating brands with virtual items, marketers are able to insert their brand message directly into the social media experiences.  AdNectar provides an integrated advertising platform that is more enjoyable for users, more effective for marketers and more profitable for publishers.  Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, AdNectar is backed by highly regarded private and institutional investors including Battery Ventures.  For more information, visit www.adnectar.com.  Please direct media inquires for AdNectar to:  Nir Eyal, nir@adnectar.com, 917.279.8578

About Godiva Chocolatier

With production facilities in Belgium and the U.S., Godiva Chocolatier is recognized around the world as the leader in fine chocolates. From its famous truffles and shell-molded chocolate pieces to its European-style biscuits, gourmet coffees and hot cocoa, Godiva Chocolatier is dedicated to 75 years of excellence and innovation in the Belgian tradition.   Please direct media inquires for Godiva to:  Alison Brod Public Relations, Alana Radmin / Ellen Fobes, alana@alisonbrodpr.com / ellen@alisonbrodpr.com, 212.230.1800

About Method

Founded in 2000, method is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Today, method is the leading innovator of premium healthy home and personal care products. Method can be found in over 25,000 retail locations throughout the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. Major retailers include Target, Wegman’s, Costco, Duane Reade, Safeway, Waitrose (UK), Shopper’s Drug Mart (Canada) and Woolworths (Australia). method is a privately held company backed by high net worth individuals and a private equity firm.  Please direct media inquires for method to:  Rachel Goldberg, method public relations, Rachel@methodhome.com, 415.746.1764

About Vizu

Vizu is the leading online brand advertising measurement system. Their Ad Catalyst real-time measurement infrastructure for assessing ad campaign effectiveness provides powerful benefits for publishers and advertisers. Through the use of Ad Catalyst, clients gain actionable Brand Lift data on their online advertising campaigns, giving them a powerful advertising ROI metric. Vizu is a privately-held company based in San Francisco, CA, with backing from leading venture capital firms Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Greycroft Partners. For more information visit: www.vizu.com.  Please direct media inquires for Vizu to:  Ben Heskett, bhesket@vizu.com, 415.362.8498 ext 17.

NEW YORK – Publishers now have a faster, easier, and more effective way to monetize their mobile content. Mojiva’s Publisher White Label Solution, launched today, represents an enhanced advertising platform that lets publishers of all sizes manage mobile ad campaigns, completely under their own brand. Mobile publishers looking to tap into the mobile advertising market projected to hit $15 billion by 2011 can now use Mojiva’s Publisher White Label Solution, which provides all the tools required to take maximum advantage of mobile ad revenue opportunities.

“Demand for mobile web content and apps is already soaring, and it’s still just the early days. It’s clear that the primary revenue for all of this great mobile content will come in the form of advertising,” says Dave Gwozdz, Mojiva’s CEO, and one of the founding members of DoubleClick. “Today, selling advertising on the mobile Web is extremely difficult, but this solution gives publishers the interface they need to organize and sell their inventory with precision and targeting, and to provide advanced reporting for their advertisers. It even makes the yield management of multiple ad sales parties, like ad networks, more effective.”

Built on Mojiva’s industry-leading mobile advertising platform, serving more than 800 publishers, the Mojiva Publisher White Label Solution lets publishers book and traffic advertising sold by their internal sales team, all with the simplicity that Mojiva is known for. Publishers have total control over custom ad formats, keyword targeting, whitelisting/blacklisting, performance tracking, yield management, and real-time reporting.

“Mojiva has really raised the bar here by unbundling the same powerful ad platform that has driven our ad network success,” Gwozdz says. “We have heard the cries of mobile publishers who saw how powerful the technology is that drives our ad network, and wanted their own similar tools. Now they can have those same tools for their dedicated ad sales teams. I think it bodes well for the entire industry, and will help advertisers find more publishers prepared to handle their campaign needs.”

For more information on Mojiva’s White Label Solution, please contact JPreis@Mojiva.com.

ABOUT MOJIVA

Mojiva is the simple yet sophisticated mobile advertising platform for advertisers and publishers who want to tap the smartphone user market. Based in New York City, the capital of the global advertising industry, Mojiva gives brand marketers, publishers, and businesses of any size everything they need to efficiently run and profit from mobile advertising campaigns. Mojiva has neatly packaged a rich array of easy-to-use tools, techniques, and analytics in a self-service mobile advertisement platform that makes it easy for advertisers to reach buyers, and publishers to reach advertisers. Founded in May 2008, Mojiva has grown faster than any other advertising platform, having served over 1 billion ads in its first eight months. The company can be found on the Web at www.Mojiva.com.

Press & bloggers: Review accounts available.

PRESS RESOURCES

Press contact: Jessica Hirsch, Jessica@GregoryFCA.com

Mojiva Web site: http://www.mojiva.com

Mojiva Blog: http://blog.mojiva.com/

NEW YORK – 24/7 Real Media, Inc., the leading global digital marketing company, introduced Open AdStream® with fully integrated end-to–end contract management functionality powered by FIVIA. This functionality will integrate seamlessly with Open AdStream to offer publishers around the world a powerful all-in-one ad management solution.

Open AdStream streamlines the advertising management process while the addition of contract management automates workflow for publishers every step of the way, from sales to billing. With the added efficiency, Web publishers can now maximize resources and consolidate advertising management, ultimately increasing revenue and decreasing costs.

Contract management provides publishers with financial workflow including automated proposals, approvals, booking and invoicing order processes. It completely integrates and synchronizes with CRM, inventory management and accounting systems, and reduces inefficiencies by enabling publishers to fully manage their ad campaigns in one, easy-to-use interface. Publishers also benefit from comprehensive reporting such as extensive revenue-based reports, reducing inaccuracies and expediting business processes.

“Our contract management software enables publishers to manage sales, inventory, trafficking, billing and revenues based on ads served,” said Cyril Moynot, Managing Director of FIVIA. “The addition of FIVIA’s contract management functionality to Open AdStream delivers greater efficiency and eases the complications of billing and revenue management.”

“To increase efficiency and accuracy, publishers require a full suite solution to replace the multiple technology tools needed to manage each component of their advertising campaigns,” said Nicolle Pangis, Vice President, Product Management, Global Media and Technology for 24/7 Real Media, Inc. “After an extensive review of the market, we have chosen to partner with FIVIA to further enhance Open AdStream’s capabilities, providing clients with an industry leading comprehensive ad management solution.”

Open AdStream is 24/7 Real Media’s proprietary, award-winning ad serving and campaign management platform, for the targeting and delivery of ads to their Web sites. Open AdStream combines the powerful business intelligence of Web analytics and behavioral targeting with a world-class management platform, delivering all digital formats across all digital platforms.

FIVIA is an established premier provider of automated inventory, order and billing management software for the media and advertising industry. The company offers a full range of outsourced ad operations solutions, providing world-class brands with technology services to efficiently manage their businesses and improve their bottom line.

For more information on 24/7 Real Media and Open AdStream, visit www.247realmedia.com.

About 24/7 Real Media, Inc.

24/7 Real Media, Inc., a WPP company is the leading global digital marketing company, empowering advertisers and publishers to engage their target audiences with greater precision, transparency and ROI. Using its award winning ad serving, targeting, tracking and analytics platform, powerful search marketing technology and global network of specialized Web sites, the company has turned the art of reaching audiences across virtually any digital medium into a measurable science. The company is headquartered in New York, with 18 offices in 12 countries throughout North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, please visit www.247realmedia.com.

24/7 Real Media: The Science of Digital Marketing.

24/7 Real Media is a member of the NAI and adheres to the NAI privacy principles that have been applauded by the FTC. These principles are designed to help ensure Internet user privacy. For more information about online data collection associated with ad serving, including online preference marketing and an opportunity to opt-out of 24/7 Real Media cookies, go to: www.networkadvertising.org.

The ADDYs are the industry’s most significant awards competition in the nation and honor the best and most innovative creative of the year. The winners in Greater Miami go on to compete at a regional and then national level.

Highlights of kabookaboo Marketing’s award-winning work include a Gold ADDY for Cobb Theatres/CineBistro print ads, Gold ADDYs for the AdFed of Greater Miami’s 2008 Book and Table Tents, Silver ADDY for E&J Gallo’s New Amsterdam Gin website, Silver ADDY for The Cereal Bowl’s website, Silver ADDY for Alan Morris Company’s Ponce de Leon Towers brochure, Silver ADDY for National Check Trust’s logo and eight Silver ADDYs for Cobb Theatres/CineBistro advertising campaign.

kabookaboo Marketing also won a Silver ADDY for their website: www.kabookaboo.com.

kabookaboo Marketing, based in Coral Gables, is a brand development and strategic marketing company led by principals Ari Rollnick and Alan Brown. The award-winning firm serves international, national, regional and local clients including E&J Gallo Winery, Burger King, Cartier Jewelry, Cobb Theatres/CineBistro, National Check Trust, The Cereal Bowl, Flagler Development, The Setai South Beach, Carnaval Miami and the YMCA of Greater Miami. For further information, visit kabookaboo.com.

TORONTO – AdParlor, a social media agency, announced the expansion of its virtual currency monetization platform that now reaches the six leading social networking sites. The expanded platform provides social media application developers with the capability to offer users fast and easy ways to earn virtual currency within their applications.

AdParlor’s virtual currency monetization platform is already being used in more than thirty Facebook applications including Kickmania, Pull Tabs, Yes or No, Slots, Bingo, Egg Breaker, and Premier Football. As AdParlor expands into other social networks, select application developers on sites such as MySpace and Bebo have already begun integrating with the platform and are generating revenue.

“Implementing AdParlor’s virtual currency platform took only a few minutes and has allowed us to effectively monetize our virtual currency, creating a significant new revenue stream for Kickmania,” said Markus Weichselbaum CEO, TheBroth, Inc. Kickmania is a Facebook game with over 1 million active subscribers. It allows users to kick anyone’s butt and watch them fly into a wall of bricks.

AdParlor’s turn-key solution makes it extremely easy to get started and in less than thirty minutes, developers can begin monetizing their virtual currency. AdParlor’s offer wall takes up minimal real estate on a developer’s page and is populated with carefully selected international ‘EZ’ offers such as short surveys and suggested application installs. The platform has already helped drive over 250,000 Facebook application installs. As part of the virtual currency solution, AdParlor fully manages and continuously optimizes the offers maximizing revenues for the application developer.

“In addition to our extensive banner advertising network, our virtual currency platform now offers application developers another great opportunity to monetize their applications,” said Kristaps Ronka, CTO, AdParlor. “AdParlor is committed to continuously updating our platform and building new offerings with even more features and functionality.”

For more information on how application developers can take advantage of AdParlor’s virtual currency monetization platform, visit: http://www.adparlor.com/VirtualCurrency.aspx. See AdParlor’s virtual currency offer wall in action at: http://apps.facebook.com/playbingo/earn.php (Facebook account required).

About AdParlor

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, AdParlor specializes in optimizing advertising across the vast medium of social networks. The company’s social media advertising network supports all six major social networking sites – Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Bebo, Orkut and Friendster. Founded in 2008, AdParlor continues to deliver innovative technology to monetize the growing reach of social media. For more information, visit AdParlor.com. For perspective on the growing social network advertising industry, visit CEO Hussein Fazal’s Social Networking Advertising blog at socialadblog.com.

© Copyright AdParlor, Inc. 2009. All rights reserved.

NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced the release of Click Measurement Guidelines, a document that will establish parameters for the accurate buying and selling of cost-per-click advertising, an important and growing category of interactive advertising. Marketers will now have a standard for consistently and reliably measuring their performance-based marketing efforts. The guidelines also provide a strong framework for filtering fraudulent clicks, giving buyers and sellers confidence that only legitimate clicks are being counted.

The Click Measurement Guidelines will:

* Provide a detailed definition of a “click” and outline standard methodologies by which clicks should be measured and counted, including the identification of invalid and/or fraudulent clicks.
* Define standard terms that will help streamline the buying and selling of click-based media.
* Increase transparency and consistency in click measurements for media companies, ad-serving organizations, advertisers, and third-party click auditors.

“These guidelines demonstrate our continued commitment to being the most accountable advertising medium and providing marketers with the highest possible level of transparency,” said Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President, Industry Services of the IAB. “It is critical that the advertising industry agree upon the precise definition and measurement of a click and establish procedures for weeding out fraudulent clicks. The IAB is proud to have organized our members around this effort.”

The guidelines are the latest addition to the IAB’s ongoing work to harmonize interactive measurement. They complement IAB guidelines for general ad impressions, digital video commercials and audience reach measurement.

“I applaud the IAB for taking a leadership role in bringing the Click Measurement Guidelines to fruition,” said George Ivie, Executive Director and CEO, of the Media Rating Council (MRC). “The interactive industry has consistently met the marketplace need for increased reliability in measurement, and this is yet another example of how the IAB has mobilized its members on behalf of both agencies and marketers.”

“Helping the interactive industry define a click and the standard for measuring one has been an extraordinary effort on the part of the IAB and its members,” said Shuman Ghosemajumder, Business Product Manager for Trust & Safety, Google, and a leading member of the IAB’s Click Measurement Working Group. “It is an important step that continues to reinforce interactive media’s role as the most accountable and measurable form of advertising.”

“IAB’s guidelines will provide users, advertisers and partners with further confidence that the industry, including Yahoo!, is taking click fraud issues seriously,” said Reggie Davis, VP of Network Quality at Yahoo! “Yahoo! worked on the IAB’s Click Measurement Working Group to develop these guidelines for identifying and filtering potential invalid or fraudulent clicks as part of its commitment to a transparent process for the measurement of valid clicks.”

Members of the industry—advertising agencies, advertisers, online publishers and technology vendors—are encouraged to read the proposed guidelines and submit comments on the IAB site at: www.iab.net/clickmeasurementguidelines. After the comment period closes on Friday March 27, 2009, the feedback will be reviewed and the guidelines will be finalized and released.

About the IAB’s Click Measurement Working Group:

The Click Measurement Working Group includes representatives from 38 IAB member companies, including sellers, measurers, and auditors of online media. Initiated in late 2005, the working group, together with the Media Rating Council, has spent the last three years developing these important guidelines and achieving consensus around them.

About the IAB:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 400 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.

LOS ANGELES – the Rubicon Project, an advertising technology company focused on global ad network optimization, divulges noteworthy market data and industry trends in the Q4 edition of the 2008 Online Advertising Market Report series. From its independent third-party position between ad networks and Website publishers, the Rubicon Project provides a unique and un-biased perspective of the changing Internet advertising landscape.

“The end of 2008 demonstrated, stronger than ever, the need for innovation in Internet advertising. The industry’s long and short-term survival depends on adapting and integrating digital solutions, especially ad strategies,” said Frank Addante, CEO and Founder. “Amidst the screaming headlines of a crashing ad industry, report after report talked of digital media being the one bright spot. We experienced 30% revenue growth in Q4 across our entire publisher base, the majority of the revenue was derived from the Internet’s largest publishers including media and entertainment. There is enormous opportunity ahead for this industry for those who choose to take it and innovate.”

The company, which is optimizing ads for mid-large publishing customers at the current pace of 25 billion per month, based its analysis for the Q4 Report on the 44 billion impressions served (up about 60 percent from Q3) for the Web’s top publishers across 300 ad networks. Q4 Market Report highlights include:

A changing industry

* Despite the overall job slowdown in the advertising industry, the online sector was the one bright spot. Driven by growth at Internet media companies and web-search portals, in December employment reached its highest level since 2002.
* All told, VC firms and private companies invested $134 million in ad network-related deals in Q4, up nearly 18 percent from the previous quarter.
* CPMs remained flat vs. Q3, down less than 3 percent from Q3 rates (these rates were up nearly 38 percent over Q2); and though they fell by almost 40 percent in some verticals, they jumped by more than 50 percent in others.

Internet dominates

* Internet overtook traditional channels for holiday shopping and as a news source as hungry readers turned to the Web for political info – one of the most notable elections in American history – to the benefit of news sites who were able to turn traffic influxes into real revenue (example within report).

News & Reference

* Average CPMs in the News & Reference vertical were up nearly 17 percent from Q3;
* Traffic to online news outlets jumped 27 percent the first week of Election day with page views doubling. Publishers equipped to deal with the traffic saw better performance;
* A Rubicon Project premium news publisher was able to capitalize on a sudden influx of traffic resulting in a 587 percent spike in ad impressions without a drop in fill rate or CPMs (graph 1).

The emerging metric to gauge growth: CPM + Total Revenue

* Traffic to the Rubicon Project’s Entertainment channel grew by more than 75 percent;
* While average CPMs trended downward in Entertainment due to a flood of inventory, publishers didn’t suffer — overall revenue rose by more than 70 percent for the channel;
* Publishers saw 1.9 times the revenue growth of Q3, for 70% revenue growth — that’s considering they had 2.4x, or 78% more, available inventory (graph 2).

To access the full Q4 Online Advertising Market Report, as well as past published reports for free, visit: http://www.rubiconproject.com/product/market-report.

About the Rubicon Project

Based in Los Angeles, the Rubicon Project launched in 2007 on a mission to automate the $65 billion global online advertising industry. Responding to one of the largest problems plaguing website publishers today – monetizing ad space that goes unsold (as much as 70 – 80 percent) across a fast-growing number of global ad networks – the Rubicon Project pioneered the category of Ad Network Optimization (ANO). Backed by $22 million in funding from Clearstone Venture Partners, Mayfield Fund, and IDG Ventures, the Rubicon Project developed its patent-pending Smart Matching™ technology, which uses billions of pieces of proprietary market data to match each publisher ad impression to the best money-making opportunities from ad networks.

The company serves 1300 premium customers (publishers like Gannett, Salon, Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive and American Greetings) by optimizing more than 15 billion ads each month across more than 300 top ad networks. Reaching more than 250 million unique Internet users, the Rubicon Project is one of the largest sources of ad inventory and reach on the Internet and the preferred source of targeted, audience-segmented inventory for ad networks around the world. The unique combination of ad network optimization and Smart Matching™ technology drives revenue lift ranging from 30-300% for the Rubicon Project’s customers.

Web sites who Demand More From Unsold Ad Space should visit: http://www.rubiconproject.com.

Read Frank’s blog at: http://www.FounderBlog.com/

PHILADELPHIA – The Philly Ad Club will pay tribute to the region’s best and brightest advertising minds on March 5, from 6:30-10 p.m. as the Philadelphia Museum of Art plays host to this years ADDY Awards ceremony. Once again, this Philly Ad Club annual competition drew hundreds of entries for the organization’s highest honor. Guests at the event will also enjoy a private showing of the Paul Cezanne exhibit.

Aptly situated this year at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, surrounded by the efforts of the world’s greatest and best known artists, the ADDY Awards ceremony is annually attended by a who’s who of the Philadelphia advertising community, to recognize the finest advertising campaigns and creative thinkers in the city. ADDY Awards winners are chosen by judges from leading agencies across the country, including this year from DraftFCB, Ogilvy & Mather, Vigilante Advertising, DDB, Burrell, and Smashing Ideas.

This three-tiered competition begins at a local level with 210 AAF member clubs competing nationwide to be rewarded for creative excellence in the art of advertising. Winners are forwarded to the District 2 competition, one of 14 regional competitions, and lastly battle to be named the best in the industry at the AAF National Competition.

The Philly Ad Club proudly boasts more than 60 years as the voice of the greater Philadelphia area communications industry and would like to thank all of this years sponsors, including Inquirer/Daily News/philly.com – title sponsor of the 2009 Philadelphia ADDY awards; corporate sponsors – MY PHL 17 and Razorfish; gold ADDY awards sponsors – Blue Design, NFL Films, and Shooters; silver ADDY awards sponsors – Baker Sound and Business Wire; and bronze ADDY awards sponsors – SJ Miller Group, Serif Design, and Cubist Media Group.

The Philly Ad Club, a non-profit organization, serves the industry’s professionals with distinction. As one of the region’s largest and most active trade associations, more than 1,200 advertising, marketing and media professionals work to improve and promote high standards in the advertising industry.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AAF represents 50,000 professionals who guide the nation’s leading brands and corporations to advertising excellence. The 210 ad clubs across the nation connect the industry with an academic base of hundreds of collegiate chapters to promote the well-being of advertising, educate peers, and present the industry with its future leaders.

NEW YORK – Ai Media Group, the innovative search marketing firm based in New York, announces the addition of its new CEO, Andy Fenster. Mr. Fenster’s experience in the marketing and advertising industry includes his previous employment as Vice President and Controller of Big Flower Holdings, a $2.5 billion dollar advertising and marketing services company based in New York.

Mr. Fenster also spent 12 years at The New York Times Company serving in executive financial positions, including Corporate Executive Director and Assistant Corporate Controller. He also formerly served as a Senior Manager at Deloitte & Touche. He received an MBA from Rutgers and a BA from Hamilton College.

“We are thrilled that Andy has joined us to help meet the increased demand for the proven solutions that Ai Media Group provides to agencies and clients,” says Sergio Alvarez, Chief Operating Officer of Ai Media Group. “Andy will bring his in-depth knowledge and experience in finance and accounting to our organization and greatly assist in building strategic relationships as we continue to move forward.”

“I am looking forward to working with the team at Ai and adding my skills in the financial arena to our formidable team. As we enter 2009, Ai is well positioned to generate continued growth and offer better advertising solutions, despite a challenging economic environment,” said Mr. Fenster.

This recent growth can be traced in part to Ai Media Group’s cutting-edge search engine marketing services, which have been advanced by its strong working relationship with Google. Google offers a specialized team to support Ai Media Group accounts and enhances Ai Media Group’s unique proprietary platform.

About Ai Media Group:

The exemplary skills of Ai Media Group professionals have been at the forefront of search marketing, from digital advertising to Yahoo Yellow Pages, to bridging the gap into algorithmic search. Ai Media Group professionals have a proven record of providing measurable results to thousands of advertisers. The company’s mission is to educate the marketplace on the newest offerings and to act as consultants in order to enhance business decisions with strategic business intelligence. Ai Media Group’s entire staff is well-versed on all aspects of search and is comprised of the industry’s most knowledgeable and experienced specialists. For more information, visit http://aimediagroup.com/.

The Advertising in the Netherlands industry profile is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the advertising industry. It includes detailed data on market size and segmentation, plus textual and graphical analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, leading companies and demographic information.

Scope

* Contains an executive summary and data on value, volume and/or segmentation
* Provides textual analysis of the industry’s recent performance and future prospects
* Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards

* Includes a five-year forecast of the industry
* The leading companies are profiled with supporting key financial metrics
* Supported by the key macroeconomic and demographic data affecting the market

Highlights

* Detailed information is included on market size, measured by value and/or volume
* Five forces scorecards provide an accessible yet in depth view of the market’s competitive landscape
* Market shares are covered by manufacturer or brand

Key Topics Covered:

* EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
* CHAPTER 1 Market Overview 7
* CHAPTER 2 Market Value 9
* CHAPTER 3 Market Segmentation I 10
* CHAPTER 4 Market Segmentation II 11
* CHAPTER 5 Market Share 12
* CHAPTER 6 Five Forces Analysis 13
* CHAPTER 7 Leading Companies 22
* CHAPTER 8 Distribution 32
* CHAPTER 9 Market Forecasts 33
* CHAPTER 10 Macroeconomic Indicators 34
* CHAPTER 11 Appendix 36
* LIST OF TABLES

Companies Mentioned:

* Omnicom Group Inc.
* Publicis Groupe SA
* WPP Group plc

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/1c2870/advertising_in_the

Source: Datamonitor

SAN FRANCISCO – 1020 Placecast, the first online advertising solution to target highly sought-after audiences using location-based information across the Web, mobile, Wi-Fi networks and email, announced interactive advertising trends to watch in 2009. Trends to watch include better metrics to understand effectiveness, increased concerns about user privacy and mainstream video adoption by online advertisers.

Looking back, 2008 marked a turning point in online advertising. Despite the slowing of growth in overall advertising spending, online has finally achieved its place at the table in mainstream media plans and continues to prove its value relative to traditional media. It was also a year for increased public scrutiny of industry practices as the medium achieves scale and prominence with advertisers.

“The year ahead will be difficult in many respects, but also very exciting,” said Placecast CEO Alistair Goodman. “We expect marketers who need to do more with less will put pressure on agencies, media providers, publishers and measurement firms to deliver more value. At the same time, tough market conditions always produce new ways of solving old problems. We see big opportunities for advertisers to find new ways to drive better performance for their campaigns.”

Six key trends identified in this release are:

1. The value of user data is questionable.

2009 will mark the year advertisers begin to look for alternatives to collecting and mining user data to improve the performance of campaigns. For several years, online marketers have attempted to incorporate increasingly large amounts of user data into the marketing equation with the goal of improving targeting and performance. Unfortunately, advertiser reviews of this approach are nearly universal: “anticipointed.” We now find ourselves in wave 2.0 of this effort in which firms are undertaking predictive modeling, attempting to analyze even more data in order to predict behaviors. However, these efforts will continue to disappoint and 2009 will mark the year advertisers begin to look for and incorporate new, non-user data sources for improving the performance of campaigns.

2. The Web will be connected to the physical world.

Until recently, the Web was built to ignore physical location. Several recent developments make clear that, beginning in 2009, location will drive the next wave of innovation on the Web. These announcements include: Geode for Firefox, a plug-in that allows the popular browser to determine and share the user’s location; Google’s releases of Android, Chrome and the Gears Location API, all of which incorporate location data; Fire Eagle from Yahoo! for location data management; more than 500 iPhone applications now using GPS location data as a critical component; and the news that Microsoft Windows 7 will include location data at the operating-system level for any application. All of these innovations and others still to come will bring location information into the mainstream Web-browsing experience, providing users with a way to connect their online experience to the real world.

For advertisers, this trend presages a host of new services launching in 2009 using location in various ways. Initial, simple applications from marketers will include couponing and advertising to users in proximity to potential offerings of interest (such as stores, cafés, restaurants, etc.). More advanced approaches will apply this new trove of location data to improve relevance, understand consumer intent and profile audiences. In the long term, we can expect location data to be incorporated into search algorithms as another way of increasing relevance, and also into performance marketing, where better relevance will drive significant improvements in performance.

3. Heightened privacy concerns plant the seed for regulation.

2008 will certainly go down as a year of turmoil for data mining models like NebuAd and Adzilla, and also as a year that brought small victories for privacy advocates. A new administration in Washington will bring new FTC regulators, and a climate that favors more standards and regulation. Despite the proactive efforts of industry organizations like the IAB and the NAI, 2009 will kick off a wave of new discussions about the collection and application of user data, with the balance of power shifting away from the advertising industry and towards the user.

President-Elect Barack Obama’s selection of Tom Wheeler, former head of major wireless organization CTIA, as a technology adviser also indicates we can expect to see a particular emphasis on mobile technology for the new administration.

4. View-through metrics gain traction in the downturn.

Down economies focus more attention and diligence on understanding the drivers of performance for online campaigns. 2009 will see more mainstream adoption of view-through as a complement to traditional metrics like click-through. View-through (also referred to as post-impression measurement) is a method for gauging the impact of an ad that a user sees but does not click on. It works by recording the exposure of a user to a specific display ad, then measures when that user returns to the advertiser’s site in a later session.

View-through gives marketers an ability to attribute value to the many impressions they deliver which do not immediately trigger an action. With average click-through rates on display ads dropping below 0.1% on average, marketers are recognizing that view-through provides a more complete understanding of how campaigns really drive traffic, and how impressions lift brand metrics such as awareness, favorability and intent.

5. The accessibility of display ad inventory will increase dramatically.

The combination of a downturn in the economy and continued automation of media planning and buying tools means that buyers will have easy access to display inventory in 2009. Even as broad networks consolidate or compress, exchanges are providing easy access for buyers to find reach and efficiency. The major players, including Google, Yahoo!, MSN and AOL, are capturing the largest share of available remnant inventory across their ad network offerings, and exchanges will continue to refine their operational and business models.

With the impressions themselves becoming ever more liquid and accessible through networks and exchanges, inventory value will be driven by services and technology. Next generation targeting approaches, which go beyond content and behavioral methods, will capture the attention of the buying community. Improved efficiency and valuable insights from reporting will give buyers the ability to focus media purchases even more efficiently over time.

6. Online video consumption will continue to grow.

In 2009, we will see significant increases in the online distribution and consumption of professionally-produced video content. This top tier video content will garner a majority of the video advertising spend. CPMs may contract slightly with broader distribution as audiences expect to find the content where they spend their time online. But with consumers in control and watching more video online, overall CPMs will remain quite healthy for video advertising in top content.

Several factors are fueling this trend: first, major advertisers are now thinking about online video at the creative stage and producing purpose-built material for the Web when they develop creative for TV. Secondly, production costs are also coming down, and we are beginning to see critical mass around a standard set of technologies and tools. Lastly, as more dollars migrate away from TV advertising because of the high cost, online video will become the beneficiary as it creates a similar immersive customer experience with TV and Hollywood appeal. Sites like Hulu provide TV-oriented brand advertisers with a captive audience – an example of why video will become a mainstream part of brand marketer advertising budgets in 2009.

About 1020 Placecast, Inc.

1020, Inc. is the developer and owner of Placecast™ Media, the first online advertising solution to target highly sought-after audiences using location-based information across the Web, mobile, and Wi-Fi. 1020’s groundbreaking Placecast service recently earned the company the “OnMedia Top 100” Award, given to game-changing companies in the marketing, branding, advertising, and PR industries. Current advertisers include Microsoft Windows Mobile, FedEx Kinko’s, Avis and Budget Rental Cars and Hyatt Hotels. 1020 is funded by Voyager Capital and Onset Ventures. For more information about Placecast, visit www.placecast.net.

MRC accreditation certifies that Edmunds.com has adhered to the MRC’s Minimum Standards for Media Rating Research and the Measurement Guidelines of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in counting online advertising impressions and traffic measurements. The accreditation also certifies that Edmunds.com provides full and complete information to the MRC regarding all details of its operation, conducts its processing and reporting substantially in accordance with representations to its clients and the MRC, and submits to annual audits of its procedures by CPA firms engaged by the MRC.

“This accreditation helps ensure advertisers and their agencies that Edmunds.com’s audience measurement practices are valid, reliable and effective,” said Bradley Spannbauer, Edmunds.com Director of Advertising Operations. “This is a validation of both the custom reports we deliver to advertisers and to the site traffic analysis we collect to report on the trends in the automotive industry.”

“Media Rating Council standards and IAB Measurement Guidelines resonate with clients and industries seeking valid and reliable advertising impression measurement data,” said George Ivie, Media Rating Council Executive Director. “And Edmunds.com is the first dedicated automotive website to meet our stringent requirements and receive MRC accreditation.”

Other industry-leading properties that have achieved MRC accreditation include 24/7 Real Media, AOL, Atlas, CNET, Disney Internet Group, DoubleClick, Forbes.com, Google, MSN, Turner Digital, Univision.com, The Weather Channel Interactive and Yahoo!.

About Edmunds Inc. (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)

Edmunds Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value®, is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named “Best Car Research Site” by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the “Most Useful Web Site” according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated “#1″ in Keynote’s study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site and home to the oldest and most established automotive community. AutoObserver.com launched in 2007 and provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.

NEW YORK – Amidst overall economic mayhem, the advertising industry is undergoing a massive shake-up. Shrinking traditional media budgets appear to be making way for an increase in online marketing dollars, as Internet advertising is a potent alternative for advertisers seeking clear, measurable return on their ad spend. The influx of dollars and advertisers brings great opportunity to Web sites, but also exacerbates a long-standing problem for top-tier publishers: the risk of inappropriate ads showing up amidst their high-end content. the Rubicon Project, an online advertising technology company, has created the industry’s first comprehensive solution to stop unwanted (e.g. those that contain adult content or promote competitive brands) ads in their tracks – protecting Web publishers and preventing inventory loss for ad networks at a crucial time for the industry.

The Rubicon Project’s Ad Quality Protection Program combines proprietary data-driven technology and unparalleled round-the-clock account support to provide publishers with a deep and proactive security layer that prevents undesirable ads from making it onto websites and in front of consumer eyes. For publishers, the Rubicon Project acts as an extension of an in-house ad-operations team, constantly ensuring ad quality standards aren’t compromised. Specific highlights of the Ad Quality Protection Program include:

* helix, a patent-pending artificial intelligence technology that auto-detects and flags inappropriate ads based on image content. Algorithmically driven, helix becomes smarter with every image it processes;
* Proactive screening of all publishers’ networks to ensure ad quality standards are upheld;
* Pausing of any offending ad tags until the problem is resolved. To date, 20,000 ad creatives have been frozen that, unchecked, would have been viewed by consumers as many as 40 million times;
* Ad Tag Screener, which allows publishers to directly pause offending network tags any time, day or night;
* Certification of every ad network to ensure compliance with each site’s ad quality standards before providing access to premium publishers;
* Pre-screening of all campaigns before they go live, as well as ongoing review of all advertising creatives to ensure ad quality standards are upheld;
* Dedicated account management team committed to meeting publisher’s business goals providing 24/7 operations support.

the Rubicon Project estimates that the absence of an across-the-board solution to filter unwanted ads can put up to 30% of publishers’ ad revenue at risk. The impact of unwanted ads damages a publisher’s brand value and reputation on multiple fronts by creating a negative user experience and driving away site visitors and the revenue they bring; de-valuing ad rates, which handicaps a sales team’s ability to sell at rate card prices; and alienating premium advertisers whose quality creative can be degraded by placement next to an offending ad.

“As a premium publisher that needs to maintain tight control over inventory running through ad networks, being able to manage the context of ads that appear on my site through ad networks is crucial,” said Andreas Droste, VP Sales & Marketing, Salon.com, a Rubicon Project customer. “Working with the Rubicon Project has been a relief. We no longer worry about ad quality affecting our brand or rates, spend hours managing the filtering of new ads or deal with the stress of policing ad networks. We feel safe knowing the Rubicon Project is taking care of it for us and is maximizing revenue without sacrificing any of our standards.”

Ad networks also benefit from the Ad Quality Protection Program. Working with the Rubicon Project prevents them from unintentionally serving undesirable ads, which is often grounds for immediate termination by publisher clients representing crucial revenue and quality inventory.

“Ad quality is the #1 risk top-tier web publishers face. Our goal is to help publishers protect their brand and make sure the user experience isn’t sacrificed or violated by providing technology and service that directly addresses and solves top concerns of ad quality,” said Frank Addante, CEO and co-founder of the Rubicon Project. “We aim to improve the efficiencies between ad networks and publishers to create a more harmonious and lucrative online advertising industry, especially in these trying economic times. No one else is providing the same level of support and innovation for publishers when it comes to ad quality.”

To learn more, visit: www.rubiconproject.com/adquality.

About the Rubicon Project

Based in Los Angeles, the Rubicon Project launched in 2007 on a mission to automate the $65 billion global online advertising industry. Responding to one of the largest problems plaguing website publishers today – monetizing ad space that goes unsold (as much as 70 – 80 percent) across a fast-growing number of global ad networks – the Rubicon Project pioneered the category of Ad Network Optimization (ANO). Backed by $22 million in funding from Mayfield Fund, Clearstone Ventures and IDG Ventures, the Rubicon Project developed its patent-pending Smart Matching™ technology, which uses billions of pieces of proprietary market data to match each publisher ad impression to the best money-making opportunities from ad networks.

The company serves 1300 premium customers (publishers like Gannett, Salon, Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive and American Greetings) by optimizing more than 15 billion ads each month across 300 ad networks. Reaching more than 240 million unique Internet users, the Rubicon Project is one of the largest sources of ad inventory and reach on the Internet and the preferred source of targeted, audience-segmented inventory for ad networks around the world. The unique combination of ad network optimization and Smart Matching™ technology drives revenue lift ranging from 30-300% for the Rubicon Project’s customers.

Web sites who Demand More From Unsold Ad Space should visit: http://www.rubiconproject.com.

Read Frank’s blog at: http://www.FounderBlog.com/.

Otilia Otlacan: SES Chicago and Mobile Search – what topics will you be covering, can you give us the highlights?

Cindy Krum: I am honored to be speaking on the Mobile Search Battle Update panel with Bryson Meunier, Rachel Pasqua and Phyllis Reuther. I have spoken with Bryson and Rachel before, but I this is my first time speaking on a panel with Phyllis. The session will be just before lunch on the first day of the show, and it has a lot of insightful mobile search experts.

I will be giving a lot of statistics about where and what people are searching for from their mobile phones. I’ll specifically spend time talking about on-deck search options, off-deck search engines and downloadable mobile search applications. I will also talk about how true web-browsing phones like the iPhone and the gPhone are changing mobile search behavior, and what that means to us as mobile marketers preparing for the future.

O.O.: Surely the economic recession is an over-discussed subject by now, but can you comment if there is an impact on mobile internet usage, search in particular? Are people more conscious these days of the higher costs of mobile search?

C.K.: Many of the US mobile phone carriers have begun offering flat-rate data packages, so the people who have opted into those flat-rate packages will not be affected by the recession. Cost will be a deterrent to mobile search for the rest of the mobile subscribers, but this has always been the case. Some carriers are also testing programs that allow users to decrease their phone bill by watching ads, and we may see programs like this expand or grow in the future.

The economic turmoil may increase the length of time people will wait to replace their mobile phones, and since much of the growth in mobile web search has been driven by the newer, more web-capable phones, a delay in phone replacement is a concern. I don’t think it will be enough to turn the trend; it may just slow or delay the growth slightly.

O.O.: The AdOperationsOnline.com readers are keen to discuss mobile advertising as the next big thing for 2009. What are your views on the mobile advertising growth, what can we expect?

C.K.: Companies like AdMob who have been operating in the red for some time are finally cash-positive, so I think it is fair to say that mobile advertising is coming of age. I have been speaking for a long time about making one website work well in both a traditional and a mobile setting, and that will be true for mobile advertising too. It has to be seamless, and we can’t rely on the user to get to the right website or remember two domains.

It will be important for mobile advertising companies to offer a service where ads are intelligently served, based on the device accessing them. Not only do we want mobile ads to go to mobile devices, and traditional ads to go to traditional devices; but we want ad networks to recognize the type of device that is doing the searching, and serve ads that are relevant to that device demographic. It is no secret that the demographic buying BlackBerries is different than the one buying SideKicks; Mobile ad networks need to do a better job leveraging that type of information.

UK mobile carriers are already using this type of ad targeting on their networks, because everyone in their ‘on-deck’ portal is a subscriber, and I believe this kind of targeting will soon make it to the United States. Google AdWords is also allowing marketers to target ads based on carriers, and this type of innovation will be vital for mobile ad networks to maintain their superior click through and conversion rates.

O.O.: Staying in the mobile advertising area, what solutions do you see to ensure that ads are unobtrusive on such small screens? What about measurability of mobile ad campaigns – any technologies you’re particularly fond of?

C.K.: In addition to making mobile advertising as targeted as possible, it will be more important for advertisers to be subtle in mobile advertising. Mobile devices are considered much more personal than traditional computers so advertising can feel like much more invasive on a mobile phone. I think branded games and downloadable applications will be a great way to advertise to your mobile audience, without being too pushy.

Mobile tracking and analytics is still quite difficult because most web tracking is based on JavaScript, which is not executed by a number of mobile browsers. While most of the major ad networks offer technology that will allow you to track performance of your entire mobile website, (instead of just your ads,) there are no great mobile-specific analytics platforms available yet. Your best bet is always to use a combination of analytics programs, but when you are working with mobile data, understand that you may not be getting the complete picture.

O.O.: Your company, Blue Moon Works Inc., how does it fit in the relatively new and chaotic landscape of mobile marketing and advertising? Any service or product highlights for 2009 that you would like to present to our readers?

C.K.: Blue Moon Works, Inc. is a new media marketing agency, and mobile website optimization is just one of our specialties. (We also offer consulting for traditional SEO, PPC, email and analytics.) Blue Moon Works is a resource for agencies, development companies and content owners who want to create a mobile website that will rank well in mobile search without compromising their existing search engine rankings.

There are a lot of companies that can build you a mobile website, but not many of them understand the full impact that the mobile site can have. Mobile sites can provide a bad user experience for your audience, or create duplicate content issues and indexing problems with the search engines, which can hurt your brand and your traffic. At Blue Moon Works, we offer expert consulting; we will help you determine how the mobile website should be structured and coded to create the best mobile user experience, rank well in mobile search results, and not create problems for your traditional search results.

About Cindy Krum
Cindy Krum is the Director of New Media Strategies for Blue Moon Works, Inc. (www.bluemoonworks.com) She brings fresh and creative ideas to the Blue Moon Works team, speaking at national and international trade events about mobile web marketing, social network marketing and international SEO. Cindy also writes for industry publications, and has been published in Website Magazine, Advertising & Marketing Review, Search Engine Land, ODG Intelligence, and quoted by many respected publications including PC World, Internet Retailer, TechWorld, Direct Magazine and Search Marketing Standard. Cindy also currently serves as the co-chair of the SEMPO Mobile Search Committee, and is an active member of the search community. Cindy is passionate about bringing creative online marketing solutions to clients, and working with clients to develop high level mobile and international marketing strategies.

About Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC — A Division of Incisive Media PLC
Incisive Media PLC is a specialist business information provider, based in the UK with offices in North America, Hong Kong, India and Mainland China. The company’s activities are currently built around ten core industry sectors – mortgages; marketing services; financial technology; retail investment; capital markets; risk management; insurance; legal services; private equity and photography. Information is provided via a wide range of channels–in print, in person and online. Funds advised by Apax Partners, a leading global private equity group, recently completed the successful de-listing of Incisive Media from the London Stock Exchange alongside the existing management.
Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC is the marketing services division of the company and incorporates leading websites Search Engine Watch, the ClickZ Network and their associated events series including Search Engine Strategies. These properties were acquired in 2005.

For more information on SES Chicago and other shows in the series, see http://searchenginestrategies.com/chicago.

NEW YORK – The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) has joined forces with 25-year veteran career fair producer Shomex Productions to present Diversity in Advertising Career Day (www.diacareerday.com), a daylong advertising career and job fair aimed at helping to increase the level of qualified, mid-career candidates from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds.

Diversity in Advertising Career Day debuted in 2007 to commemorate the first anniversary of a landmark agreement between New York City and top NYC advertising agencies to not only diversify their ranks, but also to allow City officials to monitor the diversification process. It is the one Industry event that provides a forum for multicultural professionals to network and explore career opportunities in advertising, marketing and communications and for companies to source top-caliber, diverse candidates.

The third annual Career Day will be held at the Hilton Towers in New York City on Wednesday, April 22, 2009.

“One of the fundamental missions of the 4A’s is to improve and strengthen the advertising agency business in the United States by attracting excellent people,” said Nancy Hill, president and CEO, 4A’s. “We consider it a priority to foster a growing community of diverse, talented, committed and exceptional individuals throughout the industry and are thrilled to sponsor Diversity in Advertising Career Day to help to achieve those goals.”

The last New York event, on April 24, 2008, was officially proclaimed as Diversity in Advertising & Public Relations Career Day by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. He saluted the one-day job fair and conference saying, “In New York City, 200 languages are spoken, and men and women from every background live side-by-side in mutual respect. We derive our strength from this rich tapestry of cultures, and from residents whose unique abilities, traditions and experiences combine to create the vibrant city we love. We all benefit from a workplace that reflects our diverse city, and the City of New York is proud to celebrate Diversity in Advertising / PR Career Day.”

Lew Shomer, founder and president of Shomex Productions, said, “Diversity in Advertising Career Day provides an exciting and efficient environment for advertising, marketing and communications companies to source employees with many of the skill sets needed for mid- and senior-level positions. We believe that this event has the potential to literally change the face of the advertising industry, by the way in which the industry perceives diversity and realizes its ability to do something about it.”

“An increasingly multicultural workplace is good for business. We welcome the 4A’s as a partner in our efforts help advertising agencies and others to excel by mirroring the diverse communities which they serve,” said Shomer.

Backed by Industry, Community and Educational Leadership

Diversity in Advertising Career Day is backed by an outstanding group of cross- and multi-cultural community, professional and alumni partners. Included are the NAACP’s New York State Conference of Branches, ADCOLOR Industry Coalition, Advertising Research Foundation, Advertising Women in New York, the Asian American Advertising Federation, Center for Communication, Commercial Closet Association, the Council of Public Relations Firms, Echelon Business Media, Ethnic Events, Mediabistro, Minority Professional Network, NAMIC, National Society of Hispanic MBAs, Portada, Public Relations Society of America, Talent Zoo, The Network Journal, City College of New York, Columbia University Business School, Howard University, New York City College of Technology, New York University/NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development, New York Institute of Technology and State University of New York and its Fashion Institute of Technology.

About Shomex Productions

Starting in 1984 with one event, Shomex Productions (www.shomex.com) has emerged as a leader in all its business niches, and has built its Diversity Career Fair brand, presented in partnership with leading diversity organizations, into the leading live diversity recruiting platform in the U.S. Shomex has produced more than 1,000 events from coast to coast, in virtually every major U.S. market, serving dozens of industries including advertising, aerospace, pharmaceutical, healthcare, retail, financial services, computer, telecommunications, media and entertainment. The Shomex client list includes hundreds of America’s leading employers, including AT&T, Bank of America, Blockbuster, Disney/ABC, Lockheed Martin, Merck, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Toyota and Verizon Wireless.

About 4A’s

Founded in 1917, 4A’s is the national trade association representing the advertising agency business in the United States. Its membership produces approximately 80 percent of the total advertising volume placed by agencies nationwide. Although virtually all of the large, multinational agencies are members of the 4A’s, more than 60 percent of our membership bills less than $10 million per year. The 4A’s is a management-oriented association that offers its members the broadest possible services and expertise regarding the advertising agency business including information on how best to recruit diverse talent into its ranks.

For more information about participating in Diversity in Advertising Career Day as an exhibitor or as an attendee seeking job interviews, log onto www.diacareerday.com.

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.

NEW YORK, October 7, 2008 – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report covering the first six months and the second quarter of 2008. Internet advertising revenues (U.S.) for the first six months of 2008 were $11.5 billion, setting yet another new half-year record that represents a 15.2 percent increase over the first half of 2007. The second quarter of ’08 was up 12.8% over the same period of 2007 and showed a slight decline of 0.3% from the first quarter.

Search and Display-related advertising continue to set records. Search revenues totaled almost $5.1 billion for the first six months of 2008, up 24 percent from the $4.1 billion for the same period in 2007. Display-related advertising totaled close to $3.8 billion for first six months of 2008, compared to the $3.2 billion reported for the same period in 2007, showing about a 19% increase. Display-related advertising includes Display Banner ads, Rich Media, Digital Video, and Sponsorship.

“Interactive advertising continues to demonstrate year over year growth as marketers and consumers increase their embrace of digital media,” said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB. “The essentially flat performance we see quarter to quarter reflects in part cyclical advertising trends. Compared to the trajectory in other media and in the general economy, interactive has outperformed because it delivers a level of accountability unmatched by any other advertising medium.”

“Due to the unique efficiency and effectiveness of targeted and measurable campaigns, Internet advertising has shown strong growth in the first six months of 2008, compared to the same time period last year. This growth has come in spite of an environment that has put significant pressure on the advertising industry in general.” said David Silverman, partner, Entertainment, Media & Communications Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The following data highlights key first six-month revenue data breakouts; dollar figures are rounded. ($ millions if not indicated):

Advertising Formats: Search and Display-related ads continue to be leading formats.

Industry Concentration: Percentages of revenues by the top 10, top 25 and top 50 have remained consistent.

Pricing Models: Performance deals continue to be the leading pricing models, followed closely by CPM deals.

Conducted by the New Media Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Internet Advertising Revenue Report was launched in 1996 by the IAB, and aggregates data from all companies that report meaningful online advertising revenues. The results are considered the most accurate measurement of interactive advertising revenues with the data compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertising on the Internet. The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from Web sites, commercial online services, ad networks, free e-mail providers, and all other companies selling online advertising. First and third quarter revenue reports are estimates, with the actual figures being released along with second and fourth quarter data respectively. PwC does not audit the information and provides no opinion or other form of assurance with respect to the information.

A copy of the full report is available at: http://www.iab.net/media/file/IAB_PWC_2008_6m.pdf

About PricewaterhouseCoopers:
PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwc.com) provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders. More than 154,000 people in 153 countries across our network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice.

© 2008 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. “PricewaterhouseCoopers” refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP or, as the context requires, the PricewaterhouseCoopers global network or other member firms of the network, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.

About the IAB:
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 375 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.

NEW YORK – Forbes.com (www.forbes.com), home page for the world’s business leaders, is the first business or financial Web site to complete the auditing process and receive ad measurement accreditation by the Media Rating Council (MRC), it was announced today.

This accreditation certifies that Forbes.com has adhered to the MRC’s Minimum Standards for Media Rating Research and the Measurement Guidelines of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), in counting online advertising impressions and traffic measurements. The accreditation also certifies that Forbes.com provides full and complete information to the MRC regarding all details of its operation, conducts its processing and reporting substantially in accordance with representations to its clients and the MRC, and submits to annual audits of its procedures by CPA firms engaged by the MRC.

To date, more than ten companies have been accredited by MRC, among them Yahoo (U.S. sites), AOL, MSN, Disney Interactive, CNET Networks and Doubleclick.

“We are excited and proud that the MRC accreditation has verified the validity of our ad serving delivery and reporting process, as we experience continued traffic growth,” said Jim Spanfeller, President and CEO, Forbes.com. “We are in strong support of the interactive industry utilizing one universal measurement system, and this accreditation is a giant step in that direction.”

George Ivie, Executive Director of the Media Rating Council, said “I congratulate Forbes.com on this significant achievement and thank them for their commitment to the MRC process. MRC accreditation provides the Industry with assurance that Forbes.com is measuring and reporting online ad impressions in accordance with MRC Standards and IAB guidelines.”

The ad impression measurement guidelines were developed by the IAB in conjunction with its members and representatives from the major online publishers and ad serving organizations around the world. Published in November 2004, the guidelines address long-standing marketer and agency concerns about the need for a standardized method of measuring interactive advertising impressions. More information on the guidelines is available at http://www.iab.net/standards/measurement.asp.

About Forbes.com

Forbes.com (www.forbes.com), home page for the world’s business leaders and the No. 1 business news source in the world, is among the most trusted resources for senior business executives, providing them the real-time reporting, uncompromising commentary, concise analysis, relevant tools and community they need to succeed at work, profit from investing and have fun with the rewards of winning. Throughout the business day Forbes.com publishes more than 4,000 articles, delivering the best of Forbes journalism and that of its selected partners with all the immediacy, depth and interactivity that the Web allows. Forbes.com is part of Forbes Digital, a division of Forbes Media LLC. Forbes.com and affiliated properties – ForbesAutos.com, ForbesTraveler.com, Investopedia.com, RealClearPolitics.com, Clipmarks.com and the Forbes.com Business and Finance Blog Network – together reach nearly 40 million business decision makers each month.

About MRC

The Media Rating Council (MRC) is a nonprofit industry association whose members represent television and radio broadcasters, cablecasters, print organizations, advertisers, Internet organizations, advertising agencies and industry trade associations. The MRC charter is to maintain audience research confidence and credibility with the goal of securing for the industry audience measurement that is valid, reliable and effective. The MRC was formed in 1964 at the urging of the United States Congress. Audience measurement services seeking MRC Accreditation are required to disclose to the MRC membership (and all customers) all methodological aspects of their service; meet MRC Minimum Standards For Media Rating Research; and submit to MRC designed audits to authenticate and illuminate procedures. The membership evaluates the audits conducted by independent CPA’s on MRC’s behalf and the MRC Board grants Accreditation if deemed warranted. In addition, the MRC membership actively pursues research issues they consider priorities in an effort to improve the quality of Research in the marketplace. Further information about MRC’s accreditation and auditing procedures can be obtained from: www.mediaratingcouncil.org or Executive Director, Media Rating Council, Inc., 370 Lexington Avenue, Suite 902, New York, NY 10017.

About IAB

Founded in 1996, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) represents leading interactive companies that are actively engaged in, and support the sale of interactive advertising. IAB boasts over 250 members that are responsible for selling over 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices, fields interactive effectiveness research and educates the advertising industry regarding the use of interactive advertising. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

LOS ANGELES – The Rubicon Project, an advertising technology company focused on global ad network optimization, unveils the latest edition of the 2008 Online Advertising Market Report, the Q2: Ad Network Landscape, Trends and Outlook, detailing the state of the market in the second quarter of 2008 and beyond. Drawing on its unique third-party position between ad networks and website publishers, the Rubicon Project provides an insider perspective of the changing Internet advertising landscape based on a wealth of market data to provide a deeper understanding of the current industry climate and future trends. This market intelligence is based on analysis of 15 billion impressions served during Q2 alone across more than 130 ad networks.

“2008 has been a challenging year for the U.S. and worldwide economy. Fortunately, the online advertising market has been somewhat cushioned from the majority of economic blows,” said Frank Addante, CEO and founder. “The Rubicon Project is committed to helping navigate the tumultuous yet continuous growth and development of this market, in part, through education. Through this report, we are sharing billions of pieces of market intelligence we have combined with informed analysis of current and future trends.”

State of a Dysfunctional Industry

With nearly $370 million invested in ad networks in Q2, the market remained a good buy for private firms and holding companies. This indicates investors’ confidence in networks ability to innovate and increase monetization.

However, not all news was rosy. Big-name publishers such as ESPN, Forbes.com and CBS Sports discontinued their use of third-party networks in the second quarter, generating a slew of bad publicity for the ad network industry.

Sample Findings:

* Despite criticism, ad networks grew during the economic storm in Q2 – eCPMs increased by an average of 7 percent across all networks.
* Publishers and networks dysfunctional relationships are hindering growth – they need each other but don’t trust one other on issues such as inventory pricing, fee payment and collection or the quality of the ads and the sites they run on.
* Big publishers are both entering and navigating the broader network space – with several heavy-hitters becoming ad networks themselves.
* International traffic remains an untapped growth opportunity – some major U.S. Web sites draw more than half their traffic from outside the country but only a small fraction of ad revenue is able being monetized from that traffic.

Sample of Emerging Trends

* The Ad network role in the online advertising ecosystem will continue to grow – both publishers and media buyers need and want third-party support.
* Networks face obstacles to expansion – publishers need to diversify across many ad network channel opportunities to continue growth.
* Online advertising will continue to grow – overall ad spend may decrease but a natural reconciliation will occur to even out the discrepancy between Internet usage (33 percent) and percentage of ad budgets dedicated to online spend (8 percent).
* In a recession, efficient models prevail – online advertising is more efficient than other forms of advertising such as broadcast and print.

The complete 2008 Q2 Online Advertising Market Report is available as a free download at: http://www.rubiconproject.com.

About the Rubicon Project

The Rubicon Project is a group of industry-experienced, aggressive and passionate renegades dedicated to bringing a new level of efficiency to the fragmented Internet advertising space. The founders of the Rubicon Project shook up the online advertising industry in 1998 when they created L90/adMonitor, one of the most successful Internet advertising platforms that served over 3,000 of the web’s most recognized sites, reaching 65 percent of the Internet population before DoubleClick acquired it. $27 billion was spent advertising online in 2007, yet it’s still too hard for Web sites to sell their ad space online. The Rubicon Project’s web-based, self-serve solution gives any size Web site the most complete access to the total available advertising market and its smart matching technology does all the work to perfectly match each ad impression with the optimal money-making opportunity. The Rubicon Project is the new online advertising standard that makes it effortless for Web sites to generate the mad cash they’ve always dreamed of. And, it’s free to join. Web sites looking to make more money while doing less work should visit: http://www.rubiconproject.com.

Read Frank’s blog at: http://www.FounderBlog.com/

The advanced device market has seen enormous growth in the past year, with multiple reports projecting 2008 sales to increase more than 50% over last year. Consumers have loudly declared a broad acceptance of these once-thought business-only devices, and the advertising industry has taken notice.

These devices, which include iPhone, BlackBerry® and Windows Mobile® handsets, represent the fastest-growing segment of the over three billion monthly impressions that comprise Millennial Media’s mobile advertising networks (August 2008). Millennial Media’s advanced-device network, which includes a subset of over 120 million monthly iPhone impressions, provides advertisers with access to the largest possible audience of iPhone and advanced device consumers. Millennial Media’s networks in total reach over 50% of the U.S. mobile Web audience.

“Mobile users from ‘tweens to busy moms to tech-savvy men have discovered the value of staying connected to the Web while mobile, and advanced devices such as the BlackBerry, iPhone and Windows Mobile handsets are delivering this growth,” said Paul Palmieri, president and CEO of Millennial Media. “As a result, smart publishers are leveraging smart phones to win new audiences, and are using mobile advertising to create new revenue streams. Advanced devices have become mainstream.”

In continuing its trend of defining the industry, Millennial Media is addressing the strong consumer adoption and commensurate attention from advertisers and brands with the launch of a suite of custom advanced device solutions. As advertisers seek to extend their campaign reach beyond the wired Web, Millennial Media today introduces new ad units which leverage advanced devices and high-speed networks. Newly launched ad units include JavaScript™ creatives on iPhone, vector-graphic creatives on BlackBerry and Flash®-based creatives on Windows Mobile devices, as well as additions to the company’s suite of engaging post-click solutions.

iPhone

New ad units from Millennial Media seamlessly connect the dots to all the great functionality that Apple has built into the iPhone. From interactive expanding and carousel banners to performance-oriented search creatives that link to driving directions, an iPhone campaign with Millennial Media is the easiest way for brand advertisers to reach this highly-desirable mobile audience across the largest iPhone ad network. And, whether it is a mobile website or iPhone application, Millennial Media has a revenue solution for publishers.

BlackBerry

With BlackBerry dominating the advanced-device market, Millennial Media is continuing to expand its suite of rich, engaging mobile creatives, custom sites, landing pages and post-click solutions for the entire family of BlackBerry devices. These solutions include custom mobile sites, developed and hosted by Millennial Media, and leveraging vector-based graphics to achieve rich-media effects designed specifically to maximize brand impact. Additionally, in anticipation of Research In Motion’s v.4.6 launch, Millennial Media has refined its entire suite of post-click solutions to support this updated development environment and browser.

Windows Mobile

Millennial Media has developed and delivered new mobile Flash creatives and ad support capabilities through its partnership with Mobopia and its Xuinet service.

Android™

In anticipation of Android-based devices coming to market in Q4, Millennial Media has developed ad units based on CSS3 that match the compelling features of current iPhone creatives.

“Advanced mobile devices represent the new growth engine for the mobile Web,” said Palmieri. “As publishers tailor their content to this environment, we are positioning advertisers to do the same with ad units that leverage the most compelling capabilities across the broadest range of devices.”

About Millennial Media

Millennial Media, the industry’s largest mobile media networks company, offers the only true, end-to-end platform for mobile advertising – with full-service and self-service solutions designed to meet a vast spectrum of marketing objectives. With rich post-click solutions for engaging user experiences, the MBrand network for targeted audiences across premium content and Decktrade™ for large-scale performance campaigns, Millennial Media’s suite of solutions will meet any advertising need. The company is committed to growing the mobile advertising marketplace by becoming the preferred partner to all advertisers seeking to reach mobile consumers, all publishers seeking to maximize ad revenue, and all mobile operators seeking to further monetize their networks. For more information, visit http://www.millennialmedia.com.

“Digital dollars are growing faster than any other media in every market, and we believe that .FOX Networks offers the most comprehensive ad network for reaching the right audiences and communicating a brand,” said Hector Costa, senior vice president, managing director, .FOX Networks. “We are pleased that the combination of our ad network, our team and our technology is having a real impact on the international advertising industry.”

As one of the only ad networks to offer on-line Display, on-line Video, SEM and creative execution support, .FOX Networks provides significant value to advertisers via its vast expertise in online advertising technologies and quality inventory accessible to advertisers outside the U.S. In addition, .FOX Networks is the only ad network that has been using Rightmedia’s Yield Manager, the most cutting-edge and broadly used media exchange tool in the advertising business, for over three years now.

Combining its Brandformance™ concept and expertise in online advertising technologies, .FOX Networks has a proven track record helping advertisers reach targeted audiences online by establishing a strong and continually expanding network of thousands of Web sites. .FOX Networks continues to partner with some of the market’s largest advertisers including All State Insurance, US Navy, Alltell Wireless, Afalc, Farmers Insurance and many more.

About .FOX Networks:

.FOX Networks, a unit of Fox International Channels, delivers globally, servicing locally, allowing access for the first time to the quality inventory of one of the world’s largest media owners, News Corporation, and premium third party publishers. .FOX Networks provides online display, online video and mobile products for predominately branding international advertisers who also require a degree of performance, in addition to the needs of pure direct marketers. By the end of 2008, .FOX Networks will be the largest network in terms of global coverage with over 20 countries in operation. For more information, go to www.foxnetworks.com.

About Fox International Channels:

Fox International Channels (FIC), a unit of Fox Entertainment Group, is the wholly-owned global pay television subsidiary of News Corporation. FIC develops and distributes wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, factual, sports and movie channels in virtually all markets across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Using a variety of strong brands, FIC broadcasts over 90 television services in 29 languages. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high-definition extensions, reach over 100 million subscribing households, making the division one of the most penetrated and diverse operations in the television industry.

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.

PORTLAND, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With a gloomy national economic season looming, reinforced by exploding fuel prices and rising unemployment reports, it’s no surprise that the advertising industry is also anticipating a season of uncertainty. Marketing professionals are experiencing increasing challenges daily, virtually unable to discern tangible results, while simultaneously paying growing media rates that aren’t justified. Ad Age’s top story in the June 23rd issue confirms “Big marketers, facing a weakening economy…clamped down on spending (in 2007).” As evidenced by recent shifts of many Fortune 500 marketing budgets, it’s clear the advertising industry is on the verge of a major overhaul.

86% of marketers claim pressure is mounting for tangible results

According to the 2008 “State of the Marketer” survey report from Eloqua, accountability pressure is growing: 86 percent of marketers say pressure has increased on them to account for results. Moreover, 68 percent of organizations are measuring the quantifiable contribution of marketing to the bottom line.

Tim O’Leary, co-founder and CEO of Portland, Oregon-based R2C Group, has some thoughts on what’s got to give. “A recession can be good for marketers and agencies that are equipped to take advantage of opportunities,” claims O’Leary, who has led the nation’s largest independently-owned direct response advertising agency to rapid growth and more than $420 million in annual billings.

While many marketers are finding it harder and harder to measure the “success” of their dollars spent, and many of them using tired, traditional strategies, O’Leary and company are succeeding with a form of marketing that can be measured: integrated direct response advertising. O’Leary scoffs at how many big agencies continue to reinvent themselves creatively, without delivering bottom line results to their clients: “Publicly traded advertising agencies just don’t have their clients’ best interests at heart anymore.”

Advertising dollars are moving away from traditional strategies

According to Fitch Ratings, “The trend that will continue to affect the media universe…is the ongoing shift in advertising dollars from traditional media into non-traditional media…and ad spending continues to follow consumer patterns.” Focused on their client’s bottom line, R2C Group has experienced exponential growth over the past three years, thanks to a steady diet of big brand, Fortune 500 clients flocking to R2C Group for their unique and untraditional, results-driven approach.

R2C Group has rapidly evolved from a small direct response agency to an industry-leading, full-service advertising agency. The company’s recent acquisition of Chautauqua Communications, a San Francisco-based firm specializing in digital, interactive and online direct response solutions, further expands its service offering by adding online creative and digital media buying expertise to its integrated direct response offerings. These new capabilities are the perfect compliment, allowing R2C Group to directly connect direct response television campaigns to their client’s online and interactive strategies, with highly trackable results. R2C Group consists of: Respond2, the nation’s leading independently owned direct response creative agency, and Cmedia, an industry-leading media planning, research and buying agency.

Creative agency Respond2 became virtually married to its sister company, Cmedia, in 1999 when respective owners, Tim O’Leary and Michelle Cardinal, tied the knot themselves. Cardinal, president and co-founder of R2C Group, led Cmedia to explosive growth over the past 10 years, ranking Cmedia as the largest women-owned company and one of the largest privately held companies in the State of Oregon by the Portland Business Journal’s Book of Lists. Profiled in Inc. Magazine as one of the nation’s “Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs,” Cardinal is widely considered among peers and industry insiders as a pioneer in her field.

Fortune 500 companies are flocking toward results-driven approach

From newer, emerging brands to Fortune 500 companies, R2C Group’s clients have one thing in common; they are all dependent on generating profitable ROI from their advertising. O’Leary enjoys challenging the status quo, comparing his agency to what he refers to as “old school, old media, traditional brand agencies.” He asserts, “Unlike traditional brand agencies, R2C Group practices what it preaches: capturing, captivating and converting sales across all channels. We don’t just get results — we build brands by creating trackable, measurable, ongoing relationships with each and every customer.”

Is there a difference between the super-agencies’ big-budget campaigns and the R2C Group’s hybrid direct response/branded strategy? Cardinal says Yes. “R2C Group’s work is completely measurable and accountable. In fact, we’re the only agency on the planet that can directly correlate a television ad campaign with a client’s online and interactive strategies with equally measurable results. Many of our big brand clients are using direct response television campaigns not only to grow direct and online sales, but also to bolster their retails efforts too.” R2C’s portfolio of success among well known big brands is growing rapidly, and includes the likes of Google General Mills, Proctor & Gamble, Microsoft, Phillips, Merck, The Home Depot, Adobe, eBay, Vonage, Sprint, Chase, Blockbuster, Bare Minerals, KitchenAid and many more.

This newly-integrated direct response pioneer wants the world to know who they are and why they’re succeeding for their clients… and more importantly, why in the midst of a tumultuous economy, you should care.

R2C Group is a full-service advertising agency, specializing in direct response solutions, including direct response television (DRTV), online and interactive advertising, and complete media strategies. For more information on R2C Group, explore their new website at: www.r2cgroup.com.

- comScore Reports Gigya Reaches over 150 Million Unique Widget Viewers Worldwide – Gigya, the largest widget distribution network, announced that it reached over 150 million unique widget viewers worldwide in June 2008, a 23 percent increase in unique viewer reach since March 2008. This data was released earlier this month as part of comScore’s June WidgetMetrix Report.

- EyeWonder adds top industry talent – announced the recent appointments of four senior level executives with strong industry experience within the Interactive advertising industry from companies including PointRoll, Tribune Interactive, and Carat Fusion

Chicago-based Performics, one of the leading search marketing service providers, helps to improve the performance of advertisers’ investments and maximize client campaign effectiveness. Its profit-driving suite of marketing solutions includes Performics’ reporting platform, local platform, advanced market expertise and active account management.

The acquisition of Performics will enrich Publicis Groupe’s strong search capabilities and strengthen the offering of the VivaKi Nerve Center, a new strategic entity launched by the Groupe in June. VivaKi leverages the collective scale of Digitas, Starcom-MediaVest, Zenith-Optimedia and Denuo to develop new services, tools and partnerships, including new and emerging performance marketing platforms. The VivaKi Nerve Center includes a number of performance marketing assets, including Phonevalley, Webformance, Click2Sales and iBase. The addition of Performics will deliver a full and enhanced suite of performance marketing tools and capabilities to Publicis Groupe agencies and their clients.

Launched in 1998, Performics now employs nearly 200 search marketing specialists with employees in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, London, Hamburg, Sydney, Singapore and Beijing. The business will report into Curt Hecht, President of the VivaKi Nerve Center.

Performics will position Publicis Groupe and its clients to capitalize on the increasingly profitable search spending market. According to Jupiter Media, the search market represented an estimated $9.9BN in 2008 and is projected to grow at a 12% compound annual growth rate through 2012. Performics has over 130 search engine marketing (SEM) clients, representing over 200 top global brands.

“Publicis Groupe has been a leader in the advertising industry for decades, and we believe Performics’ growing business will benefit from being a part of it,” said Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google. “We look forward to working with Performics as a partner.”

Maurice Lévy, Chairman & CEO of Publicis Groupe, commented, “The acquisition of Performics will position the Groupe for significant growth by delivering a broad portfolio of clients into our operations. Performics will also bring widely-recognized talent and capabilities that can be embedded into the client teams inside Digitas, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia. Not only will this acquisition bring critical mass to Publicis Groupe’s formidable Search capabilities, but it will also enhance our affiliate marketing and overall performance marketing offering.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2008.

About Google Inc.
Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day.
Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Web Site : www.google.com

About Publicis Groupe
Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris: FR0000130577] is the world’s fourth largest communications group. In addition, it is ranked as the world’s second largest media counsel and buying group, and is a global leader in digital and healthcare communications. With activities spanning 104 countries on five continents, the Groupe employs approximately 44,000 professionals. The Groupe offers local and international clients a complete range of communication services, from advertising through three autonomous global advertising networks, Leo Burnett, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi and two multi-hub networks, Fallon and 49%-owned Bartle Bogle Hegarty; to media consultancy and buying, through two worldwide networks, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia; interactive and digital marketing led by Digitas; Specialized Agencies and Marketing Services offering healthcare communications, corporate and financial communications, sustainability communications, shopper marketing, public relations, CRM and direct marketing, event and sports marketing, and multicultural communications.
Web Site: www.publicisgroupe.com

NEW YORK – Ringleader Digital, the only third-party ad serving network for mobile devices, today announced it has hired Sonjoy Ganguly as Vice President of Product Management. Ganguly brings 15 years of product management experience to Ringleader. His directives will include setting product strategy, defining the roadmap of major corporate initiatives, and managing the ad operations and marketing strategies for the organization.

“Mobile is at the forefront of digital advertising – it is the only medium where relevant ads can be positioned in front of consumers wherever the consumer is. And, we’re now seeing significant media spend shift to the emerging mobile market,” said Mr. Ganguly. “Ringleader Digital is the industry’s most viable player due in large part to its groundbreaking technology approach to the mobile ad space. As we move the company forward, we will play a major role in shaping the industry’s future success.”

Ringleader Digital’s open, third-party advertising model continues to gain attention from major industry players including advertisers, agencies, and publishers. Recent announcements consist of deals with major brands like IAC Advertising Solutions and innovative mobile application companies like HopStop, with more deals in negotiations. The company’s unique abilities to target campaigns by device functionality as well as to provide common reporting that maps through DoubleClick and Atlas ad management systems are only two of many reasons for Ringleader’s strengthening popularity. Digital advertising benefits are vast, requiring the right sophisticated solution to roll out strong go-to-market product strategies.

“The timing is absolutely right to augment our team with Sonjoy,” said Bob Walczak, CEO of Ringleader Digital. “We’ve experienced considerable and steady growth since our re-launch earlier this year. It’s time to take advantage of that momentum; to define next steps that will continue realizing our digital advertising platform’s potential. Having Sonjoy’s expertise as part of the leadership staff is invaluable to meeting these objectives.”

Prior to Ringleader, Mr. Ganguly was Director of Product Management for DoubleClick’s Rich Media product line, functioning as the general manager for the multi-million dollar global business unit. Before that, he was at TheLadders.com, an online job board for professionals, where he was hired to develop the product development department, implementing standards and procedures using software development lifecycle methodologies. Mr. Ganguly also held product director responsibilities at Donovan Data Systems, the leading global data service provider to the advertising industry, where he was responsible for numerous global product launches. He holds a BS in Management, Industrial & Labor Relations and International Business from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

About Ringleader Digital

As the next-generation mobile advertising network, Ringleader Digital brings the online advertising experience to mobile–fulfilling the potential and promise of the mobile Web. Ringleader’s device-agnostic network is the only third-party mobile ad service, and is the first to specifically target ads by device functionality. Ringleader simplifies advertising transactions and delivery by providing brands and publishers the ability to seamlessly and simultaneously distribute ad campaigns across any mobile digital platform. With this unprecedented control, publishers maximize the revenue potential for ad campaigns while brands and advertisers can finally track and audit every element of a campaign’s effectiveness. Ringleader is based in New York City. For more information please visit www.ringleaderdigital.com.

Partnering with AdJug helps the Rubicon Project answer the increasing global demands to improve ad performance and placement. As part of the agreement, AdJug is able to monetize the UK inventory of hundreds of the Rubicon Project’s Certified U.S. publishers, offering high fill rates on ad impressions. This easy and efficient solution for advertisers and high profile publishers also allows AdJug to build deeper channels and provide enhanced performance for advertisers.

The Rubicon Project recently launched its Certified Ad Space program , that gives ad networks, and their advertisers, quality and safety assurance for content, placement, targeting and reporting. the Rubicon Project’s smart-matching technology deciphers ad inventory from thousands of sites, breaking it into micro-segments based on geographic, demographic and contextual information. the Rubicon Project’s Ad Network Optimization solution then matches certified inventory to the strengths of a specific ad network, bringing that ad network top-performing, “smarter” ad impressions.

“Partnering with AdJug in the international advertising market allows us to engage quality advertisers from the UK, while increasing revenue for our publishers,” said Frank Addante, CEO and founder of the Rubicon Project. “International monetization is a rapidly growing opportunity and, therefore, a key focus for us. Working with AdJug offers us a scalable solution to bring more sites with international traffic online, adding to our growing customer base of 1,000+ websites.” “Our partnership with the Rubicon Project marks a giant leap forward for AdJug by offering immediate access to a new breadth of quality ad inventory,” said Michael Stephanblome, CEO and founder of AdJug. “This instantly helps us to bring additional liquidity into our marketplace and creates new and exciting inventory opportunities for our advertisers.

About AdJug
AdJug is an online advertising marketplace where advertisers and publishers buy and sell ads directly. It eliminates the need to use an advertising network, giving advertisers and publishers greater choice, transparency & control on how ads are bought and sold. AdJug’s mission is to become Europe’s leading online advertising marketplace. The company is headquartered in London.

About the Rubicon Project
The Rubicon Project is an advertising technology company run by a group of industry-experienced, aggressive and passionate renegades on a mission to automate the large, yet highly inefficient Internet advertising industry. While online advertising is expected to reach $27 billion in 2008, up to 80% of a websites’ ad space goes unsold (directly). Unsold ad space is sent to ad networks. Today, advertisers spread money across 300+ ad networks causing fragmentation and complexity for websites trying to monetize their unsold ad space. In 2007, the Rubicon Project pioneered the Ad Network Optimization category with the launch of its first product.

The Rubicon Project’s Ad Network Optimizer uses smart matching technology to match each ad impression to the optimal money-making opportunities. Within the first 6 months of launch, the company optimized more than 25 billion ads for more than 1,000 websites and 150 of the top ad networks while reaching more than 150 million unique Internet users.Other innovations include a free-hosted Ad Network Ad Server for websites and a Certified Ad Space program to ensure safety, accuracy and trust for ad networks (and their advertisers) when placing ads on websites. The founders of the Rubicon Project created one of the first, and most successful, ad servers in 1998 (L90/adMonitor) that was later acquired by DoubleClick. Websites looking to make more money while doing less work should visit: http://www.rubiconproject.com/

The highlights:

- limit on alcohol advertising to 25% of advertising space in any media at any time;

- advertising drinks on media where more than 25% of the audience is under 18 is banned;

- sponsorship by drink companies of sports events where participants are under 18 is banned;

- alcohol advertising on television between 6am and 10am is banned;

- alcohol advertising per viewing in cinemas has been reduced by 15%.

Neither The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) or the Irish Department of Health provide any methodologies as to how exactly would one measure these parameters, even though the restrictions are supposed to be taken into consideration immediately.

For an online content publisher, the rules are confusing and may halt alcohol advertising campaigns until clarifications are given.

What constitutes “25% of the advertising space at any time”? This requirement must have been written in the absence of anybody from the advertising industry, as it opens doors to tons of interpretations.

I have contacted DIGI about clarifications and measurement methodologies – will publish an update as soon as I get a reply.

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

Paul Rostkowski comes to LucidMedia most recently from Healthline, the health and wellness vertical portal, bringing with him a track record of successful growth and revenue generation. Paul’s addition completes the LucidMedia strategy of becoming a new media company and he joins at a pivotal point in the company’s execution. Before Healthline, Paul served as Hoover’s Vice President of Advertising responsible for their advertising sales strategy, development, and implementation. In this role Paul managed the Ad Sales team and oversaw the Ad Operations group driving nearly 300% growth during his tenure. Prior to joining Hoover’s, Paul was Vice President of Sales, Eastern Region at Winstar Interactive Media based in New York City. While at Winstar Interactive Paul directed the sales team to record interactive ad revenue growth and managed agency relations.

Abderrezak Kamel, most recently with Autonomy where he was heading the Intelligent Content and Application Enablement group, brings over a decade of experience in Information Retrieval and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Abderrezak will oversee the technology roadmap and be responsible for the robustness and relevance of the ClickSense contextual advertising platform. Prior to Autonomy Abderrezak was the Chief Architect and Director of Advanced Product Development at the Semio Corporation which was acquired by LucidMedia, then Entrieva, in 2002. Previously Abderrezak was a PhD student in Computational Semiotics at Leonardo da Vinci University, Paris, France and completed his MS equivalent in Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the University of Montpellier, France in 1994.

Ajay Sravanapudi, President & CEO of LucidMedia, said of Mr. Rostkowski, “Our innovative hyper-targeting solution is rapidly becoming an industry standard for contextual advertising among ad exchanges and publisher optimizers. Having an industry rainmaker like Paul on our team means we are perfectly poised to make the most of the contextual revolution in the advertising industry. Paul has proven he can bring in revenue and oversee the kind of operation we require to succeed as a new media company. He is an advocate for the advertiser with deep agency, network and publisher contacts which makes him a great asset to LucidMedia.”

Ajay went on to comment on their new CTO, “We are delighted to have Abderrezak return to LucidMedia especially after his work with Autonomy. It means a great deal to the team here at LucidMedia and he can hit the ground running. He will play a crucial role in taking the ClickSense engine, which he helped design five years ago, to the next level as the contextual advertising platform of choice for the display advertising industry.”

About LucidMedia:
LucidMedia is a small media company with a big answer to the challenge of lifting display ad revenues. Formally known as Entrieva, LucidMedia was founded in 1999 and launched ClickSense® in 2004. Using the deep contextualization of their patented ClickSense platform, LucidMedia has created a revolutionary new hyper-targeting display ad network built exclusively for advertisers. The LucidMedia Network is the first advertiser-centric ad network that can offer complete brand safety, real accountability, and transparency down to the page-level. LucidMedia is headquartered in Reston Virginia at the heart of the Dulles Technology Corridor only minutes from Washington, D.C. and Dulles International Airport. Today many of the world’s largest interactive agencies, web advertisers, and ad exchanges are relying on LucidMedia to achieve their advertising revenue goals.

“Websites told us that ad network management was their #1 pain point. So we created and defined the Ad Network Optimization category,” says Frank Addante, CEO and Founder of the Rubicon Project. “Since our launch, websites have told us existing ad servers aren’t built to effectively manage ad networks. So today we deliver our new, free, Ad Network Ad Server. These advancements underscore our commitment to optimizing the relationship and revenue between websites and ad networks.”

The original concept of the ad server was designed ten years ago when all ad sales were handled by websites directly, but the marketplace has changed. Research has revealed that as little as 20% of inventory is sold directly by websites, while up to 80% remains unsold. That unsold ad space is typically sent to ad networks to monetize. Some websites rely entirely on ad networks for their advertising revenue. Existing ad servers, whether free or fee-based, still only answer direct sales needs. They are not designed to manage multiple ad networks and exchanges, which is now a primary requirement for most website publishers. the Rubicon Project is committed to solving this problem.

Free Ad Network Ad Server: Ad servers should be free. The Rubicon Project’s hosted, self-service Ad Network Ad Server helps publishers easily manage multiple ad networks and provides consolidated, insightful reports in one place. No more shuffling multiple browser windows and spreadsheets while logging into five, ten or twenty different ad networks’ reporting systems. Benefits of the free Ad Network Ad Server include:

* Freedom: Only using one ad network today? Don’t have an ad server? Now you have one. Using multiple ad networks makes you more money.
* Free! Save Money: Save on expensive ad serving costs.
* No More Excel: Single ad network management and reporting dashboard.

Ad Network Optimizer: For websites seeking an “automatic” product that lets them make more money while doing less work, the Rubicon Project’s new Ad Network Optimizer is the answer. The Ad Network Optimizer leverages the strengths of all the world’s most popular ad networks. Utilizing a combination of algorithm-driven technology, 11+ billion pieces of market data from previously optimized ads, and a robust supply of more than 60 ad networks, it automatically matches each impression to the best ad network and optimal money-making opportunities. That means the Rubicon Project does the work so websites don’t have to! Additional features include:

* Smarter Optimization Algorithms: Maximize fill rate, kill defaults, target more precisely
* CPM Boosting: Optimize CPM’s and fill rates by geography, audience and content
* Ad Quality Screening: Filter out unwanted ads
* Meet New Ad Networks: expose your inventory to a wider audience of ad networks
* Certified Ad Space: automatic review for the Rubicon Certified Ad Space program
* Guaranteed On-time Payments: One simple check every month – get paid on time, even if networks pay late

Want to Make Mad Cash, better manage ad networks or check out our Certified Ad Space program? Visit: www.rubiconproject.com

Want to learn more about ad network optimization? Check out our Golden Eggs video: http://www.rubiconproject.com/goldeneggs

About the Rubicon Project
the Rubicon Project is an advertising technology company run by a group of industry-experienced, aggressive and passionate renegades on a mission to automate the large, yet highly inefficient Internet advertising industry. While online advertising is expected to reach $27 billion in 2008, up to 80% of a websites’ ad space goes unsold (directly). Unsold ad space is sent to ad networks. Today, advertisers spread money across 300+ ad networks. In 2007, the Rubicon Project pioneered the Ad Network Optimization category with the launch of its first product. the Rubicon Project’s Ad Network Optimizer, a self-serve solution for any size website, uses smart matching technology to match each ad impression to the optimal money-making opportunities. Within the first 6 months of launch, the company optimized more than 11 billion ads and 5000 websites signed up for the service. Other innovations include a free-hosted Ad Network Ad Server for websites and a Certified Ad Space program to ensure safety, accuracy and trust for ad networks (and their advertisers) when placing ads on websites. The founders of the Rubicon Project created one of the first, and most successful, ad servers in 1998 (L90/adMonitor) that was later acquired by DoubleClick. Websites looking to make more money while doing less work should visit: www.rubiconproject.com

Irvine, Calif. and London — March 12, 2008 — Specific Media, the largest independent online advertising network, today announced a definitive agreement to acquire all the assets of Adviva, a leading display advertising network in the United Kingdom. The combination of Specific Media and Adviva in the UK gives brand advertisers an opportunity to combine massive reach with every method of targeting to produce the results they are looking to achieve. The Adviva acquisition marks Specific Media’s entry into the European market, giving the company a strong start on global expansion. The deal closed this week for an undisclosed amount.

With $5 billion in online advertising revenues in 2007 according to eMarketer, the UK is the largest European advertising market. Adviva’s broad network of brand-friendly content driven websites reaches more than 21.3 million unique UK internet users. Post-acquisition the combined companies will become the fourth largest ad network in the UK reaching 25.9 million unique UK users.

“Specific Media has anonymous data on 365 million consumers globally and the acquisition of Adviva gives us the opportunity to utilize the European portion of that data,” said Tim Vanderhook, co-founder and CEO of Specific Media. “Specific Media chose to partner with Adviva because it had a compelling value proposition of brand advertisers, quality publishers and a tremendous team that are enthusiastic about the opportunities in front of us.”

Specific Media is the only advertising network offering brand advertisers a complete targeting solution that combines demographic, behavioral, contextual, and geographic methods. The company currently works with more than 300 of Fortune 500 brands including seven of the top 10. Following the acquisition, Adviva’s London office will become Specific Media’s European headquarters. The acquisition of Adviva brings the total employee count for Specific Media to close to 200.

“Specific Media and Adviva have a great deal in common already and the new synergies will further benefit our advertisers and publishers,” said Todd Treusdell, co-founder and CEO of Adviva, who will stay onboard as Specific Media’s Managing Director, European Operations. “Now reaching nearly 80 percent of consumers in the US and the UK, Specific Media gives publishers and advertisers an attractive alternative to the large, publicly-held players in the industry.”

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

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