ORLANDO, Fla. – At its signature Mplanet conference, the American Marketing Association unwrapped the results of a year-long project to help marketers map future scenarios and possibilities in the marketplace. The work, created in partnership with Decision Strategies International, used scenario-building to predict four archetypes of CMOs and their potential impact on marketing in 2015.

The process of “disciplined imagination” used by AMA and DSI gives marketers a way to organize all of the uncertainty in the market and create possible stories or pictures of the future.

AMA’s CEO Dennis Dunlap challenged industry leaders to use the scenarios and be flexible enough to market in the moment while still planning for a continuum of possibilities.
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ORLANDO, Fla. – As the marketing landscape continues to change at unprecedented speeds, the industry’s top minds came together at the American Marketing Association’s conference Mplanet (Jan. 26-28) to share insight on the opportunities and challenges in today’s technology-driven marketplace.

“Especially in today’s changing climate, marketing has the opportunity to create an enduring brand,” said Dennis Dunlap, CEO of American Marketing Association. “By bringing together our industry’s best and brightest to explore new strategies, media and tactics, Mplanet is helping to ensure marketing’s role in creating a brand’s long-term innovation and sustainability.”

Digital Marketing Lab Learnings

Mplanet, hosted in partnership with Wharton School and Bain & Company, commenced with a pre-conference digital marketing lab Monday afternoon where speakers explored the growing toolkit of digital marketing techniques, social media, mobile marketing technologies and next generation devices.
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SHANGHAI, China – 24/7 Real Media, Inc., the leading digital marketing company, and OgilvyOne China’s ITOP Performance Marketing division, announced that they are entering a joint venture to create ITOP 24/7 – effective January 2009. Based in Beijing, ITOP 24/7 will be a Chinese display and contextual advertising network that will enable advertisers and publishers to effectively and efficiently engage their target audiences in the digital marketplace.

On top of OgilvyOne ITOP’s existing platform, the joint venture will utilize the award winning Open AdStream® ad management technology, enhanced specifically for the Chinese market. OgilvyOne ITOP’s existing ad network covers key categories like IT & Telecommunications, Fashion & Entertainment, and Business & Finance and provides mid to large scale advertisers high quality targeted ad placements and audiences.
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NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) closed this year’s highly successful MIXX Conference and Expo with the presentation tonight of the fourth annual MIXX Awards. The MIXX Awards are the only honor devoted exclusively to interactive advertising, and the only juried competition that recognizes excellence in both creativity and effectiveness. For the first time, the digital advertising campaigns were evaluated by senior executives from agencies, publishers and marketing organizations deliberating together, sharing their distinct perspectives on what makes advertising creative successful. Tonight’s multimedia gala was emceed by Rob Norman, GroupM Interaction Worldwide CEO.

“The sheer volume of submissions coupled with the extraordinary level of creativity that cut across such a wide swath of platforms and technologies speaks to the vitality of the interactive advertising industry,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. “Interactive advertising is breaking new ground in engaging consumers in ways that we had not even dreamed of, and the pace of change will only continue to accelerate.”
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Industry Leaders to Examine the New Marketing Environment and Strategies of Today’s Most Successful Brands

CHICAGO – The American Marketing Association announces the return of Mplanet, an industry-leading event for the world’s most influential marketing leaders and academics to share new ideas, innovations and proven strategies in today’s challenging marketing environment. The American Marketing Association, the largest marketing association in North America for individuals and organizations involved in the practice, teaching and study of marketing worldwide, will host the conference in partnership with The Wharton School and Bain & Company.

“This techno-driven, borderless world has created many new challenges and consumers are becoming resistant to traditional marketing,” said Dennis Dunlap, Chief Executive Officer of the American Marketing Association. “From rapidly changing computing and communication platforms to a weakening economy, today’s marketing leaders need fresh insights to improve performance and to drive results within their organizations.”
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Partnership Brings Together Leaders in Mobile Advertising and Location-Based Services to Create Exclusive Advertising Opportunity

BOSTON – Quattro Wireless (www.quattrowireless.com), North America’s best performing mobile ad network, and uLocate Communications (www.ulocate.com), the world’s leading publisher of mobile location-based services, today announced a partnership that will present brands with unprecedented advertising opportunities to target and serve iPhone owners through an industry-first location-based advertising service. The deal extends Quattro’s In-App Network by leveraging uLocate’s WHERE™ application to deliver location-based overlays for Quattro’s innovative iPhone ad units. In addition, Quattro and uLocate will develop new ad-sponsorships for location-based keyword search, Widgets and Map options within WHERE.
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Following up from yesterday’s finalists list for ad creatives, we’ll take a look today at the OMMA Awards finalists for the “Integrated Online Campaign” category. As always, if you have any comments or insights, please feel free to shout them!

Automotive
Agency: OMD / Client: Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo Music
Agency: Organic, Inc / Client: Jeep Patriot
Agency: Rubin Postaer and Associates / Client: Honda Certified Used Car (HCUC)

Business-to-Business
Agency: Cadient Group / Client: AstraZenica
Agency: OgilvyOne, San Francisco / Client: Barclays Global Investors
Agency: Brief Attention Span Communications / Client: Serena Software, Inc.
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The lists of finalists for the much-awaited OMMA Awards have just been made public. We will take a look today at the finalists in the “Online Advertising Creative” category – I see some of the best campaigns in there so please feel free to give your comments and thoughts on them.

Standard, Flash or Rich Media Banner
Agency: A&E Television / Client: Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels
Agency: IAC Advertising Solutions / Client: Bacardi
Agency: MS3 Marketing / Client: Castrol SYNTEC

Standard, Flash or Rich Media Expandable Banner or Overpage Unit
Agency: Juxt Interactive / Client: Coca-Cola Co./Coke Zero
Agency: Liquid / Client: Paramount/The Spiderwick Chronicles
Agency: Unicast / Client: Warner Brothers/Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
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