On May 29, San Francisco Bay Area Interactive Group (SF Big) hosted a breakfast panel discussing the effects of media planning automation. With over 200 attendees, the panel had a great turnout. Cory Treffiletti, President, Managing Partner, Catalyst, moderated the panel.

And panelists included:

• Ryan Becker, VP Publisher Development, ContextWeb
• Shane Vaughan, VP Marketing, Balihoo
• Matt Boyd – SVP Sales, ValueClick
• Neil Monnens; Co founder and President, Good Hands Media.

With widespread acknowledgment that the media planning process could be more efficient, the panel focused on the new technologies being built that will help automate parts of the planning process. The panel discussed the critical importance of the human element in media planning, and panelists agreed that while many of the processes behind planning can be automated, there always will be the need for human interaction and creative thought when creating a successful ad campaign.

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On May 19 and 20, executives from ContextWeb’s ADSDAQ Exchange attended and presented at one of the key search engine marketing conferences in the U.S., PPC Summit, in San Francisco, California.

During the first day of meetings, Jay Sears, ContextWeb’s EVP of Strategic Products and Business Development, presented a lunchtime keynote to attendees entitled, “Why Content Matters: Content vs. Search.”

“Content-based ads are a great solution for advertisers looking to scale beyond search. Since search is “supply-gated,” advertisers can buy only so many search terms before the supply runs out and “clicks” become too expensive. Jay Sears, EVP of ContextWeb’s ADSDAQ Exchange, will offer insights to determine if content-based ads are right for you, explore the benefits of content-based ads and explain how content-based ads offer advertisers a way to target ads to relevant content.”

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Executives from ContextWeb’s ADSDAQ Exchange will be attending numerous, upcoming industry events both here in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom - in support of our new UK offices recently opened by ContextWeb’s UK Country Manager Ross Caveille.

May 12-14 - “ThinkTomorrow ~ Today” conference from ThinkPanmure will be held at The Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, CA. From ContextWeb, Anand Subramanian, CEO, and Jay Sears, SVP of Strategic Products and Business Development will attend. Anand presents ContextWeb at 2:15 p.m. on the 13th which is followed by his participation in a 3:15 panel entitled “David vs. GOOGliath: Next Generation Ad Platforms Speak Out,” moderated by ThinkPanmure analyst, Bill Morrison.

ThinkPanmure’s conference attendee list includes key industry figures such as:

• Marc Andreessen (Co-Founder, Ning & Netscape, Founder & Chairman, Opsware)
• Bill Campbell (Chairman, Intuit)
• Steve Chen (Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, YouTube)
• Bob Compton (Executive Producer, 2 Million Minutes)
• Ron Conway (Founder & Managing Partner, Angel Investors)
• John Doerr (Partner, Kleiner Perkins)
• Mike McCue (Founder, Tellme Networks)
• Jonathan Rosenberg (Senior Vice President, Product Marketing, Google)

May 14-16 - OPA ‘08 London: Forum for the Future brings together many of the world’s top web publishers to discuss the latest developments in the world of online media. Shanthi Sarkar, SVP, Operations and Product Management, ContextWeb, will travel to London for the conference to learn from web publishers and discuss the recently-announced Reach Extension Program available through the ADSDAQ Exchange. Attendees include:

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Yesterday, Jay Sears of ContextWeb, creators of the ADSDAQ Exchange, and Steve Ustaris of Carat Fusion, participated in a morning conference at Hotel Nine Zero offered through the Boston Interactive Marketing Association (BIMA).

Attendees from BIMA, and Boston-area agencies such as Media Contacts, caratm Hill Holliday, Holland Mark, Partners + Simons, Mullen, Fulgent and direct advertisers such as TJX, Staples, Fidelity and more discussed the rapidly fragmenting online advertising marketplace and the possible solutions ahead for advertisers in the conference entitled, “Wandering Audience and What Advertisers Can Do About It.”

It was an apropos topic considering the recent discussions in the news media about ad exchanges and networks, brand publishers and advertisers, and the evolution of online media which was covered again yesterday by Jon Fine of BusinessWeek. Mr. Fine paraphrased ContextWeb Board Member, Wenda Harris Millard:

“In an appearance earlier this year she warned traditional media players that if they allow ad networks to mediate the buying of their Web sites’ ads, they run the risk of commoditizing these ads’ value as if they were the media equivalent of “pork bellies.”

If you would like to download a PDF of the presentation, click here.

To view photos of the event, visit our Flickr site here.

The full presentations made by Jay and Steve as well as the Q&A are available here in three parts in video format below: (with MP3 audio-only at the bottom of the page):

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On Monday, executives from ContextWeb’s ADSDAQ Exchange presented to advertisers, publishers and other interested members of the online advertising community at the highly anticipated, “IAB Marketplace: Ad Networks & Xchanges” at New York City’s Roosevelt Hotel.

Michael J. Kelly, our just-announced Senior Advisor to the ContextWeb board, gave a compelling closing keynote entitled, “One view: What’s next?” where he discussed the ongoing fragmentation of the online marketplace.

William Morrison and Robert Coolbrith of ThinkEquity provided a thorough overview of the challenges and opportunities in online advertising as a whole and with advertising exchanges and ad networks, in particular. They closed their presentation with important questions for the marketer. We have those questions available for download here.

As pointed out by the Media Two Interactive blog, the speed dating format was another important part of the day’s activities.

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It keeps getting better.

This morning we announce that Michael J. Kelly has joined ContextWeb as a Senior Advisor to the Board of Directors. Mike is the former president of AOL Media Networks and the current Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eyeblaster.

The news comes on the heels of Wenda Harris Millard joining our board in February and the announcement of our new advisory board members Ira Carlin, Robin Cooper and Scot McLernon.

As President of AOL Media Networks from February 2004 until September 2007, Mike was responsible for AOL’s global advertising business, including revenues, product and platform development, and media strategy for all of AOL’s properties, as well as its Advertising.com network. During Mike’s tenure, revenues grew from $600 million in 2003 to over $2.1 Billion in just 3 years.

He also oversaw the acquisition of Advertising.com in 2004, the negotiation of a multi-year, multi-billion dollar contract with Google in 2005, the development of AOL’s network strategy and other acquisitions (such as TACODA, Lightningcast and Third Screen Media) as well as the global expansion of Advertising.com to 11 countries.

If you happen to be at the IAB Conference today on ad exchanges and ad networks, be sure to attend the “learn from the Experts” sessions from ContextWeb and our ADSDAQ Exchange in the morning and Mike’s closing keynote speech at 5pm:

One View: What’s Next?

The past several years have brought a dramatic shift in the buying and selling of online media. Platforms, publishers and even agencies are acquiring, creating and partnering with ad networks and exchanges to secure their presence in the new industry space.

At the forefront of this revolution is Michael J. Kelly, who in 2004 orchestrated AOL’s acquisition of Advertising.com while serving as the President of AOL Media Networks.

What’s next for ad networks and exchanges? Will media ever become a commodity? Will networks and exchanges remain relegated to non-premium inventory? Will they move out of the interactive space into TV, print and radio? And, amidst all the change, how do you, the marketer, agency or publisher, stay in control?

Michael will address these questions as well as reveal other underlying forces that will no doubt impact your business as this revolution continues.

Michael J. Kelly, Digital Media Advisor, Investor and Chairman of the Board, Eyeblaster

Along with McDonalds, Hunts Point Recreation Center, Puerto Rican Family Institute, NYC Department of Sanitation, ContextWeb participated in a successful toy drive for New Seasons this past holiday season.

Employees at ContextWeb, led by Yaixia Justiz, collected new toys for two weeks prior to New Seasons’ annual event that resulted in a generous donation to the community organization.

Reverend Philip Bonano informed us that contributions allowed his organization to give gifts to over 200 children from the Hunts Point community in New York City.

A discussion regarding online advertising exchanges played out in front of a packed house at today’s iBreakfast in New York City. With iBreakfast ‘maestro’ Alan Brody overseeing the gathering, Holly Sanders of the New York Post moderated the panel which included executives from the three major online advertising exchanges:

• Jay Sears, SVP of Strategic Products and Business Development, ADSDAQ by ContextWeb
• Michael Rubenstein, Vice President and General Manager of (Google’s) DoubleClick Advertising Exchange service, AdX
• Bill Wise, GM, Yahoo! Ad Network for RightMedia

After each panelist provided an overview of their respective exchange, an hour of Q&A followed with questions coming from a diverse and engaged audience comprised of - among others - press, analysts, web advertisers and publishers.

If you would like to view media from the event, the following is available for download here:

• Jay Sears presentation on Ad Exchanges, Media Fragmentation and the ADSDAQ online advertising exchange. (2 MB PDF)
• MP3 audio file of the entire iBreakfast ad exchange panel discussion. (79 MB - To download, right-click on this link and “Save As” to your desktop)

Ad Exchange Panel
at iBreakfast

Over the past two weeks, teams of ContextWeb employees have worked at the Yorkville Common Pantry and Career Gear here in New York City in an effort to support local, year-round philanthropic efforts.

At the Yorkville Common Pantry (YCP), ContextWeb employees sorted through deliveries and helped prepare for food distributions within the community to those in need.

According to the non-profit organization’s website:

“Yorkville Common Pantry (YCP) is dedicated to reducing hunger and promoting dignity and self-sufficiency. Our services are provided in the Upper East Side and East Harlem to our neighbors in and around these communities.”

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Next Wednesday, December 19, from 7:30-10:30 a.m., at CRESA Partners Executive Center, 100 Park Ave. in New York City, NY, Jay Sears from ADSDAQ by ContextWeb will speak on an iBreakfast panel about Ad Exchanges.

The panel will be moderated by the advertising columnist from the New York Post, Holly Sanders. Other panelists will include Bill Wise from Yahoo! RightMedia and Michael Rubenstein from DoubleClick’s advertising exchange, AdX.

Tickets are available from the iBreakfast website or at the event.

Holly Sanders will no doubt explore with the panel recent developments in online advertising including ad exchanges. Her article in the New York Post entitled “Web Spinning” highlights the continued momentum in the online ad space as companies such as Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (Martha’s Circle, a lifestyle ad network), Reader’s Digest, Forbes and Warner Bros. scramble to launch online vertical advertising networks and reach more consumers. Adify, led by CEO Russell Fradin, takes it a step further and “sells a build-your-own-network platform for companies that don’t want the headache of developing their own.”

We look forward to seeing everyone at the breakfast panel. Don’t forget to set your alarm.