For a Bonafide Web Two-dot-O Experience, Get Stranded

This entry can alternatively be called, "Why American Airlines Sucks."

Before leaving ad:tech I had a conversation with a blogger who lamented learning little of value at the conference. He wasn't the only one who complained; surface-skimming conversation with a few girls at last night's Batanga party betrayed a pattern.

I hate to file yet another complaint into the ether. But after some serious thought, it occurred to me that you can't really learn about how people are communicating - manipulating brands, and media, in the process - unless you're sharing their space, communicating right along with them. That's not the kind of thing you can really be taught at a seminar.

Which leads me to why American Airlines sucks.

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Fashionably Late, Angela Hits ad:tech Miami - to Raucous Applause

So I've hit ad:tech Miami - a day late, mind you - and the vibe is totally different from SF.

To start with, it's way hotter. And I think somebody with a salsa ghetto blaster is following me.

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Best Branding Not at the Show

As one involved in the advertising area I always look at advertising to see what others are trying out and who is doing what. Some companies here have done a great job with ads and sponsorships to be ubiquitous, but the one campaign that really stood out for me was not interactive and not here at the show. I took BART to the show and used the Powell Street exit. The first thing I noticed as I exited the train was that every single poster was for Puma - more specifically the Puma Store nearby on Market Street.

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Allstate Says It Will Cost $400 Billion to Rebuild San Francisco

Copyranter points out an Alstate ad that appeared in tuesday's Wall Street Journal that showed a snow globe version of San Fransico with a $400 billion price tag attached to it. Apparently, while that seems low, that's the price to rebuild San Francisco after an earthquake of 1906 proportions. The headline reads, "If San Francisco had the same size quake as in 1906, it could cost $400 billion to rebuild." Whille Allstate may want San Francisco residents to feel as though they are in good hands, that's not exactly the most comforting method to do so. Although it certainly gets one thinking about just how much insurance one should have when living on a fault line.

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Mochila Brings Choice, Control, Order to Contextual Advertising

The biggest problem with contextual advertising is that it relies on a computer to decide which content the ad should appear beside. That alone has provided for gaff after gaff after gaff. While not always the case, contextual advertising is usually site-specific and the site, versus the content, is what is purchased. The ad, then, appears in a contextually relevant position within that site. A new company, Mochila, is changing this model dramatically. The company just announced a content exchange where publishers sell the content they create and buy the content others have created. Unlike wire services that provide content with an annual subscription, Mochila will offer content for individual purchase.

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The Next Big Thing

The "next big thing" wasn't really anything. Again the consumer was discussed and the search engine. But no one really knows how to do it right. I ended up leaving and wandering the conference floor. There was one degenerate corner where the girls were wearing t-shirts that said "Do you want to be on top" and another booth was giving out "personal massagers" and there was beer and rock and roll on the juke box. This was where the kids hang out who smoke. The next big thing is the same thing all over again: Sex sells, and people want to talk about themselves.

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AD:TECHblog Tchotchke Award

While the Fighting Tweetie-Bird Pen was amazing, it was a party favor (thanks, Gaspedal), not a true branded promotional tchotchke. So with Tweetie disqualified, the Official AD:TECHblog Tchotchke Award goes to the fabulous Hotbar.com Orange Flip-flops (size 10). Kudos to the Hotbar.com marketing folks, we'd walk a mile in their shoes!

Let's Hear It for the AD:TECHblog!

I know Tig hates this kind of blatant self-congratulatory post, but I just want to say a big thanks to all the fellow bloggers of this AD:TECH conference. It was a pleasure to meet you all, and if I do say so myself, I think we did a bang-up job blogging this conference. I heard as much from several attendees. Chris's video post of the trapeze artists was the piece de resistance.

I'm also pleased to announce that the AD:TECHblog will be back for Chicago in July. Any other bloggers who'd like to apply, drop me a line (though I'll be traveling for the next two weeks, so don't expect a reply till then). Also, companies interested in underwriting the blog's expenses in return for a right-hand column presence can give an email to ads@marketingvox.com.

I suspect a few more posts may still trickle in here this afternoon, but I'm unwiring for the rest of the day, so thanks again to the blogging crew and all who helped make this another great AD:TECH show! (FYI, the AD:TECH bloggers are not AD:TECH employees, just fans of the show.)

And the Attendees Just Keep Coming

I'm kind of off duty today, aside from photos I've been posting. But I'm seated in a hallway of the Palace at a table near an AD:TECH sign, and about 10 people have come come by in the last hour or so, asking for where to register for the conference and where is the exhibit hall, which closed up last night. A well-attended show, indeed.

[AD:TECH announced this a.m. that the conference set the record for attendance to date. -Ed.]

It's Not Las Vegas

What happens at AD:TECH does not stay at AD:TECH. In fact, if the rest of us are lucky, it will get posted to the AD:TECHblog.

ZEDO: AdTechBlog Award for Best Conference Marketing Stunt

I consulted with Steve Hall on this one, and he agrees that we can A) create such an impromtu award, and B) award it ZEDO for the juxtaposition of signs shown in this photo.

In case you can't quite make out what's going on (even the larger picture, which pops up when you click the thumbnail, is rather grainy), here's the story. Outside of the exhibit hall, there is a booth that audaciously is selling bottled water for $5! The little sign on the counter says "Soft Drinks / Mineral Water $5." Then you notice, off to the right, ZEDO has left a sign saying "Free Bottled Water at ZEDO Inc.'s Table..."

The real loser in this photo is Tribal Fusion, whose sign above creates the false impression they are sponsoring the $5 bottles of water.

Tchotchke update

One of the most rewarding things about hunting tchotchkes is that (mysteriously) great items turn up on the second day of a show that you would swear were not there the day before. This show is no different. The following kewl items have been spotted:

• the intelliseek sticky dart-man
  
• The emarketer sitting smiley face brush
  
• The Google flashing keychain, and
  
• The listbazaar.com molded blue plastic abstract hand paperweight/massager

Pix to follow.

Best Demo So Far: Competitive Email Tracking Service

Demos, nearly ubiquitous in AD:TECH's past, seem to be out of favor this year. Lots of talking ("No, I used to work with you at two startups after that one...") seems to have replaced the booth demo as the main floor attraction. That said, for the nosy, demonstrations are available.

Most novel so far has been Emerging Interest's new email information product. Now that they've launched their 2.0 version of Competitive Email Tracking Service (CETS), email marketing has its own competitive creative and media intelligence service. The service seeds thousands of email lists to determine what companies are advertising where – and interestingly, which lists are abusing its addresses. Marketers can look up what their competitives are sending and to whom. The searchable database allows subscribers to review marketing efforts by brand, category or even words used in the creative.

Bill McCloskey, CEO of Emerging Interest, said he already had 12 clients for the service that charges from $1,000 to $5,000 per month.

Runner up so far is the (small and well hidden) Accipiter booth's demonstration of its behavioral targeting system. Accipiter, under the aegis of then-parent company Engage/CMGI, almost invented the behavioral tracking and targeting category about eight years too early. Media buyers in the frothiness of the late 90's thought dealing with such complex details too geeky to suit their busy lives, regardless of whatever client efficiencies the new targeting may have offered. Today, as behavioral targeting has taken off - at least in the eyes of the trade press and behavioral data providers), it will be interesting to see if this re-written system will be able to compete with new companies and the new funding they're bringing to the market. The demo is impressive, and in a matter of weeks, we should be able to compare it directly to new systems from Tacoda and others.

AzoogleAds CPA Experts Work the Floor

Bob Heyman Introduction

Bob Heyman co-founded Cybernautics and sold it to US Web back when that was a good thing to have done. He co-wrote Net Results with Rick Bruner and Leland Harden. His course "Body Bucks: How to sell your body to science while you're still alive" on New Canoe U was just featured in FHM, thereby impressing his 17 year old son to no end (it's in the issue with Pam Anderson on the cover). In his capacity as a Literary Agent, he's looking for the Bonfire of The Vanities of the Bubble. In his capacity as Tchotchke Contest Tsar, he's expecting you to alert him to the kewlest swag. Contact him at bobheyman@comcast.net

Rick Bruner Introduction

Rick has been working in online and offline media, marketing and research services since the late 1980s, and since 1998 has specialized in e-business strategy consulting and market research. Prior to that, his increasingly long and varied career has included stints in public relations, newspaper ownership, online publishing, and print journalism. A more complete bio can be found here. This is the second AD:TECH blogging tour of duty for Rick.

Steve Hall Introduction

Steve is another alumnus of the AD:TECH blogging experience, returning to cover the San Francisco venue.

Steve Hall has done time in media, account management and new business. Prior to publishing the award-winning Adrants, Hall was most recently media director at RDW Group working for clients such as Blue Cross Blue Shield and Timex. Previously, Mr. Hall held new business, media and account management positions at BlackSheep Marketing, Starcom/Mediavest, Leo Burnett and Bozell, where he worked for clients including Tyco, Marriott Hotels and Marshmallow Fluff, managing marketing budgets up to $75 million annually in both consumer and business-to-business advertising. Mr. Hall has written about and spoken for industry associations on topics such as the integration of public relations and advertising, the future convergence of media, and the decline of traditional media.

Tig Tillinghast Introduction

Tig is publisher of MarketingVOX and MediaBuyerPlanner.com, the marketing news dailies. This is his second stint as editor of the AD:TECH blog.

Tig Tillinghast started out a writer, but fell off the wagon for a few years, finding himself sucked into the advertising vortex. After running his college daily newspaper as editor-in-chief and freelancing for AP wire, New York Times and Hearst Washington Wire, he cut his teeth at some of the largest ad agencies, including Leo Burnett, J. Walter Thompson and a division of McCann Erickson. Helping run accounts for major brands such as Microsoft, Sun, Sprint, McDonald�s, Kelloggs, Sony and General Motors, he went on to take command of some of the industry�s biggest new media groups.

After several years of helping develop new media startup companies, such as Nielsen/Ipro and Solbright, he has been working as an independent consultant to national brands. In 2002 he published his first book, Tactical Guide to Online Marketing. He now runs Watershed Publishing, a vertical trade publication firm that publishes several marketing titles, as well as Defense Industry Daily and Hospital Buyer.

Heath Row Introduction

Hi, I'm Heath Row, editorial and community director for Fast Company magazine. As such, I develop new content products and services for fastcompany.com; maintain the Web site; host our team's blog, FC Now; coordinate our readers' network; and otherwise work with staff members - and readers - to better involve more people in Fast Company's exploration of leadership and innovation.

This is my second year confblogging Ad:Tech with this motley crew. If you're interested, you can check out my transcripts of last year's sessions in FC Now, Fast Company's blog. This year, I'll also be on a panel discussing the "new social Web." I hope you can join us!

Chris Eaves Introduction

Hello, my name is Chris Eaves, and I'll be bringing you some Ad:Tech highlights over the next few days. It should be a great event, and I'll be covering what I think are some particularly interesting sessions. Last year's San Francisco Ad:Tech was alive with excitement over the rebirth of online marketing, and I expect this year to be even better.

My day job is with COGBOX, a small agency in Salt Lake City, which I co-founded in 1997. At COGBOX, we do three things: Corporate and Brand Identity, Web Development, and Online Marketing. We plan and execute strategies to help COGBOX clients succeed online. Much of what we do is practical online marketing, the kinds of things you'll find in the "Actionable Marketing" track at this conference.

Here is what I'll be covering:

Monday - Financial Services Panel
Tuesday - Connecting with Moms Online
Tuesday - TV vs. Print vs. Radio vs. Online - a S.W.O.T. Analysis
Tuesday - Conversions - Map the Buying Funnel
Wednesday - Roundtable: Paid Search and Your Brand

And, in the words of Rick Bruner, I'll be doing all the schmoozing I can schmooze. Keep an eye out for the photos. And, If you're attending the event and see me, please stop and say hello.

See you there,
Chris

Coverage of 11/03 NYC AD:TECH...

The following are entries from the last AD:TECH conference.