At the AppNexus Summit on Nov. 10, 2011 held at the Times Center in New York City, Brian O’Kelley, CEO of AppNexus announced that CPX Interactive will use AppNexus as their exclusive ad server.
Following the announcement, Lauren Nemeth, VP of Sales at AppNexus, interviewed Mike Seiman, CEO and Chairman of CPX Interactive to talk about the past, present and future of ad networks in the online advertising space.

AppNexus Summit Interview with CPX Interactive CEO, Mike Seiman from CPX Interactive on Vimeo.

Lauren Nemeth, VP of Sales, AppNexus sitting down with Mike Seiman, Founder and CEO of CPX Interactive

This morning was a very exciting morning for us here at CPX Interactive as several of our team members attended the AppNexus Summit. Our President and CEO, Mike Seiman sat down with Lauren Nemeth, VP of Sales at AppNexus to talk about the past, present and future of ad networks in the online advertising space.

Prior to his presentation, it was announced that CPX Interactive has chosen AppNexus, the world leader in advertising technology, as its new exclusive ad server.

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – “We are thrilled to announce our exclusive partnership with AppNexus and are extremely confident in its world-class platform to manage CPX’s enormous reach of nearly two billion global impressions per day,” said CPX CEO, Mike Seiman. “AppNexus has an incredibly scalable platform which can handle our rapidly growing ad serving and real-time bidding needs and, in allowing it to do so, we remain focused on our core competencies – designing and executing digital campaigns, driving the highest yield for our publisher partners and generating powerful and proprietary first-party campaign data.”…Read More

CPX Interactive's David Zapletal, VP of Network Operations and Mike Zacharski, VP of Business Development at the AppNexus Summit

Also announced this morning at the AppNexus Summit, CPX Interactive was named as one of the inaugural app providers for AppNexus’ groundbreaking new App Marketplace for the digital ad technology industry.  To learn more about AppNexus’ App Marketplace, read their recent press release here.

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A special thanks to our Marketing Associate, Taylor Hall, for the contribution.

It was a full day of talking about Display…advertising, that is.  OMMA Display New York was held at the Sentry Centers in Midtown Manhattan on Nov. 7, 2011 as industry professionals gathered together to spend the day listening to some of the greatest minds in the internet advertising space. It was my first time attending an OMMA event as I tagged along with my fellow CPX Interactive team members, Jamie Gutterman, Director of Sales; Ross Cohen, Director of Sales and Matt Fillingame, Account Manager/Brand Sales.  I came to OMMA Display mostly to follow along with the overwhelming amount of tweeters who were vigorously participating in our sponsored Twitter feed throughout the day, but I left with an inside look at the future of display advertising.

CPX Interactive Team Members Jamie Gutterman, Dir. of Sales; Ross Cohen, Dir. of Sales; and Matt FIllingame, Acct. Manager/Brand Sales

Stephen J. Kim, the General Manager, Global Creative Solutions, at Microsoft was the first speaker of the day, following intros and opening remarks. The theme of his conversation was on the advances of storytelling and the future of digital display.  As Kim presented an array of case studies and stimulating imagery, we were all pleasantly reminded about what’s possible when we return to the idea of storytelling through a technology standpoint.

That conversation became the true focus of all the presentations at OMMA Display.  There were plenty of other points of view and professional opinions, and I will get to them, but I think the main take-away from the event was the idea that, as we embrace the growth in technology and acquire new tools for reach and targeting and incorporate all the different layers of data, we cannot forget to couple all of that equally with the technological possibilities of creative.

The following panel was titled “Man vs. Machine”, and was an in-depth discussion about the move into the Age of Analysts.  Panelist Maryann Bekkedahl, President of AdKeeper jokingly referred to it as, “It’s Revenge of the Nerds.” With technology-heavy approaches to online advertising, the industry has started to see a new generation of innovators come onto the playing field. The title of being “creative” is being replaced by “Technology creative” where artistic minds with a tech savvy side are slowly going to take over the traditional creative realm of the industry.

My favorite panel of the day was, “Try that with a DSP,” which raised the issue of technology still centering on the idea of more performance around clicks and conversions and less on creativity.  Jim Meskaukas, Co-Founder of Media Darwin, Inc. said,

“Brand advertising is a rhetorical exercise of persuasion, not bludgeoning one over the head with a click. Agencies make more money in transactions than ad creation so the creativity suffers in online ads.  The only thing that advertising technology did recently was create a better mousetrap, but at the same time, it ignored the dearth of mice and quality of bait.”

The CPX Interactive sponsored Twitter Feed located to the left of the stage.

After hearing every different take on the Display Advertising marketplace, I still stand by my original statement that the idea of storytelling or truly making a connection through good creativity must continue to be intertwined with the technology side of things. You can add new targeting tools, make a data-layered cake if you want, 100 layers high, but at the end of the day, if the creativity isn’t making that connection, offering some kind of solution or engaging the user on a personal level, then the display advertising space isn’t reaching its true potential.

As the technology in data and targeting become more advanced and widely adopted by the industry, I think we will see these “technology creatives” come in and really change up the game.  It’s only a matter of time before the art of advertising figures out how to use the science side to its advantage and evolve right alongside side in online advertising harmony.

If you would like to see more pictures from the event, visit our Flickr page.  To see more information from OMMA Display and video recordings from each of the presentations, visit their site at http://www.mediapost.com/ommadisplay/.

CPX Interactive News

In the news this week, the hot topic of conversation for the online advertising industry has been about Yahoo! Inc. acquiring advertising technology company, Interclick.  Yahoo! Inc. reportedly bought the ad network for $270 in an effort to increase their remnant inventory sales. Yahoo’s display ad sales have made a significant drop this year and the company hopes that adding the technology power of Interclick will help revitalize their position in the market.

In this installment of an ongoing series, CEO and Founder of CPX Interactive, Mike Seiman shares his comment on the relevance of this news to the display advertising industry.  Click on the video below to see more.

CPX Interactive Events

In other news, OMMA Display, an online advertising industry event, is scheduled to kick off this Monday November 7, 2011 at the Sentry Center in New York City.  CPX Interactive is excited to be a part of this great event as several members of our team will be in attendance.  We are also pleased to announce our sponsorship of OMMA Display as we will be offering a live Twitter feed that will be shown throughout the day adjacent to the main stage.

By using the hashtag #ommadisplay, each attendee will be able to tweet about the latest and greatest things taking place at the event and have that tweet displayed on a massive screen for all attendees to see. 

You can watch more videos about the latest and greatest from CPX Interactive on our Vimeo channel at www.vimeo.com/cpxinteractive or on our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/cpxinteractive.  Follow us on Twitter @cpxinteractive and don’t forget to use the hashtag #ommadisplay this Monday at OMMA Display.

CPX Interactive’s Strategy is the New Creative initiative has always been a conversation about, “The Promise of Digital” and reaching its full potential in the world of online advertising.  We recently revisited this conversation by hosting a panel discussion at the IAB MIXX 2011 Conference and Expo on October 4, 2011 at the Crown Plaza Times Square in NYC.

David Shay, our EVP of Marketing, moderated the panel discussion and opened up a conversation that explored how a pendulum counter-swing that has seen the industry rapidly move towards a pure technology-based vision of ad serving, combined with an acceptance of a poor online attribution model, now runs the risk of marginalizing the value of the human element that makes up the ‘art’ of ad placement.

Hear thoughts about the opportunities, challenges and dangers of the technology-heavy ad placement tactics currently being used from our panel of industry execs:  Zach Coelius, CEO of Triggit; Steve Latham, Founder & CEO of Encore Media Metrics; Michael L. Miller, CMO of SolutionSet MediaWhiz Partnership; and Mike Seiman, Founder and CEO of CPX Interactive.

CPX Interactive recently sponsored the iMedia Brand Summit held this past Sept. 11-14, 2011  in Coronado, CA.  Ross Cohen, Director of Sales at CPX Interactive  gives us his account of the event and shares more about the theme, ‘Going Big in 2012.” 

“What happens when advertising can’t bullsh*t us anymore?”  That was the question.  A provocative question, to be sure, but all the more so when you consider who was being asked: the very people behind the ads.  No, not the creative wizards, but the brand marketers — the stewards of the brand.

The setting was the iMedia Brand Summit.  The theme was “Digital Marketing at Scale: Going Big in 2012.”  A few hundred executives, representing major brands and leading providers of digital marketing solutions descended on Coronado, California with gusto, relishing the opportunity to hear from industry heavyweights, meet fellow marketers and exchange ideas.

A few hundred may sound crowded, but for an advertising industry conference, it’s downright intimate.  iMedia carefully crafts its summits for an enjoyable, informative, collegial, and with any luck, productive atmosphere.

CPX Interactive is proud to sponsor these gatherings and our own Jamie Gutterman, Dir. of Sales and Brie Thomas, Dir. of Sales, helped kick off the events with a lunchtime presentation that took the audience on a trip through time.  Marketers witnessed just how far advertising has come in recent years, culminating in the latest marketing capabilities CPX brings to bear.  Jamie, Brie, and I were on hand throughout the summit and were pleased to see iMedia once again outdid itself, delivering the impressive lineup we’ve come to expect.

Conventional wisdom was challenged, worn strategies refreshed, and clichéd buzz words dismissed, even as new ones were introduced.  Summit Host and former Mars Chocolate marketer, Carole Walker, encouraged attendees to be “tradigital.” Shiv Singh, keynote speaker and global head of digital at PepsiCo Beverages, spoke of going “glocal” to achieve scale.  While squeezing words together seemed to be the thing to do, others went a different route.

Geoff Ramsey, CEO and Co-Founder of eMarketer, spoke about “magnetic content.”  Advertising grew up on the interruption model of TV, but digital gives brands the power to make audiences find them.  “It’s more about attraction, rather than distraction,” said Ramsey.  This was exemplified perfectly soon after as General Mills showed off their impressive foray into the market with branded information.  As General Mills VP Doug Moore explained, users search for help baking cakes all the time, and there’s no shortage of ads fighting for their attention on the results and landing pages, but that really doesn’t concern General Mills.  After all, with their branded information strategy, virtually every organic result links to a page syndicating one of their Betty Crocker how-to videos.  That’s magnetic content.

Mitch Spolan of Living Social eschewed the vocabulary portion of the speaking formula and instead treated the audience to some amateur video of his daily lunch routine.  The group couponing craze is about breaking pattern—getting someone to turn left, when every other day they go right.

Jeff Rosenblum, Co-Founder of Questus/Filmmaker

He was a great speaker, but the real entertainer on stage was Questus founding partner turned filmmaker Jeff Rosenblum, who stole the show with his caustic takedown of traditional advertising, hilariously scathing rebukes of advertising gone wrong and clarion call to embrace the new reality of marketing in the digital age.  It started with a sneak peak at his upcoming documentary, The Naked Company.  Jeff traveled the country interviewing academics, CEOs, and industry luminaries to discern the future of advertising.

Of course, to know where you’re going, you need to know where you are, and where you’ve been.  Cue the black and white Flintstones episode with the cigarette product placement and full-throated endorsement by Fred and Barney (here’s another).  It’s pretty shocking to today’s eyes but that’s where advertising started.  Cut to the famous shot of the tobacco executives being sworn in for Congressional testimony and you can see where this is going.  Trust in corporations is at an all time low.  Advertising’s credibility has diminished over the years.  Few industries in history have faced change as dramatically as advertising has over the past decade. But some brands are still preaching from the hilltop while consumers ignore ads and turn to unbiased sources of information.

Nowadays, brands can’t (and shouldn’t) stretch the truth.  In the digital age, brands can’t claim their product is amazing when it’s a dog.  To illustrate, Rosenblum tells a little story about a seemingly wonderful product he found online… and proceeds to mercilessly skewer it (although to be fair, it’s really the abysmal user reviews that do the heavy lifting).

He tells us he works too much and travels more than he should, so he wants to buy his kids a little something.  He goes hunting for the perfect present to buy back their love; something fun but not too expensive.  Voila!  He comes across Crayola’s Washable Colored Bubble Launcher and its wondrous scenes of children filling the air with colorful bubbles, grinning ear to ear with the unbridled joy only a child can experience.  It’s perfect, exactly what he wants.  He’s ready to buy it and win Father of the Year award.

Unfortunately, before pulling the trigger on the purchase, he can’t help but notice that Amazon customers gave it just one out of five stars.  Every product has a few detractors though, right?  Well, in this case it was 80 detractors.  And it turns out they gave it one star because Amazon doesn’t let you give zero stars.  At this point in the presentation, there’s blood in the water and you can see Crayola is in for a tough time in this room full of brand marketers.  Scientifically speaking, we’ve seen the quantitative feedback, now it was time for some qualitative reviews.  Customer reviewers didn’t disappoint, saying it was “invented to torture parents,” and calling it “the worst ‘toy’ I have ever purchased.”

Perhaps the expression should be changed to “Hell hath no fury like a customer scorned.”  The rebukes continued:   “Whoever designed this product is a sick individual that hates parents, and thinks torturing children is great fun. It drips everywhere and destroys everything it touches”

These reviews may have made for some nice Schadenfreude, but a customer saying “you can no longer trust the Crayola name,” is a brand’s worst nightmare.  That’s where the opening question comes in, “What happens when advertising can’t bullsh*t us anymore?”  The answer, of course, is to watch his documentary and find out.  Transparency has to be embraced, either you make it happen, or it happens to you.  Making that point in the film is no less an authority than creative genius turned altruistic entrepreneur, Alex Bogusky.  He continues, “Being a great company is the new brand, because there’s not going to be anything between the consumer and the reality of that company.”

CPXample, the philanthropic division of CPX Interactive, is attending the Social Good Summit this week. Marketing Associate, Taylor Hall, tells all about her first day at the
four-day event.

After my first day at the Social Good Summit, I really got to thinking about technology and the ways it is creating a better world. It is shaping the future of communication while designing new ways for us to connect and grow. There are so many positive things that technology can do in the world and that has been the topic of discussion here at the Social Good Summit.

Day one was all about getting connected at the Digital Media Lounge. Two giant rooms housed more than a hundred computer latched technology people from all different corners of the world typing away on ipads, laptops and cell phones; gazing into their screens as if it were a staring contest. It was such an intense and powerful place to be as myself and countless others were tweeting, blogging or sharing information about the conversations and interviews taking place at the summit. I think the Digital Media Lounge has really created something great here by allowing us bloggers and tech nerds into the event to help spread the word about all the good things that are coming out of the Social Good Summit.

Randi Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO, A to Z Media talks with Scott Harrison, Founder and CEO, Charity: Water

The highlight of the day was hearing Scott Harrison, from Charity: Water talk more with Randi Zuckerberg, A to Z Media, about ways his organization is helping to bring clean water to developing countries.

It was also a great pleasure to hear from Christy Turlington Burns and Heather Armstrong, Founder and Writer of Dooce.com about their involvement in Every Mother Counts, an organization dedicated to creating awareness about maternal health for women areas that don’t have access to adequate healthcare.

All together, it was a successful first day at the Social Good Summit. I’m betting day two is going to be even better. I am looking forward to interviewing with Ericsson and I can’t wait to see more presentations from the scheduled guest speakers. Stay tuned to see what happens next.

A special thank you to our own Brie Thomas, Director of Sales for the contribution.

Polly Payne, Product Planner/Brand Sales enjoying the view of the Hollywood sign with other attendees.

On Saturday, August 27th 2011, CPX Interactive hosted the First Annual “End of Summer Pool Party”, at Drai’s in Hollywood, CA. Our own Gary Bembridge, EVP Sales, North America; Sharone Hadari, VP of Operations; Polly Payne, Product Planner/Brand Sales and myself, Brie Thomas, Director of Sales; were all in attendance at the event.

Sharone Hadari, VP of West Coast Operations and Brie Thomas, Director of Sales holding the CPX Interactive party favors.

Being the new West Coast Sales Director, I wanted this event to be the kick-off party of the Los Angeles marketplace. Bringing the local LA agencies and advertising professionals together and having them get to know CPX Interactive ended up being such a success. The goal was not to only introduce CPX to some potential clients & treat the existing ones, we also wanted to make a lasting impression of: “This is how CPX takes care of our clients.”

Attendees enjoying the party held at the Drai Hotel in Hollywood, CA

Everyone appeared to be having a blast as more than 50 of LA’s advertising professionals attended the event. Some of the guests that were able to join included: Michael Kost, Global Strategist at OMD; Gary Sertyan, Media Planner at RED Interactive; Ana Lam, Assistant Planner at Initiative; and Kelly Clarke, Digital Media Director at Deutsch.

Since the event, we have a lot of upcoming meetings with the pool party attendees, and I think they are excited about the potential to partner and work with CPX Interactive. The kick-off party ended up being the kick-off to some great long term relationships in the LA marketplace.

A special thank you to our own Taylor Hall, Marketing Associate, for the contribution.

The 2011 AWNY Women to Watch Luncheon was held on, Aug. 10, 2011 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.  The sold-out event packed the breathtaking hallways of the historic hotel with honorees, AWNY members and guests who were all eager to hear from some of the most accomplished women in the advertising and marketing industry today. Joining me, Taylor Hall, Marketing Associate, was Sales Associate, Jessica Calyer, at the event.

AWNY's Womeon to Watch Luncheon was held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City

As I sat with my colleague in the rear of the theatre hall, I looked around the room at all of the talented and successful women in my industry. We shook hands and met with some very interesting people, most of which, to my surprise, were all involved in the digital and online realm of advertising and marketing.  In the back of my mind, as I was introducing myself, I couldn’t help but think, “I’m so glad I got my degree in the right field.”

Jessica Calyer, Sales Associate and Taylor Hall, Marketing Associate

As the event began, 23 women took their seats on stage.  Each honoree was from a different company and being honored for a different achievement.  Dressed in savvy yet formal business attire, they didn’t forget to address the presence of their families before they addressed their respective questions.  Below are some of my favorite and inspiring quotes from the event’s honorees.

Maryam Banikarim, Senior VP-CMO at Gannett, responded to a question about the power of learning with, “It’s about listening, but also about knowing who you are.”

Lauren Crampsie, CMO at Ogilvy, answered a question about self promotion with, “We are brands just as our clients are brands.  As an agency we are at our best when we are learning and teaching.  Self promotion adds value to the industry and our clients.”

Beth Ann Kaminkow, first CEO at TracyLocke, on creativity said, “It’s creativity with consequence.  Taking responsibility for our creativity is how to create a meaningful experience.”

Katie Ford, exec VP-managing director at Starcom Mediavest, on what makes a good campaign said, “A campaign is like a marriage.  It’s knowing when to apply the art and when to apply the science.  It’s getting the right people in the room on both sides to make it work.”

Lisa Price, Founder of Carol’s Daughter, responding to a question about success in entrepreneurship said, “Nobody is going to treat your baby the way you do.  Keeping the DNA of your brand intact means you have to sit at the table and share those ideas with your team and learn with your team as well.”

Desiree Rogers, CEO of Johnson Publishing Co. talked about lessons learned saying, “Spend less time talking about what didn’t work and more time about the solution.  Look into the future and the road that is right in front of you.”

The event was as inspiring as it was memorable.  Learning where the honorees came from and seeing the career path that they have created is a driving force of determination to create a similar path for ourselves. These women are creating success through their roles and continue to prove that women in advertising are not only equal to men, but that they may soon be gaining the lead in the industry altogether.

CPX Interactive’s philanthropic division, CPXample, has been selected to attend the Social Good Summit as a member of the press.

CPX Interactive is excited to announce that its philanthropic division, CPXample, will be attending and reporting on all-things-good at the 2^nd Annual Social Good Summit. The event, which will be held Sep. 19-22, 2011, at the 92Y (YMCA) in New York City, will bring together entrepreneurs, philanthropists and technologists from around the world to discuss the current and future global challenges facing our communities and our world. The main focus of the event is to bring about new ideas and ways of thinking when it comes to global-wide sustainability and addressing issues through advancements in technology.

CPXample is excited to cover the event as we’ll have full press accreditation at the 4-day event.    We will have access to briefings from public figures such as Lance Armstrong, Founder and Chairman of Livestrong; Ted Turner, Chairman of Turner Enterprises, Inc.; Pete Cashmore, CEO and Founder of Mashable and many others.  We will also receive an insider perspective on the 2011 UN General Assembly.  Live feeds of major addresses, including Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President Obama will also be covered by CPXample.

The event is a great opportunity for CPXample to introduce ourselves as an important voice among the Philanthropic community. We are looking forward to meeting the variety of do-gooders and share some of our own ideas about spreading social good.

Stay tuned for more on what’s to come with CPXample at the Social Good Summit.  To learn more about the Social Good Summit, visit the event homepage at http://mashable.com/sgs/