There were quite a few exciting enhancements vendors we're all familiar with rolled out yesterday--Tremor Media describing its six ad formats (innovative!) and Brightroll describing their plans for 2010 (larger aggregation than Hulu volume predicted). DoubleClick brought us up to speed on some new developments at Google Ad Planner, DFA Analytics (which leverage Google Analytics' UI) and DFA updates (great progress but I still hate the almost daily data-delay emails I get).
But it wasn't the big boys who had the agencies at iMedia Agency Summit in Scottsdale ooh-ing and ahh-ing. Two companies we heard presentations from really stood out:
- TrackSimple - an analytics-adjunct system for display media buys that tacks onto your existing media platforms. It is a predictive media engine that helps you learn where there are additional opportunities for optimization. For wonks, this is a killer app. Take a look at it because the bar's just been set higher as a result of TrackSimple
- Ad Hachery - LinkedIn for media buyers and sellers. A no brainer and "why didn't I think of that!" Ad Hachery short-circuits the time it takes for media vendors to communicate proposals and ideas to too-busy media buyers and will emerge in subsequent versions with mechanisms that allow agencies to rate their vendors and the quality of media seller's proposals/ideas, allowing media salespeople to build reputations, even while significantly speeding up the process of communicating with their prospective agency buyers. Brilliant!
AOL threw a great party in the main ballroom, decking out the place with postmodern fluorescent-lit tables and big screen music videos. Some good wine and lots of new friends in the room.
Digital Media is, indeed, alive and well!
