Jim Barnett, CEO, and Philip Smolin, VP Product Management and Marketing, of Turn.com, will discuss how Turn is revolutionizing online advertising through performance-based automatic targeting.
Today, advertisers manually target ads through a series of independent silos, creating high complexity costs and uncertain yields. The story for publishers is no better—they seek advertisers using mostly manual methods that cannot be optimized. Turn addresses this lack of market efficiency using automation based on machine learning technology.
In their talk, Jim and Philip will cover:
- The leap from Overture and AltaVista—the common technology thread underlying search and Turn
- What’s driving the number of recent acquisitions in online advertising—forces behind consolidation
- The difference between ad networks, exchanges, and marketplaces—why that matters
- Building critical mass with advertisers and publishers from nothing—the infomediary challenge
- The evolution of ad man, from CPM to CPC to CPA—how Turn speeds it up
Register Online Date: Wednesday, October 10, 2007
6:00-6:30 pm. Networking Reception, light dinner
6:30pm-7:45 pm. Talk, Q&A
Location: Perkins Coie, 101 Jefferson Drive Menlo ParkRegistration: WCNC Members, Wharton summer interns, members of affiliate clubs, and their accompanied guests: $20 per person. Non-member alumni and other guests: $40 per person. If available, $10 additional for tickets purchased after 6:00pm, October 9. Cancellations received after 6:00pm, October 9 are at the discretion of the WCNC.
Jim BarnettCEO and Chairman, Turn.com
Jim co-founded Turn in 2005, bringing his extensive experience in online advertising and search to create a next-generation online advertising network. Jim was most recently President of Overture Search, a division of Overture Services, Inc. Jim joined Overture via its acquisition of AltaVista Company, where he was President and CEO. In this role, he led the company's highly successful turnaround and sale to Overture.
Jim was also President of MyFamily.com, the parent company of Ancestry.com, and President and CEO of ThirdAge Media, which was acquired by MyFamily.com. Prior to that, Jim was President and CEO of Infogrammes North America, a leading global publisher of video games and entertainment software. For five years, he was also Chairman, President and CEO of Accolade Inc, Infogrammes' predecessor company.
Jim has served on the boards of several public and private companies and is currently Chairman of SideStep, Inc., the leading travel search engine, on the board of ValueVision Media Inc. (NASDAQ VVTV) and Syndero Inc., on the advisory boards of Trusted ID and Cellfire, and on the management board of Stanford Graduate School of Business. Jim received a bachelor's degree, MBA and J.D. from Stanford University.
Philip SmolinVice President of Product Management and Marketing, Turn.com
Philip has 13 years experience in leading hosted software development, and has specialized in online advertising systems since 1997. With product director positions at MatchLogic, Excite@Home and PayChoice, Philip has developed industry-leading 3rd party ad serving platforms, rich media tools and CPM yield management systems for Internet portals.
Philip holds a bachelor's degree in social sciences from the University at Buffalo, and is currently completing his MBA with Columbia University and the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley.
The WCNC would like to thank 