Thursday, October 23rd

11:05 AM - 12:20 PM

ThinkTank I: Admiralty Room

Advertising Analytics and Contextual Media: Social Media, Mobile, Search, Video Search and HyperTargeting

Michael Benedek, CEO, Datonics LLC

Jared Lake, Director, Digital Media, Hawthorne Direct

Michael Knapp, co-founder and CEO, OOTU

Jeff Ferguson, CEO, Fang Digital Marketing

Tom Bash, Manager, Product Strategy & Operations, Exponential Interactive

Eric Neff, CMO, Stoddard and Partners

Sean Malatesta, CEO, Micasa Multi-Platform TV Network, Moderator

Michael Knapp, Ph., co-founder and CEO, OOTU: is a scientist and successful entrepreneur who has founded and led 5 venture investment-backed companies.  From 2004 to 2012, he served as the first CEO and Chairman of nanotechnology-based Cambrios Technologies, raising more than $70 million in venture financing.  Cambrios is the leader in novel materials for making transparent electrodes. Prior to joining Cambrios, Dr. Knapp co-founded and was CEO of Caliper Technologies, a pioneer of “lab-on-a-chip” technologies, that went public in 1999 (NASDAQ:CALP). Dr. Knapp also co-founded and served on the board of Amphora Discovery, a chemical genomics company spun out from Caliper with independent funding and management.  Before starting Caliper, Dr. Knapp was President of Molecular Tool, a genetics technology company that he co-founded. Dr. Knapp also served on the staff of the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University and was Scientific Director of Genetica SARL, an affiliate of Rhone Poulenc SA in Paris, France. Dr. Knapp holds a B.S. in Biology from Trinity College (Hartford) and a Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology from Stanford University.

 

Jeff Ferguson, CEO, Fang Digital Marketing: a strategic consulting agency that specializes in internet marketing, including search engine marketing, display, social, and affiliate programs. With over 17 years of online marketing experience, Jeff has led the online marketing efforts for companies such as Hilton Hotels, Kimberly-Clark, InterActiveCorp, Experian, Napster, and Local.com. Jeff has also served as a consultant for renowned clients such as American Airlines, CBS Local, Farmers Insurance, Hilton Hotels, KinderCare, eHarmony, JustFab, Paychex, CBS Local, and Toyota. Recently honored as one of PPC Hero’s “Top 25 Most Influential PPC Experts,” Jeff Ferguson is no stranger to the industry speaking circuits throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. Jeff is a regular presenter at Ad:tech, AllFacebook Expo, eMetrics, Search Marketing Expo (SMX), Digital Hollywood, Online Marketing Summit (OMS), Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and Search Engine Strategies (SES), where he also served as a member of the advisory board. Additionally, Jeff has volunteered his time for the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) on both the national and regional levels, where he serves as a board member of the Los Angeles chapter.

 

Tom Bash, Manager, Product Strategy & Operations, Exponential Interactive: As Exponential's Manager of Product Strategy and Operations, Tom Bash is responsible for leading product management, external go-to-market strategy and internal operations for Exponential's mobile division, Appsnack. Prior to this role, Tom led all phases of development for products and applications at mobile location-based gaming startup Booyah, which included multiple top 10 App Store launches and a business intelligence platform built on top of Hadoop. Before that, he was a consultant, conducting financial and economic analysis and market research for corporate attorneys and Fortune 500 companies. Tom holds a BA in Business Administration with a focus in Finance from the University of Washington.

 

Jared Lake was named Director, Digital Media, with Hawthorne Direct in Summer 2014. In his position, he partners with high profile clients and works with the agency’s Digital Group to develop responsive web design campaigns across all platforms - from mobile to social – for Hawthorne’s diverse clientele. Prior to joining Hawthorne Direct as Director, Digital Media, Jared Lake had been Director, Business Development, with M&C Saatchi Mobile in Los Angeles. There, he was responsible for managing the business development team in North American and ensuring revenue growth via new business for that leading full service mobile agency. During this time, he worked with numerous brands and direct response clients, including Yammer, AOL, Sony Pictures, and Intel. He also led the development and strategy on all new business pitches for consumer brands, mobile game developers, e-commerce & traditional retail and mobile developers seeking app marketing, strong, cost efficient user acquisition, and branding/awareness campaigns.  From 2010 to 2012, Lake was a Digital & Social Media Consultant. He provided strategic digital and social media consulting services for such notable music artists as Kanye West and Frank Ocean. On behalf of his diverse clients, he also supervised content distribution, the leveraging of a strong Web presence, and developing a variety of e-commerce initiatives.   As Director, Business Development, for Impact Mobile in Los Angeles (2009-2012,) Lake led West Coast business development and sales -- with an emphasis on entertainment and retail sectors -- for that mobile technology services company. Impact Mobile provided clients with SMS aggregation and connectivity services, mobile marketing software, and services for brands and retailers. He also prospected, negotiated, and secured agreements with brands and retailers to license Impact Mobile’s proprietary “JumpTXT SMS” campaign platform.  Earlier, Lake had been an agent with, and a founding member of, the renowned William Morris Agency’s Digital Media division. In that role, he generated new revenues for the agency by providing consulting services to technology companies, licensing and selling digital content, and developing digital, social media and direct-to-consumer marketing and distribution strategies for the agency’s roster of talent. He also licensed and sold original digital video content to web and mobile distribution partners, including YouTube, Hulu, Crackle, MySpace, Yahoo, Amazon, and iTunes.  Lake holds a BA Degree from the University of Hartford.

 

Sean Malatesta, CEO, Marengo Knoll, Inc.: Sean Malatesta is a Global, results-focused and dynamic leader with a career showcased by a track record in exceptional sales and marketing contributions. His background is in videogames, movies and Hollywood. A relationship savvy executive with a keen ability to quickly access, and respond to client needs. A proven 20 year track-record building strategic relationships, identifying and executing on new business opportunities to maximizing revenue, and selling in ideas and negotiating deals with top decision makers. Has an analytical, competitive, and tenacious with a positive do-what-it-takes approach. Sean has done business in all over the world, lived in Europe and has visited China and India 20 times on business. Sean offers uncompromising ethics and integrity.

 

 

Thursday, October 23rd

Video, Social Media & Crowdfunding

Michael Benedek is the President and CEO of Datonics (www.datonics.com), which was recently spun off as a standalone company from AlmondNet.   Benedek was most recently President of AlmondNet Data Division and joined AlmondNet in 2000 as Vice President, Business Development. His experience extends to over 15 years in the Internet, financial services and healthcare fields while based in New York and in Tel Aviv, Israel.