Fun Times at ad:tech San Francisco 2013

I’m a huge fan of SEM conferences, especially ad:tech. I attended ad:tech San Francisco 2013 earlier this week, on Tuesday, and wanted to share some thoughts and fun pictures from the event. After reading today’s post, you may also want to check out my recap of ad:tech 2012. To everyone I connected with at ad:tech, it was really great seeing you!

ad:tech Was Super Busy

PPC Ian with Maria and Rylan From Acquisio

I really enjoy a busy conference. The energy is contagious and truly makes you feel part of something big. That’s exactly the feeling I got at ad:tech. Because ad:tech spans not only SEM but really anything related to digital marketing, the conference has a very large audience. This was incredibly apparent with the convention center, expo floor, and sessions being packed. Some of the sessions got so busy that they had to close the doors and enforce a cutoff. The lesson: If there’s a session/panel you must attend, get there early (or else you may be out of luck, even after paying for your all access pass).

I Had A Blast Networking

Ryan Bukevicz (President of Bevo Media) and PPC Ian

The main reason I attend conferences is the networking. In business and life, it’s not only about what you know but also who you know! ad:tech totally delivered on networking, and I especially enjoyed catching up with my good friends from Acquisio, performance media platform. Check out the picture above of yours truly with my friends Maria and Rylan from Acquisio.

I enjoyed chatting with them in addition to Robert Schneider, Managing Director of Western and Central Region. I was totally thrilled to learn about Acquisio’s new enhancements around bidding (they now update bids every 30 minutes). I’ve said it time and time again: Online advertising is just like Wall Street, except business is open 24/7/365. In such an environment, near real time bid updates are mandatory. Acquisio is leading our industry forward with the highest frequency bid management platform around, way to go Acquisio!

I also thoroughly enjoyed meeting up with Ryan Bukevicz (see picture above), President and Founder of The Bevo Media Exchange. The world of online marketing is truly exciting because it offers amazing opportunities for savvy entrepreneurs. Ryan is just that. He’s an expert affiliate marketer turned startup founder. His Bevo Media Exchange is quite impressive, allowing affiliates to manage and optimize their entire world in one central dashboard. I enjoyed learning about Bevo Media and highly recommend checking it out if you are an affiliate marketer or affiliate network.

It Was A Short Conference For Me

These days, I’m juggling a ton of priorities. As such, I was only at ad:tech for half a day. I’m truly thankful for the time I spent there and the amount of great interaction I packed into my half day. We’re in the middle of conference season for digital marketers and I look forward to covering more great online marketing conferences in the near future, stay tuned!

More Pictures From ad:tech San Francisco

ad:tech San Francisco 2013 Expo Floor

ad:tech 2013 Google Engage 2

ad:tech 2013 Google Engage

Images in this post © PPCIan.com

ad:tech San Francisco 2012 Recap

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Apr 8 2

Online marketing conferences are the best! Just a month ago, I thoroughly enjoyed SMX West. Last week, I attended ad:tech San Francisco 2012. ad:tech is a great conference. While I was only there for half of the first day (I couldn’t stay too long due to a huge amount of work last week), I totally enjoyed the experience and wanted to share a few thoughts about the conference.

First and foremost, I would like to highlight ad:tech as a really special conference. While I really enjoy the other online marketing conferences such as (SMX West, SMX Advanced, and SES), ad:tech is in a league of its own. It’s a more holistic online marketing conference covering all online marketing channels, whereas the other conferences are more focused on PPC and SEO. As a focused PPC and SEO professional, I really enjoyed attending the ad:tech sessions and hearing about all different types of online marketing strategies. If you’re interested in expanding your strategic focus and online marketing scope, ad:tech is the conference for you.

Second, ad:tech is a really popular conference. It was packed with tons of attendees, clearly demonstrating the strength of the online marketing industry. I felt like the sessions were much more packed than some of the other conferences I have attended recently. Also, the expo hall spanned two levels. It was huge! It’s really the attendees that build energy at any conference and it’s always more fun attending a packed conference like ad:tech.

Third, ad:tech is the place to network and meet up with friends, both old and new. I exchanged a ton of business cards and built some great new connections. Also, I ran into more old friends than at any other conference. I especially enjoyed meeting up with my former manager and good friend, from Nextag.

So, there you have it, quick recap this time since I didn’t spend a ton of time at the conference. However, the time I did spend there was really high leverage. I totally recommend this conference, especially if you’re looking for a broader, more strategic perspective about online marketing.

Image of PPC Ian at ad:tech © PPCIan.com

A Day In The Life of PPC Ian

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Apr 14 14

I’m the greatest proponent of the corporate online marketing career path around. That’s why I created this blog, after all. In today’s post, I wanted to photo document my exciting day today, a day in the life of PPC Ian. This post will really highlight some of the advantages of working in this amazing industry, from a corporate perspective. In short, the benefits are unparalleled. While not all of my days are this fun, I do consider this to be a typical day when I attend online marketing conferences.

I Went To ad:tech San Francisco 2011

PPC Ian and Adknowledge at ad:tech

After getting into the office this morning and powering through some important projects, I headed over to ad:tech San Francisco. Since I work in San Francisco (the online marketing capital of the world), it was super easy to grab a five minute taxi ride and head over to Moscone Center West, the location of ad:tech. ad:tech is a really great conference. While I didn’t have a full pass this time to attend all the sessions (like I did at SMX West last month), I certainly had an amazing time catching up with both old and new friends. I spent a few hours going through the exhibit hall and meeting some seriously interesting companies and individuals.

PPC Ian and Marin Software at ad:tech

Above, you can see an image of yours truly with my friends from Adknowledge, an amazing advertising network that has driven stellar results for me over the years across multiple verticals. My campaign secret for the day: Give Adknowledge a try if you haven’t so far. Their unique system delivers results, period. How? They have gone on an acquisition rampage and have consolidated many of the second tier search engines (including Miva), becoming the fourth largest advertising marketplace on the Internet. Even better: They have strong roots in email marketing and offer the ability to advertise (on a PPC basis) to their email lists. AdKnowledge’s email lists truly convert, they offer some of the most premium traffic I have experienced over the years (often available at bargain basement prices).

After catching up with AdKnowledge, I headed over to the amazing Marin Software booth. I’m a huge fan of Marin Software and even interviewed one of their executives, Matt Lawson, here on PPC Ian. As you can see in the picture on the right, Marin has an incredibly impressive booth. They leveraged the same booth that debuted at SMX West last month. In my opinion, it’s one of the best looking booths around and it was no surprise that it drew some serious attention.

PPC Ian and Acquisio at ad:tech

After hanging out with my friends from Marin Software, I headed over to Acquisio. As you might remember from my post about SMX West, I met up my friend Marc Poirier, CMO and co-founder of Acquisio at that conference. This time around, I did not run into Marc but thoroughly enjoyed making some new friends. I couldn’t be more impressed with the Acquisio team and software. I particularly enjoyed getting a demo of the newest Acquisio functionality.

After Acquisio, I continued to walk around the expo hall for a while and was really impressed overall. Our industry is incredibly strong, the conference was absolutely packed, and the boots were cooler and more extravagant than ever. Want to see a really neat booth? Check out the LinkedIn one at the bottom of this post. (Side note: I highly recommend checking out my LinkedIn Tips, they will supercharge your online marketing career.)

Lunch At Straits Cafe

Lunch at Straits Cafe SF

After a while, I started losing my energy and was ready for a nice lunch. Thankfully, I ran into some of my friends from Stanford who also happen to be in the online marketing industry. I’d show a picture, but these guys just started a business that’s in super stealth mode and said not to post any pictures or links. I hope in the future that I’ll be able to review their exciting business.

Anyways, we headed over to Straits Cafe and the food was simply delicious. I had been to the Straits restaurants in Palo Alto and Santana Row before, but never SF. I was very happy with the selection and really enjoyed networking with some old friends. In this industry, your personal relationships and your network is your single largest asset in my opinion.

Giants vs. Dodgers Game From Marin Software’s Luxury Suite

Marin Software Giants Luxury Suite

After lunch, I was ready to head back to work. I got back to the office and powered through several hours of concentrated work. Thankfully, I was in the zone so I got a lot done fast. Then, it was time for fun again. As mentioned above, I’m a big fan of Marin Software. Right now, I’m a bigger fan than ever because they invited me to watch the Giants game from their luxury suite.

Have you ever flown first class before? It’s kind of like that. The first time I flew first class, I was floored. The difference between first class and coach is parabolic. It’s not the step up you would think, it’s a different world. It’s a world that makes me want to earn lots of money! That’s how I like to look at the Giants experience from a luxury suite. It’s not just a step up, it’s a whole other world, and I sincerely thank my friends at Marin for allowing me to enjoy the good life.

Me and Marin Friends at Giants Game

I had such an amazing time at the game. I enjoyed a limitless buffet of food, several Giants staff members catering to our every wish, amazing drinks, popcorn, an indoor lounge area, an outdoor seating area (right behind home plate), and of course great conversation with new and old friends. In short, this is the way baseball was meant to be enjoyed! It’s experiences like this that really get me excited about our great industry. After the Giants game, I headed home, chilled out with my amazing wife, and then wrote this blog post.

Oracle Luxury Suite Level

Now, it’s time to get some sleep and then do it all over again. While tomorrow’s going to be a bit more standard than today, one thing is for sure: This industry rocks! There is always something exciting around the corner and that’s why corporate online marketing is the ideal career path! Any of you guys visit ad:tech San Francisco this year? I’d be super curious to hear about your personal experience!

Some More Pictures From ad:tech San Francisco 2011

ad:tech San Francisco 2011 Digital Marketing Conference

The Impressive LinkedIn Booth at ad:tech San Francisco 2011