Thunder Lizard Productions' Web Advertising '99

Meanwhile, down the Alley a bit, at the Marriott World Trade Center, Thunder Lizard Productions' Web Advertising '99 was filling the grand ballroom. I had a chance to speak with Steve Roth, co-founder of Thunder Lizard, and his vision of creating a conference that's content rich -- and not just a bunch of CEOs pontificating -- is clearly indicated by the panel topics and list of speakers.
From Sunday, April 25th through Wednesday, April 28th, people came from around the world to hear successful web ad/marketing related professionals like Thom Forbes, conference chair, Mara Lipacas (ChannelSeven) and Tom Hespos (K2 Design) speak. Hespos (who also publishes the On-line Advertising Forum) doled out practical advice on what web ad tricks really work with Brad Aronson (I-frontier) and Jeremy Haft (consultant). The Tenagra Awards for Internet Marketing Excellence on Tuesday, April 27th, drew a glittery digerati crowd. These awards are the Internet marketing industry's oldest peer-review awards program where a panel of leading Internet marketing experts recognize achievements each year that have made a fundamental impact on the way marketing, public relations, and advertising are done on the Internet. K2 Design won but Tom Hespos only had the box with him (at the Doubleclick party later that night) as the creative director ran off with it -- most likely to show friends and family. Steve Nesle, executive creative director at Modem Media.PoppeTyson said the "design is elegant and works because it keeps the focus on the message." I had a chance to speak with Steve Roth, co-founder Thunder Lizard, and more than 500 attendees also got to witness the ClickZ challenge, where K2, Beyond Interactive, Lot 21 and BBDO developed campaigns to generate online contributions for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation, which benefits autism awareness and research, and names for the Flutie Foundation mailing list. The agency that produces the best results, as measured by the AdKnowledge System, will win the grand prize. Lee Wright's panel revealed results from their 1999 national benchmark study on Client Satisfaction with Interactive Services Firms. It's due out May 17th and you can find out more at: http://www.peopledesigntechnology.com/.