last week there was the second drink organised by beforethebubble.com. Members are people that had significant roles in the internet industry before 2000. The venue was the same where the first online advertising seminar was held in 1998! In those times the party started early in the evening and lasted until next morning. Now I first put the children to bed and then take a responsible train to the venue (in case you drink more then one beer…).

The thing that was different that the taxi driver that took us back to the train station completely understood what we are doing and even was in favor of profiling and targeted advertising- as long as we leave him be when he is on the toilet…..

In october I did a MBO with partners, This is the press release we sent out:

London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Singapore, Sydney – October 28, 2010
Adify’s International management team forms a new independent company to exclusively service clients locally.

Since 2005 Adify has been the answer to a fast fragmenting Web. As blogs and niche content sites multiplied, Adify developed intelligent solutions to help advertisers cope with the consumers’ increasingly divided attention.

Today the platform powers more than 200 of the world’s top vertical ad networks, and connects premium brand advertisers to the deeply engaged audiences of thousands of quality mid- and long-tail sites. While Internet fragmentation will only continue to increase, Adify offers the means to thrive in an ever-more splintered marketplace.

As part of a recent decision by Cox Media Group (Adify’s parent), Adify will be increasing its domestic US market focus.  As part of this change, Adify’s existing International management team has formed a new independent company, Adify International.  This new company will provide targeted local focus and support to Adify’s existing international clients.  Adify International will be Adify’s exclusive representative for all non-US markets.  This will include service to all of Adify’s international customers and exclusive sales of Adify’s international media inventory.

The new Adify International, led by Kevin Tan (CEO, based in Singapore), Donald Hamilton (COO, based in London), and Bas Seelen (CRO, based in Amsterdam) will service existing network builders on the Adify platform across the UK, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Adify International will continue to expand in all markets as well as continue to support existing clients, all of whom will remain on Adify’s vertical network platform.  It has become increasingly clear that markets outside of the US require different product and commercial strategies and the new organization will be able to address these effectively.

The Adify International team includes key leaders Darren Kietz in the UK, Andrew Tu in Singapore, Kristina Prokop in Berlin, and Trent Lloyd in Sydney. The team has senior management experience at OMD, Ogilvy Interactive, Wunderloop, MSN, AdLink, MTV, Nielsen, TNS, Fairfax Digital and EBay.

Kevin Tan, CEO of the new Adify International: “It’s important to be able to work in each market and be flexible in order to maintain great service and develop great products to meet local market needs. We see data, also the core of our existing business, as the central part of growth over the next 3 to 5 years.”  Adify’s International customers will have the same team and level of excellent service they have come to enjoy from Adify while continuing to leverage the best in class Adify platform for running their network.

Adify International customers include clients such as the Guardian, Reed Business, Reuters, Fairfax Digital, Motopresse Stuttgart, W&V, and Gourmet Ads to name a few.

For more information, please contact press@adifyinternational.com