Adtech Homecoming

The Javits Center was pretty quiet. The space was large, the crowd small. The contrast was stark as those times. It was my first ad:tech in NYC. It was two months after 9/11.

Susan Bratton, whom I knew from my days in San Francisco and had introduced me years before to the Enliven ad format while she was at Excite@Home, was not to be deterred.

The industry then, for a time, became a smaller, tighter, more committed community -- like New York City itself -- and the evolving ad:tech reflected that. It moved to the Hilton on 6th Avenue and W53rd Street. The penultimate scene of "Michael Clayton" takes place there, and I can't watch that movie without imagining coming up the escalator and seeing the wash of digital marketing veterans then still so committed to our business. Most of the folks seen in those early years are now involved in one way or another with the ad:tech you will experience now.

John Durham is at the helm as Managing Director. I've know these last 20 years, first met while I was at Mediasmith and he was at Winstar (remember our first lunch at Il Fornio?) and with whom I've shared a business and more than one bottle of fine wine (thanks for introducing me to the world of Amarones!).

There will be speakers like Rishad Tobaccowala, whose mind, when I'm asked, I always say is the kind that never stops asking questions. To demonstrate, I like to tell the story of when I was sitting next to him at an IAB Innovators Roundtable dinner back in 2003 and he asked me my thoughts on why the "Lord of the Rings" movies had struck such a nerve with the public and had become so popular. He's also the progenitor of one of my favorite sayings: "data, data everywhere; can someone help me think?"

On the Board of Governors we now have the smart and indefatigable Gayle Meyers, so long ago my rep at 24/7 Real Media when I worked at Mediasmith. And speaking of Mediasmith for the second time...

Dave Smith, the person more responsible for how I -- or anyone in the business -- think about media than anyone else in this business, my professional "father" and the man who first said I was a mediaologist.  

Scott McLernon, our man at CBS Marketwatch back in the day, when they were our client.

The list goes on for both governors and speakers, so I will wrap up.

Ad:tech is now at its 20th anniversary, which has sparked a complete transformation of this flagship event—new floor plan, focus on immersive programming, showcasing innovation. And not just the word... but actual innovation!

For me, going back to ad:tech this year will not just be getting engaged with great new content, or getting engaged with the brightest people in our business, or getting to envision the future of our business thanks to some of the best people who played seminal roles in its past. For me, it will be like going home.

If you feel the same as I do, I suggest you get there. Time running out to register: https://ny.ad-tech.com/register