TechBiz Connection (TBC) will host a distinguished panel of successful entrepreneurial leaders and industry experts to share their experiences, successes, failures and advice on search engine advertising at its monthly forum on Wednesday, September 19 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at the offices of Knobe Martens Olson & Bear LLP in Irvine, Calif.
Attendees will learn the best practices of pay-per-click advertising on Google, Yahoo and MSN, and what to do, what not to do, what to measure, and whether to outsource or insource or do both.
According to Jack Bicer, TBC president, whether you are a small business owner or a marketing manager for a large multinational corporation, taking advantage of paid search advertising is a must. "Learning not only how to drive qualified visitors to your site quickly and economically, but learning the strategies of the masters will allow you to win at this increasingly challenging form of marketing," Bicer explained.
The panel moderator is Michael Bonfils, president and founder of SEM International, a division of Hyper Interactive Corp., specializing in providing outsourced International search engine marketing management services for global advertising agencies and Fortune 500 firms. SEM International operates in the Asian, European and Latin American regions with a concentration on Google, Yahoo, MSN and other media properties. He is a speaker and writer on internet marketing technology and trends, having contributed his time to many major national publications and events. In addition to being the founder of a successful internet contextual advertising agencies which he sold in 2004, he has spent the last 11 years at the forefront of helping pioneer the search engine marketing industry. Bonfils sits on the Board of several organizations and previously served as the vice president of communications for the American Marketing Association (SOCAL).
Panel members include:
Michael Mascott, senior sales and business development manager for Google, has a primary focus at Google of working with Fortune 500 technology and telecommunication companies on building integrated advertising programs that meet their objectives. He has worked with Google for four years and has over 10 years in advertising sales and business development experience. Prior to joining Google, Mascott worked with CNET Networks and Ziff-Davis on both digital and print initiatives.
Brian Dunn, manager, online marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, has managed paid search programs since 2001, creating keyword marketing strategies to accomplish e-commerce, branding, and other objectives. In his current role with Toshiba America's laptop division, he oversees both paid and natural search, email marketing, and the company's in-house e-commerce initiatives. Previous to Toshiba, Brian worked for Epson America and online sports content pioneer sportsTALK.com.
Michael Behrens, vice president of eMarketing for Webmetro, has led WebMetro's efforts in the development and implementations of online marketing programs on behalf of its clients for the past nine years. He possesses a deep knowledge of the online marketing business as well as related tools and applications. Behrens has directed and managed a wide cross section of online marketing programs for Fortune 1000's as well as emerging organizations ranging from travel to services and retail. He has been a presenter and panelist at several industry events including Ad-Tech, and is a recognized authority in search engine marketing.
Alan Edgett, director of strategy & innovation for Experian, heads the company's Direct to Small Business efforts within the Business Information Group and is responsible for a team of on line marketers and business development executives that support a variety of B2B and B2C web properties. Formerly, Edgett held a number of online marketing and business development roles at Akamai Technologies and Eteam.com. He was also a founding member of MarketWire.com. Alan holds an M.B.A from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, and is a passionate "intra-preneur". His current focus is integrating Web 2.0 methodologies into B2B environments.
The forum discussion and subsequent question-and-answer session is sponsored by Daly-Swartz Public Relations, iSeminars Int'l, Savvis, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Brilliant Blue with Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP.
Admission to the TechBiz Connection event is $30 prepaid and $40 at the door. For further information and RSVP, visit http://www.techbizconnection.org or e-mail Jack Bicer at president @techbizconnection.org.
TechBiz Connection was created to support Southern California business and technology professionals, companies and entrepreneurs by providing timely education and networking opportunities. The organization focuses on where technology and business intersect; everything a successful high-tech company would want to do.