LeadsCon

Monday, February 27, 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Michael Norton, one of the top minds in behavioral economics, takes the stage to show that not only do marketing and science mix, but that marketing is a science. When mixed properly, the insights are astounding. What does that mean to you? A plan of attack that will allow you to understand consumer behavior in a new light, and come away, dare we say, inspired.

Presenter: Michael Norton, Behavioral Scientist, Associate Professor of Marketing, Harvard Business School

Our industry has fielded many successful companies. Only two, though, have reached a scale that has enabled them to go public, Bankrate and Quinstreet. Between them, they control more than half a billion dollars in spend and have a combined market cap greater than $2.5 billion. Joining us on stage for the first time together are CEO’s Tom Evans of Bankrate and Doug Valenti from Quinstreet to share their views on where the industry is and where they see it going.

Moderator: Stewart Barry, Partner, Head of Internet and Digital Media, Union Square Advisors
Panelists: Tom Evans, President & CEO, Bankrate, Inc.
Doug Valenti, CEO & Chairman, Quinstreet

There were many unexpected and ambitious initiatives undertaken last year. One company not expected to make any ambitious or unexpected moves did, though. Right after LeadsCon East, Vantage Media announced their acquisition of arguably the fastest growing company in our space, Brokers Web. That the deal took place is an interesting story in itself, but Vantage Media’s willingness to make such a bold move to see their vision achieved is even more interesting and arguably controversial story.

Moderator: Jay Weintraub, Founder, LeadsCon and Daily Deal Summit
Panelists: Josh Armstrong, Vice President-Corporate Development, Vantage Media
Damien Dovi, Partner, BIA Digital Partners
Patrick Quigley, Chief Executive Officer, Vantage Media
Howard Yeh, Chief Operating Officer, BrokersWeb

The beauty of direct response advertising is its accountability, but those in lead generation operate at a slight disadvantage. The value of the data and the potential customer is all but unknown until weeks if not months later. That window doesn’t cause bad behavior, but it certainly means bad behavior can sneak in and diminish the quality produced from even the best intentioned sellers. Customer acquisition strategist John DeMayo will distill his 10+ years of weeding out the crap so we can all practice safer lead gen.

Presenter: John DeMayo, Vice President – Marketing, zozi

Saying media has changed is among the more obvious understatements. The question is not if Facebook and Twitter, in combination with the mass adoption of smart phones, has changed media, but how. The answer lies at the root of understanding what these social platforms do, and what makes them so powerful. The answer is amplification. It has not touched the direct response just yet. If and how it will is what this presentation is all about.

Presenter: Nikhil Sethi, Co-Founder & CEO, Adaptly

Critics will argue that a well-meaning process for confirming intent has become hijacked. They will say call-verified is now call-sold where low to no-intent data has clogged the pipes and is threatening the long-term health of for-profit-education inquiry generation. Call verified lead generation is not only one of the most highly charged topics, it’s also one of the least understood – from volume to how the process actually works. It’s time to see what is behind the curtain.

Presenter: Alex Difrawi, CEO & Creative Director, Softrock

To the disappointment of some in the online world, they did not invent advertising. They certainly did not invent direct response advertising. That being said, the lower cost and more immediate measurably of the medium have had many give up other channels in favor of online. Should they have? Most know that offline helps online. If they knew how much, they might even start running it again (or for the first time).

Presenter: Gregory Gragg, Chief Executive Officer, Gragg Advertising

Love or hate phone-based leads, especially the call verified variety, they are not going away. That is why even the staunchest critics of certain call practices, support the role the phone plays. They just want to see a compliant playing field, and so do our panelists. The phone has been, and should remain, a powerful and effective channel for those in customer acquisition, but it must have some controls in place. If we do not self-police, just ask the segments that have already had their businesses effectively killed through reactive legislation what happens.

Moderator: Phil Friedman, Chief Executive Officer, Click2CallNetwork.com
Panelists: Chris Kwok, Vice President – Call Center Operations, Zeeto
Nick Shah, Chief Executive Officer, Ampush Media

The education sector has faced some strong economic and regulatory headwinds, making for a wild ride over the past almost two years. Whether directly involved or not at all, this extensive presentation will bring everyone up to speed on the past two years – an overview of regulatory changes, how schools have had to change their business and lead buying activities, what the future looks like for those operating within for-profit-education, where compliance stands today, and if the signs of growth that some see are temporary blips or a sign of longer-term prosperity.

Presenter: Greg O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer, CollegeBound Network

There is an inverse correlation between the competitiveness of an industry and the ease with which a new entrant can make money. This is doubly so in the per inquiry landscape. The result has been too many companies struggling to balance operating at scale with business practices that do not harm the end users – consumers and buyers. Hear from those who have made it their mission to prove that it is not a choice between volume and quality; the only choice is volume with quality.

Moderator: Ron Wagner, Owner, EFORMZ
Panelists: Doug Brown, President & CEO, All Star Directories
Nick Greer, Chief Executive Officer, One on One

Helping to improve the lead generation landscape is part innovation, lots of perspiration, mixed with a healthy dose of inspiration. In this special version of our annual LeadsCon Best New Technology Showcase, the focus is on technology innovations that can make a difference for the maligned for-profit-education per inquiry generation industry. Which would make the biggest difference?

Moderator: Raj Parekh, Vice President – Strategic Partnerships, LeadPoint, Inc.
Presenters: Joe Charlson, CEO & Founder, CallerReady
Caleb Gandara, Founder & CEO, DegreeCast.com
Steve Rafferty, Founder & CEO, ActiveProspect, Inc.
Dave Wengel, Founder & CEO, Stealth

No sector within lead generation has experienced the growth that insurance lead generation has. That hotbed of activity has, not surprisingly, seen some less than above board behavior used to try and capture a piece of that growth. In this case, the insurance lead generation industry has had to fight off all out fraud on a level seemingly unimaginable. It is a behavior that is a cancer to the industry, bad for users and for buyers. If allowed to continued, it could curb or even derail the sector’s growth and potential.

Presenter: Ian Smith, VP of Technology, QuoteWizard

Without buyers, sellers could not stay in business. In the insurance lead generation space, the buyers are predominantly thousands of local agents who rely on leads to fill their customer pipeline. That agents need leads does not mean they like the status of the lead gen industry and will blindly keep buying. Insurance-Forums.net, the largest site dedicated to insurance agents, in conjunction with LeadsCon and LeadsCouncil, presents the results of the first comprehensive survey of agent attitudes so that sellers can understand what they need to do to keep the buyers buying.

Presenter: Michael Ferree, Director, LeadsCouncil

Ask some of the hottest startups in our space what they do, and you will notice something interesting. They may monetize through lead generation, but you will not see “lead generation” mentioned on their site or hear the term when speaking to them. It might sound like a game of semantics, but it underlies a potentially larger issue. How can an industry thrive when some of its participants are embarrassed to be a part of it?

Moderator: Jeff Lawson, CEO & Co-Founder, Twilio
Panelists: Jeremy Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer, 2tor, Inc.
John Kobs, CEO & Co-Founder, ApartmentList.com
Joey Liner, Co-Founder & EVP of Sales, DoublePositive Marketing Group

The problem with many new traffic channels is that direct response marketers break them in only to have brand marketers later squeeze them out. New channels become too expensive channels, especially when measured on a pay for performance basis. Mobile has undergone this transition, but mobile means many things, from SMS to iAd. Where, if any, are the best areas of opportunity for performance marketers? Come and find out.

Presenter: Justin Elenberg, Co-Owner, Mobile Fused, LLC

Getting paid on a per lead basis has helped align buyers and sellers. Each side takes some risk. The problem with the model is that it can inadvertently incentivize sellers towards volume above other things. That quest for volume in search of revenue has unfortunately resulted in some players throwing quality out the door. And, once one that starts, others often feel compelled to join in order to stay competitive. The race to the bottom is then on. For lead gen, an industry already fighting off negative stereotypes, nothing could be worse than a race to the bottom.

Presenter: Kevin O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer, FindTheBest

Do what others are doing, or innovate? It’s a dilemma that plagues startups and mature companies alike. When there is no blueprint, innovation is often the only option, but when a model already exists, it’s easy to simply do what others are doing. Choosing the innovation route is often signing oneself up for a longer, less certain path for success. Our panelists discuss why they chose the path less traveled and what they hope it means, not just for them but the industry.

Moderator: Joe Deal, Founder, Degree Prospects, LLC
Panelists: Ethan Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, Offerslot
Basil Enan, Founder & CEO, CoverHound
Bill McNulty, Chief Executive Officer, IRAmarket

Using compelling technology and platforms to drive more qualified leads. Video and Social Media are the new engagement tools, how can they deliver more results efficiently for increased sales?

Presenters: Christian Briggs, Chief Executive Officer, Cinsay
Sergey Sundukovskiy, Ph.D., Chief Information Officer, Cinsay

In a year filled with economic challenges and ongoing regulatory scrutiny, the lead industry continued to evolve and improve. Leads360 will look back on 2011 and award the top lead generators across verticals for strong performance. We will also look forward to 2012 and opportunities for continued growth and evolution.

Presenters: Nick Hedges, President and CEO, Leads360
Jorge Jeffery, Senior Manager, Strategic Intelligence, Leads360

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

With video comes a world of possibilities and a equal number of questions. What is the best way to get into video? Who should use video? Should you use it as a distribution tool, a conversion tool, or something else? Should video be used in ads or once people arrive at the destination, maybe both? What should a company budget for video, and what type of results can be expected? Is it best used online or only as part of offline advertising? The questions are endless, but after this presentation, they won’t be.

Presenter: Spencer Scott, Chief Revenue Officer, OneScreen

Until LeadsCon heads to another country, we will continue to bring the other countries to you. These world travelers share with you the landscape – what works where and why. They discuss how those operating overseas could best leverage the opportunities that exist even if they themselves are not overseas.

Moderator: David Rodnitzky, Chief Executive Officer, PPC Associates
Panelists: Nikolai Bratkavski, CEO & Co-Founder, HealthAware
Nick Chapman, Founder & Managing Director, LeadPoint, UK
Sean Sewell, Business Development Director, Performance Horizon Group

Were we to oversimplify customer acquisition and how our industry grows, it would go something like this: More traffic. More verticals. But not just any verticals, only those that have billions of dollars in untapped potential. What will the next sector be? These founders have their sights set on one of the biggest potential segments of them all – medical lead generation. If that sounds “meh” because you think of selling leads to the long-tail of fussy general practitioners, you will be thinking again after you leave this session.

Moderator: Bruce Eatroff, Founding Partner, Halyard Capital
Panelists: Allison Floam, Co-Founder & President, TheFix.com
Gina Bartasi, Founder & CEO, FertilityAuthority.com

Continuing with our oversimplified approach to growing the customer acquisition pie, i.e., more traffic and new verticals, this session dives into that universal need for more traffic. What makes this session so unique is that it breaks through the noise, demystifies the hype, but most importantly makes actionable the latest and greatest fire hose of traffic – social and mobile.

Moderator: Brad Hargreaves, Founding Partner, General Assembly
Panelists: Jon Beardsley, Chief Revenue Officer, Pontiflex
Austin Evarts, Chief Executive Officer, GoChime
Oliver Roup, Founder & CEO, VigLink

Rarely do you find a company that doesn’t want more clients. If none did, those in the world of lead generation would be out of a job. Who does lead gen for the lead generators though? How can lead generators find more buyers and as important make sure potential clients could find them? Come and find out.

Presenter: Brian Goffman, Co-Founder & CEO, Optify

While vertical expansion and unlocking new traffic channels are always important for the continued growth of online lead generation, they must go hand in hand with the less sexy but equally instrumental efforts around aligning incentives and producing value. It’s more than avoiding a race to the bottom but instituting a race to the top, about quality, scale, and longevity. Can it be done? If so, how?

Moderator: Jordan Rohan, Managing Director & Internet Analyst, Stifel Nicolaus
Panelists: Paul Ford, Chief Executive Officer, Total Attorneys
Karen Francis, CEO & Executive Chairman, AcademixDirect
Sean Kell, Chief Executive Officer, A Place For Mom

Landing page guru Tim Ash takes the stage to show why pretty isn’t always better along with other common mistakes that you may think are good ideas until the data tells you otherwise. Come see if your site is one of those that could be improved.

Presenter: Tim Ash, Chief Executive Officer, SiteTuners

Were lead generation to have commandments, one of the might say, “If a user wants to talk to you on the phone, make sure they can.” Click to call technology helps interested users connect with those who want to help them. It’s not all that hard to do, but it has been hard to do in a scalable fashion that would make “right now” a viable alternative to clicks and leads.

Presenters: Nick Hedges, President & CEO, Leads360, Inc.
Jason Spievak, Chief Executive Officer, RingRevenue

For marketers in the lead-gen business, convergence means making hard decisions on where to place ad spend at any given moment, how to orchestrate messaging across the different channels, and how to find the attribution models that really understand what’s driving your best traffic. Learn what software, strategies, and planning can make the most of the new cross-channel universe.

Presenters: Jason Beyer, Director-ElementOne Application Consulting, TARGUSinfo
Tim Ogilvie, Senior Vice President of Product, MediaBank

Display has always had a role in the world of lead generation. It just hasn’t played a big role for everyone. That is starting to change. Thanks to better analytics, direct response marketers now have more tools at their disposal for tackling display. Hear conversion intelligence platform Convertro as they present a case study featuring work done for TrueCar.

Presenter: David Perez, Co-Founder, Convertro

Presenters: Sandy Kory, Managing Director, Horizon Partners
Ben Straughan, Partner, Perkins Coie LLP

To make the most of your marketing budget, you need to understand what is converting, where, and why. This means looking at your lead purchases at a much more granular level -by campus, by program, or geography – and taking a multi-dimensional approach to lead buying. Learn how to uncover what’s working, what’s not, and develop a plan based on data, not hunches.

Michael Betz, Chief Marketing Officer, Strayer University

When emails die they walk amongst the living, destroying lead quality and leaving your email reputation in carnage. Learn about new technologies that allow you to safely remove existing dead emails, reject new ones, and identify the living emails that are most likely to supercharge your email lead ROI!

Presenters: Matthew McFee, Founding Partner, BriteVerify
James McLachlan, Founding Partner, BriteVerify
Steve Rafferty, Founder & CEO, ActiveProspect, Inc.

Want to get valuable insight into converting more leads? Then, join the discussion of how one company dramatically boosted conversions by proactively identifying and engaging the highest value customers at the right place and at the right time.

Presenter: Rob Deichert, Head of Data, LivePerson

Learn how to use precision targeted display advertising to improve the quality of the leads you’re generating. The speakers will provide an overview and present a life insurance case study of how you can leverage third party data and real-time-bidding to drive higher value consumers to your landing pages.

Presenters: David Dowhan, President, TruSignal
Jeff Liebl, Chief Strategy Officer, eBureau
Marc Wheeler, SelectQuote

Two million students took all their courses online two years ago. This number will double in two years. Can your institution compete in this marketplace and edge out the competition? eLearners.com has collected personal data and preferences to profile who they are, what they want, how, when, and where. These data are presented in this session not to be missed.

Presenter: Carol Aslanian, SVP, Aslanian Market Research, EducationDynamics

Presenter: Jeff Lawson, Chief Executive Officer, Twilio

Learn how a real-estate website instantly connects home buyers with local realtors, how BMW owners are connecting with BMW mechanics, how attorneys are connecting with would-be litigants. Emphasis will be on powerful, easy-to-use tools that cost only pennies per lead.

Presenter: Evan Cummack, Sales Engineer, Twilio

Program Integrity regulations have led schools to change everything from marketing campaigns to internal policies. But with so much room for interpretation, it’s difficult to know what’s really necessary. Find out how schools are responding to the regulations, emerging best practices, and how your school can stay ahead of the compliance curve.

Presenters: Jeff Herz, Director-Compliance & Internal Operations, CUnet
Steve Smith, Managing Director-Product Management, CUnet

Local Search is the hottest way to drive quality leads. There are many things you can do (most of which are free) to get your business found at the top of relevant local searches. This session will show a few simple steps you can take to maximize this critical lead source.

Presenter: Tim Judd, Chief Executive Officer, eLocal Listing