I just attended my first ad:tech conference this past week in San Francisco. I had heard a lot of good things about this conference from others and I can definitely say that it lived up to the hype for me. Web advertising and revenue is not in something I began my career doing, but something I have taken a lot of interest in over the past couple years. Several of the sessions provided me with a lot of great information. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the first day, but I made it to the other two days. Here are some highlights of my favorite sessions.

Tactical Search: Local & Mobile Search

This panel focused on the growth of mobile and local search. Apparently over 70% of a person’s disposable income is spent within a 20 mile radius of their home. This creates a huge opportunity for local search especially with ad inventory tools getting more granular with their ability to regionalize ads. The mobile aspect has even larger potential with the release of more and more GPS enabled mobile devices open to third party developers.

Consumer Insights I: Leading Marketers Share Their Vision

The most interesting fact to come out of this was that Amazon.com sells most of their flat panel HDTVs the 2-3 weeks prior to the SuperBowl…..with the majority coming from mobile devices! This shows that many people are most likely going to brick and mortar retailers while comparison shopping on their mobile device and subsequently ordering from Amazon.com. I thought this was extremely telling. Other predictions from the panel included more targeted ads based on profile/personality matching, brand awareness through community engagement, growth of the mobile web, and continued struggle within social networks.

The Art of Persuasion: The New Laws of eCommerce Marketing

This session focused on the continued growth of online/mobile buying and the new rules for taking a customer through a sales process. A big topic here was the increase in use of comparison shopping engines and the need to differentiate your product not just by price but by the eCommerce experience. Another key point of discussion was that a ratings/review system is now viewed as a must for any eCommerce site with a large product offering. Finally the use of online video to provide additional product information was highly encouraged by all panelists.