Please visit: www.Turn.com

Once upon a time (ok, only about a month ago), deep in the Hollywood Hills our very own Director of Sales, Eve Friedman was featured on the Style Network’s dynamic home makeover show called TackyHouse. But, this isn’t just any ordinary tacky house, it’s a tacky castle in need of the royal treatment. Check out Eve’s family diggs and what the team of designers is up to here.

Redwood City, Calif.,(June 24, 2010)—Turn Inc., the smart platform for digital advertising, today announced its partnership with Better Advertising, whose platform enables advertisers, their partners and industry associations to be more transparent in how consumer data is collected and used for online advertising. As the first demand-side platform (DSP) to join Better Advertising’s industry leading partners, Turn will advance the transparency and consumer privacy protection that the world’s largest agencies and brands demand.

“The reality is that a wide range of consumer data is collected and used for ad targeting purposes,” said Xuhui Shao, Chief Technology Officer at Turn. “DSPs need to act proactively to address concerns and fears from consumers and consumer privacy groups. With Better Advertising, we’ve developed the best tools and practices for marketers to ensure consumer privacy protection.”

According to a recent study released in May 2010 by Ponemon Institute, main issues of privacy advocates include concerns that online marketers lack transparency about how they collect and use consumer data, that there’s a lack of control over how consumers are tracked online, and an absence of an adequate opt-out for consumers who don’t want to participate in targeted advertising.

“Turn has been on board from the beginning as we’ve defined Better Advertising’s solution for industry self-regulation,” said Colin O’Malley, Co-Founder and VP, Business Development and Privacy for Better Advertising. “DSPs are a key gateway for the data, meaning they can play a critical role when it comes to transparency and privacy protection for brands and consumers. Our partners are working together to give consumers access to clear information and choices, and help give  brands more confidence in this ecosystem.”

This week, Better Advertising launched its first round of test campaigns with the “Power i,” an icon displayed on targeted ads. The icon links to information on how brands protect consumer privacy, as well as provides a clear explanation of behavioral advertising and consumer’s opt-out options.

The Better Advertising solution is developed with Turn, GroupM, Cadreon, Havas Digital, Aegis Media, Audience Networks, Vivaki, 24/7 Real Media, Netmining, Safecount.net and OmnicomMediaGroup. Test campaigns will continue to roll out through the coming weeks.

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About Turn

Turn was founded to bring the efficiencies of search to online display. We empower the world’s best advertising agencies and marketers to create  intimacy between premium brands and their targeted audiences by delivering the most effective data-driven digital advertising. Turn’s real-time end-to-end media management platform delivers custom audiences at scale with unmatched performance and actionable insights. The company is based in Silicon Valley with locations in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Charlotte. For more information, visit www.turn.com.

About Better Advertising

Founded in June 2009, Better Advertising is a new type of company that uses technology to build trust between consumers, brands, and government. The company’s solutions are built on the industry standard “Power i” initiative created by the Cross Industry Coalition as part of its Self Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising. Using Better Advertising, brands agencies, networks and publishers give consumers clearer and easier to understand information about OBA and OBA data, as well as access to a simple preference platform to manage their privacy choices.  For more information, please visit: www.betteradvertising.com.

In an effort to assuage consumer anxiety over audience tracking, Turn is partnering with Better Advertising, who enable advertisers, their partners and industry associations to be more transparent in how consumer data is collected and used for online advertising.

According to Colin O’Malley, Co-Founder and VP, Business Development and Privacy for Better Advertising, “Turn has been on board from the beginning as we’ve defined Better Advertising’s solution for industry self-regulation. DSPs are a key gateway for the data, meaning they can play a critical role when it comes to transparency and privacy protection for brands and consumers.”

As the first demand side platform (DSP) to join Better Advertising’s industry leading partners, Turn provides the transparency and consumer privacy protection that the world’s largest agencies and brands demand. The Better Advertising partnership is the latest in Turn efforts to steward consumer privacy. Turn actively participates in the industry coalition lead by the IAB, The Centre for Information Policy Leadership, and compliant with NAI self-regulation principles.

Mediaweek has the latest scoop on Turn’s involvement. Read the article here.

All winners of the ‘Hottest Silicon Valley Companies’ award are in one of the following industries — Software, Wireless, Internet, or Media, has less than $100M in yearly revenues, and was established in the Silicon Valley area. Additionally, each company matched one or more of the following criteria:

• 100% increase in revenues over the past 3 years; OR
• $15M+ in funding in the past 2 years; OR
• 2X traffic gains to their website in the past 12 months AND over 1M unique visitors a month.

Tom Blue, CEO of Lead411 says “We have been tracking fast companies for our customers for the past 10 years and we felt it was important to recognize these growing brands publicly… specifically in the Bay Area”

Turn’s in some good company as other notable industry companies include Admob, Facebook and Tumri. Earlier this year Turn was also honored by investment banking firm JMP as one of the hottest privately held internet companies for 2010.

Xuhui-

You’re dead on. The financial meme is a short hand. The exchange concept is more like eBay meets Expedia.

-Iggy

Thanks, Iggy-

Someone else asked me about the examples given in the article. It’s easier to explain that way, but Real-time targeting doesn’t equate behavior targeting. A lot of efficiency can come from non-BT signals such as contextual and ad call itself. Sites and pages matter a lot even given BT signal. The broader point is about how statistically uninteresting display ads are today. It could easily be 10X or 20X better. That’s what makes online marketers tick.

-Xuhui Shao

Read more comments here.

Surrounded by neon shades and beach balls, close to 300 people from all aspects of the media industry partied at The Griffin in the heart of NYC’s Meatpacking district. Maybe it was the vibes from Internet Week or perhaps its just the make up  of our industry (publishers, agencies, brands, technology providers, sellers, etc.) that  knows how to throw back some cocktails and get down to business (um, and yes, by business we mean par-tay).

Hosted by Turn, the summer kick-off event celebrated digital in good ole’ internet-party fashion — hors d’oeuvres, endless drinks, music and dancing. Oh, not to mention an iPad giveaway…congrats to Joe Kowan from MediaCom.

Check out the party pics!

The Wall Street meltdown has been used to describe the real-time bidding (RTB) marketplace, but it doesn’t quite add up. RTB is anything but a zero-sum game. In today’s real-time auction marketplace it’s not about who gains and who loses, but instead, focused on creating value for both buyers and sellers — greater efficiencies, enhanced relevancy and better effectiveness.

In RTB, for the sell side (publishers) – the more bidders or bids you get, the higher the fill rate and selling prices. For the buy side (advertisers), in real time, advertisers hone targeting and reduce media waste with data-driven decisions on the value at the impression level. Xuhui Shao, Turn CTO, explains how everyone wins as RTB inventory scales.

Read his monthly ClickZ column here

In a piece this week in Adweek, Brian Morrissey asked our own Bill Demas for his take. According to Bill:

“This is a great validation of the segment. It’s confirmation that marketers are moving away from buying content to ultimately buying audiences. They’re looking to centralize their buys and integrate with companies that help them do that.”

Adweek also reported that the deal raises questions about the impact on Invite Media’s agency customers now that the company is part of Google. Depending more heavily on Google technology could make media agencies uncomfortable. The move solidifies Turn’s strategy to build an agnostic, end-to-end media platform that integrates the best in data, inventory, and technology for the world’s elite marketers.  “It’s important to be agnostic. We don’t have any inherent conflicts being an independent player,” Bill added.

Get the complete lowdown from Adweek here.

‘So long Deadwood and hello Redwood’ seems to be what’s on the minds of many residents in the Silicon Valley Suburb of Redwood City. According to a local Redwood City resident, “Redwood City used to be so quiet, you could throw a bowling ball down Broadway at six o’clock at night.”

Well, that’s no longer the case.

Thanks to a $50 million downtown revitalization project that preserved historic landmarks and added retail shops and restaurants, Redwood City’s stepping to a new beat.

From free summer concert series such as “Music in the Square” to “Jazz on Main” and an influx of cool new hot spots like Gourmet Haus Staudt, most recently known as the bar where Apple’s next iPhone was left on bar stool, the community is bouncing back.

Turn is proud to be a part of the countless neighboring businesses that have helped to revive the streets of Redwood City.

Read more about Redwood City’s latest newcomers in the New York Times.