SOURCE: WidgetBucks

 

WidgetBucks, the market-leading vertical ad network that grew 150 percent in 2008, today announced that it has been awarded the prestigious OnMedia Newcomer of the Year award by AlwaysOn.

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - January 22, 2009) - WidgetBucks, the market-leading vertical ad network that grew 150 percent in 2008, today announced that it has been awarded the prestigious OnMedia Newcomer of the Year award by AlwaysOn. WidgetBucks was selected among all OnMedia 100 winners, emerging companies recognized by AlwaysOn's editorial team as game-changing players that are disrupting user behavior and creating new opportunities in the marketing, branding, advertising, and publishing industries.

The OnMedia 100 winners were selected from among hundreds of other technology companies nominated by investors, bankers, journalists and industry insiders. The AlwaysOn editorial team conducted a rigorous three-month selection process to finalize the 2009 list.

Launched in October 2007, WidgetBucks' vertically targeted CPC and CPM ad network reaches consumers of niche and Long Tail sites and blogs. During December 2008, WidgetBucks reached 60 million unique U.S. visitors and over 100 million worldwide. Online publishers use WidgetBucks highly engaging, interactive shopping, display, local and travel ads to earn money through their sites.

Over the course of 2008 -- WidgetBucks' first full year -- the company:

--  grew 150 percent to 1.5 billion impressions per month, making it the
    fastest growing online ad network
--  signed over 20,000 publishers and bloggers across its network
--  broke into comScore's Ad Net report, the first ad widget network to
    join the list
--  secured $10 million in Series B financing, led by Draper Fisher
    Jurvetson
--  deployed YieldSense, proprietary yield-optimization technology that
    maximizes publishers' rate of return on their ad space
--  launched a "hybrid" CPC/CPM ad that creates two types of revenue from
    the same widget instance
--  expanded beyond its flagship shopping channel through new feeds, and
    expanded its CPC network into Western Europe
--  added two chief officers -- Chief Revenue Officer Kirby Winfield and
    Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bergstrom -- who have generated over $3B in
    shareholder value through past acquisitions and mergers
--  won two awards -- AlwaysOn Global 250, Mashable Open Web Award
    

"The 2009 OnMedia 100 companies have demonstrated their tenacity even in the toughest economic conditions that the technology world has ever encountered," said Tony Perkins, founder and editor of AlwaysOn. "During the year, WidgetBucks burst on the scene with both scale and innovation, evolving display advertising by making it more engaging and interactive for consumers, targeted for advertisers and profitable for publishers."

"The explosive growth that WidgetBucks experienced during 2008 has continued into 2009," said Matt Hulett, CEO and Chairman of WidgetBucks. "Our innovation also continues with the full release of YieldSense, upcoming brand and agency-centric products, as well as fraud detection and prevention measures. We'd like to thank AlwaysOn for this honor and distinction."

WidgetBucks (including Hulett) and the other OnMedia 100 winners will be recognized at the OnMedia 100 Conference at the Ritz Carlton, New York City, on February 2-4. This two-and-a-half day executive conference is co-presented by Forbes and will feature presentations and high-level debates from CEOs, journalists, industry experts, investors and publishing and advertising executives.

A full list of all the OnMedia 100 winners can be found on the AlwaysOn website at http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/30893

About WidgetBucks

WidgetBucks is the market-leading provider of advertising widgets that are evolving the traditional online ad industry into a much richer, relevant and engaging medium. The fastest growing ad network today, WidgetBucks is used by thousands of publishers and brand marketers, and seen by over a 100 million unique viewers a month worldwide. WidgetBucks' privately held parent company, Mpire Corporation, was founded in 2005, and is backed by Ignition Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

About AlwaysOn

AlwaysOn ignited the open-media revolution in early 2003 by being the first media brand to launch a global blog network. In 2004, AlwaysOn continued to lead the media industry in innovation by introducing a social network where members can connect and engage. AlwaysOn is also revolutionizing the media business by applying its open-media principles to its executive event series (Stanford Summit, AlwaysOn Hollywood, AlwaysOn Media and GoingGreen) and quarterly print "blogozine" by empowering its members to post and share their ideas and meet each other online. As our loyal readers know, AlwaysOn is committed to the free-market, merit-driven approach to reporting and event programming. No other media brand has dared to create such open interaction with its readers and event participants.