When we started Jackson Fish Market, the first problem we decided to address was the lack of great options for brand advertisers online. Our simple premise was that useful and entertaining software on the web had the capability of engaging online audiences (both in terms of minutes spent and depth of engagement) much more cost-effectively than traditional brand advertising, online (banners and videos) or offline. Our belief that this is the ultimate destination of brand advertisers on the web has not changed. We believe that eventually all major (and not so major) brand advertisers will be providing useful software on the web that resonates with their audience and their brand. The software will typically be provided for free, and the company branding and product placement in the app will be tasteful, coherent, and complementary to the app’s function.

I can’t say it was surprising to me that the moment I left a big company and started a small one it would be much harder to get people’s attention in the industry. But, perhaps to the chagrin of some of the folks I’ve wanted to talk to, I can be persistent. The folks at the industry’s ad:tech conference are no exception. I’ve been bugging them to let me speak on the topic of Branded Software Experiences for some time. Imagine my surprise when today’s marketing e-mail from the ad:tech folks was about how to “Reach Consumers with Integration of Software, Digital Ads”. We’ve applied to speak at the conference being held in San Francisco this April. And even if we don’t make it this time, I do expect we’ll be speaking there eventually. Even more important than whether we speak is the fact that ad:tech recognizes the area of branded software as an important theme in the online advertising world.

Another group of folks who’ve been the “lucky” recipients of my attention are the folks at the Custom Publishing Council. This is the industry group for the companies that create branded content for big brands, like magazines for airlines and health insurers. Their annual Custom Content Conference is being held this March in Miami and the topic is “The Future of Branded Content”. Needless to say, we believe that branded online experiences are a key pillar of the future of branded content. And lucky for us, they agree. I’ll be speaking at their conference this year. You can check out the details on their site.

If you’re in Miami in March, hopefully we’ll see you there. And hopefully you’ll have another opportunity to see us in April at ad-tech. Either way, we’re just excited that the industry is starting to recognize what we’re doing as a core component of the future of online advertising.