AlwaysOn 2009 OnMedia 100 winners

We
are pleased to announce our third OnMedia 100 list of the top private
companies in online marketing.

The 2009 list presented a new challenge
for the editorial team, namely spotting the companies that embrace the
current market pressures and crystallize into diamond, amongst the many
more that will be turned to dust.

The winners from this year’s list will likely look back on this time as
their formative—albeit challenging—adolescence; a time when even though
they had to sharpen their game to win deals, they were also met with a
market hungry for their efficiencies and insights.

Given the worst economic environment in history of the list, the
context of our 2009 selection process was a variation of past efforts.
The context of our first list in 2007 was “New Tools for the New
Marketer” and comprised a survey of new platforms and services from
those looking to supercharge their online marketing programs.

Given the newness of the market (and companies) and the degree of
similarity between many of the offerings, choosing our 2007 and 2008
lists was like finding needles in haystacks. We spotted some all-star
performers, such as Blue Lithium (acquired by Yahoo!), Quigo (acquired
by AOL), and Adify (acquired by Cox). Over the course of just two prior
OnMedia 100 lists, we identified numerous companies prior to their
exits, transactions that, in aggregate, have returned value to their
investors measured in the billions.

While the online advertising numerator is still expanding (modestly),
the denominator has expanded much more quickly. Even though Citi
forecasts U.S. online advertising to grow by 4% in 2009 to $25 billion
(compared with a 7% drop in total U.S. advertising), the number of
companies and amount of inventory over which this money can be spread
is large. As things stand, there are too many mouths for too little
bread.

The truly great ideas being executed by great teams should find these
turbulent times a blessing in disguise as their competitors stumble,
and their customers realize their value. We believe we’ve identified
many of these diamonds-in-the-making in the 2009 OnMedia 100 list.

Our overall winner, The Rubicon Project, is the right solution at the
right time for the current market environment. Its service increases
the efficiency of the advertising market by optimizing the matching of
remnant ads (which often make up 80% or even 90% of a publisher’s ad
inventory) to available placement opportunities. With more than 1,300
publishers and 350 ad networks, Rubicon can dynamically put the right
ad in the right place in front of the right person at the right
time—which in the end, is better for the publisher, the advertiser, and
ultimately the consumer.

Adap.tv, another of our category winners, is bringing the same kind of
innovation and efficiency to online video. Its service is enabling the
creative display of advertising in online video, moving beyond simple
(and often annoying) pre- and post-roll video ads.

Our analytics category winner, Quantcast, is rapidly establishing
itself as the new benchmark in Web analytics through its sophisticated
audience measurement tools and self-reporting based approach. Newcomers
like NuConomy are stretching beyond simple statistical analysis and
seeking to provide insight into deeper questions of engagement and
contribution.

Companies like Zynga and Ensequence are giving advertisers engaging new
channels for reaching their audiences by adding dimensions to existing
platforms, like social networks (Zynga) and television (Ensequence) to
create highly interactive experiences.

2009 is undoubtedly going to be a pivotal year for many of the
companies on this year’s OnMedia 100, but we’re confident that for
many, the current pressure will shape their ideas and focus their
strategies. Keep an eye out for a shower of diamonds.

COMMUNITY PLATFORMS
Live Gamer
Mall Networks
meebo
myYearbook ***CATEGORY WINNER***
Outside.in
OwnerIQ
Reframe It
SaysMe
Shopflick
ShopIt
Spiceworks