AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, April 13, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Spotzer Media Group, BV, the first global online advertising agency dedicated to making video advertising fast, affordable and highly targeted, today announced that Lex Cohen has joined its Board of Directors as non-executive director.
Mr. Cohen is one of Europe's most accomplished yellow page industry executives and has built several extremely successful advertising based businesses. Most recently, until his retirement at the end of 2006, he served as Chief Executive Officer of European Directories, a E 600 million revenue pan-European directory services group.
Founded last year, Spotzer is launching global advertising services through its website (sneak preview of alpha version available now at (www.spotzer.com) and through field and telesales professionals. The company is also establishing channel sales partnerships with yellow page operators and other media companies around the globe.
Through Spotzer clients will be able to license high quality pre-produced video commercials with a degree of exclusivity that matches their needs and budgets. Spotzer will also help clients plan and buy highly targeted media on television, websites, out of home tv, and mobile devices.
Prior to joining European Directors, Mr. Cohen was Chief Executive Officer of Wegener Direct Marketing International. He was previously Vice President and Divisional Director of ITT World Directories and Managing Director of Gouden Gids BV, a Dutch directories business that is the main competitor of De Telefoongids.
"Our success depends on how well we develop effective means to deliver our "ready-to-air" advertising proposition to local businesses," commented Spotzer CEO and founder Andrew D. Klein. "With decades of accomplishment in the directories industry, Lex will help us replicate the best practices of the most successful local ad sales organizations. He will also help us find ways to collaborate with established ad sales networks, including yellow page companies."
"I have long believed that the convergence of broadband Internet access, greater computer processing power and more sophisticated geographic and demographic targeting technologies will ultimately cause local businesses to shift advertising budgets to video opportunities," remarked Mr. Cohen. "The questions were mainly when this triple storm would gain critical mass and who would reap the benefits."
"Spotzer surely seems to have arrived at an exciting time," Mr. Cohen continued. "Producing a large volume of high quality "ready-to-air" commercials while automating media planning and buying activities will be very disruptive to established ad agencies. They are likely to find natural allies throughout the media and directories sectors."
In addition to Mr. Cohen and Mr. Klein, Spotzer's Board of Directors also includes Pim Schmitz of Cyrte Investments, the Dutch private investment fund, Tijo van Marle, who runs fund manager Theta Capital and previously oversaw the Benelux region for investment bank Credit Suisse, and Oscar Ruiz, a Spanish Internet entrepreneur who previously served as CEO of AOL Spain.
In conjunction with joining the Board, Mr. Cohen has also made a personal investment in the eight month old start-up, joining Mr. van Marle, a collection of other U.S. and European Internet and media veterans, as well as Cyrte Investments and Dutchview BV (see Spotzer news releases dated March 20 and February 12, 2007) as shareholders in the venture.
About Spotzer
Spotzer is an Internet media company that is making video advertising fast, affordable and highly targeted for businesses globally. Through Spotzer, advertisers will be able to license and then personalize a high-quality video ad for remarkably low fees. Advertisers will also be able to create geographically and demographically targeted media plans and purchase advertising-time on television, websites, out of home television networks, cell phones and other mobile devices such as MP3 players. Clients will be able to complete the entire video advertising process online through the group's website: www.spotzer.com.