I just returned from the ad:tech show in New York. It was a deep dive into the world of web marketing, development. The hottest topic seemed to be about high dollar CPA – cost per action. Lead monetization was by far the homecoming queen. Everyone wants to talk about CPA, even google who gave me a fluffy yet pretty pamphlet about it. The accountability has shifted back to marketing. Nobody seemed to be pushing that they could get leads, only how they could surreptitiously scrub them without human eyeballs.

Don’t just get the hits anymore, not good enough. There seemed to be companies that wanted to build your site and market it, some that wanted to triage your leads, some wanted to de-fraud or pre-scrub (ala inside sales team intelligence). Almost every booth had a company tag line with the words “smart” “intelligent” or “leading”.

My favorite part of going to industry shows is the stuff you take home and then the various follow-ups you get. I wonder how many e-newsletters and coupon deals will be in my inbox come next week. At the show one company sat me down and went so far as to ask for my client’s unique hits and names! Can you believe that? Talk about pushy. I was just happy to sit down after hours of walking.

There were some really clever ideas being presented. I was also pleased about meeting some good people within my industry. I always enjoy chatting with super nice people that indulge my detailed questions and give solid answers. The ideas around inspired me to realize that we are still able to do great things when we try – when we innovate. There is no end to what can happen in front of us in the virtual space.