Dynamic Adtech Startup Competition – DMA’s HOT ZONE – Coming to Los Angeles
(PRWEB) June 27, 2016 -- Today’s innovative adtech and martech startups from around the world will gain exclusive access to global marketers this October. DMA, the leading U.S. data and marketing association, is bringing its ground-breaking HOT ZONE startup competition to its annual event, &THEN, in Los Angeles at the LA Convention Center, October 16-18.
The HOT ZONE competition attracts startups from around the world to apply for complimentary exhibit space at &THEN, exposure to thousands of marketing, agency and data solutions executives and a chance for pilots with premier companies specifically looking to accelerate their own marketing, media and customer experience innovation. Nearly fifty percent of &THEN attendees hold VP-level positions or higher within their companies, thus presenting startups with a golden three-day opportunity to demonstrate their products, meet these executives, and match their capabilities with a plethora of innovation challenges.
“Since the birth of the Internet as a commercial media platform, startups have led the market in disruption and innovation,” said David Kohl, Program Curator for the HOT ZONE and CEO of Morgan Digital Ventures. “In our conversations with early-stage startups, they have told us how hard it is to get access to top-end marketers, agencies and publishers. And at the same time, DMA members and &THEN attendees tell us how hard it is to find high-quality, well-vetted startups to accelerate their own marketing and media innovation. DMA’s HOT ZONE solves both of these challenges in one place at one time.”
Startups can apply at TheDMA.org/HOTZONE before August 15. In September, a panel of HOT ZONE judges will select approximately 20 startups to exhibit and compete at &THEN. Five finalists will advance to give a live, on-stage pitch in the Battleground Competition on Tuesday, October 18. Winners are guaranteed pilots with leading brands, and an inside-track to new business contracts. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Leading global brands, including Facebook, Salesforce, MediaMath, Environics Analytics and Return Path, launched the program in 2015. These five organizations served as judges and inaugural sponsors. In addition, influential partner organizations – including the New England Venture Capital Association, Streetwise Media, TechStars Boston and the Young Entrepreneur Council – supported the HOT ZONE by bringing their best startups to exhibit and compete.
At &THEN15 in Boston last October, fifteen innovative startups were selected from dozens of contestants to exhibit and vie for cash prizes. 2015’s top winners were:
• First Place – Vistar Media (click to see competition pitch), a location-based media company that specializes in reaching the on-the-go consumer.
• Second Place – Sticky, a visual engagement platform that uses webcam-based eye tracking to help marketers, agencies and publishers create a commanding user experience.
• Third Place – MyAlerts (formerly TrackIF), an intelligent alerting platform that gives consumers full control of marketing content and alerts they would like to receive from a website after they leave the site.
Startups wishing to compete and prospective judges wishing to sponsor the 2016 HOT ZONE can learn more on the HOT ZONE site. For profiles of the 2015 HOT ZONE winning startups and finalists, click here.
About &THEN, The DMA Annual Event:
&THEN, the reinvented DMA annual event, is the largest global event that unites the marketing community – the people who think, plan and do what it takes to succeed. &THEN takes place in Los Angeles, CA at the L.A. Live complex from October 16-18, 2016.
About DMA (http://www.thedma.org): Founded in 1917, DMA is the world’s largest trade association dedicated to advancing and protecting responsible data-driven marketing and the use of data for good. DMA’s membership is a deep pool of data and marketing talent that routinely brings forward disruptive technology and techniques, and DMA’s unique role in representing both the client-side and supply-side enables it to develop the market for these innovations.
DMA’s advocacy program ensures marketers’ ability to responsibly gather and process or refine detailed data. DMA’s market-driven educational offerings equip its members to stay ahead of the curve of rapid changes in thought leadership and best practices. DMA’s events and communities provide numerous opportunities for today’s marketers – from brands, agencies and solution providers – to connect in-person and online to grow their business and their careers. DMA’s signature event, &THEN, is the largest global event for data-driven marketing and attracts top marketing and advertising leaders and practitioners from around the world.
Mike Uehlein, DMA, http://thedma.org, +1 (202) 861-2441, [email protected]
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