• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, February 1, 2011

SEMplest appointed digital media expert Paul Benjou as chief executive officer earlier this week to run the search engine marketing agency expected to officially launch later this year. The company, under wraps in development for about 18 months, aims to support small-to-medium-size businesses.

The SEM agency, founded in 2009, relies on search technology. Benjou calls it a "hunch engine," where one word generates a list of closely related others. The search technology applied to search engine marketing provides a tool to generate a list of long-tail keywords.

Icosystem, which specializes in predictive analytics, led investments in SEMplest's artificial intelligence engine and the company. The technology helps businesses discover and manage hundreds of keywords for multiple ad campaigns and audience targets across numerous platforms.

"Search is an area overlooked, especially when it comes to local search, mom-and-pop shops, and small- to mid-size businesses," Benjou says. "For businesses to be successful they must have a captive audience -- folks that want to move forward but don't have many helpful alternatives or choices."

Benjou believes SEMplest can offer those choices. As CEO, he takes responsibility for developing and overseeing the company's marketing, operations and business strategies to drive growth and lead new business partnerships to expand the company's reach and revenue.

Companies like automotive marketing firm Cobalt, for example, will have an option to license SEMplest's technology.

The next step is to build a management team, Benjou says. "I want people around me who are smarter," he says. "We're out there building partners with other media companies and talking with venture capitalists who call us."

Benjou joins SEMplest from The Center for Media Management Strategies, where he was a founder and principal. In that role, he served as a consultant to digital media companies, providing strategy and migration planning, product development, sales training and process management.

Benjou also served as SVP and global digital director at Universal McCann's digital communications practice, where he oversaw more than 70 Johnson & Johnson agency brands. Prior to that, Benjou held senior-level executive positions at DraftWorldwide, Mediaplex and Datran Media.