Local mobile ad network xAD announced three top advertising and marketing executive hires: Ron Merritt is joining the company as SVP of sales, Monica Ho, as VP of marketing, and Dan Hight as VP of
business development. Merritt previously served as VP of local sales at Yodle, while Ho comes from TMP Directional Marketing, where she was SVP of marketing. Hight, who will develop relationships with
strategic partners, agencies, and national brands, most recently was director of strategic marketing at SuperMedia.
xAd, which has raised $4 million in venture funding to become the "AdMob of
Local," last month hit 2 billion ads served. That total doubled in four months after the company served 1 billion over the first 18 months. The actual AdMob is serving 2 billion ads a day.
Earlier this week, BIA/Kelsey released a forecast predicting U.S. local mobile advertising will reach $2.8 billion by 2015, accounting for 70% of total mobile advertising.--Mark Walsh