• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, May 21, 2013

In the run-up to this year’s Digital NewFront events, it was predicted by some that advertisers would commit as much as $1 billion in ad buys. Yet, the general consensus at OMMA Video seems to be that these optimistic ad astrologers were stoned. “They were smoking something,” said Mike Bloxham, executive director of the Media Behavior Institute. “We still book digital advertisers months and months after [the NewFront],” said Chris Raleigh, SVP of Cable and Cross Platform Ad Sales at The Weather Company. “I think that’s hilarious,” Alexis Josephs, VP of East Coast Sales at VEVO, said regarding the idea that advertisers would put up so much digital money so fast. “For us, it’s unfair to think that you’re going to convert immediately after the NewFront.” As for those who thought the industry was going to book a billion from April to August, Josephs said: “I think [they might] be smoking many things.”