• March 25, 2008

PlattForm Holdings is reorganizing under the new name Ad Venture Interactive (AVI).

Based in New York and Kansas City, the parent company, AVI, is a full-service interactive marketing and advertising company encompassing three divisions: PlattForm Advertising (PFA), VentureDirect Worldwide (VDW) and Beauty Schools Marketing Group (BSMG). Together, these divisions offer interactive marketing and advertising services to a number of distinct verticals.

PlattForm CEO Michael Platt will assume the newly created role of CEO for Ad Venture Interactive. Platt founded PlattForm as a media placement agency in 1988. In the new position, Platt will oversee and integrate all three divisions of Ad Venture Interactive. He will also manage mergers and acquisitions and work closely with the CEOs of each division to develop the long-term strategy for AVI.

Dave Admire has been named the new CEO of PlattForm Advertising. Admire has more than a decade of experience in traditional and interactive marketing with PlattForm. In his new role as CEO, the managing directors of PlattForm will report directly to Admire. Rich Baumer will continue as CEO of VentureDirect Worldwide.

Also as part of the reorganization, Ad Venture has formed a new division that will specialize in providing marketing services to cosmetology schools. This new division, Beauty Schools Marketing Group, will allow AVI to offer new student acquisition services in the form of interactive and traditional marketing services to cosmetology schools, including the 600-plus currently working with their two recently acquired brands, www.beautyschoolsdirectory.com and www.beautyschool.com.

The new division will be led by Managing Director Bridget Duffy. Duffy has more than seven years of marketing experience within AVI's PlattForm Advertising division. In her new position, she will oversee new business acquisitions and train and coordinate the sales and client service teams for all clients. Admire will serve as Chief Executive Officer of BSMG.

--Tanya Irwin