• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 2, 2008

A day after Carat Digital Exchange founder Mitch Oscar announced his departure from the agency (MediaDailyNews May 30th), the Aegis Group unit unveiled plans to relaunch an expanded version of the "Carat Exchange" focusing on a "wider spectrum of issues and opportunities facing the industry."

The agency said it would utilize the same open forum format, inviting industry leaders to convene in a public setting to tackle important industry-shaping developments and leading edge projects, but with a focus going beyond its original mandate of enhanced television advertising.

"Once a forum exclusively covering the digital television world, the new Carat Exchange will now include topics on all areas of media and marketing - search marketing, digital TV, mobile, social networking, print, television, radio, branded entertainment, multicultural marketing, among others," the agency said in a statement issued following news of Oscar's departure.

Late last Thursday, Oscar sent notices to the current Carat Digital Exchange membership, informing them that the project had ended its term at Carat, but implying that it would resume again soon at another home, and presumably under another name.

A Carat spokeswoman said the name was Carat's intellectual property.

It was unclear at presstime who might serve in Oscar's role in the new Carat Exchange, but the announcement was attributed to Scott Sorokin, president of Carat, and part of the team that created the first integrated digital and traditional media offering by merging Carat Fusion and Carat last summer.

Oscar's role in the Carat Digital Exchange was something of an impresario, organizing, evangelizing and performing ringmaster duties that attracted an eclectic mix of collaborators, including companies that might otherwise see themselves as competitors.

The Carat spokesperson vowed that the new Carat Exchange would remain open to the public, including the trade press.