Almost every speaker I work with at every conference I program asks me the same thing during their preparation: "Who is going to be in the audience?" And for every show, the answer is the same--a mix of folks from agency media, agency management, client-side marketing, publishing, technology vendors, research companies, industry and financial analysts, and press. Almost invariably, the response from the speaker is the same: "Hmph." Not because this isn't a valuable audience, but because it's such a diverse audience.

Is Disney aware its brand drove through a red-light district when it advertised "Pirates" on YouTube?

I've been thinking about the stories publishers are telling, or--more to the point--the stories being told about publishers.

Consumers hate Internet advertising. To be clear, consumers do not hate advertising. When prompted, most can name their favorite ad, while many can articulate its purpose relative to the exchange for content. However, place the word "Internet" in front of "advertising" and watch the contempt "pop up."