The recent A4U Expo in London brought together over a thousand delegates for a mixture of networking, exhibitions and presentations. This event has been running for six years now and never fails to provide fresh impetus and ideas to the fast-growing affiliate and performance marketing industries.

Our very own Managing Director Peter Gowrie-Smith was invited to speak at A4U Expo about the ‘Past, Present and Potential of Display’ which of course we know a thing or two about due to our work driving lead generation through display advertising via our In-Banner technology. We brought along our friend and colleague Farzad Jamal,  Commercial Director, EMEA, of OpenX, who we have known since his days at Northern & Shell, to co-present.

Attendees were taken on a journey through the advent of banner advertising in 1994, through its recent troubled times and into the new world of opportunity that is emerging due to new formats, ways to engage, the integration of data, pricing metrics and the advent of real-time bidding (RTB) and programmatic capabilities. The audience certainly seemed to be engaged and interested in where display has come from, and more importantly, where it is heading next – and you can find the presentation we gave here on SlideShare.

Another session we just had to get involved with was the Lead Generation: IAB Debate where Kevin Rice, Commercial Director of Magnetise Media, sat on the panel with other members of the IAB’s Lead Generation Council to discuss the key issues and opportunities facing this fast growing segment of digital marketing. The number of questions from attendees showed just how relevant lead generation is becoming to all of us who work in digital marketing, and we very much enjoyed the chance to explain more about we believe lead generation is one of the most important elements of any contemporary marketing initiative.

If you have any questions that weren’t dealt with on the day, or indeed would like any further information about how you could incorporate lead generation into your activities, do let us know in the comments below, or get in touch with us here.