There’s no better way to kick off cyber-monday than to say “I was there” at the December 1st, 2008 NASDAQ Opening Bell ceremony. I had the chance to stand alongside other Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) members as Dana Todd, Chairperson of the Board of Directors for SEMPO (CMO of Newsforce, Inc.) was given the honor of ringing the opening bell. According to SEMPO Board Member Jeffrey Pruitt, “When we were asked to ring the NASDAQ bell, we felt the timing was perfect. With the current economy struggling, and advertisers cutting expenditures on traditional media, now is the time to proclaim that search is the most efficient performance media in history.”

Dave Fall, Me & Dana Todd

And their timing couldn’t have been any better. On Tuesday, December 2, 2008, SEMPO will be launching its 5th Annual Industry-Wide Survey to “assess the economy’s effect on year-to-year online marketing spending and on continuing changes in budget allocation between various media segments.” (MarketWatch.com/NASDAQ.com)

According to Dana Todd “NASDAQ called us after they read about our big Microsoft deal. They said they knew SEMPO is very influential in high tech and marketing, and they happened to have an opening, so it was timely. Especially since Cyber Monday is so important to the economy – the fallback after Black Friday. The largest spend online is in search, so SEMPO will be front-and-center on the biggest day of the online retail holiday season. We’re very pleased and humbled to represent our worldwide members in celebrating the fact that search is still holding strong against the maelstrom of market cutbacks.” (SearchEngineLand)

It was a great event and I feel lucky to have attended considering I joined SEMPO last week. Special thanks to Sara Holoubek for getting me to join! Without her help, I would have missed this potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thank you Sara!

***To obtain a hi-resolution photograph of the Market Open or watch a video clip go to http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/200812/market_open_120108.stm.

Posted under Events, SEO/SEM