Execs & Accounts for December 17, 2003

FindWhat.com, a pay-for-placement search firm based in Fort Myers, Fla., promoted David Rae to chief strategy officer.

Rae joined FindWhat.com as vice president of operations in January of 2002 and was quickly promoted to executive vice president. His earlier achievements include founding gaming publisher Attitude Network and discount accommodations site Hotel Discounts.

“Dave has had a major impact on all parts of FindWhat.com,” said chairman and CEO Craig Pisaris-Henderson. “[He] will continue to be responsible for seeking out new and complementary services as FindWhat.com pursues its global strategy.”

FindWhat.com recently raised guidance for 2003, telling Wall Street it will bring in 8 percent more revenues, or $1.5 million more, than it had previously expected.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) added twenty-three members in recent weeks. Sixteen are general members, defined as companies actively engaged in the sale of ads online, and seven are associate members, or companies that support the online ad sector. The IAB has added a total of 118 new member companies to its ranks this year.

New general members include Belo Interactive, Bizrate.com, BusinessWeek Online, CareerBuilder.com, Comcast Corporation, Discovery Communications, e-Bay, FatWallet, IGN Entertainment, Kelley Blue Book, Knight Ridder Digital, Media General, SBC SmartPages.com, Skyworks Technologies, Verizon Superpages.com and TrafficMarketplace.

New associate members include Check M8, Falk eSolutions, FCBi, Interpolls, Mirror Image Internet, Net IQ/Webtrends and Quigo Technologies.

Urban Pathways, a non-profit serving New York’s homeless, tapped interactive agency True North to create an on- and offline fundraising campaign. The program’s goal is to build awareness of Urban Pathways while soliciting donations from better-off New Yorkers. The program, which will also include viral and guerilla marketing components, will launch first quarter 2004.

In another charity deployment, Agency.com launched a new site for The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York. The site focuses on the organization’s “wish kids,” their stories, and how the organization helps make their dreams come true.

Last year, Agency.com created a site for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas, and the company has been a regular sponsor of the non-profit’s charity gala in Dallas.