Execs & Accounts for January 19, 2005

Kevin Wassong, former CEO of Connect@JWT, was named to chair the jury lineup for the Art Directors Club’s (ADC) 2005 interactive competition. Wassong will lead a jury that includes top creative directors and designers from a range of agencies. Jurors include Jeff Benjamin, interactive creative director for Crispin Porter + Bogusky; Greg Bell of Venables Bell & Partners, and more than 15 other digital creative heads.

Lightningcast, an online ad management firm, hired Steve Touhill as VP of sales and business development. Touhill held several executive posts with AOL’s Media Networks group, and was originally recruited by the portal to build its first interactive marketing department in 1996.

DoubleClick signed Friendster to use its DART for Publishers ad management platform. The social networking site has 13 million registered users, but the number of active users is far below that. ComScore in October reported the site had under a million unique users.

RareMethod Capital acquired Media Calgary, an Internet and traditional media planning and buying firm. RareMethod will pick up a staff of three, including principal Nigel McEathron, along with a roster of clients that includes Golden Acre and Red Deer River Ranches.