Ad operations is no laughing matter. Then again, when you’re in charge of bringing in the ad bucks for the Web’s reigning authority on everything meme, jest in unavoidable. And, selling ad space alongside photobombs, FAILS and mischievous, bad-grammar wielding cats takes a certain kind of person – a Todd Sawicki kind of person.
Rochester, N.Y.-raised Sawicki lead the revenue side of Cheezburger Network for three years as its chief revenue officer, helping move the the company from the single website, I Can Has Cheezburger?, to one of the biggest humor platforms on the Web today, with over 13 million global visitors per month. Sawicki was also joined by the rest of Cheezburger team in the Bravo series LOLWork, which documented the creative process at the company.
Before joining the helm of the meme giant, Sawicki joined social-marketing firm Lookery (now HubSpot) as the vice president of marketing and business development, raising $3.2 million for the startup in just two years.
After leaving Cheezburger in September 2012, Sawicki set out to advise online startups in business development and strategy, marketing, monetizations, and more. Sawicki currently has roles in 11 online startups, including serving as an advisor for soundbite database Hark and programmatic-premium startup iSocket.
With more than 15 years of experience in the world of startups, Sawicki has extensive experience in website monetization, digital advertising, user acquisition and more.
Nearly every media company chief revenue officer will spend the first half of 2013 muttering the words native advertising over and over. And, the future of digital advertising are native programs, argues Sawicki, who will join AdMonsters in Sonoma at this year’s first Publisher Forum to discuss the opportunities that lie ahead in digital media’s latest evolution.
To register for the Publisher Forum in Sonoma, March 3-6, where Todd Sawicki and other industry leaders will changing dynamics of digital ad ops, visit the Publisher Forum Web page.