Penton Announces Acquisition of EyeTraffic Media

NEW YORK, March 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharon Rowlands, CEO of Penton, announced today that the company has completed its first marketing services acquisition with the purchase of EyeTraffic Media, an online marketing firm.  Terms were not disclosed.

"Our senior team has felt for some time that a marketing services offering – including online lead generation for our clients – was a critical component of our growth agenda," said Ms. Rowlands.  "EyeTraffic forms the cornerstone of such an offering.  We intend to roll out these services to our more than 20,000 marketing clients and to our five million subscribers, many of whom are small- and medium-sized businesses that are thirsting for online marketing solutions."

The announcement comes on the heels of a new Outsell Advertising and Marketing Study which highlights how B2B marketers plan to increasingly rely on publishers as their suppliers of marketing services.  According to the study, more large B2B marketers expect to use publishers for marketing services in 2011, up from 72% in 2010 to 85% in 2011, and with small marketers, up from 66% to 81%.

"In addition to investments in measurable online media buying campaigns, client demand for services that can improve and monitor audience engagement, such as search engine optimization and social media analytics continues to grow," said George Assimakopoulos, EyeTraffic's founder and CEO.  "Joining Penton provides us with an opportunity to immediately reach many more clients with solutions that increase awareness, generate leads, monitor brand reputation, and most importantly, increase sales on the web."

EyeTraffic, founded in 2004 and based in Washington, D.C., has a blue chip roster of clients including DuPont, Mazda and Georgetown University.  The company experienced record growth in 2010 and has recently opened new offices in Arlington, Virginia.

Mr. Assimakopoulos will join Penton as a vice president of digital media services and report to Kim Paulsen, senior vice president marketing services and member of the Penton Executive Committee.  "I am so pleased to have George and the EyeTraffic team join Penton," Ms. Paulsen noted.  "Our customers are seeking guidance in the new, complicated world of online marketing.  We are excited to have EyeTraffic's expertise, coupled with our deep market knowledge, to bring to our customers and subscribers across Penton's multiple vertical markets."

About EyeTraffic Media

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., EyeTraffic Media is a performance-driven interactive marketing consulting firm that provides unsurpassed campaign management solutions for companies and organizations seeking to more effectively connect with their target audiences. EyeTraffic boosts lead generation and customer acquisition by leveraging our expertise in search engine marketing, online media buying, email and social media, mobile marketing and web analytics. Acting as a seamless extension of your marketing team, we build, manage, track and analyze interactive marketing campaigns and programs that generate measurable results. For more information, go to www.eyetraffic.com.

About Penton

As a leading, independent, business-to-business media company, Penton knows business and how to create and disseminate the vital content that moves markets. Penton is where professionals turn to gain the critical insight, expert analysis, and relevant connections needed to compete and succeed. Headquartered in New York City, the privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and its co-investors. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.

SOURCE Penton