SHOTGUN WEDDING: GOOGLE / WPP

Mountain View, CA (Reuters)

In a move that has the potential to rock and dislodge the underpinnings of the advertising community, Google announced a hostile takeover bid for holding company giant WPP.

With an enterprise value just shy of $11 billion Google is expected to pay up to a 60 percent premium for the firm raising the stock price to its 2000 high of $99 per share.

It is expected that Dr. Eric Schmidt, 56, recently sidelined as Google’s CEO will assume the CEO position at WPP as Sir Martin Sorrell, 66, who once described Google as a “frenemy”, takes the title of Executive Group Chairman.

Why would Google put its future at risk by assuming ownership of a major non-core business? Follow this link for a more in depth analysis: goo.gl/BZrKv

IT'S A WRAP FOLKS!

AdTech 2010 in San Francisco is over with a crowning attendance estimated to be in the 10-12000 range. The crowd, in addition to the hundreds of vendors, struck positive notes on the promise of a successful business outcome.

Keynotes and session tracks were well attended. With the exception of Krisiti VanderBosch, CEO, Publicis & Hal Riney, I would have liked to have heard from more key agency figures the likes of Nick Brien, CEO, McCann Worldgroup or Rob Norman, CEO, Group M, NA.

Session tracks were well developed for a broad range of channel interests with solid presenters for the most part. Attendees from the agency side of the business, especially from the larger holding companies, were far too few and far between. I know of countless planners and strategists that could have benefited from the conference but were held back for lack of resources and work coverage at the agencies.

Overheard at lunch by one nameless agency strategist working on Microsoft that did attend .... "all you hear at Microsoft planning meetings is "what did Google or Facebook say or do". If they focused on what they were known for years ago, namely innovation, they wouldn't be so paranoid." Be careful what you say in public!

Overall tone of the conference leaned towards ad exchanges and ad networks as well as mobile initiatives for smartphones.

Buzz around the appNexus Summit on Thursday will likely prove to be a positive and lively curtain call for the conference.

WHAT RECESSION?

If the attendance at this week's AdTech conference at the Javits Center is an indicator of the resilience and staying power of the ad business, it's full speed ahead!

Attendance at the three day event surpassed 9300, rising to almost record levels. There was no lack of exhibitors either; over 250 of them commanding eleven full aisles packed with attendees.

The keynote address by WPP's Martin Sorrell noted a strong focus by clients on costs leading to more intensive procurement sessions. This in light of a "less worse" economy he notes that in thirty three years "I have never known more clients focused on costs".

Sixty six breakout sessions and no less than seven keynotes filled three days with a variety of content.

Both attendees and exhibitors preferred the Javits Center to a more central hotel location. The tone was positive and upbeat for a recovering economy and I saw little room for improvement ... with the exception of the boxed lunches for the full conference delegates.

No less noticeable, Casale Media and a newcomer, Elephant Traffic, were the hands down winners for promotional awareness. I was especially impressed with Elephant Traffic's use of a fleet of ten Mini Coopers to provide rides to any point in Manhattan during the event.