Introducing David Kang: New Chief Digital Officer of Affinity Express
Over the last several years, we have steadily been building capabilities in interactive services, ranging from display ads (static, animated GIF, Flash and rich media) to HTML email and website design to publishing search engine optimized content online. Research also points to this being a high-growth segment.
In the first quarter of 2010, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers found that internet ad revenue in the U.S. was up 7.5% over 2009 — the highest reported quarterly revenue figure for the industry to date. With so many people spending so much time online, this is but a natural shift. New research from BIA/Kelsey Group indicates that 97% of consumers are now researching products and future purchases online and Nielsen discovered an 82% increase in time spent on social networking sites in December 2009.
To lead a segment that has become increasingly important and which may determine Affinity Express’s growth path for the future, we have welcomed on board the newest member of our management team: David Kang, who is now executive vice president and chief digital officer at Affinity Express. David will establish an interactive business segment and expand our array of digital services.
Let me tell you something about David. He has more than 13 years of interactive agency experience and proven success in business and product development. Most recently, he was vice president of client service for TrueAction (formerly GSI Interactive), where he oversaw account management, capability development and business development. David established and synthesized client, consumer and competitor insights to determine the end-to-end digital strategy, implementation and post-launch management. He also led in the biggest new client wins in 2008 and 2009.
Before TrueAction, David was senior vice president/group account director at Beyond Interactive, which was the largest digital media agency within the WPP Group. He oversaw product and business development for the direct response, e-commerce transactional sub-practice and managed a significant portion of agency revenue. David led marketing activities across direct marketing, social media, brand awareness and emerging media campaigns, as well as in multi-channel media strategy and planning of integrated brand and direct marketing. He prototyped global media planning tools and developed measurements and analytics to help clients to both establish the value of marketing activity and forecast sales. During his tenure with Beyond Interactive, he also served as account director and account manager.
David also founded deepFry, LLC, a full-service interactive agency, where he was solely responsible for strategic client direction and architected business and marketing plans for web presence, digital marketing, promotional and media plans to assist clients in building new online experiences, launching established brands on the web and achieving return on investment.
As engagement manager for McCann Erickson Relationship Marketing, David led development of online marketing programs for top-tier global clients. He was also account manager for major clients at MVBMS/Euro RSCG, where he created three award-winning interactive ad campaigns and increased company billings by 200%. He has an MBA from Duke School of Business and a bachelor of arts in English from New York University.
David brings immense experience and competence to his new role and I am really looking forward to working with him!
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