Summit looks at future of mobile ads
SANDPOINT — With the first Kochava Mobile Summit a success, the foundation is set for an annual event that will bring industry power-players to Sandpoint each year.
Executives from Google, Pandora and other industry titans discussed the future of mobile advertising over the three-day conference hosted by local company Kochava. One of the global leaders in mobile ad tracking and optimization, Kochava provides clients with data to help them target their ads and identify their most valuable app users.
The event was both an intriguing peek into the industry’s future and a taste of life in Sandpoint for visiting executives. With the first conference a massive success, the 2014 summit is only the beginning, Kochava president and CEO Charles Manning said.
“It was just terrific,” he said. “We have our work cut out for us to match or top ourselves next year.”
With mobile apps only set to become more important in the coming years, technology developers were keen to get the inside scoop on what to expect during 2014, Manning said. Guests included executives from Pandora, Cross Screen Consultants, Google, AppNexus, AirPush, Plethora Mobile and more. Representatives traveled from San Francisco, New York City and even Japan to attend.
The conference also invited individuals like Forrest M. Bird Charter School principal Alan Millar and Charles Buck of University of Idaho to share how educators planned to provide tech employers with the workforce they needed. In particular, Millar detailed the P-TECH program, a pilot program launching in North Idaho with the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation designed to educate employment-ready individuals using a K-14 grade system. This system could be customized to provide mobile tech businesses the programmers and account managers they need right out of the gate.
Tech professionals came for the industry presentations, but they also had the chance to experience three days of the Sandpoint life. Several community members and businesses, including local restaurants, Schweitzer Mountain Resort, the University of Idaho, the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, Sandpoint City Planner Jeremy Grimm and Bonner County Economic Development Corporation president Karl Dye teamed up to show the best the town had to offer. Visitors enjoyed meals at local restaurants, hit up La Rosa and Eichardt’s for cocktail hours and a night at the pub, and on Friday, swung up to Schweitzer for some fresh powder.
“I don’t think there was a single person who wasn’t raving about their time here in town,” Manning said.
According to Grimm, the arrangements weren’t without their challenges. For instance, many guests were used to the kind of luxurious travel accommodations that are rare to find in Sandpoint. However, with a little local cooperation, the team was able to provide everyone with a great time — and that could pay off in the long term, Grimm said.
“The takeaway was that all these highly-influential people were exposed to a small town with immense quality of life,” he said. “If Kochava can do what they do here, anyone can do the same (with their business).”
That’s good news, because the more tech jobs Sandpoint can attract, the better the local economy will be, Grimm said. Because the positions tend to pay better salaries, tech employees support 23 other jobs indirectly with their extra disposable income.
Kochava, for instance, has substantial growth planned for 2014, and the company is hiring. Manning is looking for developers, live ops and database employees and account managers to join the Kochava team, and he always prefers hiring locally, he said.