The Great SEMPO NY Debate: In house vs. Agency

The votes are in!

We will be meeting at Stitch Bar & Lounge for our first Great SEMPO NY Debate: Which is the best way to manage search marketing? In-House or Agency?

Please RSVP by 4pm on Wednesday, June 18, so that you can pick up your free drink tickets at the door. If you don't RSVP, you can still come, but will need to pay cash at the bar.

No RSVP=NO FREE DRINK TICKETS.

The topic, "Which is the best way to manage search engine marketing, In-House or Agency?", was selected by the constituency, and edged out "Is search recession proof?" (64% vs. 49%).

Some of the more vocal members of the SEM community will form two debate teams. Points expected to be made during the debate include:

* Average life of the agency-client relationship
* Satisfaction levels of SEO and PPC agency work (SEMPO data points to be provided)
* Effects of agency consolidation
* Moves by the major search engines to work directly with brands
* Moves by the major search engines to better work with agencies
* Dearth of PPC and SEO talent in the market
* Skills required for in-house vs. agency staff (and how to acquire such skills)
* Cost analysis (staff, education, tools, etc): building an in-house team vs. outsourcing
* Hybrid models

Should time allow, a few shorter debates (a few minutes on a given topic by willing audience participants) will take place.

Please RSVP on this site if you would like to attend. (NO RSVP=NO FREE DRINK TICKETS.)

If you'd like to participate as a debater, please email me and I will be in touch.
Drinks are courtesy of the evening's sponsors, Clickable and DoubleClick, but more sponsors=more drinks, so drop the organizer a line if you'd like to contribute!

ABOUT THE SEMPO NEW YORK WORKING GROUP
SEMPO New York is a local working group for SEMPO and non-SEMPO members alike in the NYC area. We take an inclusive approach and welcome all. Previous gatherings have attracted 130 attendees from firms such as DoubleClick, Clickable, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Did-it, BusinessWeek, Comedy Central, MTV, Ogilvy, DMNews, Incisive, Spike, LexisNexis, Digitas, McKinsey & Co, CharmingShoppes and many more. We are pleased to have recently found a location that will accommodate up to 250.

ABOUT SEMPO
SEMPO is a global non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it. Our purpose is to provide a foundation for industry growth through building stronger relationships, fostering awareness, providing education, promoting the industry, generating research, and creating a better understanding of search and its role in marketing.

See you Wednesday,

Sara Holoubek, Max Kalehoff (Clickable), Dave Fall (Google)

Thanks to Steve E, we have a location that will accommodate up to 250 people!