LinkShare Press Releases

Speakers Announced for LinkShare Symposium East 2009

Author and market researchers to highlight the rapidly changing habits of the recession shopper

New York -- June 1, 2009 -- LinkShare (www.linkshare.com) today announced the speakers for its Symposium East that will take place on June 23, 2009 at Chelsea Piers in New York City.

LinkShare, a leading pay-per-action marketing network provider, annually brings together members of its ecosystem – advertisers and publishers – to hear about the impact of market trends, to innovate, and to collaborate on how to connect online shoppers with quality brands and products, something particularly relevant in today’s down economy. For its Symposium East 2009, LinkShare has brought together behavioral, e-commerce and performance marketing industry experts to educate participants on new technologies, strategies and habits of the “recession shopper”—a new online consumer demographic that is using the web to find new ways of getting more for less.

This year’s distinguished keynote speaker, Jonah Lehrer, New York Times bestselling author of How We Decide and editor at Wired magazine, will discuss The Emotions of Online Shopping Decisions during his keynote presentation at LinkShare Symposium East.  With a gift for turning scientific data into interesting stories, Lehrer will explore neurological and social psychology studies that explain how people make decisions and how to use those insights to become more effective online marketers.

The day also will also include a special luncheon to announce the winners of the 6th Annual 2009 LinkShare Golden Link Awards, which recognize achievements in e-commerce and the successful partnerships that drive performance-based marketing. The event will be hosted by the legendary comedian, TV show host and American icon Joan Rivers.

“With limited travel and expense budgets, strong attendance for this year’s Symposium is indicative of the fact that winning strategies for performance marketing remains a high priority among our clients,” said Yaz Iida, co-president of LinkShare. “We are thrilled to bring together for the first time—and in some cases re-unite, inventive executives, partners and peers to share best practices, look at trends and do deals that set the stage for continued growth.”

Symposium participants will also hear from Alex Braun, an executive from Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, Inc., a market research and consulting firm specializing in microtrends. The firm recently completed a study commissioned by LinkShare which identified the emergence of the “recession shopper.”

“Consumers have not stopped shopping, they are just changing their shopping habits,” said Jonathan Levine, co-president of LinkShare. “Industry leaders need to understand this behavior as it evolves, and events like our annual Symposiums are part of our continued effort to inform our clients and further the discussion around new opportunities and challenges that exist with the ever-changing online landscape.”

LinkShare Symposium East 2009 will continue to host its popular LinkShare DealMaker tradeshow, a networking event that brings hundreds of advertisers and publishers together in one place, to meet face-to-face, build relationships and finalize deals.

LinkShare wishes to thank its many Symposium West 2009 sponsors, including Fleurop-Interflora (www.fleurop.com), Macy’s, Yesmail, Affiliate Voice LCC, AVON, Barefruit, Bella True, Clicks2Customers, CostumeSuperCenter.com, Doheny’s Water Warehouse, FreeShipping.com, GourmetGiftBaskets.com, LWS Media, OneCause, Savings.com, SmartBargains.com, Upromise, Affiliate Summit, Electronic Retailer, Revenue, magaz!nes.com, ShopToEarn, TOSHIBA and Limoges Jewelry.

Additional References
•    Check out our LinkShare blog: www.linkshareblog.com
•    Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/LinkShareBlog
•    2008 LinkShare Golden Link Awards on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/5ctylo
•    LinkShare on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/linkshareblog
•    LinkShare International: www.linkshare.com/about/international

About LinkShare Corporation
LinkShare Corporation provides ecommerce businesses with a vast, high quality pay per action marketing network, along with expert consultative services and patented technology. LinkShare's cost-efficient pay per action (PPA) affiliate, search and lead generation campaigns acquire new customers, increase revenue and drive results. LinkShare clients are Fortune 500 and prominent companies doing business online, including J.C. Penney, 1-800-Flowers.com, American Express and Avon Products. LinkShare was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in New York City, with offices in San Francisco, Chicago, London and Tokyo.  For more information, please visit: www.linkshare.com.

About Rakuten
Headquartered in Tokyo, Rakuten is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive Internet service companies, providing leading services in e-commerce, portal & media, travel, financial services, and professional sports. Rakuten focuses on new business development and increasing its scope in order to improve and diversify service offerings. Rakuten is a publicly traded company in Japan (JASDAQ: 4755).

Media Contacts:

Mark Kirschner
LinkShare
646-943-8359
mkirschner@linkshare.com

Kristin Parran
Blanc & Otus Public Relations
617-451-6070
kparran@blancandotus.com