SocialVibe Appoints Todd Tappin as Chief Executive Officer

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SocialVibe, a digital advertising technology company, today announced that Todd Tappin has been appointed Chief Executive Officer by the company’s Board of Directors. Tappin joined SocialVibe in June 2010 as its Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer and will now be responsible for overseeing all of SocialVibe’s business operations across a global business team.

“Todd’s proven success in pioneering new advertising solutions online is a natural fit for SocialVibe as the company leads the fast growing engagement advertising market”

Tappin brings a wealth of senior management experience to SocialVibe. He was the founding CFO of Overture, the pioneer in paid search. Overture revolutionized the online advertising industry as paid search now accounts for the largest ad spend online and has created over $200 billion in market capitalization. During his six years as CFO at Overture, Tappin led the company from a start-up to over $1 billion in annual revenue, with 1,400 employees, and operations in nine countries. Overseeing all of Overture’s strategic planning, finance, legal and M&A functions, Tappin led Overture’s initial public offering in 1999 as well as its secondary public offerings. He was also instrumental in the company's international expansion and co-led the sale of the company to Yahoo! in 2003 for $1.8 billion.

Prior to SocialVibe, Tappin was a Managing Director of The Gores Group, a preeminent private equity firm. Earlier in his career, he was one of the youngest vice presidents of News Corporation, where he spent six years as a senior executive and ultimately held three simultaneous positions as the Senior Vice President of Finance for Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, the Senior Vice President of Finance for Fox Interactive, and General Manager for Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Canada. Tappin began his career at Deloitte, Haskins and Sells.

Tappin’s expertise in the digital space has been crucial to SocialVibe’s continued success. He led the company’s most recent financing round, which secured $20 million in funding led by Norwest Venture Partners in 2011. Since then, SocialVibe has had strong top-line growth, doubled in headcount over the past year, and continues to lead the engagement advertising market. With more than 500 engagement campaigns for more than 200 of the world’s leading brand advertisers, SocialVibe’s opt-in, attention-driven model has proven to be a valued marketing vehicle to drive results for brands.

“We’re very excited to have Todd at the helm given his longstanding leadership at SocialVibe and extraordinary track record, and we have great confidence in his abilities,” said Jeff Crowe, General Partner of Norwest Venture Partners and member of SocialVibe’s Board of Directors. “SocialVibe has established a leadership position within the digital advertising landscape and is well poised to capitalize on continued momentum.”

By allowing people to choose to engage with a brand message to earn something valuable and relevant to them in return, SocialVibe is able to guarantee consumers’ active attention for advertisers. Delivered on a cost-per-engagement (CPE) pricing model, SocialVibe’s rich media engagement ads enable advertisers to pay only for performance and avoid spending media dollars on advertising that consumers never see. With proprietary targeting technology and advanced data analytics, SocialVibe is able to ensure brands reach the right people at the right time with the right message, harnessing consumer attention and translating it into meaningful results.

“Todd’s proven success in pioneering new advertising solutions online is a natural fit for SocialVibe as the company leads the fast growing engagement advertising market,” said Brad Jones, Founding Partner of Redpoint Ventures and member of SocialVibe’s Board of Directors. “2012 is shaping up to be a phenomenal year for the company with many innovative projects in the works, and Todd is well positioned to lead SocialVibe’s strategy, growth and team.”

About SocialVibe

SocialVibe is a digital advertising technology company that powers engagement advertising for some of the world’s top brands. In today’s online landscape where consumer attention is hard to capture, SocialVibe’s rich media engagement ads guarantee active attention to a brand's message across premium sites. Pioneers of the value exchange advertising approach for brands, SocialVibe enables advertisers to engage with consumers when they are most motivated to interact with a brand experience, such as while playing a game or seeking access to premium content. SocialVibe is based in Los Angeles, California and is backed by Norwest Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Jafco Ventures and Pinnacle Ventures. For more information, visit www.socialvibe.com or check out twitter.com/socialvibe.