IAR Bits and Bytes

Phase2Media Files Chapter 11

Online ad representative Phase2Media has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, shedding more light on the fate of one of the industry’s most vocal leaders.

The company represented a number of high-flying sports Web sites, several of which appear as creditors in the petition, which Phase2Media filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. Phase2Media’s chief executive, Richy Glassberg, has been very active in the Internet advertising community, serving as vice chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Earlier this month, the company laid off almost its entire staff. Sources close to the firm said Glassberg, who did not return calls for comment on this story, had sought unsuccessfully to find a buyer for the company.

Monster.com Sponsors Sailing Team

Career site Monster.com is sponsoring Team Adventure, a catamaran team aiming to break the cross-Atlantic sailing record.

As a sponsor of Team Adventure, Monster.com’s logo will appear on the boat’s 150-foot tall mainsail. The site said it expects to gain exposure for its 16 international sites as the boat traverses the Atlantic.

Maynard, Mass.-based Monster.com, the flagship site of job listings and yellow pages advertising giant TMP Worldwide, previously sponsored the team in 2000. At that time, it helped to fund the Team Adventure’s participation in The Race of the Millennium, a non-stop 27,000-mile sailing sprint around the world in which the team finished third.

“At Monster.com, we are always looking for innovative ways to extend and promote our brand,” said Monster.com chief executive Jeff Taylor. “As a sponsor of Team Adventure for this record-breaking attempt, we are aligning ourselves with a great organization and a vigorous sail across the Atlantic Ocean, which tests one’s strength, motivation, and desire.”

Former Eisnor Interactive President Launches Guerrilla Marketing Firm, Inks MNH&P Deal

Sam Travis Ewen, a former executive at Eisnor Interactive, took the wraps off his newest venture, New York-based guerrilla marketing firm Interference.

Headed by Ewen, who serves as chief executive, and president Michael Glickman — the former president of Performance Event Marketing — the firm aims to capitalize on cost-conscious advertisers’ increased need for accountable spending.

While most of the company’s current client projects remain in development, previous clients include Mott’s, Nickelodeon, Universal One Card and New York Magazine.

The company launches with a partnership with ad agency Merkley Newman Harty & Partners, which is owned by agency holding company Omnicom. Through terms of the agreement, the agencies will co-pitch integrated solutions to current and prospective clients. At present, MNH&P serves advertisers including BellSouth, Citigroup, and Mercedes-Benz USA

The relationship gives Interference access to larger, more established brands while bolstering MNH&P’s services to include guerrilla marketing, spokespeople said.