The third annual Searchlight Award Show, held in the Time Life Building in New York on February 12, 2008, was attended by over 200 marketers and agency executives. Keynote speaker Rob Norman (CEO of GroupM Interaction Worldwide) shared his thoughts on the intersection of performance marketing and brand advertising, and how Yahoo! is in an ideal position to capitalize on this convergence.

Four agency finalists presented campaigns that integrated elements of traditional media, online display advertising and search:

• Reebok Run Easy, presented by Carat
• Smirnoff Ice and Smirnoff Raw Tea Summer, presented by Outrider
• FEDEX Superbowl 2007, presented by Resolution Media
• The Members Project, presented by Digitas

Our esteemed media panel provided lively commentary and thoughtful critiques of the four agency finalist campaigns. Our panelists included:

• Megan McIlroy, Reporter, Advertising Age
• Kevin Ryan, Global Content Director, Search Engine Strategies
• Brian Morrissey, Digital Editor, Adweek
• Greg Sterling, Founding Principal, Sterling Market Intelligence, Editor of Search Engine Land

The audience voted and Outrider was announced as the 2008 Searchlight Award winner. In what was the first-ever search marketing program for Smirnoff PAB, Outrider leveraged the brands' existing assets and delivered an advertising strategy that utilized paid search, viral video on YouTube, video search, promotional support, consumer segmentation and display advertising roadblocks to keep Smirnoff Ice and Smirnoff Raw Tea top of mind as the beverage choice during key summer months in 2007.

The event was capped off by a comedy performance by Jeff Caldwell and a cocktail reception.