According to ClickZ, the move was in response to client budget cuts. The digital ad company fired 10-15 within the past past, and this week laid off another round, possibly up to 10, ClickZ says. The cuts were apparently across the board, creative, account, and project management teams.

It’s unsurprising because the expected drop of in advertising. Companies are keeping a short leash on the budgets, and some industry people say even the predicted decline, while bad, are not bad enough. It will be much worse, they say.

MRM, which is owned by Interpublic Group, has nine offices in the United States alone, and 2,500 employees worldwide.

Today, most of us are probably filling in empty slots for meetings, finalizing client lunches and dinners, and shopping for appropriate clothing for the conference – it should be dipping into the low 40s and even high 30s toward the middle of the week. However, aside from all the business, there are plenty of diversions during the conference. Take some time to network with clients in a more informal setting – or even take a break from the business talk entirely. Here are some suggestions to make your busy ad:tech week more bearable.

On Sunday at 4:15pm, most of the free world will be somewhere watching the wicked good Tom Brady and his New England Patriots take on their AFC rivals the Indianapolis Colts in what could be a preview to the AFC Championship game in January. For those that don’t follow pro football, this is the first time in history that two undefeated teams have played against each other this late in the season. It’s already being billed “The Game of the Year”, “The Game of the Century”, yada yada yada. Hopefully the game lives up to all the hype.

Most of the ad:tech parties begin on Sunday evening – please be aware that some of these parties are public with RSVP or tickets, some are private and invite-only, and some won’t even let you in if you have a Y chromosome! The “Cocktails in the City” event is one such party – it’s held by the Glam Interactive Group, a female-only networking group. Sorry fellas! Hell, I wouldn’t mind donning a wig to get in that event! For those not attending the Glam event, you can get some free drinks at XY7.com’s “No Bull Party”. This event takes place Sunday night at Johnny Utah’s, who boasts the only mechanical bull in the city. Text “NOBULL” to 313131 to get directions and for more info on the party.

Monday promises to be the busiest night of the conference. Partners Edge is hosting an evening of food, drinks, and laughter at the famous Laugh Factory – hors d’ouevres and cocktails at 6:30pm, with the comedy show starting at 7:30. After that, there’s a slew of events going on: Datran and Lead Flash kick the night off at 8pm with their “Outperformance Party” at Marquee. Starting at 8:30pm, MediaWhiz hosts their ever-popular Poker Tournament at Club Strata. The winner of this tournament gets an entry into the World Poker Tour’s “Battle for the Season Pass II”. This MediaWhiz event is always a fun time for both the participants and those in attendance to watch and cheer their favorite participant on.

The night’s biggest bash, “The Money Makers Party”, goes from 9pm until 2am at Pacha. This event boasts 3 floors, with Kool DJ Red Alert spinning on the main floor. Rob Base will be performing his hits “It Takes Two” and “Joy and Pain”, and Turbo from the movies “Breakin” and “Breakin 2” will be hosting a breakdance contest. This Headlines & Heroes mega-party is brought to you by Jamster, ClickBooth, XY7, Options Media, Rocket Profit, Zanox, Pepperjam, EDebit Pay, CPA Paradise, Vayan, The BizOpp Network, Grey Goose, Active Response Group, Corzo, and Ybrant. Anybody else want to jump in? Please be aware that all of these events require you to RSVP – nothing is worse than waiting in line in the cold only to find yourself turned away at the door. If you are not already working with the sponsors of these events, maybe you should be!

As always, there is a lot to do after a long day of meetings, but remember – there’s another long day of business on Tuesday!  Don’t overindulge on Monday night or pay the consequences on Tuesday morning – or do as the experienced ad:tech alumni do, and schedule your meeting accordingly.  Have a safe, enjoyable, and productive conference, and I’ll see you in New York!

tuesday, november 6, 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Keynote: The New Media Universe: Forging a Model of Interdependence
The proliferation and influence on communication channels is the most dynamic variable in driving consumer change. Big ideas are increasingly contact-driven and advertisers and their agencies must find new ways to connect to consumers and convert them into customers. Increasingly, the role of a media agency is multi faceted where being a good practitioner of media is no longer enough. Strategic communications and consumer context planning have emerged as the new strategic lynchpins within the business of marketing communications and having a deep understanding of the rapidly evolving consumer has emerged as a formidable prerequisite. ad:tech is pleased to welcome Nick Brien, the Worldwide President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal McCann, a leading global media and communications firm, to talk about the opportunities and challenges within the rapidly evolving new media universe and how, as an industry, we must focus on forging new models of media and communications interdependence.

tuesday, november 6, 1:15pm – 2:15pm
TV 3.0
From high-definition to multi-platform programming to the on-demand universe of DVRs, TiVO, Slingbox, Joost and others, television is being catapulted by technology into a whole new world where it can be consumed anytime, anywhere and on any device. Our TV 3.0 experts delve into the theory and research behind consumer’s new TV consumption habits. What are the next-generation ways of consuming television? How are leading broadcasters taking advantage of the multi-platform landscape in an era where media can be distributed via broadcast and cable, through podcast downloads and on demand via multiple platforms, including mobile? How are viewers watching TV now and what are their attitudes toward new forms of TV? And, in addition to discussing these issues, this session looks at how these collective tectonic shifts are affecting the overall value proposition of television advertising in a multi-platform world.

tuesday, november 6, 1:15pm – 2:15pm
Global Perspectives on the Digital Revolution
The digital revolution is in full swing as new technologies and platforms transform the business of media and marketing communications across the globe. Although tremendous change and innovation are happening in the US, we are, of course, not the center of the universe as we see exciting advancements and change occurring in dozens of international markets across the planet. From the advanced mobile markets in Australasia and Europe to groundbreaking creative and the emerging online consumer society in Latin America, we have much to learn from the rest of the world. This session brings together leading media, advertising and marketing executives from Europe, Asia and Latin America to talk about how they see the businesses of media and marketing communications being transformed by the digital revolution.

tuesday, november 6, 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Media and Entertainment: Programming, Distribution and Advertising in a Multi-Platform World
How are leading media and entertainment companies looking at the evolving distribution landscape and taking advantage of multi-platform opportunities in an era where content can be distributed via broadcast and cable, online, through podcast and vidcasts, via mobile devices and across multiple on-demand platforms? And how does the wave of consumer generated content fit into this picture? How will programming evolve in a multi-platform universe and how will advertising fit into a content universe of short-form, medium-form and long-form content across a range of platforms devices? It’s a fluid and dynamic landscape and this session brings together leading executives from across the industry to look at the current and future landscape of media and entertainment in the digital era.

tuesday, november 6, 2:30pm – 3:30pm
The Internet Economy
Our industry is once again booming, with companies being acquired for many hundreds of millions of dollars, and stock prices of the industry leaders are heading into the stratosphere. In this session, we will help you sort through all the noise to look at the spectrum of public companies, the mergers and acquisition landscape and upcoming IPOs in the industry, and how you can evaluate their prospects or learn how to negotiate these complex waters if your company is seeking investments or partnerships. Come join us in acquiring a new perspective that will help you take stock in interactive.

tuesday, november 6, 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Keynote: The Art of Conversation: Building Great Brands in the Digital Age
Welcome to the brand new world of marketing where consumers have an increasing amount of control over a brand and the rapidly evolving media landscape. Certainly, leading marketers still have plenty of weapons in their brand-building arsenals, but there is no doubt that the rules have changed in the dynamic and fluid world of digital media, on-demand technologies and consumer-generated content. In this session, Stuart Elliott, Advertising Columnist of The New York Times interviews an all-star lineup of seasoned executives to explore how the digital revolution is transforming all media and the business of marketing communications. We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Elliott and these high-caliber executives to the ad:tech stage.

One could argue, move the damn thing to Javits. One could also argue, screw that. The Javits is located, for all intents and purposes, in New York’s Siberia. Personally, we’re happy to cram into the Hilton rather than clamor for what little semblance of amenities or transportation nightmares for which Javits is famed.

Anyway, if you’re a fan of The New York Times’ Stuart Elliott, you can catch him Tuesday, November 6 at 4PM when he will moderate a panel on increasing consumer control over media and the notion of conversation as an element of the marketing mix.

Steve Hall writes the ad:tech blog and for AdRants

Compliments of adtechblog.com

Randy Falco, chief executive of AOL stated to the Associated Press, “By putting our headquarters there, we’re sending a clear signal to the market that AOL intends to lead in this space.” Falco added to employees “that for most of you, this won’t affect your jobs at all,” after about 5,000 jobs were cut last August.

President and COO of AOL, Ron Grant was quoted in an interview to say that the many advertisers are now expecting closer relationships with their publishers and the move to New York will “expedite decision-making and improve value to advertisers.”

AOL is developing a new division called Platform A which will combine various pieces of the company into a strong ad server including Right Screen Media and Tacoda Inc. Platform A will make buying ad space on AOL sites and third-party sites easier for advertisers.

Grant stated, “There’s been a big shift in advertising to favor the networks. We don’t think portals are big enough to meet the needs of advertisers.” The move and revamp of the advertising division is in an effort to boost AOL’s revenues which have been decreasing in the subscription category.

President of the AOL division in charge of ad sales, Mike Kelly will be leaving the company in the move and Curtis G. Viebranz, former head of Tacoda will be the president of Platform A and an AOL executive vice president.