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I'm not sure if Danny Sullivan's announcement a month back or so that he's not working with Search Engine Strategies was a ploy or not - there was a large outcry from the Search Community that went something like this:  "Incisive Media was stupid to let Danny Sullivan walk out the door because Danny Sullivan is SES - he built the entire show from the ground up and he'd be almost impossible to replace".   The entire franchise would be threatened.  

If you consider how much competition Search Engine Strategies has .... its considerable.  Even as Incisive Media seeks to expand the number of shows to one every month (which I think is ridiculous - it's overkill - there's no new information to impart and getting quality speakers is becoming more of a problem - as the same speakers are trying to do Ad-Tech and WebMasterWorld, and in some cases, EMetrics Summit and Shop.org).   There's a point of over-saturation - of over monetization of a show - and I think SES has reached that point.  However, if the lost Danny Sullivan -they'd pretty much lose everything ....I think Incisive Media woke up and heard the music because .......... Danny has decided to stay (and probably laughing all the way to the Bank). 

I love it ....  you got to wonder what is in the mind of people who run Incisive Media?  It did not take a brain scientist to figure out Danny Sullivan was SES?  Incisive could have avoided the whole thing by just offering Sullivan a updated contract in the first place.

 Danny Sullivan to Continue to Work with the Search Engine Strategies (SES) series



New York, NY – October 23, 2006 – Incisive Media and Danny Sullivan today announced that both parties have signed an agreement to continue to work together to produce the market-leading Search Engine Strategies series of conferences and exhibitions (http://www.SearchEngineStrategies.com).

The SES event series was founded by Danny Sullivan and Jupitermedia in 1999 and rapidly established itself as the leading worldwide forum for marketers, agencies and webmasters to learn about the latest developments in search engine optimization and marketing. Since Incisive Media’s purchase of Search Engine Watch, the ClickZ Network and SES in August 2005, the events have continued their expansion with double digit growth in attendance at the major U.S. locations and the successful launch of several conferences – both in new geographies, including China, and vertical and local search sectors.

This past August, Danny Sullivan, who has always been an independent contractor, announced his intention to step away from active involvement with SES at the end of 2006. Since then, both parties have remained in contact and have reached an accord to extend their relationship through 2007.

Speaking about the news today Danny Sullivan said, “I very much look forward to working with Incisive Media on the SES events next year. The search industry loves gathering together at them, and I am very glad to continue on as a part of that.”

Tim Weller, founder and CEO of Incisive Media stated, “Search is a dynamic, growing global industry. We have the market-leading brands, excellent content, and a rapidly growing community in the search market. We wanted Danny to be involved going forward, and I’m delighted that he will continue to do so.”


Incisive Media will make further major announcements about our plans for expansion of activities in the search marketing space at the Search Engine Strategies Chicago event, December 4-7 2006 (http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/sew/chicago06/index.html ).