Ad agency Tribal DDB CEO Matt Freeman has resigned from his Omnicom Group position to work as CEO at online ad network GoFish, according to advertising news site Ad Week. Paul Gunning, formerly president of Tribal DDB East, who take over Freeman's position as CEO of Tribal DDB.
Based in San Francisco, GoFish is the exclusive brand advertising partner for its network of youth-focused sites, including WeeWorld, Magi-Nation: Battle for the Moonlands, Whyville, and other properties targeting the six- to seventeen-year-old demographic and their co-viewing parents. The company launched its youth-targeted online media network in February and signed several new publishers in Q1 2008, now boasting 66 million users per month for its network.
Handpicked to head the Omnicom Group's digital arm, Freeman helped build Tribal DDB Worldwide towards a 40% annual growth rate. The company's clients include Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, and McDonald's.
Said Freeman: "What attracted me to [GoFish] is I saw all the other ad networks are chasing CPC and direct-marketing dollars. Their average user engagement is five times [that of] the other ad networks. I saw an opportunity for an ad net that focuses on brand advertising."









