Vibrant, the Contextual Ad Leader, Names Former Top NY Times Company Executive Cella Irvine New CEO

LONDON, October 3, 2011 -

- With Photo

Vibrant Media, the leader in premium contextual advertising, announced today the appointment of Cella Irvine as Chief Executive Officer. Irvine joins the fast-growing company as it continues to expand its global reach and suite of contextual ad solutions.

Irvine brings more than 25 years of digital and tech industry experience to Vibrant. As the former CEO of The New York Times Company’s About Group, she has extensive experience in contextual advertising, which drove About.com’s revenue through topic-based content. Prior to About, Irvine was Chief Administrative Officer of Digitas, an ad agency unit of Publicis, where she was responsible for operational, administrative and governance functions. Before Digitas, she was Global Head of Strategic Planning and then Chief Operations Officer for a business unit of Marsh, Inc., a risk consulting firm. She has also previously held management roles at Hearst and Prodigy.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Cella Irvine to Vibrant. She brings extensive experience in digital operations and leadership as well as corporate strategy,” says Craig Gooding, Co-Founder and non-executive Chairman of Vibrant. “Her knowledge and reputation in our industry, coupled with a track record of innovation, make her an exceptional fit for Vibrant. Cella’s vision and drive to seek out new markets and opportunities will help propel the continued growth of our contextual ad solutions.”

“I am thrilled to begin this new opportunity at Vibrant, a company I have known and admired for quite some time. Our industry is one that demands continuous reinvention and innovation, with strategies that deliver results,” says Irvine. “Vibrant is at the cutting-edge of digital advertising with mass reach, precise contextual technology, video and social solutions that allow brands like Chrysler, Axe, and Home Depot to exceed their objectives. I look forward to building on our past success and leveraging my experience and expertise to make Vibrant’s future even brighter.”

Irvine received her BA in History from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard University.

About Vibrant

Vibrant is a world leader in contextual technology aligning billions of words across the internet with relevant video, information, tools and advertising.  With over 6,000 premium publishers, reaching more than 250 million unique users per month (comScore, 2011), Vibrant gives top brand marketers the opportunity to deliver highly targeted advertisements within premium Web content and offers publishers premium editorial tools to re-circulate users throughout their websites.  Vibrant clients include Microsoft, General Motors, Unilever, Sainsbury’s and Hewlett Packard.

The company, founded in 2000, has offices in London, New York, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, Hamburg, Munich and Dusseldorf.   Vibrant has featured in the Inc. 500 and Deloitte Fast 50 lists, and in the UK: Media Momentum 2006, 2007; 2008 and Sunday Times Tech Track in 2004 and 2005.  www.vibrantmedia.co.uk or www.hyperlinkevolved.com or ww.facebook.com/vibrantmedia or twitter.com/vibrantmedia.

Note to Editors:

A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire. It can be downloaded from www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at www.mediapoint.press.net or www.prnewswire.co.uk.

Contact Vibrant UK: Helen Mussard, Senior European Marketing Manager: +44(0)207-239-0102/Helen.mussard at vibrantmedia.com Lorette Nettar, PR: +44(0)7968-521-684 / lorette.nettar at vibrantmedia.com