DOMAINfest unveiled its agenda for the show taking place on  January 26-28, 2010 in Santa Monica, Calif.

PITCHfest and LAUNCHfest Contests

The PITCHfest contest will uncover new, innovative products or services designed to enhance the value of parked or developed domain names by driving increased traffic and revenue.  The prize,  the DOMAINfest Global 2010 PITCHfest Service Innovator trophy, will be awarded for the idea with the most creativity, viability, originality, and revenue potential. Individuals or businesses interested in entering the PITCHfest competition can find contest rules and an online submission form.

Judges for the contest include:

Frank Schilling is founder and Managing Director of Name Administration, Inc. (NAMedia.com), a Caribbean based company which owns hundreds of thousands of high-quality generic .com domains. Frank is one of the world’s most respected domain name investors who years ago was among the first to recognize the valuable role that domain names would play at the center of all Internet commerce.

Adam Rioux is the co-founder and CEO of OCTANE360, a technology-driven, marketing firm focused on revolutionizing the way businesses capture targeted traffic online.  Adam is an Internet marketing and advertising veteran with experience that dates back to the mid-1990’s.

Ron Sheridan, Oversee.net first employee, ran the company’s business development efforts until early 2009.  In 2002, Ron launched and expanded DomainSponsor.com, the domain industry’s largest domain-parking platform.  In 2006, he created what has become the largest domain industry trade show, DOMAINfest.  Ron is an advisor to Oversee.net as well as advisor to and investor in Aboutus. (Ron also recently Purchase and is launching a site under RSS.com)

DomainFest will also have a LAUNCHfest contest, will reward the most innovative and viable plan for building an online business around one of ten undeveloped, premium domain names made available by Oversee.net.

The LAUNCHfest winner will have the opportunity to develop a business at the domain, subject to a pre-determined lease arrangement. Individuals or businesses interested in submitting an entry into the LAUNCHfest competition can find contest rules and an online submission form here.

LAUNCHfest. Judges include:

•    David Liu is Managing Director in the Media Investment Banking Group at Jefferies & Company Inc.  David leads the firm’s practice in the Digital Media and Internet sector and covers digital media & Internet technology companies.  He has completed over 50 transactions with Jefferies and has worked with clients in Asia and Europe.

•    Douglas McPherson is Managing Director of the New Ventures Group and General Counsel at Idealab. Prior to joining Idealab, he served as Chief Legal Officer and Vice President, Business Development for Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch and its predecessor company, CitySearch.

•    Richard Morganstern has over thirty-five years of business, legal and finance experience.  Richard is the former President and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Tech Coast Angels (LA network) whose members are the leading source of angel funding and guidance for early stage, high growth companies in Southern California. He was the former Managing Partner of a Beverly Hills-based intellectual property and business litigation and counseling law firm.

•    Eric Liaw is a Vice President at Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), a firm he joined in 2003.  Eric is primarily focused on investing in the Internet sector and has been involved with multiple TCV investments, including Adknowledge, Altiris, eHarmony, Fandango, GMI, Intelligent Beauty, Netflix, TechTarget, Tiny Prints, Webroot and Zillow, among others.

DOMAINfest Agenda

The theme of the DOMAINfest Global 2010 conference is Domain Names:  Overlooked.  Underutilized.  Essential to Online Marketing Success.

The session and discussions will focus on how domain names, the real-estate of the Internet, can and should be an integral part of every company’s online marketing and brand development plans.  The richness of the content and expertise of the speakers offer an unprecedented opportunity to learn.  And, with speakers and attendees coming from a variety of online marketing and business segments outside of the domain industry, there is sure to be a rich exchange of ideas before, during, and after each session.   Agenda items and speakers include:

Turning Killer Domain Names into Killer Websites

Expert panelists will present examples of developed websites that lead their niches in attracting end-users and generating revenue. They will decode key elements that make websites great, providing a list of best practices for website projects.

•    Howard Wyner became one of the first online discount fragrance retailers in 1997. He has 15 years of experience in the fragrance business and has become an expert in Internet marketing. His company, Scentiments.com, began in a garage and today is No. 376 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

•    Rick Waters, the CEO and owner of Webcast 1, Inc., a web media company offering full service web development, web video production and SEO services via its network of brands including Webcast1.com, Logodesigners.com and SearchWiz.com.

•    Brian Gilbert serves as the Director of Portfolio Growth for Thomason Management, Inc., which manages premium domain portfolios, including Innovation HQ, Inc., the owner of Earth.com, MortgageCalculator.com, Grants.com, and Unemployment.com, plus many more premium names.  Brian has an extensive IT background and education with the Unites States Air Force and the National Park Service.

Domain Names: How Prime Internet Real Estate Builds SEO and SEM Success

Domain names are often an overlooked but essential element of maximizing both organic and paid-search traffic. Our panel of specialists share real-life examples of how the right Internet real estate can make a big difference in SEO and SEM results.

•    Bruce Clay is President of Bruce Clay, Inc.  Since 1996, he has been a recognized leader in the Internet Business Consulting arena and is a popular speaker at conferences including Search Engine Strategies, PubCon, adtech, and Search Marketing Expo.

•    Danny Sullivan is Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Land and a leading search engine expert and journalist.  He has written about search for nearly 15 years.

•    Melodie Tao is a marketing coach and social media strategist who educates and inspires business owners and entrepreneurs to optimize the potential of their online presence in order to strengthen customer relationships, build strong communities and become a trusted authority in their industry.

•    Richard Jalichandrais a veteran Internet executive whose media experience includes leadership roles across the media spectrum as a client, at an agency, as a publisher, and with an advertising network. Currently, he is the President and CEO of Technorati Media, the largest blog and social media ad network.

•    Dan Ho is the General Manager of Domains for Adknowledge, one of the largest privately-owned ad networks in the United States.  In this role, Dan oversees day-to-day operations of domain monetization and traffic quality.  Prior to Adknowledge, Dan was part of Yahoo’s Domain Channel team, where he worked on keyword optimization and international scalability.

New gTLDs: Bonanza or Bust?

Will potentially new global top-level domains like eco or .younameit, provide powerful online marketing and branding opportunities? Our diverse panel of experts provides a range of perspectives to help you better prepare for the coming of the new gTLDs.

•    Jon Nevett is President of Domain Dimensions, LLC, who consults on various domain name issues, including advising clients interested in applying for new top-level domains.  Most recently, Jon served as Senior Vice President for Policy at Network Solutions.

•    Ken Hansen has over 20 years of Internet and telecommunications sales, marketing, and business development experience. Ken played a key role in Neustar’s entry into the domain name registry business in the early and mid-2000s, including the awards of .BIZ by ICANN and .US  by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Full agenda and speaker information is available at www.domainfest.com/agenda.

Keynote Speaker—Tony Hsieh

Tony Hsieh will be the keynote speaker. The Zappos CEO is one of the most respected and successful business innovators in the new economy. Founded in 1999 on the basis of new approaches to marketing, human resource management and customer service, Zappos grew to a $1 billion-a-year (Gross Sales) online retailer.  A 35-year-old Harvard graduate, he has been developing innovative business approaches since the height of the first Internet era.  Hsieh build the Web advertising company LinkExchange into a multi-million dollar enterprise before selling it to Microsoft for $265 million in 1998.  Zappos recently purchased Clothes.com for $4.9 million, again signaling his understanding of the connection between Internet real estate, marketing and brand power.

Structured Networking

This year’s conference will once again offer Structured Networking sessions.  Each session will involve casual, free-flowing discussions around a specified topic.  Attendees will have a unique opportunity to ask subject matter experts and fellow DOMAINfest attendees for advice and opinions on important industry issues.  Topics of discussion will include legal issues, buying and selling domain names, SEO/SEM and domain names, website development tips, and ccTLDs.

Generation Rescue Fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion

The fundraising event for Jenny McCarthy’s autism organization, Generation Rescue, will take place on January 28, 2010 at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Hosted by DomainSponsor, guests at this fundraising event at the Playboy Mansion will be able to purchase raffle tickets for great prizes with all proceeds going to Generation Rescue

Networking Dinner Party

The DOMAINfest Networking Dinner Party for attendees at the Getty Center is scheduled for Wednesday, January 27, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Guests will have exclusive access to the West Pavilion and its collection of important works of art, as well as to the Special Exhibition Pavilion. To facilitate networking and fun, the DOMAINfest party at the Getty will feature a sketching competition and a mystery art quest that involves unlocking a secret code using clues related to art work on display in the West Pavilion. Prizes will be awarded.

Moniker Auctions

This year’s Moniker Live Auctions at DOMAINfest will include the Moniker Low & No Reserve Domain Auction with simultaneous live and online bidding on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. PST and the Moniker Premium Domain Auction with simultaneous live and online bidding on Thursday, January 28, 2010 from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. PST.  The Moniker Extended Premium Auction with online bidding only will be held from Thursday, January 28, 2010 to Thursday, February 4, 2010.  For Moniker Auction details, including how to bid remotely, please visit:

Discounted Registration Information Registration, which includes all sessions, meals and official parties, is available at the discounted rate of $1,095 per guest through December 24. After that, the rate will be $1,195 per guest from December 25-January 24.  The on-site per guest fee will be $1,295. For details on registration click here.