mediaFORGE announced it won both the “Targeting Tools” audience and judges awards at last week’s Under the Radar: Social Media and Entertainment conference held at the Microsoft Campus in Mountain View, CA. Under the Radar is produced by Dealmaker Media, who also organizes Dealmaker Forum, Momentum Growth Conference, and Strategy Series.

At the event, mediaFORGE CEO and Founder, Tony Zito, presented the company’s interactive widget-ad platform and conversational marketing tools to an audience of more than 350 players in social media. Judges in mediaFORGE’s Targeting Tools category consisted of Bradley Horowitz, VP Product Management at Google, Dan Schiappa, GM – Strategy & Business Development – Entertainment & Devices at Microsoft, and Dave McClure, Startup Advisor & Angel Investor at 500 Hats.

“By bringing together startups, industry giants, investors, and analysts, Under the Radar sparks exciting dialog, ideas, and synergy. We’re really thrilled to have been recognized by our peers in social media, as well as Under the Radar’s expert panel of judges,” said Zito. “This recognition is a testament to our platform’s ability to improve the effectiveness of display campaigns – and deliver tangible results in terms of increased conversion rates and revenue.”

mediaFORGE’s interactive ad platform uses widgets to bring a new social dimension to banner ads. As visitors interact with mediaFORGE ad units, flash-based widgets appear and enable users to browse personalized specials, take advantage of last-minute deals, view videos or pictures, listen to music, etc. mediaFORGE widgets can be integrated into existing online advertising assets, embedded within social networks, even downloaded to the desktop.

Early adopters of mediaFORGE’s innovative conversational marketing technology include: Overstock.com, Backcountry, REI, Nordstrom, Skullcandy, DirectBuy, and SinglesNet.

About mediaFORGE
Founded in 2005, mediaFORGE is socializing and monetizing branded, immersive and portable widgets that leverage existing online advertising inventory. The company received a $1.5 million Series A in July 2006 led by Prospector Equity Capital and private equity firm Gazelle Investments.