Upstream Group Announces Registration and Dates for First Two Upstream Habitat Training Events: -- Company Also Announces Board of Regents Shepherding Curriculum

Upstream Group, the leading training and consulting resource to online media companies, announced today the opening of registration for the inaugural Upstream Habitat training programs. The company also identified the digital industry luminaries who comprise the Board of Regents for Upstream Habitat.

SHELBURNE, Vt. & APTOS, Calif. (Business Wire EON) January 29, 2008 -- Upstream Group, the leading training and consulting resource to online media companies, announced today the opening of registration for the inaugural Upstream Habitat training programs. The company also identified the digital industry luminaries who comprise the Board of Regents for Upstream Habitat.

We've chosen the format and locations for Habitat for very specific reasons

First announced in November by Upstream Founder & CEO Doug Weaver and company President Scot McLernon, Habitat will be an immersive two-day “traveling campus” where digital sales professionals will learn from a faculty of subject matter experts and industry sales leaders. Attendees can register at www.upstreamhabitat.com for the premier events: April 7-8 at the Doral Arrowwood Conference Center in Rye Brook, New York and May 15-16 at the Dolce Hayes Mansion in San Jose, California. Registration will be limited to 100 students per event.

“We’ve chosen the format and locations for Habitat for very specific reasons,” said Weaver. “This is a very immersive two day ‘campus’ experience. We chose Doral and Dolce centers to take our students away from the office but still put them in a serious work environment.”

Over the course of the two-day programs, attendees will attend six different self-selected classes on digital sales topics like agency processes, selling with research, sales strategy, search and online creative. Taught by industry experts, classes will be small, intimate and highly interactive. Attendees will also gather for panels of faculty members and industry sales leaders, meals, and keynote remarks from top sales and agency leaders that Upstream Group has assembled and will announce next week.

Board of Regents

The development of Upstream Habitat has been guided through an extraordinary relationship between the company and several of the most respected digital sales executives in the industry. Collectively identified as the Upstream Habitat Board of Regents, the group provides Upstream with insight and feedback on program development, faculty selection, pricing and more. It includes:

• Brian Quinn, VP of Advertising Sales & Marketing, Dow Jones
• Charlie Thomas, VP Strategy, Network Sales, Yahoo! Inc.
• Kevin Arrix, SVP of Digital Advertising Sales, MTV Networks
• Lorraine Ross, VP of Advertising Sales and Business Development, USA TODAY.com
• Lisa Utzschneider, Senior Director, Microsoft
• Matt Arkin, SVP, Platform A Marketing Solutions
• Mike Murphy, VP, Media Sales, Facebook
• Walker Jacobs, SVP, Digital Media Sales, Turner Entertainment Group

“I know I can speak for all the Regents when I say how honored and pleased I am to be part of Upstream Habitat and the effort to educate the next generation of sales professionals for our industry,” said Ross. “The need for quality, well-trained individuals is being felt throughout the country and I know personally how difficult it is to find and train the right people. What Scot and Doug are creating here is something that everyone in the digital media world will thank them for in years to come, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

“The Board of Regents is critical to the ultimate success of Habitat,” says Upstream Group President Scot McLernon. “They serve as a proxy for the hundreds of sales leaders who will invest in their team members through this program, and they help us make sure we’re providing real value every step of the way.”

About Upstream Habitat

Founded by the industry’s leading media sales training organization, the Upstream Group, Upstream Habitat provides a full year’s worth of practical experience and insight to digital media sales professionals in one 48 hour campus learning experience. As the talent dearth in digital media threatens the industry’s growth, Upstream Habitat provides real-life instruction from respected, seasoned digital professionals in a compelling, immersive learning environment that's focused on results. For more information, please visit: www.upstreamhabitat.com.