One of the signs that a trade association has reached traction beyond its immediate membership is the inclination of various constituents to use the occasion of a major gathering to make product announcements.

At its second-annual leadership conference in the last week of February, 2009, the Interactive Advertising Bureau brought some thunder itself with news that it will is undertaking major initiatives to simplify online advertising sales, that it has prepared new guidelines for digital-data ownership, and that it formally has reached out to advertising agencies with a task force aiming to formally engage the interests - and creative talent - of that community.

But it was Yahoo that scored the biggest headlines with three announcements - to the IAB audience and to the global digital community at large - that signaled an effort to bring greater value to its display and search inventory.

Yahoo's new Search Retargeting product will allow marketers to serve display ads to users who have conducted Yahoo searches for particular keywords - a piece of technology that likely will not just give greater exposure to online ads but, in theory, connect brands to consumers who have demonstrated some kind of interest in their