Who we are
We are a technology-driven interactive media and marketing company specializing in traffic acquisition, monetization and product strategy. Our core focus is matching relevant traffic to relevant products, while creating and adding value for consumers. Simultaneously, we generate significant secondary revenue for our traffic partners and high-quality consumers for our advertisers. We create unique online experiences that drive high-performance results by customizing the consumer experience. Founded in 2007 by industry leaders RateSpecial has had explosive growth in its short life. The key to this growth has been a keen understanding of the marketplace, solid business acumen, and hiring talented hard working individuals that have a passion for building a great company.
Marketing Services
The team that connects relevant advertisers to relevant publishers.
The Marketing Services team’s key responsibility is to bridge the gap between Advertisers and Publishers, understand the unique needs of the product and find the right combination of online traffic sources, creative advertising and performance incentives to drive the desired outcomes. The experienced account executives and account managers work in unison to consistently refine and optimize campaigns, and collaborate with both advertiser and publisher to align on the overall goals.
Secondary Revenue
We help you monetize on the 95% of traffic opportunities that hit the floor.
A separate team focused on Lead Funnel Monetization, Email List Management, Call Center Data Management, Exit Monetization, and SMS Mobile. Maximize the revenue opportunity on traffic and consumers you’ve works so hard to attain.
Agency Services
A full service interactive agency representing industry-leading advertisers
RATESPECIAL was founded by partners with decades of online marketing experience at pioneers of the industry. The collaboration quickly spawned one of the most innovative online advertising agencies in the space. RATESPECIAL chooses to partner with advertisers in the Credit, Real Estate, Lending, Auto and other consumer finance verticals. By taking a more concentrated approach, the Advertiser receives the expert level of service needed to consistently drive high-performance marketing campaigns into successful returns on advertising spend.
Meet the Team
David Tam
CEO, Co-Founder
David Tam has over a decade of experience in the online lead generation space specifically related to the Financial Services and Automotive space. Previously, he has held the position of vice president of operations for Low.com, a division of Oversee.net. David also has held director-level positions at other online marketing companies including: GoApply, Autobytel and AutoTrader. David earned a MBA from the University of California, Irvine specializing in Operations and Strategy. His undergraduate degree comes from the University of California, Los Angeles in Political Science and Applied Developmental Psychology.
Thomas McErlane
President, Co-Founder
Thomas McErlane has over a decade of online media sales and business development experience in Advertising, Real Estate and Mortgage-related spaces. Previously, Tom was the general manager for Low.com, a division of Oversee.net. Prior, Tom was vice president of sales for RealtyTracker.com and LoanWeb.com, as well as director of sales for HomeStore.com (now Move.com). He has an extensive background in online advertising, and over the last several years has specialized in building out sales divisions for the various organizations he has worked for. Tom has a B.S. in International Business from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA.
Bertrand Seow
CTO, Co-Founder
Bertrand Seow has over a decade of experience in finance including commercial lending, investment banking and corporate finance. Presently, Seow is the CTO and CFO for RATESPECIAL INTERACTIVE. His experience includes 5 years in corporate treasury operations at Avery Dennison Corporation, a Fortune 500 Company, managed a department with oversight over broker-dealer trading activities in equity, fixed income and foreign exchange markets at Bank Leumi USA, and commercial lending at Greater Community Bankcorp. Bert has been licensed by the NASD for both the Series 7 Securities Broker and Series 66 Investment Advisors/Blue Sky licenses. Additional experiences include software development for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory located in Pasadena, CA. Bert holds a B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles in cognitive science with a specialization in computers.
Anna Freeman
Controller
Anna Freeman is a registered C.P.A and has extensive background in corporate accounting and most recently serving as the Controller for Control Room. She has also held senior positions at Fox Interactive, Warner Music Group, and Pacific Theatres Corp. She spent five years in public accounting, starting her career at Arthur Andersen. She has a BA in Business Economics with an emphasis in Accounting and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Feras Haddadin
Director of Analytics
Feras Haddadin has over a decade of experience in the online space, most recently at CyberDefender and Oversee.net. His expertise varies across many industries, such as software, domain monetization, retail sales, non-profit and telecom. In those industries, he has performed duties in various roles, including web development, marketing, finance and analytics. Reporting, model building, analyzing tests and optimization are his specialties. Feras earned an MBA from Loyola Marymount University specializing in Finance and Management. His undergraduate degree comes from California State University, Fullerton specializing in Accounting and Management Information Systems.