"Mad Men Meet Facebook: How Advertising and Digital/Social Media and Converging to Create Dollars and Buzz," Davis Wright Tremaine, New York, N.Y.
Davis Wright Tremaine hosted a panel of key players in the digital media field to discuss current trends at the intersection of technology, advertising, and social and other digital media. Our panel, moderated by DWT partner Rob Driscoll, addressed questions such as:
- How are startup companies transforming the advertising technology landscape and creating multi-million dollar companies?
- How can established media companies and advertising agencies stay current and prosper?
- Now that marketers are comfortable using Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare, what new social media channels and techniques are cutting-edge marketers adopting?
- Where is the "four-screen" viewing experience heading and how do advertisers fit in? How will mobile and location-based services lead to a new paradigm for local advertising?
- How have technological advances and platform proliferation changed relationships among media companies, advertisers and agencies?
Program panelists included:
Rick Mandler, Vice President, Digital Media Advertising at Disney/ABC Digital Media Group, has led three different start-up businesses within the large media company. With a record of success in understanding the effects of new technology on media and executing against that understanding, Rick is experienced with all aspects of new media businesses including sales, product development, technology, business development, marketing, and finance. A "recovering lawyer," Rick has extensive experience in developing new media products, internal and external evangelizing, sales, and negotiation.
Mike Proulx is a Senior Vice President and the Director of Social Media at Hill Holliday, a renowned advertising agency based in Boston, where he leads a team with a focus on cross-channel integration, emerging and social media. Mike has spent the last 16 years working at various interactive, high-tech, and new media companies on the agency side, client side and as an entrepreneur. He has spoken at dozens of events and contributed to a number of publications including BusinessWeek. He conceived, produced, directed and co-hosted the TVnext summit which took place in early 2011 and 2012. Mike also is co-author of Social TV, a book from Wiley Publishing that launched in February 2012. You can follow Mike on Twitter @McProulx or on his personal blog at www.mikeproulx.com.
Michael Lazerow is Chairman and CEO of Buddy Media, Inc., a New York-based company whose social media marketing suite is used by eight out of the top ten global advertisers. Michael is a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded four successful internet-based media companies. Prior to Buddy Media, Michael founded University Wire, an Associated Press-like network of more than 700 student-run newspapers, now owned by CBS Corp., and GOLF.com, a profitable online golf media company purchased by Time Warner's Time Inc. in January 2006. In February 2007, he started Lazerow Consulting, which helps finance, launch, manage, and grow numerous digital businesses.
Ben Sternberg, Vice President of the Raine Group, oversees its internet and digital media efforts, originating and evaluating investment and strategic advisory opportunities for the merchant bank. Since helping launch the firm, he has worked on assignments for Double Down Interactive, The Huffington Post, Softbank, Beyond the Rack, MyYearbook, and Turbine. Prior to joining Raine, Ben was a Director at UBS Investment Bank. He began his career as a technology investment banker with the Credit Suisse First Boston Technology Group in Palo Alto.