2006 Magazines 24/7 April - Program Highlights

April 26, 2006

Conference Program

Morning Keynote
Frank Moss, the new director of the Media Laboratory of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will talk about the Media Lab's work and its vision of technology over the next 20 years. He will describe how new social, creative and learning networks will arise from computers that can relate to people on more human terms, and how these networks will disrupt content creation and delivery, presenting publishers with new challenges and opportunities in reaching readers. Read the Newsweek Q&A with Moss.

Emerging Digital Business Models for Magazine Publishers
Fred Wilson, Partner, Union Square Ventures, and Josh Quittner, Editor, Business 2.0,  will discuss developing business models and P&L scenarios for magazine publishers expanding deeper into digital platforms.

Search: Why Magazines Are in the Driver's Seat
Magazine publishers have a steady flow of quality content, which is exactly what search is supposed to reward. Then why are blogs so un-proportionally influential? And what happens when publishers start competing for natural search? And how does paid search fit in while still making the business model work? Mike Levin, VP, Interactive, Connors Communications, has the answers.

Community: Think Locally, Act Profitably
How does building a strong sense of online community contribute to a content brand’s bottom line? Linda Murray, Executive Editor, BabyCenter; William Moss III, President & CEO, HBCU Connect; Nicole Stagg, Senior Editor, Rodale Interactive (who'll talk about Prevention); Bryan Welch, Publisher & General Manager, Ogden Publications, Inc. (focusing on Mother Earth News); and other magazine executives with robust online communities will address the challenges and rewards of creating community, and how it can be monetized.  Moderator: Jesse Kornbluth, online entrepreneur, blogger, culture connoisseur (check out HeadButler.com), and former editorial director of AOL.

Video on Magazine Websites: What's the Payoff?
This panel will analyze the types of video being posted on magazine websites. Keith Clinkscales, SVP/General Manager, ESPN Publishing (ESPN The Magazine has a redesigned site); Paul Greenberg, General Manager, TVGuide.com; Valerie May, Senior Editor, New Media, National Geographic; and Marta Wöhrle, VP, Director of Digital Media, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. (publisher of Woman's Day), will discuss revenue models, traffic, demographics and production costs. David Carr (aka The Carpetbagger—check out his Times Square videos), culture reporter and business columnist for The New York Times, will moderate this panel.

Capitalizing on Mobile Technologies
Todd Anderman, President, Dennis Digital (get your MaximToGo); Scott Carlis, Executive Director of Marketing, GQ (which offers podcasts and videos online); Thomas Kouck, Director of Marketing and Development, Hachette Filipacchi Médias (French publisher of Choc); and Jeff Price, President, SI Digital (offering mobile content from Sports Illustrated) with success stories on mobile platforms will share their strategies and techniques, and discuss how to take advantage of emerging mobile technologies. Bruce Upbin, Senior Editor, Forbes, will moderate.

Mobilizing Your Content
Tips from Michael Grossi, VP of Business Development, Helio—the hot mobile brand launching this spring, currently in partnership with MySpace to combine the phenomenon of online social networking with the power of wireless connectivity. Plus: read about Helio's new deal with Yahoo.

How Magazines Can Enhance Advertisers' Results 
What are the lessons learned from the most successful digital programs including banner and search? What is the role of integrated marketing and critical mass? What do magazine executives know about their readers that can help advertisers reach a target audience better? Attendees will hear agency executives Stacey Deziel, EVP, Media Director, FCBi, and Sarah Kim, VP of Media, Avenue A | Razorfish, about successful online programs being developed. Randall Rothenberg, Senior Director of Intellectual Capital, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Editor-at-Large and Media/Marketing Columnist, Advertising Age (scope the latest headlines), will moderate.

The Aggregators
Ira Becker, SVP and General Manager, 1UP Network (from Ziff Davis); Aaron Bromagem, VP & Online General Manager, Primedia, Inc. (sharing info on equine destination Equisearch.com); Dan Orum, Publisher, President and CEO, IDG Entertainment (who'll talk about games.net); and Vivek Shah, President, Digital Publishing, Time Inc. Business & Finance Network, (who'll talk about CNNMoney.com), have launched new digital content brands that are built on the content of existing magazine brands. What are the economic advantages of this strategy? How have advertisers responded? What are the challenges of creating new online brands? What are the payoffs? New York Magazine Contributing Editor Joe Hagan will moderate.

WWW=What Works Well

WWW: Covercasting
Kathy Rebello, Senior Editor, BusinessWeek Online (listen to the latest BW covercast)

WWW: Online Business Model
Cyndi Stivers, EVP, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (see what's new on marthastewart.com)

WWW: Games for Fun and Profit
Rosemary Maggiore, General Manager, Digital Business Group, The Reader's Digest Corporation (try your hand at soduku or a crossword in RD's Games & Humor section)

WWW: Generating Subs Through Premium Content
Andy Wilson, Director of E-Commerce, Meredith Corporation