11:05 AM - 12:20 PM
Track II:
Internet Video, Advertising & Marketing: The Next Generation of Consumer Reach
Video on the Internet has finally passed the critical threshold of acceptance by the advertising and marketing communities as a more than viable alternative to traditional media. Internet delivered video has not only entered the advertising space, it has invaded it and in a very short number of years, Internet delivered video will be a dominant entertainment and communications consumer medium. The scary part for traditional media, Internet delivered video may end up on a PC, a mobile device or on a TV and for the advertising and marketing industries, an emerging and maturing delivery system to an ever elusive audience is exactly what they are looking for. We are pleased to open and carry on this conversation.
Greg Verdino, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, ROO
Shawn Conahan, founder, Chairman and CEO, Intercasting Corp
Hilmi Ozguc, CEO, Maven Networks
Steven Starr, founder, Chief Executive Officer, Revver
Adam Gerber, Vice President, Ad Products & Strategy, Brightcove
Greg Demetriades, CEO, WhiteBlox
Darcy Lorincz, SVP & General Manager Global Rich Media, SAVVIS
Keith Richman, CEO, Break.com
Scott Ehrlich, CEO, Red Tie, Inc., Moderator
Greg Verdino, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, ROO: As Senior
Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Greg Verdino brings over 15 years of experience in the online media and advertising industries to drive ROO's North American sales and marketing initiatives. In this role, Greg oversees strategic alliances, new business development with affiliates and content partners, advertising sales and marketing strategy. He also represents ROO on the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Broadband Committee. Greg has worked in streaming media since its inception when in 1998, as Vice President/General Manager of Arbitron NewMedia, he produced a number of groundbreaking studies in consumer online media usage behavior and the impacts on convergence on traditional media channels. He also launched Arbitron's webcast ratings offering. Greg has also worked for Akamai and Globix in strategic sales and marketing positions. He began his career as an advertising executive with Saatchi & Saatchi, Wunderman and EuroRSCG. He is a recognized expert on streaming media, internet broadcasting and media convergence and has appeared on CNBC and Fox News Channel, as well as in BusinessWeek, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Greg has also spoken at numerous industry events including Streaming Media East in 1999 and 2001 as well as NAB, the Radio Ink Radio Internet Conference, the Radio Advertising Bureau Conference and many more.Steven Starr, founder, Chief Executive Officer, Revver: As founder and ch
ief executive officer, Steven has 30 years of experience in media and creator empowerment. Recent product launches include Indy.tv, a free recommendation engine for independent musicians; and Dijjer.org, an open source zero-bandwidth http technology for independent creators. He is also Ian Clarke's long-time partner on the Freenet Project. Previously, he managed KPFK-FM, the largest community radio signal in the U.S and co-founded the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. He’s held executive-level positions with a variety of Internet and entertainment-related companies over the years – including co-founder and chair of Intel-backed Uprizer, Inc.; founding CEO of user-generated AntEye.com; co-creator/producer of MTV’s ‘The State’; writer/director of the award-winning Indy feature ‘Joey Breaker’; and head of the New York Motion Picture Department for the William Morris Agency, representing Ang Lee, Tim Robbins, Larry David, and the Bob Marley Estate among others. Steven began his career as a concert promoter for Bob Marley and the Wailers, and holds a bachelor’s degree in radio, television and film from the University of Wisconsin.DARCY LORINCZ, Vice President, Media & Entertainment Markets, S
AVVIS Communications: Since 1982, Lorincz has founded, managed, built and implemented technology strategies, products and solutions for the IT, telecommunications and content industries. A pioneer in global solutions for multimedia networking, Lorincz’s career has focused on successfully bridging the gap between complex business and workflow problems and technology to produce innovative new services and solutions for content intensive markets across production, broadcast, broadband and mobile segments. At SAVVIS, Lorincz oversees the company’s media services business development focusing on Broadband and Mobile solutions. He has been instrumental in building the Media practice at SAVVIS, including its network-based utility media services platform that serves clients such Hewlett Packard, Universal Music Group, Sundance, ABC News, Time Warner, SONY, and MSN. Over the past 2 decades, Lorincz has built several digital communications ventures and served in senior executive positions at Global Crossing, BBC, Sprint, and Frontier Communications. He is newly appointed to the board of the International EMMYs where he will serve a 2 year term.Greg Demetriades, CEO, WhiteBlox: Demetriades founded WhiteBlox in 2003 to fulfill his vision of a global broadband television
network delivering interactive content to viewers all over the world. As CEO, Demetriades drives the company’s strategic, innovative advancement in business and technology. A serial entrepreneur, Demetriades has focused on Internet multimedia and delivery for more than 10 years. He generated news coverage in 1997 as a pioneer in streaming media and was the first to produce a multi-camera live streaming-media broadcast to 55,000 viewers for the NCAA in 1998. In 2003, his book, "Streaming Media: Building and Implementing a Complete Streaming System," was published by John Wiley & Sons. In the last three years, Demetriades has developed Continental Vista’s IPTV system, specializing in interactive broadband content, digital network automation, interactive advertising using standard CPM models, and interactive e-commerce all within one media player during live and on-demand events. Continental Vista owns and operates WhiteBlox and iSeeTV, among other divisions. WhiteBlox (www.whiteblox.com) delivers powerful, robust, private-label solutions and application services in a comprehensive production and delivery suite that allows companies to become their own IPTV "broadcasters." WhiteBlox gives customers the flexibility and control to leverage video assets and content into dynamic, engaging and profitable networks. iSeeTV (www.iseetv.tv) creates interactive broadband video solutions for content providers in any industry, including sports, radio, television, film, music, education, politics and corporate communications. Through iSeeTV’s global networks, clients broadcast live, live-from-tape and on-demand content while taking advantage of unprecedented opportunities for monetization and interactivity. Demetriades, a recognized expert in interactive streaming media, has spoken at numerous conferences within the IPTV and digital entertainment industries and is a frequent speaker on radio talk shows, television broadcasts and streaming-media events. He received his B.A. in communications from Baldwin Wallace College in Cleveland, Ohio.Hilmi Ozguc, Chief Executive Officer, Maven Networks: With almost 2
0 years experience as a successful entrepreneur and executive in the software industry, Hilmi Ozguc currently serves as co-founder and CEO of Maven Networks. Hilmi has a proven track record in bringing products to market that realize the Internet’s potential as a global communications and marketing vehicle. Named by Advertising Age as one of twenty "Digital Media Masters" leading the convergence of the media, advertising, and technology businesses, he is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and has been widely quoted in publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Business Week. Previously, Hilmi was co-founder and CEO of Narrative Communications Corporation, a pioneer of rich media Internet advertising technologies and services. In less than four years, he guided Narrative and the development of its flagship Enliven product from a streaming media startup with $13 million in venture financing from Greylock, Accel Partners, and Carlyle Ventures to a $100 million acquisition by @Home Network in 1999. Under his leadership, Narrative captured 70% market share, grew its revenue 800% annually and served numerous Fortune 500 enterprises including American Express, AT&T, Citibank, General Motors, IBM, and Procter & Gamble. Among Narrative’s customers were global advertising agencies BBDO, McCann-Erickson, Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Young & Rubicam, while more than 400 leading Web publishers adopted Enliven as a standard format. Before co-founding Narrative in 1995, Hilmi spent seven years with Lotus Development Corp., a $1 billion revenue leader in enterprise software, where he held a variety of senior management roles in product development, marketing, and international operations. Prior to joining Lotus, Hilmi was a software architect and engineering manager for electronic design automation systems at Mitsubishi Semiconductor and its R&D Labs in Japan. Hilmi received a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Software Engineering from Boston University.Adam Gerber, Vice President, Ad Products & Strategy, Brightcove: Adam is responsible for developing and implementing advertising products, strategies, and initiatives at Brightcove by working collaboratively with publishers, affiliates, and marketers to identify next-generation consumer touch-point opportunities. He also represents Brightcove in industry consortiums and standards committees. Adam is widely recognized as a leader in interactive media and new media advertising with over 15 years of agency media planning and buying experience – almost half focused on emerging platforms. Adam brings extensive agency/marketer expertise to Brightcove’s executive team. He joins Brightcove from Mediavest Worldwide, where he led emerging media and advanced TV initiatives on behalf of some of the largest global consumer packaged goods marketers including Proctor & Gamble. Prior to joining Mediavest, Adam held positions at DMB&B, J. Walter Thompson, AOL, Ammirati Puris Lintas, and Mediaegde:cia working with Fortune 100 companies including UPS, Unilever, Burger King, and AT&T. Adam has been recognized by Mediaweek as a Media All-Star, and he serves on a number of industry advisory groups and standards committees. His extensive industry leadership through various organizations and events positions him as an ideal evangelist for the transition to the distributed video model Brightcove is developing. A 1990 graduate of Boston University with degrees in both Journalism and International Relations, Adam lives in Manhattan with his wife Sarah and son Maxwell.
Keith Richman, CEO, Break.com: As chief executive officer for Break.com, Keith Richman provides the company’s overall strategic direction and is responsible for leading the company in the areas of business development and marketing. Previously, Keith was the Director of Business Development for Billpoint Inc., and as the first employee he helped shape the business plan, raise venture funding, and ultimately the company was successfully acquired by eBay in 1999. Prior to Billpoint, he was a Business Development Manager at Excite and Classifieds2000. Prior to Classifieds2000, Keith worked in Corporate Planning at the Walt Disney Company, where he focused on consumer products, cable and emerging media. Keith holds an MA and a BA from Stanford in International Policy Studies and resides in Los Angeles with his wife.
Scott Ehrlich, CEO, Red Tie, Inc.: Scott Ehrlich has more than a decade of top-tier television and Internet management experience, serving in the senior management teams at Real Networks, Rivals.com and News Digital Media (Newscorp/Fox). In these positions, Scott has managed staffs of more than 200 employees, and annual budgets in excess of $40 million. He has negotiated landmark deals with major media entities in news (CNN, ABC News, The Weather Channel, CNET, WSJ.com), sports (NBA, NFL, NASCAR, MLB, PGA Tour, FOX Sports) and entertainment (E! Entertainment, CBS (Big Brother and Survivor), iFilm, Starz On Demand, Playboy) for the carriage, distribution and packaging rights to their content over IP, at various times managing relationships with four of the largest media companies in the world (Viacom, Disney, AOL Time Warner and News Corporation). Currently Scott serves as the managing partner in Impulse Media, a Seattle based digital business consulting company and Red Tie, Inc., a development company with offices in New York and Seattle. In the past year he has served as a consultant and advisor to top management at Sony Pictures Digital Networks (digital media business strategy), Rivals.com (senior corporate advisor), Infospace (search and directory application distribution), ABC News Digital Media Group (broadband and mobile digital media distribution), DivX Networks (content strategy and acquisition), iFilm, Inc. (senior corporate advisor) and Microsoft (digital media business strategy). Scott has overseen industry-changing initiatives and the development of ground-breaking applications in digital media. Expert in strategic planning, product and business development, he has been responsible for all content, revenue, product development, creative services, deal making, marketing, and long-term strategy. He is widely recognized as a leader in digital media, winning industry awards, serving as company spokesperson, and in high demand for public speaking engagements and panel appearances at industry conferences. Prior to forming Impulse and Red Tie, Scott served as Vice President of Media Acquisition and Distribution for RealNetworks, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK) In that role, he developed strategies, negotiated, implemented and managed product deals and relationships for the GoldPass and RealOne SuperPass services and drove growth of Real Networks' subscription services to more than 1 million subscribers. Previously, Scott was Executive Vice-President and General Manager for Rival Networks, the publisher of Rivals.com, where he oversaw all aspects of the business including advertising sales, e-commerce, content, business development, marketing, public relations and creative services. At Rivals.com, Scott grew the network from 350 niche sports sites to over 800, while fostering revenue growth in excess of 400%. He developed and executed the operations plan, business strategy and documentation for Rivals' S-1 filing, securing financing ($35M, Softbank, 2000) and significant distribution deals (Yahoo! Sports, 2000). In addition, Scott supported international development with Rivals UK and Japan.
Earlier in his career, Scott was the senior vice president and executive producer of News America Digital Publishing, with responsibility for all editorial, production, technology and product development for News Corporation's content-based digital publishing ventures, including FOX.com, FoxNews.com, tvguide.com and FoxSports.com. Scott has years of television management and consulting experience working with major broadcasting outlets other than Fox, such as NBC Cable, Twentieth Television, Paramount and McGraw-Hill Broadcasting. Ehrlich received his masters degree from The Graduate School of Political Management, now part of George Washington University and his undergraduate degree from Kenyon College.