Click on the Video Below and Sample a Session from the last Digital Hollywood event. For Additional Video Sessions, Click Here Digital Hollywood Fall 2006 Wednesday, October 25 3:50 PM - 5:00 PM Track II: Broadband Advertising: The Power Surge – Video, PODs, Social Networks, Links & Banners - Entertainment, Digital Publishing, Communities and Search Engines Emergence In this session, we bring together a group of the most experienced professionals in the field of broadband advertising and content delivery and we look forward to it being a truly visionary look into the future of the marketplace. The projections of broadband into the home and workplace, along with the explosion in wireless, bring the issues of brand extension, advertising and commerce to the forefront of our industry once again. What can we seriously expect from the merger of content and commerce? With broadband and wireless taking off, it seems as if the entertainment and information industries have reached a new taking off point for the e-commerce revolution. With the technology just about in place, this time there will be no false start. Mark Spates, Vice President, Brands, Heavy.com Mark Larkin, Executive Producer, CNET Broadband and Webcasting, CNET Networks Inc. Jason Oberfest, Managing Director, Product Strategy, LA Times Charlie Whittingham, Vice President, Sales, Advertising.com Gary M. Bishop, Deputy Director, Strategic Outreach Directorate, U.S Army Accessions Command Andy Beers, Andy Beers and Associates, Ltd, Moderator Jason Oberfest, Managing Director, Product Strategy, LA Times: As Managing Director of Product Strategy for Los Angeles Times Interactive, Jason Oberfest is responsible for product design and business development for the existing LA Times Interactive properties (which attract 7.9 million unique visitors and serve over 83 million page views monthly) as well as for a new suite of forthcoming products. At Los Angeles Times Interactive, Jason has been responsible for improving customer loyalty and other key audience metrics while also boosting advertising effectiveness. Jason led a 2006 Phase I redesign of LATimes.com, which resulted in a 279% increase in monthly page view rate growth and a 52% increase in monthly unique visitor growth. Jason has also played a key role in growing cost-per-click advertising revenue by 243% and online display ad revenue by 73%. In late 2005 Jason designed and developed The Envelope.com, a new entertainment industry awards website which served 23 million page views during the 2005-2006 awards season. Prior to joining the Times in May 2005, Jason served as a consultant to AOL, leading the design and development of many online products including AOL Shopping, AOL Search, and AOL Travel search. He has also worked with clients including Sony, Viacom and A&E Television Networks on the design of numerous media and commerce properties. Mark Spates is Vice President of Heavy Brands for Heavy Inc. In this capacity he oversees the strategic positioning, marketing efforts and public relations for Heavy properties—Heavy.com and MyHeavy.com—together with Heavy programming, including Massive Mating Game, HeavyNews , Heavy Angels and Behind the Music the Sucks. Mark also leads the Heavy branded entertainment division which works with advertisers to organically integrate their brand into existing or newly created Heavy programming. Before joining Heavy Mark led the digital marketing efforts for Burger King Corporation where he helped to establish the platform agnostic approach currently employed by many leading marketers today. He led the digital charge by developing the first user-generated content downloadable to the video iPod and he was the first to use mobile television as an extension for Super Bowl commercials. Mark currently resides in New York with his four iPods, PSP, XBOX 360 and HD television. Mark Larkin, Executive Producer, CNET Broadband and Webcasting, CNET Networks Inc.: With almost 10 years experience in online digital production, Mark Larkin, executive producer of CNET Broadband and Webcasting, is responsible for managing a team of video and technical producers who develop and execute on CNET Networks broadband video strategy and mission for the consumer electronics and small business categories. He was instrumental in the development of several original video series focusing on lifestyle content such as "First Looks from the Labs," "Insider Secrets," "Car Tech," "Weekend Project," and "Hot Houses." He also worked closely with the technical team to develop standards for online video production and compression as well as specs for advertisers. Since joining CNET Networks in 1996, Mark has held several production roles including associate producer, producer and senior producer. Through a partnership CNET.com had with Edmunds.com, Mark, a senior producer, at the time, oversaw the team that developed the first video to appear on the Edmunds.com site. He was also a producer for two of CNET’s technology focused television shows - "The New Edge" with Ryan Seacrest and "Cool Tech" with Daphne Brogdon and Desmond Crisis. "The New Edge" covered the latest technology where Mark was responsible for producing segments ranging from Fuel Cell cars to Robotic medicine. "Cool Tech" featured the hottest new gear and gizmos including segments on in-line skating and underwater scooters among others. Mark received the 2000 CNET Networks Achievement award and the 2004 CNET Networks Excellence Award, which acknowledge extraordinary contributions to the company by individuals who have performed at the highest level to move the business. Charles Whittingham, Vice President of Sales, Advertising.com: Charles joined Advertising.com in 2004 and currently leads the sales efforts for the western region. Overseeing both the San Francisco and Los Angeles offices, Charles leads the initiative to partner with leading advertisers and agencies to develop performance-based marketing programs that deliver superior return on investment. Prior to joining Advertising.com, Charles served as vice president of sales for The Excite Network's west region and prior to that was vice president of sales for About.com. Charles received a Bachelor’s degree in English and Economics from St. Lawrence University. Andy Beers, President, Andy Beers and Associates: Andy Beers’ career has placed him at the nexus of media and technology. He began his career as a TV news cameraman. He worked his way up in the industry to become the News Director of NBC’s Seattle affiliate. He joined Microsoft in 1995 to launch the first online news service on MSN and became a key player in the launch of MSNBC. Most recently he led MSN’s entry into the broadband video business. He now owns and runs a consulting firm. His clients include: Yahoo!, IFILM, Lightningcast, Choice Media, others. His ten year career at Microsoft included his titles: Director MSN Video; Senior Product Manager Microsoft TV; Executive Producer MSNBC.com and News Director MSN News. Gary Bishop, Deputy Director, Strategic Outreach Directorate, United States Army Accessions Command: In 1981Gary began his government service as a Television Producer/Director at Fort Knox Television, Fort Knox, KY. In this capacity he produced film, video and interactive training materials for the United States Army Recruiting Command and the United States Military Entrance Processing Command which gave him a strong understanding of the business processes required to enlist as soldier. After completing Long Term Training in 1987 he built PC based graphic systems, networked office and production facilities and developed and programmed applications to support Order/Entry, Inventory and Production Tracking and Cost Accounting. In 1995 he created his first web site and began to host image and audio files for download and an on-line tape catalog. In late 1995 the United States Army Recruiting Command recognized the potential of the Internet as a way to expand their Advertising, Marketing and brand presence and hired Gary to serve as the Webmaster for GoArmy.com. GoArmy.com has been recognized as a leader in the Government and was one of the first sites to integrate search capabilities and streaming video. In 2003 the site was recognized as the Top Government site by Streaming Magazine for its use of media in its Basic Training Webisode series. His role in the organization evolved to encompass responsibility for all of the web applications and technologies that serve and support employees, partners and customers. Gary is responsible for evaluating and provisioning short and long-range technology solutions that support the Commands business goals and objectives. As part of this he is currently working on projects to provide common directory services for access and authentication, enterprise content management and portals. He is also intimately involved in driving CRM and SCM applications to maximize customer value and enhance the Army’s service and support offerings. In 2005 Gary transferred to the USAAC Strategic Outreach Directorate to become the Chief of the Advertising and Media Division, AMD. The AMD is responsible for managing and coordinating the production of TV, Radio and print advertising, media placement and GoArmy.com. To manage the Army creative assets, Gary initiated the creation of a Marketing Resource Management system to enable workflow based control over requirements definition, creative development, materials placement, execution and response tracking and reporting. In February of this year Gary was selected as the Deputy Director, Strategic Outreach in that capacity he is responsible for all marketing communications and events. The Army continues to lead in the area of web based technology having recently launched an AI Bot, SGT Star, this year to facilitate dialogues with prospective customers. The use of video on the web continues to be a strength of GoArmy.com in providing experiential opportunities. The Army Game is another area that allows customers to vicariously assume personas and roles that further their understanding of the Army as an opportunity. In addition to these initiatives the Army will continue to evolve GoArmy.com to embrace emerging technologies and trends such as Web 2.0 and social networking. Gary holds a BA, Film Production from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, 1980. He also completed Graduate Studies in MIS at the Indiana University – School of Public and Environmental Affairs, 1986. Gary lives with his wife, Kathy in Vine Grove, KY. They have two children, a son Collin who is a Senior at Columbia College, Chicago. Their daughter Darci, her husband LCDR Joseph Guerrein and their granddaughters, Kylie and Kaci live in Hanford, CA.