10:45 AM - Noon
Session C:
ITV/DTV Portals - Entry Point to Content, E-Commerce and the Television Interface
Now that the reality of ITV and DTV is upon us, the TV experience is about to enter a new world of portals and the elbowing for onscreen viewing space, not unlike portal competition on the PC. The relationship between the TV viewer, the remote handheld device and the TV interface will be going through significant changes in the next few years. He who controls the gateway will have massive influence over the entire viewing experience, effecting advertising, commerce as well as the ability of the viewer to receive programming. The ITV/DTV portal will not be a simple product, but will more likely emerge from the relationships between the TV programmers, advertisers and technology manufacturers.
Joe Franzetta, V.P. Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships, GoldPocket
Kirt Gunn, co-founder and President, Cylo
Marcia Zellers, Director, Enhanced Television, American Film Institute
Ramon Chen, Vice President Worldwide Marketing, MetaTV
Mitchell Askenas, Vice President, Advanced Product Development, ICTV
Ben Mendelson, founder & President, Interactive Television Alliance, Moderator
Joe Franzetta, V.P. Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships, GoldPocket: As Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships at GoldPocket Interactive, Joe Franzetta oversees the company's west coast business development efforts and strategic relationships. Before joining GPi, he spent three years as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy at Mixed Signals Technologies, Inc., a leading iTV technology and services company. At Mixed Signals, Franzetta managed all business development and strategy efforts, including key customer relationships and technical partnerships. He also has ten years of corporate legal experience, most recently as Vice President, Corporate Legal Department at Sony Pictures Entertainment and, prior to that, as Partner, Corporate Department at Katten Muchin & Zavis in Los Angeles and Chicago. Franzetta has a JD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and a BS in Economics and Political Science from Allegheny College. He is licensed to practice law in California and Illinois.
Kirt Gunn, President, Cylo: As president and co-founder of Cylo, Kirt has been instrumental in building a pioneering interactive advertising and marketing solutions company focused on iTV and other emerging platforms. Since 1999, Kirt has led the company in defining and executing on its vision and in developing key strategic relationships with cable and broadcast companies, ad agencies, advertisers, and interactive technology providers. Kirt recently led Cylo in establishing a comprehensive relationship with ad agency Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer to provide interactive expertise and solutions to the agency and its extensive roster of clients, including Volvo, Intel, WorldCom, Schering-Plough and Nestle. Through this relationship, Cylo has played a central role in developing the first fully cross-platform advertising campaign—encompassing television, print, the Internet, interactive television, PDAs and web-enabled cellphones—for Volvo Cars of North America, one of Messner’s primary accounts. Kirt has nearly a decade of professional experience spanning advertising, marketing and film and television production. Prior to joining Cylo, he co-founded Wall to Wall Films, where he served as executive producer on commercials for Clorox, Dymo, Balance Bar, Brinks Home Security, and Braun. Kirt also worked in the marketing and creative divisions of CMC, a firm that develops strategies and solutions for the direct marketing and catalog industry. There, he developed marketing plans for Federal Express, MCI, LL Bean, Lillian Vernon, and Land’s End. Starting his career in theater, Kirt worked at the prestigious Williamstown Theatre Festival, and The La Jolla Playhouse. In 1993, he founded The River City Shakespeare Festival, an organization that was recognized as one of the cultural staples of Memphis, Tenn. region. Kirt is also an accomplished playwright in his own right. His plays have been produced around the country and abroad.
Marcia Zellers is the Director of Enhanced Television for the American Film Institute (AFI). Going into it’s fourth year, AFI’s Enhanced TV Workshop has produced 24 enhanced TV prototypes. AFI’s eTV Workshop has become the gathering place for the American eTV creative and technology communities, and is renowned as the premier environment for eTV exploration and development. Zellers has pursued the challenge of a cutting edge, consumer-friendly marriage of television and interactivity since she joined MTV Interactive’s New York headquarters as a founding member in 1994. As a Senior Producer and Director heading up all MTV’s music-related Web strategy, programming and development, creative direction, talent relations, and convergence programming with MTV’s on-air operations, Zellers created and produced some of the earliest enhanced TV programming. Early pioneering examples, which aired on TV, include a split screen production incorporating simultaneous live Web chat with Michael Jackson, Jackson videos, and highlights of Jackson’s career; the Red Hot Chili Peppers live at Madison Square Garden, with simultaneous roaming backstage cameras broadcasting live to the Web; and Janet Jackson on MTV’s Total Request Live interacting on air with viewers on the Web. In 1999 Zellers moved to Los Angeles, where she spearheaded Warner Bros. Online’s Entertaindom project, one of the Web’s then-highest profile entertainment destinations and the first planned broadcast-style distribution model. (Entertaindom was intended to showcase both Time-Warner and non-Time-Warner programming.) As Supervising Producer, she oversaw all aspects of the department and helped develop original programming intended for eventual cross-platform and enhanced development. Zellers has been a new media consultant for entities like New Line Cinema and composer Giorgio Moroder, and was most recently the Vice President of Web Development and Creative Director for Greater Relations Worldwide, a nascent dotcom. Zellers is also a published writer and editor, and has an eclectic background that includes publishing, marketing, advertising, fundraising, and stock brokerage.
Ramon Chen is the vice president of worldwide marketing for MetaTV where he oversees all aspects of the company's vision, strategy and brand. Mr. Chen's career spans 15 years with leading companies in the software development and Internet industries. Prior to joining MetaTV, Mr. Chen was with Evolve Software as the director of product and services marketing. Prior to joining Evolve, Mr. Chen spent 8 years at Sterling Software (now Computer Associates), assuming the position of principal software engineer and database architect for the midrange product line. He later moved into a key marketing role as director of product management and marketing for all products. He has in-depth experience designing, launching and marketing high technology products domestically and in international markets. Mr. Chen is a frequent speaker at industry events. He is also the author of several published technical articles on database design and management as well as contributing articles to industry publications such as CTAM Magazine. Mr. Chen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Essex University in the United Kingdom.
Mitchell Askenas, Vice President, Advanced Product Development, ICTV
: Mitchell Askenas is charged with defining the next generation of product offerings and evangelizing HeadendWare technology. Previously he served as ICTV's vice president, software engineering. Prior to joining ICTV in 1993, Mitch was manager of software development at Atlantis Technologies, a developer of vertical applications for the healthcare industry; the company, which he co-founded in 1989, was acquired. He was also software manager at Millennium Systems, a developer of retail point-of-sale systems; senior software engineer at BASM Systems, a developer of trading and back-office systems for the financial industry; and software engineer for Applied Communications, Inc., a provider of banking automation systems. Mitch holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from the State University of New York at Albany.Ben Mendelson is the founder and president of the Interactive Television Alliance, an independent trade association representing the broad interests of the entire iTV industry. He is also the co-founder and sr. partner in 2degree Partners, a management consultancy involved in iTV, Direct Response TV, and integrated online services. Ben has been an innovator in developing interactive "t-commerce" applications and has been involved in New Media marketing from its earliest days. He was a founding member of Digital Bayside and the Addressable Media Coalition and has held leadership positions in various organizations, including the Electronic Retailing Assoc. (ERA) and the Assoc. of Interactive Media (AIM). In January 1994, he started one of the first commercial Internet companies, where his clients included Sony Pictures, HBO, House of Blues, Philips Media, and Graham Nash. In 1996, Ben created the Internet Services Division for Curtco Freedom Publishing, where he designed online versions of various magazines including HomeTheater, Entertainment@Home, and Mobile Computing. In 1999, he developed the Internet division for Williams Direct, a full service Direct Response TV (DRTV) advertising agency. Later that year, Ben was hired to head the Internet program for the Electronic Retailing Association, the primary trade organization for the DRTV industry. In April 2000, Ben became VP of Business Development for the Winterberry Group, a research based consultancy that specializes in Direct Marketing; his focus was integrating iTV / DRTV and developing new business models. Prior to his Internet experience (from 1982 - 1991), Ben was the owner and director of LAPA (L.A. Art Photographers Association), an art gallery and resource center for commercial and fine art photography. In 1992, he founded PhotoSource, a showcase, service bureau, and training center for digital imaging. Ben has long established relationships with EarthLink, Netscape/AOL, and WebTV/MicrosoftTV along with Liberate, OpenTV, Wink, QVC, HSN, and Guthy-Renker. He has taught at the American Film Institute(AFI), UCLA Extension, So. CA Institute of Architecture(SCIArch), L.A. Internet Group, and the Learning Annex. Ben writes a regular column for Response Magazine and has been published in MediaTrends, Digitrends, Retailing.org, and Entertainment@Home. He is on the advisory board of the American Film Institute (AFI) Enhanced TV Program and is a familiar speaker at many iTV, Internet, and Direct Marketing conferences.