Session Sponsor
11:15 AM - 12:30 PM
Session B:
Monitizing Your Entertainment Community - Converting Internet Viewers into Paying Customers
There are two goals in the strategic planning of a website, first is to define and reach your audience, creating traffic; the second is to maintain user interest, develop loyalty and have them return regularly to your site. At the same time, to maintain the financial integrity of your enterprise, you must convert those users into paying customers. Most strategists believe that banner advertising alone is not a viable long term economic plan. Monitizing your community as an e-commerce site is a necessary companion option. In this session we will explore various ideas in e-commerce applications as they apply to web entertainment users and communities.
Matt Rothman, Sr. Vice President Business Development, GetMedia
Chris O'Brien, President and COO, Softcom
Joseph Cothrel, Vice President Research, Participate.com
Bob Ezrin, Chairman, Enigma Digital
Peter Karnig, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Circle.com
Peter Clemente, Vice President, Cyber Dialogue
Jeff Morris, President & CEO, YACK.com
Steve Krein, CEO and Co-founder, Promotions.com, Moderator
Bob Ezrin, Chairman, Enigma Digital: Bob Ezrin is a world-renowned music produc
er with 30 years of international entertainment industry experience. During his career he has produced multi-platinum albums and live events for some of the world’s leading artists, including Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, KISS, Rod Stewart, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed and Roger Daltrey. He has also established several successful production and publishing companies, a recording and mastering studio, and an independent label. Ezrin was a co-founder and past CEO of 7th Level Inc., a premier multi-media entertainment and education company. He was responsible for the development of many highly acclaimed CD-ROM titles including the Monty Python series ("Complete Waste of Time", "Holy Grail", and "Meaning of Life") and the children’s educational "Great Adventure" series starring Howie Mandel. 7th Level has since become Learn2.com, a leading provider of online training and education and Ezrin continues to serve as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. He is a founder and also serves as a Director of eMaiMai.com, and is an advisor to Event411.com. He has served on various other Boards in the past.Also extremely active in community service, Ezrin currently serves as the Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Communities In Schools/ The Los Angeles Mentoring Partnership, and Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Foundation of the California African-American Museum located in Los Angeles.
Matt Rothman, Vice President of Marketing, GetMedia: Matt is managing corporate marketing and communications as a strategic consultant. Previously, he was senior vice president and general manager of Sony Online Ventures, a division of Sony Corporation of America. While at Sony, Matt conceived and launched a branded online game service called the "The Station" in 1997. In 1994, Matt launched www.sony.com, a marketing and promotion site for Sony Corporation - which serves over 40 million page views a month.
Christopher J. O'Brien, President and Chief Operating Officer, Softcom: Under Mr. O'Brien's leadership, softcom has created a groundbreaking, patent-pending Java-based technology that embeds secure E-commerce capability and other interactivity directly into streaming and on-demand video content. Mr. O'Brien's software industry expertise was cultivated at Bell Labs, where he began his career as a 16-year-old high school student. Later, at Bellcore, he held numerous product management and development positions and played a leading role in the company's Internet product development efforts. He is a veteran of several startups including Clearview Software, which he helped start while a student at Brown University, and later sold to Apple. Mr. O'Brien holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Philosophy from Brown University and has done graduate work in Cognitive Science at Rutgers University. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Association for Computing Machinery.
Joseph Cothrel, Vice President of Research, Participate.com: Joe joins Participate.com with more than five years of experience in conducting research related to online community, knowledge management and electronic commerce. For the past three years, Joe served as research director in Arthur Andersen's Next Generation Research Group (NGRG), where he published research findings in leading industry and professional journals and served as one of Arthur Andersen's key spokespersons on the topics of online communities and knowledge management. His work at NGRG included directing the first comprehensive study of community management practices spanning Internet, extranet, and intranet-based communities. Prior to helping form NGRG, Joe spent two years as a senior researcher in Arthur Andersen's Global Best Practices Group, the firm's pioneering effort to capture, organize and share data on business processes at world-class companies around the globe. He also played a guiding role in Arthur Andersen's early Internet efforts. Joe earned a master of arts degree from the University of Michigan and a bachelor of arts with honors from the University of Toledo.
Peter Karnig, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Circle.com: Peter Karni
Steven Krein is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Promotions.com, the leading Internet promotions solutions company. Since the company’s inception in 1996, Steve has grown Promotions.com from an Internet start-up with two employees to a thriving force in the promotions industry with over 130 employees. He leads the company in developing a top-tier client list that includes such recognized names Autobytel, CBS Sportsline, Citibank, Disney, NBC, Road Runner and The Sharper Image. He is a noted speaker on issues concerning the interactive marketing industry including dialog marketing, incentive advertising, product placement, targeted eCommerce promotions, data acquisition and data enhancement through product giveaways, and internet privacy. Steve has appeared before several trade groups and educational forums such as Internet World, Direct Marketers Association Annual Conference, and the National Center for Database Marketing. A native of Cherry Hill, N.J., Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland and a Jurist Doctor degree from Widener University School of Law. He began his career working for Apple Computer, where he was responsible for spearheading the company’s drive into New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. In 1992, he co-founded the first online service for Delaware attorneys, helping to pioneer the Delaware legal profession’s transition into the Information Age. In 1995, the New York Law Publishing Company (now American Lawyer) recruited Steve as Assistant Publisher to create and mangage its Web-based online service for lawyers, Law Journal EXTRA!
Jeff Morris, President & CEO, YACK.com: Jeff Morris is a seasoned interactive entertainment industry executive with extensive experience in converging media. As president and c
hief executive officer, Morris brings a wide variety of experience to YACK.com and is responsible for the overall direction and vision for the company. Prior to joining Yack, Morris spent fifteen years at Viacom’s Showtime Networks, Inc., most recently as senior vice president of New Media and Technology Development where he was centrally focused on the rapidly changing world of converging media. He was responsible for exploring new cable event marketing opportunities and interactive multimedia projects, as well as adapting the company’s current and future product line to the evolving television landscape including video-on-demand. In this position he developed relationships with interactive TV and personal TV partners such as TiVo, Wink and Worldgate. He also was responsible for crafting the company’s Internet strategy and the development of its websites (SHO.com, Mtyson.com and SETBoxing.com). Morris has long been regarded as a pioneer in the area of tracking consumer trends in PC/TV convergence and creating content for simultaneous device usage such as monthly Pick-A-Flicks and online scoring of Showtime and SET Boxing events. In 1999, Jeff launched Showtime’s first original web series, Whirlgirl. Prior to his most recent position at Showtime, Morris held various other Business Development, Strategic Planning and Research positions. Before joining Showtime, Jeff worked at Home Box Office as manager of market research. Prior to that, he held research positions at Ted Bates and BBD&O. Over the years, Morris has served as chairperson for CTAM Annual Research Conferences (1992-1993) as well as the Research Committee (1990-1996) and the Database Committee (1990-1994). He received the "Tami" award in 1993. He is a native of New York and a graduate of State University of New York at Binghamton with a degree in Cultural Anthropology.