CONVERGENCE '10
AGENDA

June 3-4
Microsoft Silicon Valley Conference Center

Convergence: Media Worlds Collide 

"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today's job with yesterday's tools and yesterday's concepts" -- Marshall McLuhan
 
When atoms collide, they become one, each more powerful than the last. The distinct lines between media are colliding, and media is becoming one. All media are incorporating all other forms of media. The "traditional" newspapers, radio, television, cable are taking on one another's elements, along with those of other digital media platforms. They no longer control their exclusive offerings, and "Everyman" can create his or her own media and reach a global audience.

The audience is no longer "pushed to" because the user has become a significant player in populating the media. What has been a one-way broadcast is becoming a two-way conversation. Marshall McLuhan, known for "The media is the message," also said, "Ads are the cave art of the 20th century."
 
The Perfect Storm
The combination of the dark recession, survival tactics, and the need for businesses to reinvent using new solutions -- at a time when digital media is proliferating and available to virtually any business owner -- has created the perfect storm, driving businesses to adopt digital media they may have previously rejected. The seduction of ease, targetability, accountability, results tracking, and instant sales has resulted in a shift away from traditional media.

Many in traditional media believe these advertisers left only because of the recession. But will they return?
 
Investment In Digital Media
Those "too busy" and "focused on survival" who cannot think ahead to invest time and embrace the future will awaken to the realization that the future has already arrived, and survival requires a deep digital media strategy. Leaders who delegate others to "explore it and report back" will fail because they lack the deep understanding a leader must have to implement a vision.
 
Squirm In Your Seat
Convergence will awaken you to a new understanding of a world you already think you understand. We will transport your mind out of your comfort zone to places and ideas you need to embrace.
 
Rebels Only
Convergence changes people, and its delegates are radical thinkers who rebel against the status quo and want to meld it with digital media. Previous attendees are those who have leaped far forward, ahead of those who cling to the past. We are pulling together A-list media and technology executives to help you know what's coming, what's here, and what actions you should take. This is not your grandfather's radio convention. We avoid the same old faces and ideas and bring you thinkers and innovators you won't encounter elsewhere.

Sessions (Subject to Change)
Speakers and Keynotes to be announced.
 
How Social Has Changed Media
Twitter, Facebook, ning, and other social media have become major targeted outlets. These are the "Big Networks" of today, with vast audiences and deeper, more useful advertising alternatives that are replicating and replacing "traditional" media. Understanding how to leverage this phenomenon as a programming, promotion, and sales tool is critical.

The Competitive Landscape And The Convergence Of Your Digital Assets
Are you in the radio business, the newspaper business, the television and cable business, national media, local media, or all of the above? Strategies to converge media and capture your digital assets under your brand.
 
Mastering Mobile Media
Virtually every consumer is empowered with access via mobile media -- smartphones, texting, iPhone applications, and BlackBerrys. How you can capture mobile audiences and monetize them? What areas should command your attention now, while the opportunity to implant your brand is still alive?

Tablet: Super Media Platform Or Hype?
With Apple's iPad announcement, tablet mania and Kindle mania, what will the tablet do to change media consumption, and what role will you play? In what ways can you place your stations and digital media offerings on tablets, and what you need to know to understand this technology?
 
Vultures Awaiting The Kill
Newspapers are dying, and television is next. What about radio? How to take advantage of changing conditions and what to expect -- and why newspapers may see a resurgence and you shouldn't count them out just yet.
 
Looking Forward
The landscape of radio distribution is changing. Consumption of music is changing. Learn how radio and music will further change and where you need to be to survive and thrive. A peek into radio's near future.

Sales 2.0
Traditional sales techniques are not working as well as they have in the past. Buyers are empowered to research and develop perceptions before any contact from your sales organization. What can you do to use your digital assets and social media tools to increase sales, serve customers, and gain revenues and advertisers never before available? This includes techniques for selling digital assets.

Found Money
Leverage your existing digital assets and audiences to find instant revenues you're leaving on the table.
 
The State Of Online Audio
Listening levels to streaming sites are soaring, and barriers to adoption have lifted. Can streaming and podcasting create an entirely new radio network and profit center for your business? With several markets already covered in WiMax and in-car units with Internet available, what does this mean for radio, and how can you capture this online listening?

Hyperlocal: Buzz Or BS?
What is "hyperlocal"? Why you need to understand it, and who is coming after your local radio advertisers -- and how you can block them and grab those revenues for yourself.
 
The Future According To Mark Ramsey
Researcher and futurist Mark Ramsey lays out his vision for radio.
 

Building New Brand Platforms From Existing Assets.
Bloggers and previously unheard of online media have become major media outlets as they capture massive and loyal audiences. How you can build independent media properties using your current staff and on-air assets and turn them into a profitable operation, without selling a single ad to local advertisers.
 
New Connections
Traditional media no longer has a lock on distribution through government-sanctioned transmitters and cable systems. New distribution systems are creating the connected automobile and deeply connected digital living room. What's coming, and how to make sure you're in the mix.
 
Experiments Gone Right
Innovations by many small, local radio companies have resulted in new revenues, new ideas, and new ways of selling. In some cases, we've seen new products making up almost 10 percent of local revenues. You'll meet these station executives and hear about their successes, and learn how you can put these innovations in place today.
 
Transforming Culture
Those who cling to their traditional pasts will fall behind the curve. Learn how others have transformed their station or corporate culture and what you can do to move your team into action and become a significant digital player.

Sites Magnified
What is a great website? How you can make a website more effective for you and your advertisers and more responsive to your audience's needs, and how to maximize SEO/search and boost your metrics.
 
Giving Advertisers The Digital Products They Want
"We want digital, and if you don't have it, don't darken our doorstep," said one agency at Radio Ink's Forecast conference. Find out what you need to provide advertisers to be in play for advertising buys today.