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What is old is not new again, and yet many traditional companies are responding best to the imperative of the day: reinvention for future growth.

 

Leaders driving this trend are often the “unusual suspects” – established players in the traditional TV, media, and retail space that are adding capabilities through inorganic acquisitions, or organic ‘intrapreneurial’ initiatives to reinforce relevancy and market positioning going forward.

 

There will be more upheaval and reinvention over the next five years than has occurred over the last 50, making it critical for corporate investors, venture capitalists, and business leaders to grasp and build an understanding of the implications and opportunities forged by the digital economy.

 

The inaugural Progress Connect will gather a diverse group of luminaries, all experts in their categories of the market, who will work together to stretch imagination and to forecast what lies ahead.

 

Engage in fireside debates, sector-focused breakout sessions, and market presentations with other attendees, where “unusual suspects” and emerging companies will share their strategies for reinvention in the media, marketing, and technology space.

 

Attendees will leave with actionable insights around:

 

• The balance between internal and external investment

• Acquisition planning

• Strategic investing

• Empowering partnerships

• Fostering reinvention and risk taking

• Approaches to building growth culture

 

The stakes have never been higher for investors and business leaders to anticipate change, manage current operations, and still reinvent themselves for long term success. Progress Connect will be an opportunity to gain knowledge and inspiration from “unusual suspects” and new entrants in an accelerating marketplace.

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Breakout Descriptions
 

Breakout Sessions (1:30pm)

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Advertising Agencies under the microscope: Reinventing to compete

2015 was undeniably “The Year of the Agency Review”. With over $26B in billings under review, brands are demanding a new array of deliverables and capabilities from their gencies against a backdrop of limited transparency and diminishing trust. Hear how established agencies are reinventing themselves while new ones are emerging with a new approach and perspective.

 

Companies that keep the SMB engine running: Adapting to today’s entrepreneurship

In an ever-changing marketplace and business landscape, marketing services companies are responding with new offerings to meet the needs and expectations of small and often local new companies. Join the conversation with some of today’s emerging start-up small business leaders as they discuss being at the crossroads of technology and being digitally savvy.

 

Traditional media and new media are new again: Responding to tech-enabled consumers

Traditional Media companies have struggled to harness fast changing technologies and consumer behavior in the ever evolving digital age. Join us for a panel of innovators that are committed to winning in this increasingly competitive marketplace where new screens, platforms, content and distribution channels are expanding the traditional broadcast model. In term, these changes continue the ongoing redefinition of a media company, with re-imagined incumbents and new content creators emerging around the landscape.

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Breakout Sessions (2:45pm)

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TV marches into the future: Leveraging strengths and adding new tech

Companies are emerging with the stated goal of creating new strategies to win video advertising dollars across screens and viewing platforms from linear TV sets to mobile devices. In this panel experts will discuss their view on the future of the convergence of data-driven advertising that’s heating up the race to “own the living room”.

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Sports remain center stage in the world of media: Expanding the fan experience

Fans are getting closer than ever to their favorite teams and players in variety of new tech-enabled ways. This panel will focus on the converging worlds of technology and sports entertainment, including the ways in which social media is being integrated into new hi-tech venues to the media delivery of sporting events, and how sport sponsorship activations are evolving. In today’s world of everything “on-demand” this is one live discussion you will not want to miss!

 

Recreating the Retail Journey from In-Store to Online: Migrating into Commerce Technology with Consumers

Brick and mortar stores have dominated the share of consumer retail dollars over the past century. However, our increasingly-digital world has led to new technologies that are shifting and dispersing revenue across platforms and screens. This panels will discuss the technologies and disruption afoot that is causing retailers to reimagine their consumers path to purchase.