Agenda

Progress Connect

October 11, 2017 | The State Room, Boston

Data, Transparency, and the Future of Media

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Participants at Progress Connect had a unique opportunity to learn from some of the leading companies and executives disrupting the Internet and Digital Media worlds today, and identify the changes they need to make to survive in a rapidly shifting marketplace.

They left the event with a better understanding of the criteria for success, having heard an in-depth perspective gleaned from the fireside chats, panel discussions, breakout sessions and startup CEO presentations that take place throughout the day.

Add to that the raft of fresh industry contacts they will have made amongst their fellow participants and they will have had the most up-to-date industry insights and contacts to boost their internal and external investment strategies, finesse their acquisition planning activities, re-orient their operational processes and much, much more.

9:00am

Welcome Remarks

9:15am

Fireside Chat:

The Media Company of the Future

The media landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade and the explosion of technology has both disrupted and invigorated the industry. As traditional media companies struggle to keep up with the pace of industry change and with shifting consumer needs, understanding what the next five years will bring is crucial for survival. Media companies structured with a view towards flexibility and innovation are the ones who will be able to jump on the latest trends and stay a step ahead. So, what will the next five years bring? Where will the money be flowing? And how can you create valuable content and monetize it?

Eric Gertler, Co-Chairman, US News World Report; CEO, Ulysses Ventures

Lindsay Nelson, Chief Marketing Officer, Vox Media

Moderator: Bret Brase, Managing Director, Progress Partners

3:05pm

Panel:

The Media's Battle in Fighting Fake News

Media outlets and quality journalism are under attack, from more than one direction. The plethora of fake news sites which have been spawned and widely distributed via search and social media have created a real problem for mainstream media. As fake sites draw views and clicks, this financially impacts real media, but a potentially bigger problem is that trust in media reporting is slowly being eroded. How do we overcome the negativity being perpetuated by the government and other sources? How can we cure the public of fake news and make sure quality journalism wins the day?

Randall Lane, Editor, Forbes Magazine

Craig Newmark, Founder, craigslist; Founder, Craig Newmark Foundation

Eli Pariser, President, Upworthy & GOOD Worldwide

Simon Rosenberg, President & Founder, NDN

Moderator: Mandy Jenkins, Head of News, Storyful

3:50pm

The Influencer Factor

A new generation of superstars has created fame by themselves, and then pioneered new models to monetize it. What’s next for the influencer community? A founding architect behind YouTube’s multi-billion dollar global digital creator and influencer ecosystem joins the head of Refinery29’s influencer strategy, sharing how you can apply promotional magic to content, distribution and create a mutually beneficial authentic relationship. What can we learn from the influencers who have the eyes and ears of Millennials?

Bing Chen, Creator & Entrepreneur

Hallie Johnston, Senior Vice President, Client Services & Strategy, Refinery29

Moderator: Holden Berlin, SVP, Integrated Marketing, Defy Media

4:20pm

Show and Tell:

Amazing Stories of Virtual Reality

Storytelling with VR creates a truly immersive experience which can be very impactful. In this session, we will see and hear stories of how brands and media companies used VR to expand their reach and find new ways to connect with their existing audience.

Marc Maleh, Global Director, Havas

Noelle Perez, Senior Manager, Global Marketing & Digital Advancement, The Hershey Company

4:50pm

Special Closing Conversation

Wyc Grousbeck, Managing Partner and Governor, Boston Celtics

Interviewer: Randall Lane, Editor, Forbes Magazine

10:00am

Panel:

Uncovering the Signal

We are not just rich in data; we are suffering from an overabundance of it. Understanding how to sort the good from the bad and getting the right message to the right person at the right time is key. We also need to consider how much data is a good thing and at what point we need to start being concerned about privacy. How do we make sure we are using it better and avoiding the abuse of consumers? This panel looks at the future of how we can fully leverage data to drive engagement and shared value for all.

Heather Blank, GM, Audiences, MediaMath

Matthew O'Grady, CEO, Nielsen Catalina Solutions

Lung Huang, Global SVP of Business Development, Merkle

Domenic Venuto, VP and Head of Consumer Division, The Weather Company/Watson Advertising

Moderator: Lisa Weinstein, CEO, Curiosity

2:45pm

Discovering Machines and Emotional Intelligence

How emotion AI is used today and where it will go in the future.

Rana el Kaliouby, CEO & Co-Founder, Affectiva

5:30pm

Cocktail Reception

Nick MacShane, Founder, Senior Managing Director, Progress Partners

Sam Thompson, Senior Managing Director, Progress Partners

9:45am

Presentation:

Media's Tech Future

A glimpse into the technological innovations on the horizon which could further disrupt the media industry, but which also offer exciting opportunities.

Justin Hendrix, Executive Director, NYC Media Lab

Break

10:50am

11:15am

Breakout Sessions & CEO Presentations

Breakout 1: The Ad Tech Ecosystem: Data, DMPs, and the Triopoly

In a very brief time, the ad-tech sector has exploded with investment in programmatic innovation, witnessed consequences of fallacy, sidestepped (but never pivoted) obviation in both tech and mode, and is now navigating new seas of opportunity — all while managing the growth and dominance of Google, Facebook, and now with vengeance, Amazon. Where is the ad-tech ecosystem headed? How is media going to be bought in the future? And how does that impact platforms, agencies, brands, and the tech behind them?

Joy Baer, President, Strata

Julian Baring, President, Americas, Adform

Gareth Glaser, CEO, RTK.io

Bettina Hein, CEO, Pixability

Tony Katsur, SVP Platforms, Nexstar Media Group

Moderator: Davis Rosborough, Vice President, Progress Partners

Breakout 2: Next-Gen TV & Advanced Advertising: Monetization in a Multi-Screen World

With television changing at unprecedented speeds, consumers are now exposed to more choices to consume video than ever. From linear to linear programmatic, to digital TV and connected TV, SVOD and Mobile, advertisers are now faced with the challenge of how to use new datasets to address households and individuals consuming content at more granular levels. Big data, addressability, programmatic, audience measurement: how are the networks handling these changes and what platforms will emerge from these new modes of TV consumption and monetization?

Mike Bologna, President, one2one Media

Tal Chalozin, Co-Founder & CTO, Innovid

Anne Schelle, Managing Director, Pearl TV

Mark Zagorski, CEO, Telaria

Moderator: Bret Brase, Managing Director, Progress Partners

Breakout 3: Rethinking Media: Monetizing Next Generation Content Platforms

Short-form media consumption has changed as we've seen a new generation of consumers enter their 20's and 30's with higher adoption to multi-screen consumption. A new wave of media companies, and technology platforms that support them, have emerged to cater to this millennial audience, providing a way of content consumption that is more easily digestible and customized/personalized to their target audience.

Scott Cherkin, EVP, Product & BD, Complex Media

Greg Mason, CEO, Purch

Samantha Skey, CRO, SheKnows

Moderator: Chris Legg, Senior Managing Director, Progress Partners

8:00am

Registration & Continental Breakfast

12:00pm

Networking Lunch

2:15pm

Break

1:30pm

Breakout Sessions & CEO Presentations

Breakout 4: The Pub Tech Ecosystem: How Publishers Own Their Audiences

A duopoly of walled gardens control the digital publishing landscape, but we continue to hear of consortiums trying to gain traction to chip away at their competitive stronghold and monetize the digital content landscape. With concerns around brand safety coming to a head, how will advancements in both the tools and technology publishers use help them gain greater value from inventory? What emerging models shift some of the power back into the hands of the publishers?

Michael Connolly, CEO, Sonobi

Patrick Dignan, US Director Programmatic Sales, DailyMail

Ed Romaine, CMO, Kargo

Moderator: Nick MacShane, Founder & Senior Managing Director, Progress Partners

Breakout 5: Undressing the Conversion: Entering the Age of Consumer-Based Marketing

Digital and traditional commerce and retail, have enabled more paths from brands to consumer than ever. Amazon's Echo (and Echo Cam), and Google Home have broken into the most personal space of our lives. Are more to follow? Meanwhile, loyalty programs still capture only 10%-15% of the audience. So, now as marketing has shifted from product to a consumer focus, how are retailers and brands using the data to determine how to best acquire and retain customers? The challenge remains around determining/discovering who a consumer is at a granular level and leveraging all the disparate technologies to manage it.

Hal Charnley, President, Wiser Solutions

Rob Holland, COO, BlueCore

Richard Lee, CEO, Netra

Jason Oates, CBO, LiveIntent

Moderator: Sam Thompson, Senior Managing Director, Progress Partners

Breakout 6: The Future of Voice & Audio: How Audio is Disrupting Digital Advertising

Online audio has been gradually transforming our digital experiences. What started with online music streaming, quickly evolved to transform how we consume radio content through on-demand services and podcasts. Then, recently, the advent of ambient internet or voice-activated internet is further changing our digital interactions from a visual experience to an audio one. As these trends continue to take the world by storm, there is a growing need for digital monetization of these audio experiences. Digital audio advertising is still in its infancy but it has started to disrupt how publishers and agencies think about their digital media strategies.

Kristen Deubel, Director of Marketing, Shazam

Jeff Nicholson, Chief Media Officer, VaynerMedia

Eric Picard, VP Product Management, Pandora

Alexis van de Wyer, CEO, AdsWizz

Moderator: Davis Rosborough, Vice President, Progress Partners

10:40am