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The Local Media Digital Revenue Summit is the premiere gathering of top digital executives charged with growing revenue at their local media company. Last year, 175 of the industry’s most progressive digital leaders joined us to present promising case studies, learn about the winning entries in the LMA Digital Innovation Contest and share what’s working at their company. This year’s program features some of the best case studies in the business from a wide mix of media companies. We hope you will join us!
The goal is simple: to arm you with at least three great ideas to grow digital revenue upon your return from this event. If we fall short of that goal, we will gladly refund your registration fee.
Cancellation Policy: There is a $150 cancellation fee before April 6. After April 6, no refunds will be given.
Click here to book your hotel room. There are no longer king rooms available so if you are having issues booking, check double rooms.
May 1 | 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Reception 5:15 – 6:15 p.m.
May 2 | 8:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Champagne Reception for Contest Winners- O’Hare 1 (12th Floor)
Contest winners will be presented with their awards and have their photos taken during this VIP reception with contest sponsors and the LMA board of directors.
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: Coffee sponsored by AdMall
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM: Digital Revenue – Making Choices, A Conversation with Tom Sly, VP Digital Revenue, E.W. Scripps Company and Jason Jedlinski, VP Product Management, USA TODAY NETWORK; Moderated by Christian Hendricks, President, Local Media Consortium and former VP McClatchy
Two of the industry’s most dynamic and passionate leaders will kick things off with a frank discussion on where they see the opportunities in the digital space over the next 12-18 months. They’ll lay out their bets and explain where and why they are investing. We’ll leave plenty of time for Q&A during this very interactive session. Be sure to bring your coffee for this fast-paced and high energy session.
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM: Show Us the Money! Presented by Gordon Borrell, CEO, Borrell Associates
With so many digital products to sell, it’s sometimes hard to know where to focus. In this session, Borrell will outline the most lucrative opportunities for local media companies. He’ll show us where the money is and where it’s going. This session will set the stage for the entire Summit.
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM: Break sponsored by AdMall
10:45 AM – 12:00 PM: Drum Roll Please…Digital Contest Winners Share Their Success Stories
10:45 AM – 11:15 AM: Best Local Media Websites – John Sahly, Senior Digital Editor, Northwest Herald (nwherald.com) and Dustin Block, Digital Executive Producer, WDIV Local 4 (www.clickondetroit.com). Moderated by Kelly Shelton, VP of Marketing, Boostability
The competition was intense but two first place winners emerged in our two classes (under 750,000 monthly uniques and over). The judges were impressed with the user-friendly, clean, mobile-friendly website designs presented by winning companies.
11:15 AM – 11:35: Best New Digital Initiative – Jason Holmes, Co-Founder/President, Affect Digital Media and Erica Smith, Online Editor and Director of Digital Strategy, The Virginian-Pilot. Moderated by Dave Haynie, CEO, CitySpark
One of our favorite categories – prepared to be wowed by our two winning entries in this space. Affect Digital Media (Victoria Advocate) made a strong first impression on the judges by explaining the process through which they decided on building AgencyQue, a project management system. They saw the need from their customers and saw the lack of efficient products in the market. The Virginian-Pilot will present on their automated text-based virtual assistants and how this could be the next big trend in digital and innovative landscape.
11:35 AM – 11:55 AM: Best R&D Partner – Presented by Lindsey Estes, Local Media Association to TownNews.com
Over 20 local media companies nominated and voted for TownNews in this category. Some of their comments included:
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Lunch – Pick Your Lunch Partner!
Our R&D partners are buying lunch. Confirmed companies include: Dream Local Digital, Legacy.com, ppi Media, Zapp 360, Site Impact, Matrix for Media and GetAdmiral. Learn more about the topics being discussed at each table here. If you haven’t picked your table yet, email Lindsey.Estes@localmedia.org with your top 3 choices.
1:00 PM – 1:20 PM: Emerging Digital Revenue Strategies – Jed Williams, Chief Innovation Officer, Local Media Association
LMA Chief Innovation Officer Jed Williams sets the table for the breakthrough digital strategies to follow with a fast-paced look at several emerging revenue opportunities that are moving the needle.
1:20 PM – 1:45 PM: A Bold Vision for Monetizing Podcasts – Jon Accarrino, Executive Director, Bonneville Salt Lake Business Development/KSL Radio and Todd Larsen, General Sales Manager, KRSP 103.5 The Arrow
Bonneville/KSL Radio is all-in on “audio you can see.” See how they are building video podcast franchises in the sports vertical that are generating major cross-platform dollars.
1:45 PM – 2:10 PM: Building a Destination Lifestyle Brand – Mike Mocklar, Executive Director of Digital Content, Raycom Media
The Southern Weekend is Raycom Media’s unique, video-first content franchise. See how its authentic voice and rich storytelling are creating a destination experience for consumers that advertisers will surely follow.
2:15 PM – 2:35 PM: Best Digital Agency – Jason Holmes, Co-Founder/President, Affect Digital Media and Chris Weatherly, Director, Sales and Operations, WRAL Digital Solutions. Moderated by Lorren Elkins, Head of US, Camilyo
So many great entries in this category…the two winners (under $5 Million in revenue and over) are truly the best of the best. They will share where they are having success and what is on their road map for the coming year. The judges were very impressed by their wide variety of products offered that allows the agencies to handle any marketing challenge.
2:35 PM – 2:45 PM: Break sponsored by AdMall
2:45 PM – 5:00 PM: Rapid Fire – More Digital Contest Winners
Our rapid fire approach is designed to give you a glimpse into the digital contest winners. Follow up with them during breaks and the evening reception to learn more about their work.
2:30 PM – 2:50 PM: Best Contest or Promotion – Brooke Warner, General Manager, Sierra Nevada Media Group/The Record Courier and Dustin Block, Digital Executive Producer, WDIV Local 4. Moderated by SecondStreet
It was once again the category that generated the most entries! Our judges were wowed by the revenue generated in a community under 10,000 and the really great messages behind the campaigns.
2:50 PM – 3:10 PM: Best Use of Data – Frank Zepeda, Senior Marketing Manager, El Clasificado Inc. and Dustin Block, Digital Executive Producer, WDIV. Moderated by Kenneth Watson, Managing Director, CXENSE
This is a new category and we are excited to showcase the winning entries in this area of our business that represents a huge opportunity. Our judges were impressed with how the companies use data to improve the experiences of both advertisers and businesses and analyzing audience metrics.
3:10 PM – 3:30 PM: Best Native or Sponsored Content Campaign – Stacey Spears, Local Sales Manager, WJXT and Jason Holmes, Co-Founder/President, Affect Digital Media. Moderated by Will Scott, CEO, UpScribed
Another popular category – prepare to be wowed by the creative work going on with sponsored content campaigns. The winners partnered with the Mayo Clinic and Jackson County Hospital, representing a huge opportunity for local media companies.
3:30 PM – 3:50 PM: Best Strategy to Grow Digital Audience – Edwin Ruis, Integrated Revenue Director Swift Communications/Tahoe Daily Tribune and Mark M Weidel, General Manager – Digital Solutions, LNP Media Group. Moderated by Tom Ratkovich, Managing Director, LEAP Media Solutions
A top priority at every company – find out what made our winners stand out above the others. Bring these great ideas home to implement right away.
3:50 PM – 4:00 PM: Break
4:00 PM – 4:20 PM: Best Social Media Strategy –Brooke Warner, General Manager, Sierra Nevada Media Group/Lahontan Valley News and John Sahly, Managing Editor, Digital, Shaw Media Group, Moderated by Elisa DeFoe, VP of Client Strategy, Social News Desk
Let’s face it – there are a lot of great social media strategies out there. Our winners will present on a fun #FallonWantsFallon campaign and working with the community to create “snackables” (short, informative video nuggets).
4:20 PM – 4:40 PM: Best Digital News Project, Jeff Williamson, Digital Content Manager, WSLS 10 and Erica Smith, Online editor and director of digital strategy, The Virginian-Pilot. Moderated by Rick Rogers, Vice President, TownNews.com
We’re excited to share the winning entries from this new category. Lots of great work going on in this area of our business from high school sports to multiform storytelling techniques.
4:40 PM – 5:00 PM: Digital News Innovator of the Year – Presented by Nancy Lane, Local Media Association, to Erica Smith, Online editor and director of digital strategy, The Virginian-Pilot
An inspiring session to end our day of programming! Our judges had their hands full with lots of great candidates to choose from but Erica Smith from the Virginian Pilot rose to the top.
The Virginian-Pilot’s Erica Smith has led her standalone newsroom in quantifiable audience growth, educating her colleagues on trends and best practices all the while. She has demonstrated superb collaboration, communication, passion and commitment to innovation (she created a Facebook bot, seeks out collaborations and partnerships with outside vendors and much more).
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Happy Hour. Sponsored by Lineup Systems and Zapp 360.
Network, eat, drink and enjoy at our fun happy hour.
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Join us for the official local media executives feast at Park Tavern. Presented by Site Impact. Meet in the lobby to Uber/Taxi over with the group.
Park Tavern offers a contemporary spin on the gastropub experience, serving over 40 craft beers and authentic food in a casual, urban lodge setting. It’s the perfect place for a fun night of dinner, drinks, prizes and networking. Thanks Site Impact for sponsoring!
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM: Coffee sponsored by AdMall
8:30 AM – 9:45 AM: Keynote: Complete Sales Transformation Case Studies
It’s the biggest pain point in the industry. Many companies have made bold moves in the past year to completely transform their approach to sales. We’re talking major overhauls and changes in structure. They’ll share it all, the good, the bad and the ugly, in this important session to start the day.
9:45 AM – 10:00 AM: Break
10:00 AM – 10:20 AM: Digital Innovator of the Year – Andy Pergam, Vice President of Video & New Ventures, McClatchy – Presented by Denise Gibson, Senior Sales Strategist, AdMall
Our digital innovator of the year has launched the biggest and boldest video strategy in the industry. The McClatchy Video Lab was created by Andy Pergam after he joined the company in 2014. It has grown to over 60 employees focused on supporting 30 newsrooms across editorial, business, product and operations. The results are so promising that Pergam and team recently broke ground on an exciting new space dedicated to the future of visual storytelling (Video Lab West).
Under Pergam’s leadership, The Video Lab also launched a podcast department, organized a drones program and has been one of the most impactful change agents in the company as it relates to culture and innovation. Pergam will share some recent success stories along with his plans for future growth during this session.
10:20 AM – 11:05 AM: Chief Digital Officers Share Top Revenue Strategies & What Keeps Them Up at Night– Stephanie Slagle, Director of Digital, WBNS, Chris Edwards, President, Fusion Farm/Cedar Rapids Gazette, and Integrated Revenue Director, Edwin Ruis, Swift Communications
We chose three of the most vocal digital leaders in the industry because we know they won’t hold back. In this fast moving session, they’ll share their top two strategies to grow digital revenue and the top two things that really keep them up at night.
11:05 AM – 11:50 AM: Table Talks
We’ll have thought leaders assigned to various tables to dive deeper into subjects of interest. Pick one and join your peers for interesting discussions. A great opportunity to share, learn and network. Choose from the following:
11:50 AM: Conference ends
12:00 – 4:00 PM: Chief Digital Club and Chief Content Club Private Event
For more information, email Jed Williams at jed.williams@localmedia.org.
THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING R&D COMPANIES
SUPPORTING THE EVENT