Voices Carry: Why Authentic Brand Voices Matter
A well thought out, authentic, and strategic digital content program is more important than ever for driving social media strategy, increasing user engagement, and building syndication relationships. This panel will debate and discuss the business case for well crafted editorial and video content as well as the necessity for authenticity, properly marrying a brand's voice with SEO and the defining line between farmed, borrowed and genuine expert Branded Content. The panel will feature executives from Amos Content Group, CAA, Associated Press and will be moderated by What's Trending co-host Melissa Rowley.
Presenters
Michael Dutton is an award-winning entertainment media executive with 15 years experience developing and distributing content across all platforms and in all formats. Dutton has worked for some of the largest media companies in the world, including MTV Networks, IMG World and The Associated Press.
Dutton got started in entertainment as a musician and record producer but eventually took on the role of TV music programming and production executive for Broadway Video's Burly Bear Network in New York City. From that point on, he credits his drive, creativity and affinity for technology and innovation for propelling him forward in his career. He helped produce hit programming for MTV Networks, launched groundbreaking mobile video products for Sprint Mobile, and developed new business and product strategies for AP worldwide. While at AP, his work also took him into the world of online and digital marketing where he married news content with online brand messaging. In 2010, Dutton won AP’s prestigious Oliver S. Gramling Achievement Award for developing a new service that supports the content and engagement needs of online advertisers and marketers. Campaigns with Ford and Tabasco were recognized for their innovation and success and were presented to industry leaders throughout the U.S. as part of the 2011 IAB Case Study Road Show.
Today, Dutton is focused on expanding the digital product set for AP, providing more content packaging solutions for the global company’s customer base, and opening up new market opportunities.
Sarah Passe is a Business Development Executive at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), an entertainment and sports agency based in Los Angeles with offices in New York, London, Nashville, and Beijing. Passe works in the Los Angeles office and collaborates with colleagues across the agency to identify and create opportunities within the emerging digital media marketplace for CAA clients. Passe has helped establish new revenue models and negotiated cross-platform distribution for digital media projects, in addition to developing sponsorship and content integration opportunities with corporate marketers for such high-profile content creators as Zooey Deschanel, Broadway Video, Jonas Brothers, and Seth Green, among others.
Prior to joining CAA, Passe was Digital Content Development Manager at Digitas, a digital advertising agency firm based in New York City.
In her spare time, Passe enjoys exploring her recently adopted hometown of Los Angeles.
Sharon Feder is Chief Operating Officer of Mashable. She oversees the company’s business operations including sales, marketing, community and human resources.
Most recently, Sharon was publisher, during which the company experienced its fastest growth to date and built its own ad sales operations. She’s held the positions of managing editor and features editor at Mashable. She joined the company in June 2008 as editorial assistant. Since then she has significantly grown Mashable’s editorial team, extended partnerships with leading news publishers and created a human resources and recruiting function.
Before joining Mashable, Sharon held positions in advertising and public relations. She started her career in media as an editorial assistant intern at Pearson Education.
She co-founded and subsequently sold MySocialDog, a hyper-local social network for dog owners.
Shawn Amos has been a trusted tastemaker, content creator, and custodian of pop culture for the past decade.
Prior to founding Amos Content Group, Shawn was Senior Vice President of Content at GetBack Media and was Vice President of A&R at Shout! Factory, where he developed and oversaw the label’s entire audio, live concert DVD, and comedy DVD release schedule, working with dozens of heritage artists ranging from pop icons William Shatner and the Bangles to Grammy legends Herb Alpert and Solomon Burke.
Shawn also released his own album “Thank You Shirl-ee May” on the Shout! Factory label. During this time, Amos worked with Shout’s ownership to create a digital strategy that led to the formation of the standalone digital media company, GetBack. Aside from steering GetBack’s popular content, Amos served as the face of the company, hosting its flagship video program “Retro Minute” which received 230 million impressions monthly via out-of- home screens at Wal-Mart check out, supermarket check out, gas stations, coffee houses, and bookstores.
Previously, as an A&R executive at Rhino Entertainment, Shawn steered editorial content for the reissue label’s deluxe anthologies and box sets, hiring award-winning entertainment critics, essayists and authors. He then went on to produce single and various artists collections from such heritage musical acts as INXS, The Sugarhill Gang and Quincy Jones (for whom Amos later ran the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation).
Shawn is the son of Wally Amos, founder of the Famous Amos brand, and the first African-American talent agent for the William Morris Agency. Growing up in the colorful Hollywood landscape inspired Shawn to pursue a career in film (he attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts) then music and digital media. He is currently writing his first book, a memoir titled “Cookies & Milk: Scenes From a ’70s Hollywood Childhood.” Shawn sits on the Board of Trustees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and serves as secretary on the Los Angeles Board of Governors of the Recording Academy.
Tim Stickelbrucks is currently Managing Partner of SAINT ELMO’S Entertainment GmbH & Co.KG, part of Germany’s largest independent advertising company SERVICEPLAN. Mr. Stickelbrucks has a long lasting history of developing communication solutions for brands, using editorial content for interactive dialogue with the desired target group. As a specialist for rich internet applications and branded entertainment he has realized custom built online video solutions for IPTV and Web TV fitting all screens, social media solutions as well as the respective editorial content for clients such BMW, Warsteiner and MSN. He was also consulting Apple Inc. for special programming of the iTunes store in Germany form 2005 to 2011.
As member of the board of the working group IPTV/Web TV of Bitkom, the German Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media, he is involved in all aspects of the converging media landscape.
Tim Stickelbrucks has received numerous industry awards in the area of new media advertising, app development and online video solutions.
Sunday, March 11
