2009 Speaker Series

This is going to rock.

For 2009, we've lined up an incredible roster to speak about the continuing evolution of advertising and marketing—from content strategy to user experience, cutting edge websites to new ways of thinking about traditional techniques.

Here's a quick preview of our speakers and when they'll be appearing. More details on their specific topics to come shortly.

We'll be back at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis. Like last year, everything happens on a Monday, starting at 6:00pm. And, of course, admission will be free, thanks to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association.

Monday, February 9

Alan Wolk

Toad Stool Consultancy

Monday, March 9

Kristina Halvorson

President

Brain Traffic

Monday, April 6

Bob Thacker

Senior Vice President, Marketing & Advertising

OfficeMax

Monday, April 27

David Armano

Vice President, Experience Design – Critical Mass

(and pundit at Logic+Emotion)

Monday, May 11

Michael Lebowitz

Founder & CEO

Big Spaceship

Thanks again to everyone who participated in last year's Conversations About The Future Of Advertising. 2009 will be just as awesome. 

Stay tuned.

Season 1: Thank You

Wow. 

We had a little idea, and lots of people got involved to make it something much bigger. 

Thank you!

It was an honor and a pleasure to welcome Jan Leth, Valeria Maltoni, Matt Dickman, Joseph Jaffe and Brian Morrissey to the Twin Cities. All of their presentations were insightful and inspiring, and we hope they fueled productive conversations in your work.

Many thanks to the leadership at MIMA and MCAD for co-sponsoring this speakers series, as well as to our corporate sponsors for the Join the Conversation book give-away, Internet Broadcasting, Carmichael Lynch and Hello Viking. And a special thanks to the 336 members of the Twin Cities Interactive Community on Facebook for their questions, ideas and assistance.

Also, a big thanks to Wendy and Rob and the Fine Line Music Cafe for their support in hosting all five events. 

Stay tuned. We'll be back with Season 2 of Conversations About the Future of Advertising this fall. If you've got thoughts on subjects or presenters, please leave a comment.

Thank you.

Event #5: Conversations with Brian Morrissey, Digital Editor at Adweek

On Monday, April 28, 2008 we're pleased to be welcoming Adweek's Digital Editor, Brian Morrissey, to our series, co-sponsored by MCAD and MIMA.

Prolific Twitter-er, blogger, marathon runner and journalist, Brian brings a wealth of experiences to our conversations about the future of advertising. He currently leads coverage of digital media and marketing for Adweek, and has covered the Internet advertising industry since 2000, working for DM News, ClickZ and the Silicon Alley Reporter. Brian regularly speaks at ad:Tech, iMedia Summit, MIXX, and AdForum, among other industry conferences.

Aside from his perspectives on the future, Brian will focus his presentation on building brands through utility, community and authenticity. 

This event is free. No registration required.

Details:

Brian Morrissey presentation

Monday, April 28, 2008

6:00 PM - 7:45 PM

The Fine Line Music Cafe

Minneapolis

We'll be taking questions for Brian live during the event. You can also send them in ahead of time. Use one of the following methods to send a question. We'll do our best to answer them live as quickly as possible.

Twitter:  "@catfoa" or "d catfoa"

Email & MMS:  5catfoa@drop.io

Or visit http://drop.io/5catfoa

Event #4: Conversations with Joseph Jaffe (April 14, 2008)

We're very pleased to announce marketing pundit and author Joseph Jaffe will be with us on Monday, April 14, 2008, sponsored by the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association and MSP Communications. The event starts at 6:00 PM at the Fine Line Music Cafe in downtown Minneapolis. Admission is free. Joseph will be making a presentation on "The Future of Advertising and Other Short Stories."

Joseph Jaffe is one of the most sought-after consultants, speakers and thought leaders on new marketing. He is the President and Chief Interruptor of crayon, a conversational marketing company specializing in community, dialogue and partnership. (Learn more about Joseph here.)

Joseph's latest book, Join the Conversation, is a must-read for marketing and advertising professionals. It offers the familiar blend of strong insights, witty commentary and useful advice found in his first book, Life After the 30-Second Spot.

The first 250 people to attend the event at the Fine Line will receive a free copy of Join the Conversation. Big thanks to our sponsors Carmichael Lynch, Internet Broadcasting Systems, Hello Viking and MIMA for their generosity in making the books available. 

Details:

Joseph Jaffe Presentation

Monday, April 14, 2008

6:00 PM - 7:45 PM

The Fine Line Music Cafe

318 First Ave North

Minneapolis

- - - - - - - - -

UPDATE:  Here's a link to Jaffe's latest podcast, including his observations about being in Minneapolis with all of us.

Event #3: Conversations with Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer (March 17, 2008)

On Monday, March 17 we welcomed Matt Dickman, director of Digital Marketing for Fleishman-Hillard (Cleveland, OH) and author of Techno//Marketer, one of the top 150 marketing blogs according to Advertising Age.

Matt joined Fleishman-Hillard in January 2008 as a director in the company’s growing digital practice. He brings over 10 years of emerging media, technology and integrated marketing experience to this role. Mr. Dickman’s extensive experience working with traditional offline advertising and PR efforts affords him a strategic vision across marketing channels.

Matt's presentation focused on "Micromedia," and the rising power of micro-blogging, micro-broadcasting, consumer-controlled platforms. (You know, Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku, flickr and Utterz, as well as gadgets, widgets and other redistributed marketing content technologies.) Here's his presentation, with audio commentary.

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Event #2: Conversations with Valeria Maltoni, Conversation Agent (March 3, 2008)

Valeria Maltoni has been called a communicator, a marketer, and a Renaissance person. Her blog, ConversationAgent.com, is recognized among the world's top online marketing blogs.

Valeria is also a Fast Company Expert Blogger and a contributor to The Blog Herald and Marketing Profs Daily Fix. She is a co-author of The Age of Conversation, a groundbreaking eBook collaboration by 103 of today's top marketing writers. Valeria is a frequent public speaker on brand marketing, customer service, and building successful business teams. She publishes in both English and Italian.

Valeria's day job is the Director, Marketing Communications, at SunGard Availablility Services -- a company that specializes in keeping people and information connected.

Here's Valeria's presentation, "Potable Marketing," from Monday, March 3 at the second incarnation of Conversations About the Future of Advertising, co-sponsored by MCAD and MIMA.

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Event #1: Conversations with Jan Leth, Ogilvy (Feb. 4, 2008)

Jan Leth is the Vice Chairman, Global Digital Creative for Ogilvy & Mather. He is based in New York, but travels the globe. Since 1996, Jan has overseen all creative development at OgilvyInteractive for IBM, Ameritrade, American Express, Coke and Cisco. He has won the Grand Prix at Cannes and the LIAA, the Grand Clio, Caples, Adtech, One Show, and Effies. He's chaired the One Show and Clios, and judged Cannes, Andy Awards, Adtech, Caples and Echoes.

Here's Jan's presentation, "Dada.Data.Alpha.Beta" from Monday, February 4, 2008 at the debut of Conversations About the Future of Advertising, co-sponsored by the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association. 

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