Here are three keynotes at the upcoming SIPA 2013 Conference, June 5-7, at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. that will give you inside access that even a press pass couldn’t do!
1. Yesterday, I wrote about the tablet onslaught and that publishers need to work on their mobile delivery. Joe McCambley, co-founder of The Wonderfactory, will address some of the how in his keynote. “First and foremost [tablets] allow you like never before to do work that is actually useful to the customers,” he told DirectMarketingNews in a recent video interview. “There have been 7 billion apps that have been downloaded at about $5 an app. That’s a $35 billion market that didn’t exist. What consumers are telling us by downloading those apps is if you entertain me, if you help me, I’m going to come to you and give you money. I also think there’s an opportunity for advertisers to learn from that lesson. Instead of just trying to break through the clutter, get messages out there and shout at people, you can actually help people.
“The second thing is aesthetically the things you can do on a tablet that you can’t do on the web are amazing. It really gives us the chance to differentiate ourselves. It also encompasses the entire purchase model. You can do everything from awareness to action, all within that one device. We never really had that before from an advertising standpoint. Marketers are standing on the sidelines now wondering whether to invest. As more device makers come out, it will give it that critical mass…The biggest question is once that critical mass is reached, will there be any industry where it doesn’t work. I don’t think so.”
Joe McCambley, Co-Founder, The Wonderfactory, will deliver a keynote address on Thursday, June 6 at 8:30 a.m.
2. Trying a thing is critical, the editors of The Christian Science Monitor told an SIIA audience recently. You need fortitude to make it through the trial process. That process was a huge switch to “digital first” for the venerable publication. Jonathan Wells, managing publisher, and John Yemma, editor, will be coming to SIPA 2013 to talk more about this eye- and opportunity-opening change. The critical success factors, according to Yemma, are having: the right technologies; the right people—you’re changing how they approach business; and the right customer products.
Yemma said that they moved from a silo organization—one where talented people were doing their own thing—to a collaborative one, where people talk to each other and work through ethical dilemmas. They also moved from a one-way organization to one with partnerships with customers and figuring out what will serve them best. “Expect resistence,” Yemma said. “You need to hear criticism; empathize but don’t stop. And persistently invest everyone in success. Look at metrics on a daily basis. You want everyone on board. Find markets that will pay for your knowledge.”
Jonathan Wells, Managing Publisher, and John Yemma, Editor, The Christian Science Monitor, will deliver the Thursday, June 6, lunchtime keynote.
3. David Hawkings has been covering Washington politics for 25 years. He was managing editor of CQ Weekly, edited CQ’s Politics in America and, most recently, authored the CQ Roll Call Daily Briefing. SIPA 2013 attendees will be very fortunate to have him as a moderator for a keynote session with Joshua B. Bolten, Former White House Chief of Staff and Michael D. McCurry, former White House press secretary. Wrote Hawkings yesterday after Sunday’s national air traffic delays: “…none of the genuine or imagined worries or annoyances about the FAA furloughs or any of the other line items will have any tangible effect. That’s because, beyond the bipartisan distaste for the sequester’s consequences, there is no more agreement than there’s ever been about what to do instead. The depth of the cuts are locked in place through September. Even if the big long shot comes through and a budget deal becomes part of raising the debt ceiling in July, at best the caps starting next year would be eased just enough to take away some of the most politically toxic sting…”
SIPA 2013 attendees will be given an incredible glimpse into inside Washington from Hawkings, Bolten and McCurry, Friday, June 7, 8:45 a.m.
Ronn Levine began his career as a reporter for The Washington Post and has won numerous writing and publications awards since. Most recently, he spent 12 years at the Newspaper Association of America covering a variety of topics before joining SIPA in 2009 as managing editor. Follow Ronn on Twitter at @SIPAOnline