LMA Fest 2022 Agenda

LMA Fest 2022 is a modern take on the former LMA Digital Revenue Summit. We’ll be taking over the Gleacher Center, home to the University of Chicago’s executive MBA program, in downtown Chicago for three days of meetings Aug. 16-18, focused on the growth of your business. Here’s what we’re planning:

All times Central (Chicago time). Session times and topics are preliminary and subject to change.

LMA media company members receive free registrations as part of their membership. Contact Lindsey Estes for your registration code.

9 a.m.-10 a.m.: Opening keynote: Big brands go local with content marketing – Biogen, AARP and Deloitte 

Executive Dining Room, Floor 6

We know that small and medium-sized businesses will spend $80 billion in content marketing this year (source: Borrell Associates). It turns out that national brands are also turning to local media to reach new audiences. In this opening session, we’ll hear from companies that recently created unique content and sponsorship collaborations with local media. They’ll share their goals, expectations and what they have learned so far. 

Panelists: Vinny Chisari, performance marketing and experience leader, Deloitte Digital; Cherié Butts, P.h.D., medical director, therapeutics development unit, Biogen; and Shani Hosten, vice president, diversity, equity and inclusion, African American/Black strategy and LGBTQ strategy, AARP. Moderators: Julia Campbell, general manager, The Meta Branded Content Project; Andrew Ramsammy, chief content and collaboration officer, Local Media Association.

10:15 a.m.-11:10 a.m.: How to navigate dual transformation — innovating your core business while investing in future business models

Room 200

The concepts of “transformation A” and “transformation B” are certainly not new. In fact, LMA conducted sessions with Harvard Business school great Scott Anthony more than a decade ago on this very topic. Truth is, most local media companies were not willing or able to execute at the time. Things have changed dramatically since then. No one has studied this business strategy and acted on it more than our presenter, Todd Handy. In this session, Todd will walk us through the basics and leave plenty of time for a robust discussion. Bonus tip: We recommend reading Dual Transformation, by Scott Anthony and Clark Gilbert, before attending this session.

Presenter: Todd Handy, former chief digital officer, Beasley Media Group.

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Small group sessions — choose one:

• Q&A session with a brand leader from the keynote session: Now is your chance to dive deeper into this conversation. Cherié Butts, P.h.D., medical director, therapeutics development unit, Biogen and Vinny Chisari, performance marketing and experience leader, Deloitte Digital, will be participating. Room 200
• The Meriden Business Boost Marketing Grant Program: The Meriden Business Boost Marketing Grant Program can be replicated in any town across the country! In January 2022, the Record-Journal in Meriden, Connecticut received $300,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to implement marketing grants for 150 local businesses. Your media company can propose the same program in your community for ARPA funding by using this template and model from the Record-Journal. Presented by Liz White, publisher, The Record-Journal. Classroom 244
• “Ask me anything” with Jim Brady, vice president of news, Knight Foundation: Looking for advice on projects you want to fund? This is a great opportunity to pick Jim’s brain. Note: this is not a session about how to get funding from The Knight Foundation. Classroom 240

1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: Small group sessions — choose one:

• Philanthropic funding of journalism: We dive deep into why more foundations are making this investment, with leaders from the philanthropic community. Presenters: Lolly Bowean, manager, Journalism portfolio, Creativity and Free Expression team, Ford Foundation; Daniel Ash, president, The Field Foundation of Illinois; Nicholas Burt, head of the Investigative Journalism for Government Accountability program, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; and Joaquin Alvarado, partner, Studiotobe. Moderated by Andrew Ramsammy, chief content and collaboration officer, LMA. Classroom 244
• The bright future for local video advertising and how your company can execute: Hear from Cross Screen CEO Michael Beach on why he’s bullish on the local video advertising market and why news media companies are missing out on revenue if they aren’t. You’ll get a download of data from advertisers, and hear some effective sales strategies for newspaper, broadcast, and radio companies. Moderated by Penny Riordan, director, business strategy and partnerships, LMA. Room 200
• Technology Resource Center — Glass house projects on digital news dailies and B2B subscription revenue. Guy Tasaka, head of the LMA Technology Resource Center, introduces its first glass house projects and showcases the business models and recipes for publishers to explore new seven-figure revenue opportunities. Classroom 240

2:45 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Recruiting, onboarding, and retention are the keys to your most important competitive advantage in 2022 and beyond.

Room 200

Learn how to innovate your culture and develop engaging leaders in this interactive session with Mark Briggs, vice president of innovation and organization effectiveness for SmithGeiger and author of The Butterfly Impact: Resilience, Resets, and Ripples. 

3:40 p.m.-5 p.m.: Workshop: strategic planning in the face of disruption

Executive Dining Room, Floor 6

Get ready to roll up your sleeves for this high-energy, interactive workshop that will challenge you to think in new and exciting ways. Identify how to create capacity for innovation and strategy; learn how to quickly assess and rank to get to ruthless prioritization of your highest-impact activities; and understand how to use start-up principles to accelerate transformation. There will be large- and small-group exercises focused on short and long-term opportunities. Walk away with new ideas, clear priorities and a plan for how to execute. 

Facilitated by Frank Mungeam, chief innovation officer, LMA

10:15 a.m.-11:10 a.m.: Keeping what you earn — do less, keep more

Sales managers and reps work hard to keep pipelines full, but what’s the point of shoveling new customers and their money in the front end if they are leaking out the back end? This session looks at ways to keep customers (lower attrition), and earn more from each.

Presenters: Jodelle Bailey, director of digital strategy, Sinclair Digital Group; Amber Aldrich, senior advertising director, The Seattle Times; and Pat Eastburn, vice president of digital sales, Beasley Media Group.

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: The art of prospecting 

Many local media organizations don’t have a systematic strategy around prospecting, nor do they have goals, accountability or comp plans related to lead generation and prospecting. This session will address measuring activity over revenue and how to add new prospects/leads.

Presenters: Shannon Kinney, founder and client success officer, Dream Local Digital; Lenora Howze, executive director, The AFRO; and Jared Merves, senior vice president, digital, Cumulus Media..

1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: Sales compensation plans and structures that work

How do you position all sales resources for the best chances at success? And how do you develop meaningful compensation and incentives for that success? We will explore commonly used sales compensation plans and organizational structures — their strengths and weaknesses, and when to use each for best results.

Presenters: Tanisha Leonard, president, RTM360, Real Times Media and Michael Chauvin, digital sales director, NOLA.com/The Times Picayune/The Advocate. Moderator: Robert Walker-Smith, digital revenue director, Knight x LMA BloomLab.

2:45 p.m.- 3:55 p.m.: Branded content, soup to nuts

Everything you want to know about Branded Content but were afraid to ask! Branded content is flying off the shelf. Let’s discuss why, why it works, and how to sell it. We’ll also explain ways to avoid internal resistance and how to deal with objections on the street. Plus, learn how to design content strategies small local advertisers can afford, and hear strategies that make content clients repeat customers.

Presenters: Nannette Fevola, senior director of national sales marketing/client solutions, Newsday Media Group; Peter Lamb, president, Lamb Consulting; Ashley Marten, director of operations, Studio 1847 / Tribune Publishing; and Amber Nettles, vice president, sales and business development, Chicago Reader.

4 p.m.-5 p.m. Driving newsletter revenue success

We know of at least seven different revenue streams for email newsletters and email marketing programs. We will discuss them all, what works, when, and how best to price them.

Presenters: Emily Dresslar, director of RevLab at The Texas Tribune; Graham Ringo, senior director, News Revenue Hub; and Rachel Rubin, vice president of customer success, LiveIntent. Moderated by Penny Riordan, director, business strategy and partnerships, LMA.

9 a.m.-10 a.m.: Lead generation and sales enablement — the missing ingredients

This session will cover lead-generation campaigns and sales enablement tools that set sales reps up for success. This includes videos, buyer journeys and one-sheets segmented by industry.

Presenters: Jesse McCambridge, vice president, digital revenue and sales strategy, Cox Media Group; Stephanie Slagle, vice president and chief innovation officer, Graham Media Group. Moderator/Presenter: Brock Berry, CEO, AdCellerant.

10:30 a.m.-11:15 a.m.: CTV/OTT opportunities for all media sellers — beyond owned-operated platforms

Revenue opportunities in Connected TV and Over-The-Top video aren’t limited to media outlets that are built to produce video. Connected TV revenue is largely driven by two factors: the number of streaming hours you can generate from your own content, and the ability to sell CTV/OTT ad inventory on both owned and third-party content platforms. Learn to extend your audience reach and available inventory opportunities on third-party distribution platforms, even if your organization doesn’t produce much video content.

Presenters: Jon Truitt, senior director, digital operations, Emmis Communications; Ed McLoughlin, managing director, MadHive. Moderator: J.B. Ozuna, director of strategic revenue, Graham Media Group.