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 Fest

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

Thank you to all of our sponsors!

Tuesday, August 16, 2022: Collaboration day

Sponsored by

LMA/LMF labs, accelerators and collaboratives come together for in-person learning

  • 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.: Knight x LMA BloomLab: Private session for lab participants. Classroom 244
  • 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: News is Out: Private session for collaborative participants. Classroom 226
  • 1 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Lab for Journalism Funding: Private session for lab participants. Classroom 240

1 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Meta Reader Revenue Accelerator Workshop (REGISTRATION IS CLOSE):

Classroom 600

Join the Blue Engine team for an in-depth interactive workshop that will have a direct impact on reader revenue for your media organization. Participants will have hands-on experience improving their onsite marketing and purchase flows during the workshop. Blue Engine, the team of consultants that have impacted hundreds of publishers through the Meta Accelerator program, will lead exercises and breakout sessions for participants. 

If you want to go deeper with your onsite messaging and purchase flow, Blue Engine has agreed to do audits for select organizations at no extra cost. 

1 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Branded Content Workshop (open to all registered attendees)

Room 200

Jump into the deep end with local branded content teams in this immersive session built to give you new revenue ideas AND train your reps selling strategies that work across the content marketing spectrum. First you will hear new revenue ideas focused on branding, sponsorships and storytelling techniques. Second, you will hear ways to pitch those ideas to clients! Plus we’ll have interactive activities to help you leave with ideas and action plans to build, grow or improve your content marketing revenue strategy back at home. Plan on attending this session? RSVP here.

Speakers include:

Julia Campbell, GM, Meta Branded Content Project; Peter Lamb, President, Lamb Consulting; Allison McCann, Vice President of Business Development, Masthead Maine; Frank Zepeda, Marketing Director, El Clasificado; Jarrett Shaffer, Director of Business Operations, Distributed Media Lab; Ross Johnson, Principal, Oklahoma Eagle; Ashley Marten, director of operations, Studio 1847, Tribune Publishing; Nannette Fevola, Senior director of national sales marketing/client solutions, Newsday LLC; Amber Nettles, Vice president, sales and business development, Chicago Reader; and Amber Aldrich, Sr. Director of Advertising, The Seattle Times


5:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: Google News Initiative & LMA Co-Hosted Celebratory Reception

Google News Initiative

Location: CONVENE (333 N. Greene St, Chicago, IL)

Proof of vaccination will be required for this reception: Guests will need to show proof of full vaccination status when they arrive to pick up their name badges. Valid forms of vaccination verification: Physical vaccination card; photo of vaccination card; digital COVID “passport.”


Wednesday, August 17, 2022

8 a.m.-9 a.m.: Breakfast with sponsors; meetings with R&D partners
Sponsored by

Room 100 foyer and executive dining room, floor 6

Sign up for 15-minute “quick bites” with the industry’s premier R&D partners to learn about the newest products and services (with a focus on revenue growth). Learn more about all of the participating companies.

Vinny Chisari
Chisari
Cherié Butts
Butts
Shani Hosten
Hosten
Julia Campbell
Campbell
Andrew Ramsammy
Ramsammy

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 a.m.-10:15 a.m.: Morning refreshment break

Sponsored by

Executive Dining Room, Floor 6

Learn more about all of the participating companies.

10:15 a.m.-5 p.m.: Choose between two tracks of programming: Executive Track and Digital Sales Leaders Track, sponsored by Guarantee Digital, Plus 1:1 meetings with R&D partners

The Executive Track is perfect for C-level executives and features a wide mix of topics. The Digital Sales Leaders Track is highly focused on digital revenue growth, managing sales teams and new opportunities. Throughout the day, 15 minute 1:1 meetings will be available with the industry’s most progressive R&D companies.

Executive Track

Todd Handy
Handy

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.

Jim Brady
Brady
Liz White
White

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

12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Lunch and R&D showcase

R&D partners will host facilitated lunch discussions around different industry topics, and share new and innovative technologies. Executive Dining Room, Floor 6

Lolly Bowean
Bowean
Daniel Ash
Ash
Nicholas Burt
Burt
Joaquin Alvarado
Alvarado
Michael Beach
Beach
Penny Riordan
Riordan
Guy Tasaka
Tasaka

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

2:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m.: Break with sponsors

Sponsored by

Mark Briggs
Briggs

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. 

Frank Mungeam
Mungeam

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

5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.: LMA Fest Happy Hour
Sponsored by

Lizzie McNeill’s Chicago
400 N McClurg Ct, Chicago, IL 60611

Digital Sales Leaders Track

Sponsored by

All sessions will take place in Room 100

Jodelle Bailey
Bailey
Amber Aldrich
Aldrich
Pat Eastburn
Eastburn

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.

Shannon Kinney
Kinney
Lenora Howze
Howze
Jared Merves
Merves

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..

12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Lunch and R&D showcase

R&D partners will host facilitated lunch discussions around different industry topics, and share new and innovative technologies. Executive Dining Room, Floor 6

Robert Walker-Smith
Walker-Smith
Tanisha Leonard
Leonard
Michael Chauvin
Chauvin

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.

2:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m.: Break with sponsors

Room 100 foyer
Sponsored by

Nannette Fevola
Fevola
Peter Lamb
Lamb
Ashley Marten
Marten
Amber Nettles
Nettles

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.

Emily Dresslar
Dresslar
Graham Ringo
Ringo
Rachel Rubin
Rubin

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.


5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.: LMA Fest Happy Hour
Sponsored by

Lizzie McNeill’s Chicago
400 N McClurg Ct, Chicago, IL 60611


Thursday, August 18

General sessions

All sessions will take place in Room 100

Jesse McCambridge
McCambridge
Stephanie Slagle
Slagle
Brock Berry
Berry

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 a.m.-10:15 a.m.: Break with sponsors

Room 100 foyer

J.B. Ozuna
Ozuna
Jon Truitt
Truitt
Ed McLoughlin
McLoughlin

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.


Thank you to all of our sponsors!

Interested in sponsoring LMA Fest? Check out all the options here.

Learn more about all of our sponsors.