Social Media for Brands and Marketing — Revolution in Global Branding and Business Opportunities

SPEAKERS:

Adrian Sexton, Co-Founder, New Medici

Adrian Sexton co-founded New Medici to innovate media, entertainment and lifestyle brands across digital and traditional platforms. As former digital head of two media companies, Lionsgate and Participant Media, Sexton brings a hybrid background in operational media strategy, content marketing/distribution, product and business development. New Medici’s clients include a hybrid blend of traditional and digital media companies in digital product and brand strategy, digital delivery, social media aggregation, branded production and distribution, multicultural social platforms, DIY content gateways and entrepreneur/mentor networks.

Before New Medici, Sexton was Executive Vice President, Digital at Participant Media. He was responsible for running the company's expansion into global media, digital distribution and marketing, and architecting TakePart.com, its $14M+ cause marketing social action network™. Traffic to TakePart.com grew 1000% year-over-year during Sexton’s tenure. As an Executive Committee member at Participant, he sat on the M&A, New Business and Social Action boards, involving theatrical greenlights and investments including $1B Summit Entertainment financing and $250M Abu Dhabi co-funding deals. Sexton worked on such films as Food Inc., The Visitor, Charlie Wilson’s War, The Kite Runner, and the Academy Award®-winning documentaries An Inconvenient Truth and The Cove.

Sexton came to Participant from TAG Strategic, a digital media and entertainment agency he co-founded with EMI veteran Ted Cohen. TAG’s diverse client roster has included Lionsgate, Qualcomm, Sandisk, Gibson, Muze and LivePlanet. Before forming TAG, Sexton headed Digital Media as Vice President at Lionsgate, where he oversaw the day-to-day operations, production, media planning and business development for digital and mobile properties. His duties encompassed theatrical, home entertainment, television, international and physical studios. He oversaw the digital campaigns for such movies as the Best Picture Academy Award -winning Crash, Oscar-winning Monster’s Ball, Fahrenheit 9/11, as well as the SAW and Tyler Perry franchises.Sexton identified multiple-platform marketing, distribution and sales opportunities for the studio’s 8000+ title film library in such high-growth markets as broadband, mobile, digital cinema, peer-to-peer and IPTV. Lionsgate’s market capitalization rose from $60 million to $1.2 billion during Sexton’s tenure; and he was part of the senior team which secured the $350 million credit facility to acquire Artisan Entertainment.

Prior to Lionsgate, Sexton was the New Media Director at Mediapact Capital, a $500 million media management and investment capital firm which invested in and took control of Lionsgate. His professional experience also includes work in television at Sony Pictures, production and development at HBO Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Saban Entertainment. A frequent media presenter, Sexton delivered the media keynote at the 2009 X|Media|Lab conferences in Auckland and Amsterdam, the Opening Forum keynote at the 60th Anniversary of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, as well as keynotes at 2007 Digital Hollywood, 2006 Intel Viiv launch in Tokyo and 2006 Forrester conference in Brazil. In October 2009, New Medici was awarded the British Airways/Harvard Business Review entrepreneurialism award. Sexton has been an arts advisory member of non-profits American Democracy Institute, Games For Change and the Los Angeles Film Festival. Additionally, he is on the Interactive Media Peer Group Awards Committee for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and a new media council member of the Producers Guild of America.

Michael Rice, Senior Vice President, Director of Digital, McCann Erickson Los Angeles

Michael Rice is charged with further strengthening the agency’s digital capabilities, including digital strategy and production, and plays a key role in business development and talent recruitment. Michael has an impressive array of interactive experience. He previously held the position of executive vice president, digital, for Integrated Media Solutions, a leading direct response agency in Beverly Hills, CA. At Integrated, he was responsible for managing and growing interactive accounts, as well as supporting sales efforts to generate incremental interactive business. From 2005 to 2008, Michael was senior director of marketing for LeadPoint, Inc., an online acquisition exchange for direct response marketers, serving as a high level marketing strategist. He also has entrepreneurial experience, having built the interactive agency Citrus from the ground up from 1998 to 2004. He also served as the vice president of marketing for a top digital agency, iXL, and as the director of marketing for Fox Broadcasting prior to launching Citrus.

Yacine Baroudi, Chief Engagement Officer, FasTake

Yacine comes from a 16-year career in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries on the commercial side, at major corporations including Pfizer and Amgen where he participated in the launch of several billion-dollar products. In 2004, he founded 2K.2 inc, a marketing and market research consulting practice focusing on the launch and optimization of pharmaceutical and biotechnology brands.

As a technology enthusiast, seasoned and forward-looking marketer, Yacine Baroudi founded FasTake in 2007, a new media agency that works with small and mid-sized organizations in various industries, including social gaming, e-commerce and non-profit, to improve online business communications like marketing and PR through the use of social software, community platforms, and other emerging web and mobile technologies.

Through its own proprietary platform, FasTake also offers companies and individuals vying for a shot at the phenomenal returns from social media, the opportunity to further engage their communities through crowd-sourcing and leverage the resulting content to further deepen the ongoing conversation, convey their message, secure loyalty and usher in more prospects

Yacine was born in France, grew up in Morocco and lives in San Diego, CA with his wife and 2 children.

David Bloom, Principal, Words & Deeds

David Bloom consults on communications and media strategy, social media and media relations for prominent clients in technology, media, entertainment, nutrition/health and politics, including Herbalife, Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, DtecNet, Goldstar, RampRate Sourcing Advisors, Taste, thinkGASM and others. He is a frequent writer, blogger, tweeter and speaker, appearing at numerous conferences on technology, entertainment and media.

Previously, Bloom was associate dean & chief communications officer for the USC Marshall School of Business, and vice president, corporate communications at MGM Inc. He previously was an award-winning journalist with several magazines and newspapers, writing about technology, entertainment. He is a member of the board of directors of Outpost for Contemporary Art.

Marieke Hensel, CEO & Online Strategist, Branding Personality

Marieke is an online brand strategist since 2002 and is the owner of Branding Personality: the online brand strategy agency for consumer brands. She lived and worked in Romania, the US and Brazil, she is originally from The Netherlands.

Marieke is an internationally published co-author of BusinessWise, a collaborative book for small companies with large ambitions. BusinessWise was the a bestseller on Amazon UK in May 2007. She is listed in the VIVA400 for 2009 in the Netherlands, a ranking, like the Forbes500 that lists the 400 most successful women in the Netherlands, compiled by Viva magazine.

Her company, Branding Personality now has 7 employees who help businesses attract customers through online advertizing, search engine optimization and social media. Branding Personality generates results for local businesses and national brands such as Fairmont Private Schools, Microsoft Xbox, Chevrolet and Hyundai auto dealers.