Thursday, October 23rd

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM

ThinkTank III: Director’s Room

Content for the New Platforms: Custom Programming, Product Placement and Branded Advertising

Stephanie Piche', founder and Executive Producer of Mingle Media TV Network

Rick Keppler, president, Keppler Entertainment

Ken Mayer, Chairman and CEO, GTV

Burnes Hollyman, President, GHOST MACHINE TM

Alex McAfee, CEO, Seek Retreat

Allison Dollar, CEO, ITV Alliance, Moderator

Choice Award for Silicon Valley Startups,  Listed in the Top 50 Tweeples on Twitter; founder/president of a NY National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) chapter; and industry speaker at Digital Hollywood Conferences, Unofficial Google+ Film Festival, Social Media Club / LA, Web Series Network Summit, New Media Expo, LAWebFest, New Media Film Festival, A&E TV's Lifetime "Reinvent Your Dreams", a Featured “Pro" on Web TV Workshop Pro-Panel, WITI, Silicon Valley Marketing Group, Int'l Newspaper conferences, as well as contributor to MediaPost.com, RedCarpetReportTV.com, MsInTheBiz.com, and other industry related publications.

Ken Mayer, Chairman and CEO, GTV: Ken is a creative entrepreneur with 20 years experience in the fields of media, technology and where the two converge. Mr. Mayer has built three successful businesses and completed consulting projects for companies such as Viacom, Fox, Gannet, Pepsico, HP, RedBull and the US DOJ. Mr. Mayer founded GTV Solutions, Inc. in 1999, which was original launched as a YouTube predecessor. When unable to support bandwidth costs, which were exponentially higher than today, Ken switched gears and developed a presence based messaging platform sold as a secure enterprise instant messaging solution. As Chairman and CEO, Mr. Mayer oversaw development of the sophisticated client-server software platform, orchestrated numerous partnerships and sales of the company's product. Ken exited in 2006 and was able to retain control of the GTV.COM domain and GTV trademark. In 2006, Ken founded and later exited from WordClick LCC, a company that developed a patented application that provides a more efficient method for searching the Internet. Once installed, WordClick enables its users to simply 'click' on any word (or set of words) displayed in a webpage or email, to automatically retrieve results from their favorite search engine or online retailer. In 2007, Ken formed Revelin Studios, an entertainment production company based in Los Angeles, CA. While running Revelin Studios, Ken developed and produced the critically acclaimed “Behind The Player” series that features celebrity musicians giving lessons for how to play their songs. The series benefitted Little Kids Rock, a non-profit that gets instruments to underprivileged children. He currently has three feature films in various stages of production, which he developed while designing and overseeing the development of the GTV Platform over the past two years. Prior to launching GTV 1.0, in 1997 Ken founded and ran Live Music Channel (now called Original Media), which produces content for distribution through the Internet and worldwide television. LMC had an internationally syndicated TV series and produced over 300 hours of original programming. Prior to LMC, Ken founded and ran a NYC-based production company called, Very Near Future. While running VNF, he produced and directed On The Road, a music-based television series which was distributed on Fox affiliates in 1994-97. During this time, he also directed numerous music videos for platinum artists and produced an award winning feature film documentary called “Three Days” that followed the 1997 reunion tour of legendary rock band Jane's Addiction. While in college Ken founded and published a monthly entertainment magazine, which was sold to Gannett two years after its launch. During this time, he produced several concert events for artists such as Dave Matthews, No Doubt, Bush, Blues Traveler, Hootie and the Blowfish, and 311, to name a few.

Burnes Hollyman, President, GHOST MACHINE TM: Mr. Hollyman has over 25 years of new media, interactive and game making experience. After graduating from NYU with a BA in film and a MA and all course work for his PhD at the University of Texas, Austin, Mr. Hollyman was recruited by ITT, where he ran its strategic planning unit. He was promoted to manage several of its operating companies in its High Tech Sector as a hands-on COO. Mr. Hollyman was then recruited to Silicon Valley, where he managed a division of Tymshare Tymnet and CEO of its joint venture company with Telecom Italia. He was SVP in charge of Worldwide New Media at the legendary firm Renaissance before joining the Documentum (now EMC) senior management executive team as SVP where he started, built and successfully ran its Worldwide Services organization. He left Documentum to start the Digital Entertainment Alliance where he was also an investor and on the management team of Planet Texas Interactive which developed mobile and immersive games, special effects and animation. He started Gamerista, a video game R & D company specializing in virtual and augmented reality in 2010 and helped start Ghost Machine Studios with Mr. Nellans. Mr. Hollyman has built a number of virtual worlds and designed hundreds of digital entertainment experiences ranging from video games to interactive and leading edge experimental technologies for companies like Sony, Microsof, Disney Interactive,Playfirst, Dreamwoks, WB Games, Nintendo and many others.

Alex McAfee is the Founder and CEO of SeekRetreat.com, the online marketplace for yoga travel. Alex specializes on traction, branding, and fast & light growth tactics in niche markets. A retired climber, Alex is accustomed to making calculated decisions, with high levels of uncertainty, in the face of very severe consequences.

Allison Dollar specializes in accelerating early stage companies and launch initiatives.  Her expertise lies in articulating the business and developing corporate strategy.  She creates and supports plans for roll out, business development, brand packaging and marketing. A longtime champion of cross-platform interactivity, she is a recognized expert in digital media and is a founder and CEO of the Interactive Television Alliance, a non-profit trade association whose broad constituency is committed to deploying ITV in the U.S. Some clients have included IBM?s eBusiness (partnering American Express, Bell Atlantic, Mail Boxes Etc.), Liberty Media (Ascent), AOL?s Guerilla Games, SimplyTV, WB, Creative Planet (IPO), Stan Lee Media (IPO), MobileCasino, Vi[z]Rt (virtual sets),  Envivio (France Telecom MPEG-4 spinoff), Homerun Entertainment (Scripps), LSI Capital, Digital Containers, AT&T spinoff Telcordia, Space Tourism Awards, The Horror Channel, NAB (Broader-casting), Gamma&Density, Mozaik (cloud ITV service).  For Webcasts.com she was CSO and a founding board member (IPO as iBEAM) and interim CSO for WhiteBlox and GizmoLive.  In addition, she co-founded eTV World, Hollyweb Live!, iNNOVATORS? conferences and venture pitch series.  She chaired NAB?s Executive Committee to launch Multimedia World, the NAB?s switch to digital.  She is Executive Director of the Mobile Excellence Awards and an advisory board member of KORUS, the Korea-US Vision Council.  She directs programming for iBreakfastLA held at UCLA?s Anderson School of Management and creates and/or moderates programming for Digital Hollywood, NATPE, CES and many other events. Previously, as Executive Producer for Phillips Business Information, she led business/online content development for 40+ media trade publications, including Interactive Video News, Interactive Marketing News, Internet Week, CableFAX, Multimedia Week, E-Commerce News, Film & Video Magazine, A/V Video magazine, Via Satellite.  While Editorial Director of In Motion she created advertorial sponsorship packages with Sony, SGI, PacBell, Autodesk, AOL, HBO, Kodak and Sprint.  These anticipated the impact of 3D visual effects, advertainment, DBS, broadband, VOD and wireless devices. Early on, she worked with Oscar-nominated James Agee Film Project, CBS affiliate WBAL, the Maryland Film Commission.  She received ASAE?s Golden Circle award for revamping a trade association brand.  She was a founding board member of Maryland?s Women In Film and Video, and held advisory board/exec committee positions for CINE and the US Film&Video Festival. A Blue Ribbon Judge for the TV Academy?s Interactive Emmys, Dollar has also been a member of the Interactive Media Peer Group executive committee.  She has been interviewed by National Public Radio, Wall Street Journal, Hot Wired, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, BizTalk1 Radio, Millimeter, Digitrends, Broadcasting & Cable, Contra Costa Times, San Jose Mercury News, New York Post, LA Times and other outlets about digital media and high tech entertainment.  A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Goucher College in Baltimore, she holds a M.A. from the University of Virginia.  Her book, published by Focal Press, Interactive Television: Tracking and Preparing for an Emerging Market, explains the historic reworking of the television business model.

Thursday, October 23rd

Video, Social Media & Crowdfunding