Content area
Full Text
Cable Marketing Event Puts Focus on Building Brands and Relationships
When the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing gathers in Washington, D.C., from July 23-25, the organization will rally around its CTAM Summit theme, "Power to the People!"
"Our business is shifting from the power of the programming and operating partners to the consumers," said CTAM Summit CoChair Wonya Lucas, general manager of the Weather Channel. "It's all about the democratization of media, and we want to have an open dialogue about that. At one of the first CTAM Summits I went to, there was a lot of talk about how consumers would have control. That was just a notion, and now it's a reality. Another meaning is that the summit is in Washington, D.C., where 'power to the people' is the law of the land."
CTAM President-CEO Char Beales said the organization conducted a survey of its members to organize the summit, which includes several keynote addresses and 47 sessions, around four "pillars" of greatest interest. "Some are traditional," said summit Co-Chair Sam Howe, chief marketing officer for Time Warner. "And yet there's a new, edgy twist to each of them."
An old favorite-brand-was the top theme to emerge. "In an age where the TV is a less relevant aspect of branding, that's very much on people's minds," said Mr. Howe. "How do you keep a brand strong in a nonlinear world?"
Ms. Beales added that new networks and the evolution of nonlinear and on-demand also are factors. "We still have a fair number of new networks coming in and trying to establish their brand," she said. "And even some of the bigger brands are looking at how they evolve their brand as their business models change. Brand has become even more important in a nonlinear world."
Keynoter Steve Hayden, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide vice chairman and co-creator of the " 1984" Orwellian takeoffad for Apple, also will address the topic.
"I can't tell you the number of conversations I've had where people want to know the future of brand on all the platforms," said Ms. Lucas. "Steve Hayden has created great brands, and his ability to use...