Digital media management (DMM) is a growing industry that has quietly been working for a wide variety of other industries. eMotion, Inc., a leader in this growing field, felt that their was a lack of knowledge regarding DMM since it was such a new area of expertise. Ruder Finn recommended a series of educational breakfast panels featuring a panel of top Internet experts in the area to discuss the DMM industry and its crossover into vertical markets.
 
Challenges:
 
While DMM is a growing area, there was a lack of media coverage of it, in part, due to a general lack of knowledge regarding DMM. Ruder Finn faced several challenges in putting together successful panels for this project, specifically:
  • This was the first series of seminars held on the topic of DMM
  • DMM was not a universally accepted term, and was often perceived as possessing multiple definitions amidst an industry constantly redefining itself
  • Reporters and analysts needed to be convinced how this panel would be beneficial to those attending
  • Ensuring the panel addressed the subject of DMM and its application to a variety of different vertical markets
 
Objectives:
 
  • Increase education on the subject of DMM
  • Build strong press contacts and interest them in this burgeoning industry
  • Establish eMotion as the leader in the DMM industry
  • Gain vertical market interest by discussing DMM capabilities
 
Strategies:
 
Ruder Finn targeted five key markets in which to host these panels: New York, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Each market had an opportunity to tailor the seminar to its strongest technology vertical market. In New York and Chicago, Ruder Finn focused on Advertising; in Los Angeles, the Entertainment industry; in Washington, D.C, it was Digital Convergence; and in San Francisco, the panel was focused on New Media.
 
Panels in each market were composed of reporters, analysts, technology organizations, eMotion executives and eMotion partners. The following is a list of panelists within each market selected for their expertise in the above-mentioned industries:
 
New York
  • Stuart Elliott, advertising reporter, The New York Times
  • Kipp Cheng, advertising reporter, AdWeek
  • Stan Singer, director of news technology, NBC
  • Carl Hartman, senior partner, Young and Rubicam
  • Alice Rodd O’Rourke, executive director, New York New Media Association
  • Bob Griffin, eMotion Inc.
 
Washington
  • Martin Kady, technology reporter, Washington Business Journal
  • Jennifer Harper, Internet reporter, Washington Times
  • Mike Smith, Board Secretary, New Media Society of DC (NMS)
  • Bob Griffin, CEO, eMotion Inc.
 
Chicago
  • Jane Burek, multimedia reporter, Screen Magazine
  • Reuben Chew, founder/consultant, eVolution Point
  • Lou Agosta, senior analyst, Giga Information Group
  • Cynthia Francis, CMO, eMotion Inc.
 
Los Angeles
  • Brent LeVasseur, CEO Atom-Bomb.com
  • Alan Carter, reporter, Emmy Magazine
  • Peter Caranicas, publisher/editor-in-chief, Film & Video Magazine
  • Laura Rich, Internet reporter, The Industry Standard
  • Janet Gardner, vice president, eMotion Inc.
 
San Francisco
  • Pallavi Shah, market development manager, Sun Microsystems
  • Mitchell Linden, vice president of strategy, iXL’s
  • Jeffrey O'Brien, senior editor, Wired Magazine
  • Sujata Ramnarayan, senior analyst, Gartner Research
  • Cynthia Francis, CMO, eMotion Inc.
 
Ruder Finn was responsible for all aspects of the planning of these events, including:
  • Locating local organizations that would co-host the event
  • Contacting and securing panelists
  • Providing background briefings for each panelist
  • Locating and securing centrally located venues for the events
  • Identifying and inviting key media and company contacts
  • Creating and coordinating kits for distribution to attendees and the media which included panelist bios, topic background information, and
  • Advertising the event through local technology announcement boards and calendars.
 
Program Execution:
 
Created a comprehensive press package and outreach to a custom media list of more than 800 outlets, including top daily newspapers, wire services, national and major market broadcast programs, monthly and weekly general interest magazines, and trade publications serving the advertising, new media, and technology markets.
 
Arranged for post seminar interviews with interested media
 
Results:
 
This extensive educational program, coupled with later media outreach—both on behalf of DMM as a newly defined industry, and eMotion—successfully defined DMM in the eyes of the press.  Specific results included:
  • Over 300 media and potential clients attended the panel discussions.
  • eMotion built several strong relationships with media panelists, resulting in numerous articles on both DMM and emotion in the months to follow.
  • Secured several articles written by the panelists themselves, including articles by Laura Rich in the Industry Standard, Martin Kady in the Washington Business Journal, Jane Burek in Screen Magazine, and Jennifer Harper in the Washington Times.