Festival of Media speaker lineup announced

Chris Ahearn, President, Reuters Media

The festival is sponsored by headline partners Adconion, Microsoft Advertising, Orange and VivaKi with the theme "An Industry in Transition". The theme is meant to be reflective of the structural pressures the industry is under due to the fragmentation of audiences and the proliferation of digital technology and also the global economic environment.

Addressing these issues insight from clients including Darren Huston, Corporate VP, Consumer and Online, Microsoft; Bernhard Glock, VP of Global Media and Communications, Procter & Gamble; Babs Rangaiah, Director Global Communications, Unilever and Maarten L Albarda, Director, Media and Communication Innovation, The Coca-Cola Company will be delivered to delegates alongside the views of media owners such as Chris Ahearn, President, Reuters Media; Jean-Charles Decaux, Co-CEO, JCDecaux; Hernan Lopez COO, Fox International Channels and Anco Saraiva, marketing director, Globo Television.

Other specialist speakers will bring in viewpoints on how to navigate the current recession with opinions and strategies on ‘change' delivered by Saul Berman, Global & Americas, Strategy and Change Practice Leader, IBM Global Services and Gian Fulgoni, chairman and co-founder, comScore.

Creativity will also be a key focus for the festival, with the insights into how content can be used to innovate out of the recession being delivered by Chuck Porter, co-chairman Crispin Porter + Boguski; Paul Johnson, Global Head of Marketing and Brand Partnerships, Endemol and Mauricio Mota, chief storytelling officer, ‘The Alchemists' taking part in a content debate.

The festival is also hosting a triple header debate between Google, Yahoo! and Platform-A, asking them how each platform is engaging with media agencies in the new digital world as well as assembling a panel of ‘pioneers' who will introduce technologies and techniques that may shape the media industry.

Thought Leader Sessions covering topics including mobile advertising, mobile measurement, media investment management, media deflation, social media, TV, online display networks, behavioural targeting and out of home advertising will be part of the main plenary agenda.

Other festival sponsors include: Accenture, BBC.com, Billetts, comScore, DDS, eBay, EGTA, Euronews, Eurosport, GSMA, Media Contacts, MediaVest, Metro International, MPG, New York Times, Posterscope, Thomson Reuters, Yahoo!, Universal McCann, The Wall Street Journal and World Federation of Advertisers (WFA).

The Festival of Media is a global festival of media creativity and innovation. It is a two-day conference offering networking opportunities at a conference and exhibition designed to showcase creative media thinking and explore emerging media opportunities.

To view participating festival speakers go to www.festivalofmedia.com/speakers.