There'll be less preaching to the choir at next month's CTAM Summit in Boston, with more outside speakers than at previous conventions.
Keynotes will come from Deutsch Inc. CEO Donny Deutsch, the straight-shooting ad agency topper who's created campaigns for Coors Light, Expedia.com, DirecTV Inc. and other big-name clients.
“One of the things that we've done this year probably better than ever is to really focus on getting outside expertise that really has something relevant to say to our industry,” said Rainbow Media Entertainment Services president Kathy Dore, co-chair of this year's Summit with Insight Communications Co. senior vice president of marketing and programming Pamela Euler Halling.
With cable companies cutting deals with consumer-electronics firms to drive distribution of HDTV and other new services, the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing booked Phillips Consumer Electronics vice president of business innovation Julia Langley to speak.
Carsey Werner Mandabach partner and Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner will also address attendees.
CTAM officials expect about 2,400 attendees at the Summit, set for July 18 to 21 at the Hynes Convention Center.
That would be on par with the 2,419 people at the 2002 confab in Boston. The 2003 convention, which marked the Summit's first stop in Seattle, drew 2,364.
For the first time, a new-media track previously at the annual CTAM Digital conference will be part of the Summit. CTAM ended the 14-year CTAM Digital run after the March gathering that had a strong turnout in Los Angeles.
CTAM CEO Char Beales pointed to Summit breakout sessions on topics such as HDTV, on-demand programming and high-speed data services. “All those products were new a while ago — now they are mainstream,” she said. “Marketers everywhere want to talk about them and use the information we have to get smarter.”
Insight CEO Michael Willner, who will receive CTAM's highest honor, the Grand Tam award, is scheduled to deliver a keynote on July 20.
The summit will close with a Wednesday-afternoon session moderated by former National Cable & Telecommunications Association executive and Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke. Clarke, a Comcast adviser and possible candidate to replace Robert Sachs as NCTA CEO, will moderate a panel featuring Adelphia Communications Corp. CEO William Schleyer, Time Warner Cable chairman Glenn Britt, Shop At Home Network president Judy Girard, Rainbow Media CEO Josh Sapan and Bear Stearns & Co. senior managing director Raymond Katz.
As usual, for those going to the show, there will be party options. AOL for Broadband is sponsoring one for all attendees on July 24; Rainbow will host a Jackson Browne show on July 25; and ABC Cable Networks and ESPN are sponsoring the closing party July 26 on Lansdowne Street.
