HollywoodLife.com president Bonnie Fuller and Digitas' senior VP Ashley J. Swartz are among media industry executives set to take part in the inaugural Cross Media NYC [1] conference, to be held March 10 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at New York's Scholastic Theater.
Founded by veteran digital media executive Gavin McGarry and event producer Jennifer Harkness, Cross Media aims to provide a forum to specifically look at ways to incorporate cross media into business models.
McGarry said: “Our goal is to host an annual event where thought leaders from all media can come together, share ideas and learn how to monetize their business through cross media."
McGarry, a veteran digital media executive, was part of the global content team at web video startup Joost and was head of cross-platform business development for TV giant Endemol. He now runs Jumpwire Media, a cross-media agency.
Panelists for the event, in addition to Fuller and Swartz, include Ubisoft’s Cross Media Group senior producer Mathieu Ferland and RIM/Blackberry VP of Multimedia Integration Alistair Mitchell.
Other events scheduled include two industry-focused case studies and four demonstrations of emerging cross-media technologies, all designed to give attendees a more direct and personal understanding of how cross-media can be implemented successfully.
Jeff Gomez, transmedia storytelling expert and CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, will present a case study on Coca-Cola's Happiness Factory (left), demonstrating how an entertainment intellectual property can successfully be distributed and monetized across multiple platforms.
David Kruis, president-CEO of mobile applications producer Metranome, recently launched the first animated Dilbert and New Yorker "Cartoon a Day" integrated calendar applications for BlackBerry phones, will conduct a demonstration of the company’s technologies, applications and services for the mobile media market.
Sponsors lined up for the event include the Government of Canada, the National Association of Television Programming Executives, Mashable, C21 Media and the New York Television Festival.