Opening – September 6 |   Sessions – September 7 |   Sessions – September 8

PROGRAM

Rise of the SuperFans: Growing TV Audience by Empowering Digital Communities

Wednesday, September 7 – 3:30 PM

“Involve the fans” is the sine qua non of digital marketing today. But to date, these participation opportunities have been strictly limited. What happens if you let brand advocates all the way into the tent? Josh Richman, VP of Marketing for WGN America, Tribune Broadcasting’s national cable network and Keith Blanchard, executive creative director of Story Worldwide, show how you can drive offline behavior through digital by involving advocates materially in the creation of content, and curating the digital communities that form around it.

This session will show you how managing digital communities can generate productive offline behavior while lowering traditional ad spend. Today, WGNA features “Superfans” in TV spots, tweeters show up in crawls during shows, and fans program the lineup for episode marathons. In exchange, WGNA has been able to leverage each show’s existing online fan base to drive audience, positioning WGNA well for the long-term transition from lean-back-TV to online-interactive experience.

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SPEAKERS

Josh Richman

Vice President of Marketing, WGN America

Josh Richman is the Vice President of Marketing for WGN America, Tribune Broadcasting’s national cable, satellite and telco network. Based in the network’s New York office, Richman oversees all of the network’s marketing initiatives and create integrated customized marketing platforms for advertisers.

Richman joined WGN America from ESPN Customer Marketing and Sales, where he was the head of ESPN’s New York Co-marketing Group, responsible for integrated advertiser solutions on ESPN Networks, ESPN.com, ESPN Mobile and ESPN the Magazine. Prior to his position at ESPN, Richman was the Senior Merchandising and Promotions Manager for Dennis Publishing’s Maxim Magazine and a Marketing Coordinator for Wenner Media’s Rolling Stone Magazine. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University and currently lives with his wife Dr. Lisa Richman in Manhattan.

Keith Blanchard

Creative Director – Story Worldwide

Keith Blanchard is the North American Creative Director for Story Worldwide, the only global advertising agency with an editorial department. Story is a next-generation marketing agency founded on the principle that every brand has a story, and those who tell it best win. We help brands like Lexus, Klondike, Regis Salons, WGN America, and Green Giant find their stories.

Keith is a former editor-in-chief of Maxim Magazine; while at Dennis Publishing from 1997-2004 he also launched Stuff Magazine as editor-in-chief, started Maxim Online, created a Maxim channel with Sirius Radio, produced television shows for NBC, ESPN, and others, and served generally as Group Creative Director. After Dennis, Keith became Wenner Media’s online editorial director, launching UsMagazine.com and running RollingStone.com. He then became a vice president and partner at Kuma Reality Games before launching the ill-fated Expanding Media (and its website, The Daily Lowdown) seven minutes before the total collapse of the US economy in the fall of 2008. Someday he will look back on that and laugh, but not yet.

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