Panel 4 — Social Media

The act of using social networks, online communities, blogs, wikis or any other collaborative Internet for marketing in Sports, Entertainment, and Media. This panel will address marketing tactics using social networking and the potential ramifications of athletes and entertainers using them for self-promotion.

Panelists:

Adam Miner – Sportnet / Grind TV

Adam Miner is the Director of Finance and Accounting at Sportnet, a portfolio of online community and media destinations for action sport enthusiasts. Adam has served as the Director of Finance since August 2008, originally under the ownership of Wasserman Media Group and subsequently through a merger with GrindTV. In his role, Adam oversees all financial and accounting matters associated with the company’s operating, investing and financing activities.

Prior to Sportnet, Adam was the Controller of Wasserman Media Group’s Events, Sales and Consulting divisions, working directly with Wasserman’s stadium naming rights group and corporate NBA and PGA sponsorship activation teams.

Adam’s interest in pursuing a career in sports began when he joined the MLB Authentication Team while working as an Accounting Manager at Deloitte. Consequently, he attended McCombs School of Business to further his education and build industry experience. While in school, Adam worked on various micro consulting projects and internships with ESPN, Major League Lacrosse, Capital Sports and Entertainment, AEG and the San Diego Padres.

Adam is a certified public accountant and holds a B.A. in Business Economics from University of California, Santa Barbara. He is an avid lacrosse player, coach and fan as well as the proud new father of Abby Grace Miner.

Jim Lutz – Pro Player Connect

Jim is President and COO of Pro Player Connect, a digital technology and services provider that empowers athletes – active and retired – to develop, grow and monetize their individual brands. Pro Player Connect recently received the support of the NFL Players Association and NFL PLAYERS in recognition for its value and service to the professional sports community. Prior to joining Pro Player Connect, Jim was a senior executive with echo, a digital brand management leader in direct-to-fan online brand management. echo’s 300+ clients included many of the world’s most recognized entertainment brands, including Kanye West, Bon Jovi, Keith Urban, Janet Jackson, Rascal Flatts, Alicia Keys, and corporate clients such as Clorox Corporation, Disney, Sony Music, General Motors and the Professional Bull Riders.

Nicole Blum — Hashi Productions, LLC

Nicole Blum is a freelance producer who just started her own production company, Hashi Productions, LLC. She is currently developing several projects with her producing partner and recently worked on an unreleased project for 19 Entertainment. Prior to producing, Nicole spent her career in production finance.

As the Director of Production Finance for Fox Television Studios, Nicole oversaw the Alternative Department and managed projects from early development through post production. Early in her career, Nicole worked for Go Go Luckey Productions as their Production Supervisor and MTV Networks as the Business Manager for such hits as Behind The Music and Punk’d.

Nicole attended the University of Arizona, where she majored in Media Arts and Communications. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Tommy Landry — RotoExperts

Tommy Landry has nearly 20 years of experience in a wide range of marketing disciplines, most recently focused intently on leveraging social media (networking, bookmarking, etc.) for B2B and B2C activities. In early 2008, Mr. Landry was one of six co-founders of RotoExperts.com, the fastest growing fantasy sports site in the industry, and he has served roles as Executive Editor, Senior Writer, Executive Advisor, and Social Media Director while with the site. He has been involved in Web 2.0 activities since the late 90s, after driving a major cross-functional 1to1 Marketing / CRM initiative for Advanced Micro Devices in Austin, TX. Tommy also runs Product Marketing for the Monitoring Optimization product line with Anue Systems, a role that has a heavy bent toward blogging and marketing on Twitter, LinkedIn, and other related services. Separately, he consults with select early stage startups on marketing, launch plans, social media, public relations, and information technology strategy.

Mr Landry holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing and Information Management from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication and Classical Civilization from Louisiana State University.

Craig Vaughan — Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Craig Vaughan is a Senior Executive at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), based in Los Angeles, with offices in Nashville, New York City, London, and Beijing. Craig works in the Business Development/Digital division in the Los Angeles office representing corporate clients, incubating new businesses and extending the reach of CAA’s clients to the mobile platform.

Craig was formerly the Vice President of Business Development for Fox Mobile Entertainment, a division of Twentieth Century Fox Television. While at Fox, he launched a 24/7 mobile television network that can be accessed by over 140 million U.S. mobile phone subscribers. Prior to moving to Fox, Vaughan worked in business development at Sony Pictures Digital where he launched a digital download service for the first PlayStation Portable. Before working at the studios, Craig was an investment banking associate in the Communications, Media and Entertainment group at Goldman Sachs. While at Goldman, Vaughan advised clients such as Sony, Fox, Vodafone, Bell Canada and the NBA. He joined CAA in 2008.

Vaughan graduated with a B.A. in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin and earned an MBA in Finance from the University of Michigan’s Ross Business School.

Moderator:

Michael Feferman – C3

Michael Feferman is the Digital Director at C3 Presents, an Austin-based company that produces Lollapalooza and the Austin City Limits Festival. C3 annually promotes and markets 1,000+ shows around the country and manages a diverse roster of bands including Thievery Corporation, Blues Traveler, and Robert Earl Keen. Michael oversees C3’s digital marketing strategy, which includes responsibility for all digital programs, campaigns, partnerships, and technology implementation.