Keynote interviewees discuss what works and what doesn't with marketing and emerging media platforms.

On Monday morning March 27th, the Breakthrough Summit kicked off with "Myth Versus Reality: What's Real and Actionable?" a presentation moderated by Doug Weaver, president, Upstream Group.

Weaver led Monday's keynote interviews with three, distinguished industry panelists: Adam Gerber, VP, advertising, products & strategy, BrightCove, Inc.; David Adelman, media director, Johnson & Johnson Global Marketing Group; Kate Everett-Thorp, venture partner, Walden VC.

Before introducing the panelists to the stage, Weaver set the tone for the upcoming panel.

"There's not a problem spotting breakthroughs. There are breakthroughs all the time: alternative delivery of video to the home, gaming and mobile. We're going to decide what's important and where to go," said Weaver. "The job here is to give you context."

Weaver shared three emerging media platforms questions he and the panelists will address:

• How big is it?
• How important is it?
• How soon will it happen?

After Weaver introduced Kate Everett-Thorp, David Adelman and Adam Gerber to the stage, he asked each panelist to answer these questions.

Everett-Thorp responded that the attention should be on the user. "In the past we focused on the technology but now it's all about the users. It's about whether the consumer will use it or not. The push of consumer generated media has also brought a huge red flag to it. With emerging platforms, we have to prove that people can use it," said Everett-Thorp.

Everett-Thorp also noted that "there is a social change in the mobile industry that has happened rapidly. We might say 'No' to one type of technology while the user says, 'Yes.' Emerging technology might be emerging somewhere else."

Adelman answered, "It's less about the technology now. What's important is video and how to distribute it. Creatively, there are some wonderful things happening with video. The big question on emerging platforms is the following: does it offer me as a marketer to tell a great story and engage the consumer?"

Weaver followed up with the question: what about video assets?

"We're thinking hard about content and what types of assets we need to create a brand. We are producing brand stories and videos are distributed online or through DVRs," said Adelman. With emerging platforms, Adelman added, "It's a whole different way of telling a story."

Adam Gerber said emerging platforms is making the industry move "from managing the process top down to bottom up. Everybody's job is becoming really complicated, multi-dimensional and fragmented."

"Simple, scaleable and solution orientated-- these are the three things for me," added Gerber.

Weaver shifted the discussion towards the future of the agency. He asked the panelists if there was something broken in the agency model responding to the new opportunities.

"Content is fundamentally changing," said Everett-Thorp. "Agencies need to be set up to create content. The saddest thing is just putting a commercial on the web.

Everett-Thorp suggested, "We have to produce content for these new venues."

In response to Weaver's future of the agency question, Adelman said, "It's a daunting task for marketers with all the creative and technology developments. With big agencies, it's harder to get things done. The medium-sized agencies can approach [emerging platforms and its challenges] really fast and adapt quickly."

Weaver added to Adelman's comment with "Let's not leave the client off the hook," which brought some laughter from the Summit attendee audience.

"We need to create structures for marketers to take risks with innovative campaigns," Adelman said. "We have to challenge our senior leadership to push for better integration."

On the future of the agency and emerging platforms, Gerber said that the large creative shops are in danger of becoming dinosaurs. "They have a traditional view and approach things in a very linear way. The large creative shops don't understand how consumers are interacting with new media."

Gerber also predicted that in the future there will be more small-sized media shops within the industry.

Weaver asked the panelists what emerging media platform is getting too much hype these days.

Adelman said that, for him, mobile video is a bit of a push. "There is a lot you can do on the mobile platform and it's exciting to see it get distributed," said Adelman. "However, as an ad vehicle we still have to figure mobile video out."

While Adelman deemed mobile video as overhyped, Gerber responded that "Consumer generated media (CGM) is overhyped beyond belief. How are the brands being integrated within CGM? How are the digital dollars being invested?"

Resonating Gerber's answer of CGM, Everett-Thorp said, "We [marketers] don't know how to use CGM properly. I am a fan of it because our users are there but we have to find a healthy medium. There has been a bunch of disasters with marketing and CGM so we need to find a way to communicate with our audience."

Weaver asked the panelists what is important about the alternative methods of delivering video to home.

"With TiVo and video on demand, the old structure of advertising goes out the door," said Gerber. "Consumers tell us that with on demand video, they are willing to accept on ad in the beginning and one ad at the end but they don't want to be interrupted in the middle. The old model doesn't work and therefore the friction."

Everett-Thorp suggested that "The ad model needs to be worked out to market to these new [video on demand] users. They are used to seeing advertising but it's up to us to create good messages of interest to them."

Roger Park is news editor at iMedia Connection.

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