Modern Media » Portfolio

Modern Media Thanks The Economist

Carolyn Carson — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:28:49 +0000

John Eckhouse posted earlier about his experiences running the judging for The Economist’s Innovations Awards. We were glad to see the awards covered in this week’s print edition — and the editors mentioned John Eckhouse and Modern Media in their thanks to the 2011 winners and judges.

See And the winners were… for the article.

We’ve been delighted to be a part of this extraordinary event for ten years, and thank The Economist for the opportunity!

Conference Services: John Eckhouse on Event Programs, Speakers and Hawaiian Shirts

Carolyn Carson — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:45:38 +0000

This week, we’re kicking off a series of interviews with the Modern Media team. You already know that Modern Media produces top-notch conferences and events, builds websites and marketing campaigns, and develops social media strategies. But do you know the people who make it all happen? Here’s your chance to learn more about how they work: what’s their secret sauce? And is it true that Milo is really in charge?

John Eckhouse at the ECO:nomics Conference in 2011. Photo by Gary Fong/Genesis Photos

First up is John Eckhouse. John’s at the center of the Modern Media crew when it comes to speaker recruitment and program management on any conference or awards project. Onsite, he’s the tentpole when it comes to on-stage production, armed with minute-by-minute scripts and hours of preparation. Watching the Modern team at an event is like watching a crew flawlessly navigate the whitewater of a wild & scenic river. I’ve discovered that John also really enjoys his inside view on the character of so many of the high-level business leaders featured at our clients’ conferences.

Q: Tell us about Modern Media’s conference services business. Favorite events?

John: We’ve had so many favorites. I’ve worked onsite at the Foursquare Conference (for Quandrangle Group, now for Lazard) for many years – it’s an off-the-record event, with inside stories from top media, telecommunications, information and entertainment people. Great Place to Work Institute’s annual conference features CEOs who are so inspirational. Not there to boost their own egos, they have dramatic stories to tell about their companies, employees and customers. And The Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference. That’s all conversation – no PowerPoint, no speeches – and it’s wonderful how strong the CEOs are, how concerned many of them are for the environment. Jeff Immelt is just one example.

Producing Programs That Bring a Brand to Life

The Economist Innovation Summit 2010 at The British Library, London

Q: This month you’re off to London for the The Economist’s Innovation Awards Ceremony and Summit. Tell us about Modern Media’s involvement.

JE: Working on this awards program is a delight. We created the Innovation Awards with The Economist in 2002, and we’ve managed the nominations and judging every year since. It’s fascinating. The nominees are all so creative; it’s always disappointing that only one can be awarded in each category! For a media company, an awards program involves readers in a conversation. Economist readers, the panel of judges and editors all get to submit nominations. And readers voted for the first time last year for a readers’ award.

Click here to take a look and vote (until October 14, 2011) for the Anniversary prize, awarded to an Innovation Award winner from the last 10 years.

Q: You’ve just returned from the Teradata PARTNERS Users Group Conference in San Diego. Modern managed Teradata’s EPIC Awards program this year. How did that go?

JE: The ceremony went off very well. The room was packed, enthusiasm was high and both the winners and Teradata executives were happy. An awards program involves and rewards customers – brings a brand to life.

Conference Programming Secrets to Success

Q: John, I think of you as the Invisible Hand that keeps a conference’s on-stage program running on time and without mishap. What’s your secret?

JE: Stay calm. Be direct. Keep pushing.

Q: A mantra! What about the pitfalls? What are you most concerned about?

JE: Two things: That a key speaker will cancel. That the AV crew isn’t well drilled, well rehearsed and well prepared. I know that sounds redundant — but you can’t over prepare!

Q: One of your best practices is to communicate closely with speakers and panelists before an event. Any war stories illustrating the risk of not doing so?

JE: Well, I have one – I won’t tell you who it was. The speaker was backstage having his mic put on when he asked me: “Why am I here? Why did you invite me?” We often deal with “handlers,” and work hard at communications, but in this case the message had not reached the speaker. I also always make sure that a moderator talks directly to the panel beforehand, knows the importance of this preparation.

Speaker Management: Putting the Best on Stage

Q: What is the trait you most deplore in a panelist? And what trait do you most admire?

JE: Long, rambling answers can really put a room to sleep. I really admire a panelist who involves other panelists in a conversation.

Martha Stewart was the keynote at TWTRCON NY 10.

Q: Speaker recruitment activity would make a great infographic, showing the slow build as it unfolds week over week to a full and perfect roster. How many invitations go out before the lineup is set for a typical conference?

JE: [Sound of numbers being crunched] OK. 1 in 4. Four invitations for each confirmed speaker. There are certain conferences – and certain brands – that will be a bigger draw so it’s easier to get speakers to accept. 1 in 3 in that case. The process is always time consuming, and sometimes frustrating.

Q: Sometimes you are asked to moderate one of our clients’ events. What’s your secret for starting a discussion when you’ve just met the participants?

JE: I use a “throat clearing” question like: What is the biggest issue that you are grappling with right now? Answering that question, people hear their own voice and know that they are not just part of an audience. It works. I’ve also learned that people really appreciate humor and interjection.

Q:You serve as “The Voice of God” for many of the conferences Modern Media produces. Is this something that took special training?

JE: I worked in radio in high school and college, and after that at KPFA in Berkeley – as a volunteer in the newsroom doing reporting, writing and anchoring the weekend news show.

Q: One last question, John: What’s with the Hawaiian shirts?

JE: I often work with speakers who have never met me — and they need an easy way to find me in a crowded room. In a sea of business jackets or polo shirts, what’s easier than telling them to look for the guy in the Hawaiian shirt?

Content Marketing Research from UBM TechWeb

Christopher Carson — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:48:23 +0000

We recently helped UBM TechWeb field a survey to find out how business technology buyers consume vendor content–white papers, research studies, webcasts, how-to videos and the like. Over 1,000 decision makers in the UBM TechWeb audience were asked what types of information they needed from technology vendors, how often they used it and how such content informs their buying decisions. Some key findings:

Tech buyers do use vendor content regularly. More than 28% have based a purchase decision on content created or supported by a vendor.
The goal is not just lead gen: valuable content becomes a tool for explaining complex technology issues within an organization.

Executive summaries of the research can be downloaded here.

Portfolio: Equifax Social Media strategy briefing and sales presentation

Tonia — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:31:58 +0000

Modern Media, together with Conversa Marketing, recently prepared and delivered a 1/2 day executive briefing and social media strategy session to the Equifax Database Marketing Services management team. Equifax provides database hosting and strategic marketing solutions, and is agressively moving to incorporate social media marketing strategies into its client solutions.

In addition to consulting with Equifax on how to incorporate social media strategies into its solutions, Modern Media developed a new sales presentation focused around how Equifax can help its clients to maximize the value of their consumer relationships. The presentation focuses on key database marketing trends, best practices in managing consumer relationships, and showcases case studies of how leading marketers have leveraged Equifax services to increase the value of their consumer relationships.

Portfolio: EETimes Group corporate web site

Tonia — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:12:00 +0000

Modern Media helped EETimes Group to launch a new corporate web site this month. The site, which we developed in a short, 3-week time frame, reflects the company’s new branding and positioning, and provides access to its portfolio of electronics industry media solutions.

Portfolio: WSJ Future of Finance Initiative

Tonia — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:25:56 +0000

On December 7 and 8, 2009, Modern Media helped The Wall Street Journal to produce its first Future of Finance Initiative meeting in the UK. The event, which was held at the lovely South Lodge Hotel in West Sussex, drew over 100 of the world’s top financial experts to discuss priorities for the coming months. The findings of the meeting were published by the Journal in a special report after the event.

The events team included a number of expert production crews, conference planners and marketing executives, located both in the UK and in the US. Modern Media’s role was to coordinate efforts among the various members of the events team, and manage the overall project plan, timeline and budget.

Portfolio: CreateYourNextCustomer.com site update

Tonia — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:58:11 +0000

When we first helped TechWeb launch CreateYourNextCustomer.com, the goal was to create an innovative, dynamic online media kit that featured a media planning widget, easy-to-update product information and a place for blog posts and research. The TechWeb marketing team had the insight to add several lead generation features, to work with Modern Media to produce a monthly traffic-driving newsletter, as well as build support for the site among its management and sales teams.

Over the last two years, the site has become so successful that it was time for a re-design, which launched at the beginning of December 2009. With the new layout, we’ve better separated the product information from the thought leadership information, and created new flexibility for the ever-

growing and -changing TechWeb group of products. The blog now has much richer content and more ways of engaging readers. We’ve also added new features, such as the online RFP form that automatically sends information to the correct sales contact, and re-designed the media planning widget to be more intuitive and easy-to-use.

We’re excited to see the site continue to grow and evolve as TechWeb continues to innovate in terms of the media products and services that it offers to its clients!