Exclusives

Attendees of the Sept. 21 Entertainment Evolution Symposium (EES) in Los Angeles will be treated to two very different — and every relevant — keynote addresses.

The morning keynote — “Transforming the Global Connected Consumer” — will come from Rob Hayes, chief business officer for Dow Jones, with an introduction by Claudio Ludovisi, assistant dean, marketing and strategy for Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, and will examine how one of the most respected U.S. brands has met the challenge of today’s digital-first age, and offers insight into how they’ve applied data-driven insights throughout the company.

As the next generation of digital native is born into our connected world, national and international brands face the challenge of engaging the new, connected consumer on their terms and in a way that appeals to their lifestyle. This transformation is especially relevant for companies who’ve done business with their brand for 20, 30, even 100 years, or more, and requires a fresh perspective on collaborative tools, partnerships, and platforms.

Meanwhile, the closing keynote conversation — “One More Thing …The Ankler Weighs In!” — will see leaders of Ankler Media discuss the radical transformation of Hollywood before, during and after COVID-19. “The Ankler,” their flagship brand, is Hollywood’s most fearsome newsletter with the most buzzed-about coverage of M+E that speaks plainly about injustice and foolishness on all sides of the industry debate. In addition to the daily emergence of hot-button issues and next-level crisis, they’ve gained tens of thousands of subscribers with their coverage of the upheavals and dislocations of the streaming wars.

As the stakes for survival escalate, the EES closing keynote conversation gives attendees their understanding of where our industry is heading as the D2C strategy truly unfolds across the entire ecosystem of studio products (theatrical, broadcast, packaged media, electronic sell-through, etc.). Sean McNulty, creator and writer of “The Wakeup” entertainment industry newsletter, and Richard Russfield, editor-in-chief of “The Ankler,” will discuss.

The Entertainment Evolution Symposium (EES), the annual gathering of industry innovators and thought leaders, all discussing the use of data to effectively blend physical and digital experiences across the global entertainment ecosystem, returns as an in-person event at The Skirball Cultural Center.

Presented by the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School Institute for Entertainment, Media and Sports (IEMS) and the Hollywood IT Society (HITS), the full-day symposium will be a closed-door event for audience member participation only. The event is sponsored by Iron Mountain, Signiant, Whip Media, Atos, Fortinet, FPT Software, invenioLSI, Perforce, Vision Media, and EIDR.

To get involved with future MESA events contact [email protected].