Keynotes

NEW YORK -- David Lang, President, Mindshare Entertainment, North America

In this new world of marrying branded content, marketing and entertainment, David Lang has had success on all fronts — he’s won an Emmy award in television; been named one of the “17 most influential and innovative” in earning Ad Age’s Media Maven award; and was a recipient of the Bronze Medal at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

As Head of Mindshare Entertainment in North America, David oversees all creative development & production, strategic marketing and deal making in the entertainment marketing arena. He also sits on Mindshare’s North American Leadership Group.

As a content strategist, David thrives on developing compelling, executable and economical branded concepts that can achieve a brand’s goals across different channels. As an experienced television executive producer, he understands the entire creative process and has extensive relationships with other writers, producers and directors. His experience as a marketer allows him to develop and sell strategically grounded cross-promotional campaigns to advertisers, increasing brand health & market share.

His most successful creation to date came when he brokered an unprecedented marketing partnership between Unilever and Sprint as he executive produced “In the Motherhood” — a multi-platform comedy series starring Jenny McCarthy, Leah Remini and Chelsea Handler. “In the Motherhood” — with over 21 million video views — has become the first-ever, web-based, branded entertainment project to cross over tthe to traditional broadcast television, as ABC recently optioned the property as a prime time, program in development.

Recently, David completed a handful of high profile projects, including Dove/Alicia Keys for MTV and Sprint’s “Create Your Hero” for NBC/Heroes. For Degree, he negotiated a ground breaking partnership with Fox’s Emmy-award winning show, “24”, where he helped create a new character that lived in the CTU world called, “The Rookie.” For this project, MSE created and produced 2 short films and 7 national commercials, while orchestrating and overseeing the multi-platform marketing campaign.

Other major projects include Dove’s groundbreaking “webisodes” starring Felicity Huffman & directed by Penny Marshall; a prime time special that was the centerpiece of a brand launch for Axe; and a 10-episode, multi-platform television series for American Express entitled, Trip of a Lifetime. In his three years at MSE, David and his team have produced over 20 projects for the agency’s major clients, including IBM, American Express, Unilever, Kimberly Clark and Sprint.

Before joining Mindshare Entertainment, he was Senior Vice President of Development and Production at Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video, where he oversaw his group’s development of shows and the production process as show runner/executive producer.

LOS ANGELES -- Rob Davis, Worldwide Marketing Director, Digital

Digital Video Practice Lead, Ogilvy Worldwide

Robert John Davis is an interactive media veteran in his 16th year of championing progressive new experiences and leading them to market. Currently in the role of Worldwide Marketing Director, Digital at Ogilvy, Rob is leading the agency’s Digital Video Practice and transforming the way clients use video on the web.

“The age of posting 30-second TV spots on YouTube and waiting for the traffic rush is over, “ says Davis. “Today’s content-first environment puts video on the same plane as text and images in terms of impact. Online video is no longer defined by the technical hurdles that used to dictate low-quality, postage-stamp sized clips. With these barriers lowered, the onus is on marketers to create engaging experiences that recognize the web as it is today. For instance, video is an incredibly important search component, yet you don’t see too many people taking advantage of that.”

Rob’s fresh look at the online landscape opens new opportunities for brands looking to go beyond the “viral” or “social” spaces. “I don’t get hung up on ‘viral’ as a strategy,” he says, “to me it is all about creating relevant, web-ready content in accordance with business goals. If you conceive for the medium, execute for the medium and deliver against how your audience uses the web, then people will share your content, but that’s not the only end-game measurement for a smart video strategy.”

Opening up new territory in the broadband space is a joy for Rob, who began working with interactive video in the decidedly narrow-band era of the early 1990’s. After running the creative side of IN Jersey, a pioneering ISP and content service sold to Gannet, Rob went on to launch the world’s first mass-audience interactive TV game show, MTV’s 1999 hit webRIOT, which pioneered "2 screen" iTV.

As Executive Producer of Convergence for MTV Networks, Rob put interactivity at the forefront of the VH1, MTV and Nickelodeon brands. He later launched iTV shows on NBC, TBS, History Channel and GSN. More recently as VP of the digital media operations at Rainbow Media, Rob revitalized the interactive businesses of the AMC, IFC and WE television networks, transitioning them from static web sites to dynamic content experiences. One of the first television executives to standardize on Flash as a video format, Rob also lead the trend to co-managing VOD and web video distribution, culminating in the design of a universal video business management platform. Rob initiated Rainbow’s interactive advertising business and opened three e-commerce stores.

Among Rob’s portfolio from Rainbow are branded entertainment web sites and communities created for sponsors including Target, Acura, Aquafina, Heineken and Yellow Tail. Over the years, Rob has consulted for Gartner, Princeton Video Image and other forward-looking clients. After completing his BA at the University of Scranton in 1990, Rob earned an MS in TV/Radio/Film from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University in 1993 and was later inducted into the alumni professional gallery “wall of fame” for his achievements in interactive entertainment.

Rob lives on the northern Jersey Shore with his wife, son, two boxers and cockatiel. He is an avid railroad photographer and spends much of his free time trackside seeking old or interesting trains … that is, when there isn’t enough snow for snowboarding.