MI6 ‘08: Cracking the Code

The 3rd Annual MI6 Conference
April 8-9, 2008
Grand Hyatt, San Francisco

Click Here for Full Conference Agenda!

Click Here for Speaker Bios

Tuesday, April 8
7:30 – 9:00AM Registration

9:00AM – 12:30PM Morning Sessions Including:

Going Global
A comprehensive global launch strategy is increasingly viewed as the best way to cut through clutter, avoid piracy issues and put your worldwide stamp in the marketplace. Hear from gaming, television and film marketing executives how they have faced similar challenges and achieved success.

The Next New Game
As the games business evolves from a product business to a media business, free to play MMOs, casual games and virtual worlds are rapidly growing, garnering tremendous customer adoption, high revenues and growing demand. Join the experts who lead the field in this new type of game play as they talk through the opportunities and challenges - and give insight on their belief that this is indeed the future of gaming.

Leveraging Brand Power
Influencers are turned into brand ambassadors by leveraging brand power and bringing value to the gamer. Learn why the gamer is important to brands, how publishers can partner with brands, and how to move past product placement to the future of in-game advertising.

New Marketing Avenues
Both the digital storefronts of the latest consoles and Accomplishment systems have created new opportunities for traditional and out-of-the-box marketing campaigns but does embracing them have an impact on sales? Industry experts provide new research based on statistical analysis enabling you to make the most from these emerging technologies and marketing solutions for your game titles.

12:30 - 2:00PM Lunch

2:00PM - 6:00PM Afternoon Sessions Including:

New Marketing Models and The Repercussions on Self-Regulation
Self-regulation may work when games are sold in stores and marketed in the mainstream. But what is regulation’s role when games are played, sold and marketed on the Internet? Industry insiders discuss how self-regulatory practices may evolve in an online gaming environment and share how other online industries are addressing heightened regulatory pressure and governmental scrutiny of Internet practices.

Perfecting the Agency-Client Paradigm
Publishers are partnering with advertising agencies for assistance in branding,
packaging and intricate mass-market launches. Learn from the experts and leading agency and game marketing executives as they discuss successes and failures, and debate best practices in managing the client-agency dynamic.

e-Marketing for Games: Case Studies and Best Practices
Mastering the tools of the trade are critical for your next big win. From traditional on-line advertising to email campaigns, search engine marketing to community marketing, E-marketing experts will explore best practices to understand the key to success in the E-market.

State of Our Art
We’ve looked far and wide for the most effective and inspiring work in advertising, promotion and design. You will walk away with a broader POV of the creative possibilities applicable to your own brand.

6:30 - 9:00PM: Opening Night Reception at Vessel

Wednesday, April 9
8:00 - 9:00AM — coffee/breakfast

9:00AM – 12:30PM Morning Sessions Including:

Moving the Needle with Mainstream Gaming
The mainstream is getting a taste and they want more. In the US the increasing demand of “social gaming” is moving games from the den to the living room and clearly allowing for more opportunity for a much broader consumer reach. Join us as we hear from executives about the successes (and failures!) of paving a mainstream path across the holy ground of gaming.

Gaming’s Advertising Age
Console and PC gaming platforms provide the most comprehensive and detailed user rating system in the history of advertising-driven media. The advertisers are ready to get in on the action — so what’s standing in the way of mass adoption? Our panel zeros in on the eco-system of the game advertising market and considers how to create efficiencies/economies of scale to grow it to its projected size of $1 billion by 2010.

Marketing Keynote Address from Chuck Brymer – President & CEO DDB WW

Striking The Chord
Of all the components in creating entertainment content whether it’s the marketing campaign or the game itself, the soundtrack is what can make it a memorable masterpiece. In this session we will meet the man who is charged with the pursuit, creation and continuous development of the global vision for music in EA games who will walk us through his vision on the importance of music in the music publishing 2.0 era.

12:30 - 2:00PM: Lunch

2:00 - 6:00PM: Afternoon Sessions Including:

Understanding the Video Game Consumer
Exclusively for the MI6 audience, a first look at an internal study done by The Nielson Company with demographic breakdowns of who video gamers are, their usage trends and behaviors and more. The analysis includes video game buzz volume/sentiment, social media trends, demo downloading, etc. Take away concrete data and insight into the minds and habits of your target audience.

Creative Keynote Address from Anthony Zuiker – Creator / Executive Producer, CSI

Launch Pad: The Stories Behind the Biggest Games of 2007
Join us for an insightful overview of the strategies and tactics that made the launches of the expected hit, Halo 3 and the sleeper hit, BioShock, major industry successes.

Gaming 2020
Following up last year’s top-rated session, a blue ribbon panel of experts project where gaming sits in the arena of entertainment media and give insight and thought as to what is to come…

7:30 - 9:30PM: Awards Reception and Celebration

Check back for full session list!

All times are subject to change.

All of the above take place at the Grand Hyatt except the opening night reception, which is just down the street at Vessel.

Our 2008 speakers include:

			Peter Moore, President, EA Sports
			Julie Shumaker, SVP Sales and Marketing, Double Fusion
			Will Kassoy, SVP Global Brand Management, Activision
			N’Gai Croal, General Editor Technology, Newsweek
			Anthony E. Zuiker, Creator, “CSI”

And hear from:
Carolyn Feinstein, Group Vice President Consumer Marketing, EA; Gerardo Guzman, Business Development and Product Strategy Director, The Nielsen Company; Chris Lee, Global Group Product Manager, Microsoft; Tom Nichols, Sr. Director Online Games, LucasArts; Jonathan Simpson-Bint, President, Future US; Mike Benson, EVP Marketing, ABC Entertainment; Michael Pachter, Managing Director Research, Wedbush Morgan Securities; Greg Short, Chairman, Electronic Entertainment Design & Research; Geoff Keighley, Host, Spike TV

Also participating are top executives from:
Activision, YouTube, Ubisoft, Nvidia, Double Fusion, DirecTV, Nintendo, Eidos, McCann Erickson, Ziff Davis, Sony, IGN, Codemasters, Sony Online Entertainment, Vivendi Games, DDB, Ayzenberg Group, Blizzard Entertainment, Nokia, Xbox, AKQA, 2K and Petrol Advertising