Press Releases

PROMAX/BDA CONFIRMS SPEAKERS FOR MI6 CONFERENCE

Pinnacle Roster is ‘Who's Who’ of Gaming, Entertainment and Consumer Brand Marketing

Los Angeles, CA – April 11, 2006 – Delivering on its promise to address the needs, challenges and accomplishments of today’s marketers in the interactive entertainment sector, MI6: Marketing Interactive ’06 has confirmed a speaker roster featuring some of the biggest names in gaming, entertainment and brand marketing. Promax/BDA’s inaugural interactive entertainment marketing conference—which takes place in San Francisco June 27-28—will host the following creative visionaries:

• Activision Head of Global Brand Management, Robin Kaminsky

• Midway Games’ Chief Marketing Officer, Steve Allison

• Midway Games’ Vice President of Marketing, Mona Hamilton

• Electronic Arts’ Director of Sports Entertainment & Lifestyle Marketing, Doug Scott

• Electronic Arts’ National Director of Sales & Video Game Advertising, Julie Shumaker

• MI6 Evangelist, Entertainment Weekly Writer, Geoff Keighley

• “Scream” and “Red Eye” Director, Wes Craven

• ABC Entertainment's SVP of Advertising and Promotion, Mike Benson

• The Cimarron Group's Sr. Vice President, Domestic Theatrical Audio Visual,
Geoff Calnan

• Katalyst Kevin Carroll (Nike, Starbucks, Philadelphia 76ers)

• Frank N. Magid Associates President, Brent Magid

• The Ant Farm’s Executive Creative Director, Cindy Hauser

• UbiSoft’s Director of Marketing, Helene Juguet


These talented and respected individuals will participate in professional development seminars and educational workshops, as well as through special keynote addresses.

In announcing these confirmed speakers, organizer Jim Chabin, President and CEO of Promax/BDA, said: “We are overwhelmed by the level of accomplished professionals in game, film, television and consumer products industries that have come forward to participate in this first-time event. People are expressing a true desire not only to share their knowledge and expertise but to also learn from others as to the magic of marketing interactive entertainment.”

MI6 Conference Chairperson Dale Hopkins, who is also G4 Television’s COO, added: “As a sponsor of the MI6 Conference, as well as being a network that combines entertainment, games, interactivity, technology and multiplatform delivery, I am delighted by the cross-section of industries represented by our speaker roster, and believe that this collaborative spirit and cross-industry support will permeate the upcoming Conference this June.”

For more information on MI6, to enter the awards contest, or to register for the conference, visit www.mi6conference.com.

About Promax/BDA

Promax/BDA is a global, non-profit association dedicated to advancing the role and effectiveness of promotion, marketing and broadcast design professionals in the electronic media. For further information, please visit, http://www.promax.tv.

About G4

G4 launched in April 2002 and is now available in 54 million cable and satellite homes nationwide. The #1 podcasted cable network in America and a leader in VOD, G4’s programming includes breaking video game industry news, trends, reviews, the hottest games and gear, celebrity interviews and insider opinions. Targeting the male 18-34 audience, G4 is the last word on games, sports, technology, animation, interactivity, the Internet and broadband. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and is owned by Comcast Corporation. To learn more, log onto http://www.g4tv.com.

MI6 SPEAKER BIOS

Robin Kaminsky, Head of Global Brand Management, Activision
As Head of Global Brand Management for Activision, Robin Kaminsky, who reports to Activision Publishing President Kathy Vrabeck, is responsible for developing multi-tiered, cross-platform product strategies for each of the company's brand franchises, identifying unique brand and new product development opportunities, driving brand growth objectives and overseeing the company's advertising, public relations, research, creative services, business development and licensing functions.

Prior to joining Activision, Kaminsky held various marketing leadership positions for eight years within Pepsi-Cola North America, serving as Vice President of National Initiatives and Customer Marketing, where she oversaw program development and execution of the company's promotional and partner programs, national customer programs and customer marketing. Prior to this, Kaminsky led Pepsi's water business, helping Aquafina become the #1 and fastest-growing bottled water brand and served as Director of Mountain Dew, where she led a team that was responsible for making Mountain Dew the #3 carbonated soft drink in the U.S.

Prior to joining Pepsi-Cola, Kaminsky held strategic planning, brand management, new product development and marketing services roles at The Coca-Cola Company, Revlon and Johnson & Johnson. She began her business career in advertising at D'Arsy, Masius, Benton & Bowles in New York.

Steve Allison, Chief Marketing Officer, Midway

Named to the newly created post of Chief Marketing Officer at Midway Games Inc., a leading interactive entertainment software publisher and developer, in January of 2004, Steve Allison reports directly to Midway's president and CEO, David F. Zucker. Allison brought more than ten years of interactive entertainment marketing experience to Midway. Prior to joining Midway, he was vice president of marketing and business development at Atari, Inc., overseeing all of the Atari branded products including the Driver series, Enter the Matrix, Neverwinter Nights, Test Drive, and the Unreal series. Before Atari, Allison held a number of senior management positions with Infogrames, Inc., including vice president of new business development, vice president of licensing and director of product marketing.

Mona Hamilton, VP of Marketing, Midway Games

Joining Midway Games in January 2004 in her current position as Vice President of Marketing, Mona Hamilton previously worked with Ubisoft Entertainment, where she held the position of group brand manager overseeing products such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Beyond Good and Evil and the Rayman series. Prior to Ubisoft, Hamilton managed product development with Galoob Toys and was a buyer with Warner Bros. Studio Stores.

Geoff Keighley, MI6 Evangelist & Writer, Entertainment Weekly

Geoff Keighley, who has been writing about videogames for 12 years, has been called the dean of the gaming press. He currently covers the industry for Entertainment Weekly and Business 2.0 magazines. He is also a contributing editor at CNET's GameSpot.com, where he writes the acclaimed Behind the Games series of feature articles.

On television, he is a correspondent on Electric Playground, produced for MTV Canada and G4TV. His expertise is frequently sought by media outlets such as CNN, NBC, EXTRA, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times; he speaks at conferences such as DICE, GDC, Jupiter GameWatch, Stanford's Future of Entertainment Conference, and E3.
Keighley is a magna cum laude graduate in philosophy and business from the University of Southern California.

Kevin Carroll, Katalyst (Nike, Starbucks, Philadelphia 76ers)

Kevin Carroll is the author of the highly successful Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. He is the founder of The Katalyst Consultancy where his job is to nurture and care for the individual and communal inner spirit and to inspire new ways of thinking.

Carroll spent ten years in the United States Air Force as a language interpreter. After the Air Force, he landed a job as the athletic trainer and physical education teacher at The Haverford School in Philadelphia, which quickly led to a job as the head athletic trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers. While at the 76ers, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight tapped Carroll to bring his unique experiences to the sneaker giant and help inspire their creatives. Carroll accepted the challenge and stayed for seven years as “Katalyst.”

Since leaving Nike, Carroll has traveled around the world promoting the importance of play in everyday life, whether at the office, at home or on the playground. He has helped turn creative ideas into reality for such organizations as Nike, The Discovery Channel, ESPN, HBC Bank, Mattel, Capital One, The National Hockey League, The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Television, and Starbucks.
In September of 2005, ESPN Books released Kevin’s first book, Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, and his second book, Play@Work: How the Genius of Youth Manifests Itself in Business, will soon follow.

Wes Craven, Film Director

American film director and writer Wes Craven is best known as the creator of many horror films, including the Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream franchises.
Craven earned an undergraduate degree in writing and psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois, and a masters degree in Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to landing his first job in the film industry as a sound editor for a post-production company in New York, Craven briefly taught English at Westminster College and was a humanities professor at Clarkson College.

Mike Benson, SVP Advertising and Promotion, ABC Entertainment

Named as Senior Vice President of Marketing for ABC Entertainment in June 2003, Mike Benson currently serves as chairman on the Promax Board of Directors. In his role with ABC, Benson oversees, along with Marla Provencio, all marketing, advertising and promotion for ABC's primetime and late-nNight lineup, while also establishing the on-air tone and brand of the network. His duties include strategic planning, creative development and implementation of all on-air and off-air marketing, advertising and promotional campaigns, including Primetime and Late-Night program promotion, marketing partnerships, network brand and new media/marketing platforms. He began his employment at ABC Entertainment as senior vice president, advertising and promotion, in June 1998.

Benson joined ABC from VH1/MTV Networks, where he'd been senior vice president, promotion & program planning since January 1996. Prior to this, from 1993-96, Benson served as director of communications for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. From 1983 to 1986, Mr. Benson owned and operated his own production company, producing a variety of entertainment productions, including music videos, short subject films and live concerts and events. His career began in 1982 with an internship at WCCO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Named an "Entertainment Marketer of the Year" in 2005 by Ad Age and, earlier in 2000, by BrandWeek magazine, Benson has also received the Promax Brand Builder Award in 2004.

Geoff Calnan, Sr. Vice President, Domestic Theatrical Audio Visual,
The Cimarron Group

With more than 25 years of entertainment marketing experience, Geoff Galnan began his career in commercial advertising working with director Stan Drogoti. Eventually becoming an agency producer before moving to NBC, Calnan went on to work for ABC, took Fox from three to seven nights of programming launching hits like The Simpson's, X-Files, Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place as well as NFL and NHL on Fox. Moving over to UPN, Calnan was credited with the network's fast growth before leaving in 2003.

As an independent, he would win the coveted Key Art award for best 30 second spot for his Love Story spot for the Scarface DVD campaign. He then joined Cimarron Group in 2004 as senior vice president of domestic theatrical advertising, working on the launch of such films as Walk the Line, Man on Fire, The Day After Tomorrow, Robots, Be Cool, The Longest Yard, Kingdom of Heaven, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, among others.