World Newspaper Advertising Conference announces speakers

World Newspaper Advertising Conference, organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is scheduled in Malta on February 24 and 25, 2011. A press note from the organisers informed that the annual event will focus on ideas and strategies for increasing revenues in the near term. 

The conference will bring together some of the world’s most innovative newspaper advertising executives and will provide market insight and strategies for print advertising, cross-media advertising and for increasing advertising department efficiency. In addition to strategies and case studies from publishers, the conference will feature presentations from agencies and advertisers on what they expect media to deliver in today’s advertising market.

Joseph Plummer, co-author of "The Online Advertising Playbook" is among the speakers announced for the programme. Dr Plummer, an adjunct Professor at the Columbia Business School and Senior Associate at Olson Zaltman Associates, will address "How readers think ­ Essential insights for ad sales in 2011" at the conference.

Among the other speakers, Gregor Waller, Member of the Management and vice president for Strategy and Innovation, Axel Springer's Welt Group in Germany, who will focus on tablet advertising and present a strategic roadmap for taking advantage of digitisation. Nils Von Heijne, agency director, Pronto Communication in Sweden, a "word-of-mouth" agency, will examine viral marketing and social media. 

Andy Mitchell, commercial director, Associated Northcliffe Digital in the United Kingdom will show how newspapers can create advertising networks and get paid for their digital content without creating pay walls. Anders Berglund, sales director, Aftonbladet in Sweden, which has a history of developing new and clever digital products that involve readers and advertisers. Berglund will present a case study on creating a strong sales force.

Fabrice Dekerf, managing partner, Germaine Agency in Belgium, will examine how newspapers should approach advertising agencies with multi-media solutions. Staffan Hultén, vice president and founder, Research and Analysis of Media (RAM), will examine the new metrics for tablets and e-readers as advertisers increasingly look for results-based metrics.

Eamonn Byrne, managing director, The Byrne Partnership in the United Kingdom, will address the benefits of newspaper companies concentrating on multi-media advertising sales strategies with print at the core. He will also present five key trends for the future and how to exploit them.
Benoy Roychowdhury, executive director - Marketing, Hindustan Times in India, will present a case study on how to increase print advertising revenues. Acar Altug, deputy head of advertising for Hürriyet in Turkey, will present a case study on a completely new approach to car advertising that creates a powerful package for automotive advertisers. Suzanne Raitt, vice president of marketing and innovation, Canadian Newspaper Association and former managing director, Toronto Star, will focus on print advertising, which remains the heart of newspaper revenues and will for many years to come.

Robert Ray, marketing director for the Newspaper Society in the United Kingdom, will show how to encourage creativity in newspaper advertising and its importance to increasing advertising revenues. Aralynn McMane, executive director for Young Readership Development at WAN-IFRA, will examine advertising strategies aimed to younger readers. More speakers are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.