Tuesday, May 25th

SUMMER IN THE CITY: A LOOK AT LOCAL AND TOURIST ACTIVITY IN NEW YORK

In collaboration with NYC & Company, we bring you a session to discuss trends for summer activities and entertainment in New York City. NYC & Company will share their insider knowledge on past statistics and future projections. We will also explore the differences between local and tourist activity, as well as the best way to reach out to audiences during the summer.

Sign-in and refreshments will begin at 8:30am. The event will begin promptly at 9:00am.

• NYC & COMPANY PANELISTS:
• Diarmaid O'Sullivan — Vice President, Tourism Development
• Donna J. Keren, Ph.D. — Senior Vice President, Research & Analysis

THURSDAY MARCH 18, 2010

SITUATION CARES - CASINO FOR CARES

On March 18th, Situation Interactive held its second annual fundraiser for Situation Cares. The charitable extension of Situation Interactive is devoted to shining the light on those who take artistic risk. For one evening we turned our New York office into a casino for the 2010 Casino for Cares event. People played black jack, craps and poker while sipping the signature Cares 360 cocktail and bid on the silent auction. Like last year's event, it featured a mobile phone silent auction which allowed users to bid on items through their mobile phone, putting a Situation spin on the traditional auction. To learn more about Situation Cares visit www.situationcares.org

TUESDAY MARCH 2, 2010

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT: THE IMPACT OF ONLINE CONSUMER REVIEWS

As more and more websites and social media outlets provide consumers with opportunities to express their opinions on brands, the more relevant these views become to potential ticket buyers and event attendees. This panel discussed both the positive and negative impact consumer reviews have in marketing efforts, as well as the importance of brand monitoring and the direct effect of consumer reviews on sales.

• Moderator:
• John Lanasa — Director of Account Services East, Situation Interactive

• Panelists:
• David Elkins — Regional Sales Manager, TripAdvisor.com
• Michael Francesconi — Director, Community at CitySearch
• Kevin Lee — East Coast Director of Marketing, Yelp
• Jim McCarthy — Co-Founder and CEO, Goldstar

TUESDAY JANUARY 26, 2010

HOW IS THEATRICAL PRESS CHANGING IN THE WORLD OF INSTANT INFORMATION

Broadway has lived by long-standing rules for years, but as the web continues to make information available as soon as it happens it continues to change how critics deliver information. We discovered how are the legitimate critics and reporters are responding and how the traditions of media coverage in the theatre is changing.

• Moderator:
• Chris Boneau — Boneau Bryan-Brown

• Panelists:
• Jeremy Gerard — BLOOMBERG
• Michael Riedel — NY POST
• Linda Winer — NEWSDAY

THURSDAY DECEMBER 3, 2009

GETTING PERSONAL: EXPLORING THE VALUE OF CUSTOMER LOYALTY

We gathered a diverse and discussed the importance of customer relationship management. From email communication to following trends in your industry, the panelists talked about the investment and strategy it takes to build and nurture relationships with live entertainment ticket buyers.

• Moderator:
• Erik Gensler — President, Capacity Interactive

• Panelists:
• Gene Carr — President, Patron Technology
• Ken Davenport — Founder, Davenport Theatrical Enterprises, Inc.
• Larry Goldman — Director, Marketing Outreach - MSG VarsityL

THURSDAY OCTOBER 27, 2009

CONTENT IS KEY: A DISCUSSION WITH CREATIVE AND MARKETING MINDS

We gathered Tony Award® winning NEXT TO NORMAL lyricist Brian Yorkey, actor Andrew Kober—from the Tony Award® winning musical HAIR—and Serino Coyne’s Chief Creative Officer, Sandy Block, and discussed the importance of creating content for marketing a Broadway show. The discussion ranged from social media content to executing a successful campaign. Key takeaways included the risks and rewards of content creation.

• Moderator:
• Jeremy Kraus — Account Supervisor, Situation Interactive

• Panelists:
• Sandy Block — Chief Creative Officer, Serino Coyne Inc.
• Andrew Kober — Actor, HAIR
• Brian Yorkey — Librettist/Lyricist, NEXT TO NORMAL

THURSDAY OCTOBER 1, 2009

SUPER GROUPERS: THE CURRENT STATE OF GROUP SALES

Guest moderator Leslie Case, Director of Sales and Marketing for Blue Man Productions, will lead a discussion on best practices for marketing to groups.

• Panelists:
• Bob Hofmann — Senior Director, The Shubert Organization Inc.
• Scott Mallalieu — President, Group Sales Box Office
• Carl Prince — Vice President, Theatre Direct International

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27 2009

PUTTING THE GOO IN GOOGLE: LEARNING WHAT STICKS IN THE SEARCH WORLD

We gathered our team of Google representatives and discussed everything from Search 101 to keyword bidding. They also shared case studies and best practices from the world’s largest search engine.

• Panelists:
• Erin McMahon — Search Account Executive, Google
• Kelley Collacchi — Display Account Executive, Google
• Renee Friedkin — Account Planner, Google

THURSDAY, JULY 16 2009

A TOURIST LINE: THE CURRENT OUTLOOK FOR NYC TRAVEL

Guest moderator Charlie Flateman from the Shubert Organization guided us through a discussion that touched on New York City tourism trends and best practices when communicating to tourists.

• Panelists:
• Jim Lombard — Vice President, Business Development, NYC & Company
• Jason Sheets — General Manager, Shows & Events, Travelzoo
• Shaun Stewart — Director of Market Management, Expedia

THURSDAY, june 16 2009

SITUATION CARES: COCKTAILS FOR CARES

On June 16th, Situation Interactive hosted a fundraising event in New York City for its charitable extension, Situation Cares. The event raised money for the Ian Bennett Memorial Fund, a component of the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan Counties that awards college scholarships to students showing outstanding promise in the arts.

To learn more or make a tax-deductable contribution to Situation Cares, please visit www.situationcares.org.

THURSDAY, may 28 2009

SOCIAL MEDIA 101: MY STATUS IS BETTER THAN YOUR TWEET

We gathered in the morning to discuss social media and what it means to our entire industry. The panel of experts discussed best practices, maximizing effectiveness, and simple steps anyone can take to play a role in the social media space. We learned that any marketer not in the social media space "should be arrested."

• Panelists:
• Andy Monfried — Chief Executive Officer, Lotame.com
• Michael Lazerow — Chairman and CEO, BuddyMedia.com
• Robert Diamond — Editor-in-Chief, BroadwayWorld.com

tuesday, april 28 2009

ONLINE VIDEO: PERSPECTIVES FROM TODAY'S LEADERS

This hour-long discussion with three influential online video experts covered topics from video analytics to viral video, from creating content to distributing content. The different backgrounds of each of our panelists made this event informative for all.

• Panelists:
• Jennifer Hyman — YouTube, Head of Business Marketing
• Ed Wise — Funny or Die, Vice President Eastern Sales
• Frederick Lowe — Varitalk, Vice President Business Development

tuesday, march 31 2009

THE NEW YORK TIMES and SITUATION INTERACTIVE EVENT: THE WEB 2.0

We assembled a panel of editorial, technology and research professionals at The New York Times to speak about consumer behavior with the publication along with a look toward future initiatives that will affect the live entertainment industry.

• Panelists:
• Michael Zimbalist — Vice President, Research and Development Operations at The New York Times Company
• Jeffrey Graham — Executive Director of Customer Insight at The New York Times Company
• Patrick Healy — Theater Reporter, for The New York Times

tuesday, february 24 2009

A DISCUSSION WITH BROADWAY'S LEADING CONTENT PROVIDERS

This event touched on topics ranging from understanding the popular theater-related email blasts to exploring the research consumers participate in online prior to purchasing tickets. The hour-long panel highlighted many of the key issues facing theater marketers today.

• Panelists:
• Ari Ackerman — Playbill.com, Director of Advertising and Sales
• Matt Kupchin — Broadway.com, President
• Darren Sussman — Theatermania.com, President/Co-Founder