Lincoln Hotel
1816 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL
312-254-4700
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED
($395 for the 1st attendee at $295 for the 2nd attendee.
*includes breakfast, lunch and the opening reception on Friday night, 2 refreshment breaks, the sessions and the Financial Standards Survey)
Thursday, September 26
11-12:30pm: Board of Directors Meeting
12:30pm: Registration opens
1:30pm: Opening Remarks
1:30-2:45pm: What Keeps You Up at Night?
Come prepared to share what’s happening in your local market and let your fellow peers help you come up with creative solutions to common situations that we all share in this open discussion, Q & A forum.
2:45-3:15pm: Refreshment Break/Network with Sponsors
3:15-4:30pm: What’s NEW? Bring your newest innovations to the table and share what you are trying in your market to move the needle. Ideas for you to bring include:
- New way to recruit talent
- New cost savings ideas
- New custom project
- New ad section
- New editorial column
- New programmatic revenue
- New e-mail idea that’s selling
- New strategy for web or social engagement
5-6pm: Opening Reception on Rooftop of Lincoln Hotel
Friday, September 27
8-9am: Group Breakfast
9-10am: PMA Financial Standards Survey (FSS) Workshop
Back by request, we will send out our 30-question survey on the financial benchmarks of each participating member’s company, then aggregate and report to your individual company’s results beside your fells PMA members by revenue category. Once we review the medians and averages for 2019, we will have have an open discussion to uncover the differences in how we run our businesses and the changes you can make to become more profitable.
10-10:30am: Refreshment Break/Network with Sponsors
10:30-11:45am: Embracing Disruption
The world of publishing has been officially disrupted. The days of taking orders are gone as more and more competitors enter into our market. Even finding talent is becoming more and more challenging as Boomers leave the workforce and fewer and less experienced Gen Z’s move in to replace them. Being a publisher in 2020 is nothing like it used to be. Disruption is the norm.
Maybe it’s time to do a little disrupting of our own using our best assets: our team, our audience, and our knowledge of our niche industry. It’s time to let go of the past and pivot your organization to the future.
We are going to roll up our sleeves. We are going to start by focusing on your team. We are going to talk about finding hidden talent from the most surprising place (hint: they already work for you). We are going to talk about processes and systems that you can implement to improve your culture, improve your content, and improve your service to advertisers. We are going to talk about your business model and how understanding your financials can help lead you to the future.
The bottom line is that we are going to share ideas, best practices, and get our hands dirty. Joining us as a facilitator will be Don Harkey, CEO of People Centric Consulting Group. Don’s team works with publishers across the country helping them to find the best versions of themselves through systems that support a strong culture.
It’s time to embrace the disruption and design a proactive and profitable business.
Noon-1pm: Lunch
1-1:30pm: Sponsor Showcase Presentations
(3) 10-minute presentations by sponsors with raffle prizes!
1:30-1:45pm: Refreshment Break/Network with Sponsors
1:45-3pm: Embracing Disruption (continued)
