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If We Are Jukeboxes, We Are Out Of Business - Wisdom From #Conclave40
July 20, 2015
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Radio colleagues that did not attend the 40th anniversary of The Conclave last week have been asking how it went. While inspirational, informative, and interesting are among the sentiments that apply, it's not easy to capture the spirit of what it's like to truly be there.
Running into old friends or getting to meet colleagues you've "known of" for years, face to face is uplifting.
We've been banged around a bit in our industry -- watching some friends lose gigs as well as others bouncing back into even better jobs. We've also lost some incredible talent in the past few years which makes these industry events serve as a reminder of the importance of catching up with each other when we can.
So I'll do my best to pull you into an event filled with great names, voices and thoughts in a way that only "Merge" could do it - using the socially savvy attendees who (unknowingly) became my "citizen journalists" to tell you a bit of the story.
It all started with the keynote event, "Ask Me 'Almost' Anything."
All Access President & Founder, Joel Denver held a captivating conversation with CEO/NRG Media, Mary Quass; CEO/Hubbard Media, Ginny Morris; CMO/Cumulus Media & Westwood One, Pierre Bouvard; VP/Programming Entercom Milwaukee, Brian Kelly and VP/Market Manager Max Media Virginia Beach, Dave Paulus.
And there were plenty of "tweetable" moments:
It was an energizing and exciting way to kick off Conclave. And no doubt, we will do it again next year.
It seemed to fire everyone up, being prouder than usual of our storied industry, and turned the vibe of the event (and the tweets) lively:
Westwood One's Adam Bomb hosted the BMI Storytellers session with Daughtry. It was a huge event. Daughtry performed some of his hits and talked about the art of telling a story:
The Conclave also spent time honoring Mary Quass, CEO/NRG Media, and Dan Vallie, Founder/Vallie, Richards, Donovan Consulting, with the Rockwell Award.
This award is presented to broadcasters that make a difference with their contributions to the industry and their communities:
And for the first time ever, The Conclave created a "Speed Mentoring Breakfast."
This is where some of radio's decision makers offer rare access to mentees - giving valuable career building advice.
(By the way, this wasn't just about up-and-coming talent having access to great radio minds. Colleagues already well established in the business took advantage of the speed mentoring, too.)
Among the 20 mentors that gave their time, CBS Radio's SVP/Programming, Jim Ryan:
Hubbard Media's SVP/Programming, Greg Strassell:
And Greater Media's Dir./Interactive Marketing, Jennifer Williams:
Captured socially -- this is a small fraction of the takeaways and camaraderie experienced.
It's important for our industry to hold this event. It's equally important for the industry to support it.
We get to talk with each other, learn and grow as a business. Many times you find it's the smallest things that resonate with you to take away and apply to your brand(s) and reputation (and maybe even yourself) to refine and reset.
There's also nothing better than reconnecting with the friends who have cared along the way.
It's truly a gathering not to miss. Hope you will make plans to attend #Conclave41!
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