Guest Speakers

Jim Nissen

JIM NISSEN is President and Creative Director of SW!TCH studio a creative services firm specializing in publication design and branding with offices in Phoenix and New York.

In 15 years SW!TCH studio has designed over 60 different titles, producing over 800 issues for 40 publishers nationwide for clients such as Amnesty International, REI and the PGA tour.

Jim sits on the executive board of the Arizona AIGA, is a member of the Phoenix Art Institute Professional Advisory Committee and member of the Society of Publication Designers in New York. He speaks regularly to student and professional groups on the subjects of Creativity in the workplace, Inspiration for designers, and Magazine production.

Jim will present two sessions on Friday, June 20. Design LIVE will be held on Friday morning with The Joy of Self Review scheduled in the afternoon. Jim will also be providing Design Critiquing Sessions on Saturday, June 21. These 15 sessions were based on first come, first served and are currently booked.

BRUCE SILVERMAN is one of America's best known and well respected marketing-communication executives. A broad-view strategist, he is probably the only agency executive who ever served as creative director of a top five agency who went on to head one of the largest media planning and buying shops in the world.

Bruce Silverman

A long-time board member of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, his 38-year advertising agency career included senior positions at Ogilvy & Mather in New York, London, Houston and Los Angeles, Bozell, BBDO/West, Asher/Gould and WongDoody.

He was the creative mind behind "Don't Leave Home Without It" (American Express), "Bullish on America" (Merrill Lynch), "Something Special in the Air" (American Airlines), "Not made in 'Nooo Yawk Ciddy" (Pace Picante), "The Shell Answer Man" and a dozen other award winning campaigns.

As President/CEO of the domestic arm of Interpublic's giant ($22 billion in annual billings) Initiative Worldwide, he supervised media planning and buying for Disney, Sega, Carl's Jr., Taco Bell, Albertson's, Acura, Kia, Chevrolet, Bally's Health & Fitness, Six Flags, America Online, the United States Navy and Yahoo!

Bruce established his consulting practice in May 2005. In addition to advising a number of advertising and public relations agencies, media properties, marketing services firms and international advertisers, he is a principal, Chairman and CEO of 24/6, Inc., the holding company of Pocket Billboards®, which places advertising on telephone calling cards.

A graduate of Adelphi University in New York, Bruce is a confirmed theater and arts junkie, a world traveler and a frustrated Lakers fan. He has served as Vice Chairman of the AAAA Western Region and as Vice President of the Los Angeles Advertising Agency Association.

Bruce is married to Nancy Cole, Publisher and Editor of the The Equestrian News. He just finished a book, Mr Indignity; How to Complain for Fun and Profit.

Bruce will present sessions on How to Create Advertising that Sells and How to Sell to Ad and Media Agencies currently scheduled on Friday and Saturday.

Ann Wylie

ANN WYLIE runs a company called Wylie Communications Inc. She works with editors who want to reach more readers and with publishing companies that want to beat the competition.

She is the author of more than a dozen learning tools, including "Revving Up Readership" and "Make Your Copy More Creative."

Before starting her firm, Ann was editor of Ingram's, a nationally acclaimed executive magazine. During her tenure, Ingram's editorial and design earned dozens of awards for excellence, and the magazine saw circulation increase by 35 percent and ad sales soar by one-third.

Her work has earned more than 40 editorial awards, including several national American Association of Business Publications awards.

Now Ann helps organizations launch and improve their publications.

Ann's popular workshops take her from Hollywood to Helsinki, from Atlanta to Amsterdam and from Portland to Paris. There, she works with magazine editors at such groups as: Cahner's , PRIMEDIA/Intertec , McMurry Publishing, American Business Media, Magazine Publishers of America (MPA), American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME), and Folio.

Ann has written articles for magazines ranging from Business Week to Chain Saw Age. For her articles, she has interviewed CEOs and billionaires, such movie stars as Robert Redford, Brad Pitt and George Clooney -- and the guys who change the lightbulbs at Hallmark.

Ann holds an M.A. in journalism from the University of Kansas. In addition to her full-time work, she taught graduate writing courses at Webster University for more than a decade

Ann will present three sessions on Saturday, June 21. Think Like a Reader will be held in the morning with Make Your Copy More Creative and Play With Your Words in the afternoon.

ARI ROSENBERG is CEO of Performance Pricing, a media sales consulting company in New York, excelling in pricing strategies and sales training for today's multi platform "big idea" media buying climate.

Ari was the vice president of sales at IGN.com, where he created and managed a unique pricing model that eventually led to the company's acquisition by Fox Interactive for 650 million dollars. Prior to joining IGN, he sold print advertising for Tennis magazine and Newsweek after buying media at Young and Rubicam in the early 90s.

He writes a weekly column for Mediapost called the "Online Publishers Insider" and he speaks regularly at industry events and conferences.

Ari presents two sessions on Integrated Media Sales on Saturday morning. Session One is an overview of the online advertising landscape and where content niche properties fit. Attendees will learn what is expected of them to earn online buys -- including 7 required steps that make sellers effective at selling online inventory. Session Two will provide a showcase of "big ideas" bought online and how they get priced and sold. 

No reprints or distribution of the seminar PowerPoint is permitted, so attendees should plan to take good notes.