DJ Summit
September 7th, 2023, (10am to 2pm Mountain)
Leveraging Your Brand's
Superpower of Connection
Media Leaders and Sales Teams: Your brand's greatest asset is your position of trust within a niche community. The world is crazy, but it never gets so crazy that it changes the value of that core asset. It's the leveraging of that asset that is the kicker right now.
My first daughter was born at home. That shizzle was REAL (pardon my Snoop). It was so insanely beautiful and dangerous and intense ... and in the end, I was holding the most beautiful thing in the world in my arms.
In the media industry, I feel like we are in the delivery room. Something is waiting to be born from the belaboring chaos. Meanwhile, it has gotten super-real, with all the screaming, and travail. Lots of uncertainty and disruption.
All my clients are publishers. I've sat with many of you in the midst of some pretty tough realities. But I am also starting to glimpse the beautiful baby that is waiting on the other side of this season of upheaval.
This Summit is full of the people who give me those glimpses. The people who see something, like I do. The people who shiver at the possibilities, and who see opportunity over danger, and possibility over pressure.
This is a gathering of people who are passionate about media, and who have served in media, or served media, responsibly and well. These are teachers, each with a beautiful golden nugget to share about the future of publishers, and the ways they can leverage their niche communities for greater engagement and profit.
I invite you to join us and peek at something beautiful.
Sincerely,
--Johnny Levy
CEO, DataJoe & Facilitator of the 1st DJ Summit!
Can't watch live?
No problem, all the talks will be recorded and available to watch on-demand after the event.
Visionaries of Media
Session Schedule
All times are in Mountain Time.
Naming Explanations
Johnny Levy (The Connector)
I call myself the Connector because that is what I do all day, every day, is connect deeply with people (make friends), and connect my friends with other friends so they can help each other. In the publishing world, I exemplify DataJoe's culture of Partnership by having constant conversations with clients, service providers, and thought leaders to ensure that I can always bring a new idea, a new connection, and a new solution to people in my sphere.
Kenny Katzgrau (The Lover/Brawler)
I freakin' love Kenny. He's authentic, loyal, and he wears his heart on his sleeve. He's truly driven by a deep desire to leave a legacy of positive impact in the world, and specifically in the realm of publishing. Of all the people I know, few can rival this man in terms of passion for the industry and raw problem-solving power. But also -- he sees the landscape, and he's prepared to do battle for the heart of publishing in a world of "big technology" threats. He is a rallying force to spur media professionals forward to battle with frenemies on all sides, and he teaches us never to devalue the local authority that makes niche media special and relevant.
Richard Bliss (The Futurist)
Richard is like a kid in a candy store in a world of technological treats that are falling from the sky. While many of us are ducking our heads and running for cover, this man is standing in the rain, arms wide, smiling. He's aware of the dangers, but he's excited for the future. He's taught me to smile, dig in, stop being afraid, try out new technologies, and see opportunities instead of threats. He's a LinkedIn expert bar none, and he will bring this wisdom to bear for sales teams within media organizations, empowering them to leverage the relational rocket fuel of LinkedIn to win over communities.
Ammie Scott-Motes (The Simplifier)
Ammie is a super successful, crazy-driven, no-nonsense VP of Sales and active seller. She has a simple creed: Do what's best for the client, the publication, and the rep -- in that exact order. Einstein said that the highest level of genius is simplicity. I experience that when I talk with Ammie -- she knows what she's about. She knows what works. She has a low tolerance for bull-crap and fluffiness. And she's led her sales department to a place of consistent success, year after year, to the degree that other publishers hire her to help them reform their sales teams.
Jacob Fogg (The Equipper)
Jacob is one of the greatest individuals I know. He's sincere, loyal to a fault, and is a "daddy bear" for his people. He's also got an incredible mind for solving complex problems through technology -- both in the realm of envisioning the right ingredients, and also executing the recipe. He's locked in with publishers, and helps them architect and execute solutions that help them enable their technology/web initiatives. He's an avid technologist, and has passionately embraced the potential of AI for publishers.