Page 56 - The Channel Issue 2 2010

for broadcasters. For S4M, the MFM conference is a valuable forum to stay informed of the central issues of the industry, but also to meet with a very focused group of decision makers as potential customers.” The challenges for the broadcasting and media industries are mounting up: multiple platforms must be managed re technology and organisation, traditional target groups diversify, local and niche interests become more important and the Internet is taking away users and revenue. To cope with all these issues is as complex as it is urgent. During the three days of the MFM conference speakers and panelists tackled these topics with passion, and new ideas and useful experiences were shared and discussed at breathtaking pace and in depth.

In the session “Pay Walls for Profit” Barbara G. Cohen suggested that you have to say goodbye to the usual classification of target groups by age or gender and to focus on segmentations of lifestyle, behaviour, usage and locality. Think about attracting customers with special interest themes, passionate niches, and local references on multiple platforms - including social media. With this strategy, you can find highly

he 2010 Media Finance Focus conference was hosted by the Media Financial Management Association with the slogan “Refocus, Revitalize, Rebuild: Roadmap to Success”. MFM is a trade and interest organization for American media and broadcasting companies. Its mission is to be the premier source of education, networking, information, and signature products to meet the diverse needs of financial and business professionals in the media industry. "We truly believe the conference signals the beginning of a revitalization of our industry and our organization”, said Conference Co-Chair Dawn Sciarrino of Sciarrino & Shubert. The annual conference is only one of many ways in which the MFM helps media financial professionals find the information they need to succeed. As Mary M. Collins, President and CEO of MFM and its BCCA subsidiary pointed out, the MFM also provides ongoing information in the form of The Financial Manager magazine, regularly scheduled Distance Learning Seminars as well as conference calls or webinars, industry guidelines, and regional seminars. This year’s conference was the association’s 50th anniversary, but it

Although the industry has taken its knocks over the past few years, S4M’s Sina Billhardt and Eivind Sandstrand were impressed by the conference’s vitality and optimism. Much like Nashville itself, which got hit by serious flooding from the Cumberland River less than a month before, the MFM members and conference attendees refuse to give up, and will always keep building and rebuilding.

S4M participated as an exhibitor for the second time and is now also an active member of the MFM Association and its committee on IT and Emerging Technologies. During the conference, S4M presented and discussed several of their solutions from a complete portfolio with other attendees, although this year the company’s focus was on its solution for broadcasters who seek to increase advertising revenue and profits by optimizing spot placement schedules. Says Manfred Heinen, CEO of S4M: “Our S4AdOpt solution is a new and unique approach to the urgent challenge of maintaining advertising as a sustainable primary revenue source

In Nashville, the stars of the future perform day and night, and you can often even catch some of the big stars of today. America's 'Music City' was the setting for the 2010 Media Finance Focus Conference - S4M’s Eivind Sandstrand was there and was impressed by the conference’s vitality and optimism T