June 4, 2009 - Social Media Panel in Portland

Who Killed Social Media?
A panel discussion on Social Media vs. Social Web

Thursday June 4, 2009
6:30 PM - 10:30 PM

Nemo HQ
1875 SE Belmont St
Portland, OR 97214

Social Media, Social Web, Social Networking, Community Director.... what do those terms mean to you and/or your company? Do you or your company understand that Twitter is a platform more akin to good old IM than a social network? Is Facebook a social network or an online community or both? Does it matter? Our panel of venerable experts will attempt to steer us through this topical minefield during the discussion.

Speakers:

• Dave Allen - Director of Insights and Digital Media at Nemo Design; @Pampelmoose, pampelmoose.com
• Tony "Frosty" Welch - Web, Community and Social Media Strategy Personal Systems Group at HP, Community Manager for theNextBench.com; @frostola, frostyland.com
• James Todd - Software Engineer for Twine at Radar Networks; @jwtodd, twine.com
• Matt Savarino - Lead Information Architect at K2 Sports and creator of Ridertech; @ridertech, ridertech.com
• Lee Crane - action sports online veteran; leecrane.com
• Marshall Kirkpatrick (Moderator) - Vice President of Content Development and Lead Writer at ReadWriteWeb; @marshallk, readwriteweb.com

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the panel will begin at 7:00 p.m.

RSVP: Pre-registration is $20, and walk-ups at the door are $25. REGISTER AT http://tinyurl.com/groupY-6-4-09

LIVE AUDIOCAST: Starting at 7:20pm CLICK HERE TO LISTEN


group Y and Nemo invite all those involved with the action sports, entertainment & communications industries to attend. College Students interested in action sports and youth marketing are welcome to attend.

About Nemo Design
Nemo means Nobody. Highly collaborative, integrated marketing that is media agnostic. The biggest ideas, the best context, and the deepest impact are all we're concerned about as we build visionary brands. We use (or invent) whatever media and tools will resonate within a culture. "Does it change the game?" is our collective mission as we evolve interactive design, social networks, PR, environmental design, print design, photography, entertainment and original content. For more information on Nemo visit: nemohq.com.

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May 12th - group Y Panel Discussion in Costa Mesa

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
Detroit Bar - Costa Mesa, California

"Integrating Music and Brand Marketing" Panel Discussion

We will be discussing the tightly interwoven connections between action sports, youth marketing and music industries, as well as how brands, musicians and record labels can work together in cross promotion.

Our expert panel line up includes:

• Kurt Soto -- Entertainment Marketing Manager, Vans
• Derek Boucher -- Director of Marketing, Vestal
• Daryl Berg -- Director of Music Supervision & Licensing, Fuel TV
• Ray Ibe -- founder, SecretHandShake & music industry veteran

Registration
$15 Pre-registration click here
$20 at the door - cash only

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Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup - June 1-2 in SF

JUNE 1-2, 2009 - HOTEL NIKKO - SAN FRANCISCO, CA

group Y is excited to announce our partnership with the 2009 national Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup conference, June 1-2 at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.

Many of you are familiar with Ypulse’s comprehensive daily coverage of the social and digital trends that define today’s totally wired generation and marketing in the youth space. Your hands-on host at Mashup is Ypulse founder and editor, Anastasia Goodstein!

If you thrive on the energy generated by the best and brightest in the youth marketing field, this is the one conference to attend this year: group Y members can take advantage of our discount of 10% off the standard conference rates when you register using our special code GROUPY.

Register before April 17 to maximize your savings with Ypulse Early Adopter rates!

JOIN the best and brightest in the youth marketing field

• Join the top brand, corporate and social marketers, media pros, educators, youth advocates and leaders of non-profits who gather each year to share best practices, the freshest youth research and latest strategies on marketing to tweens, teens and young adults with technology.

• Share your own unique expertise and passion for the youth space with attendees who inspire the electric networking and collaboration – hallmarks of a Mashup conference.

• Get the inside track on how to leverage social media, gaming, virtual worlds, mobile platforms and more to reach and engage tweens, teens and young adults.

INSIGHT INTO THE DIGITAL GENERATION!

• Don Tapscott, one of the world's leading authorities in business strategy and the author of Grown Up Digital on how this generation is changing the world and its institutions.

• Josh Shipp, an internationally renowned speaker on youth issues who channeled his talent for empowering young people into the media platform Hey Josh, on what teens care about

• Donna Fenn, who has been interviewing young entrepreneurs over the past two years for her new book Upstarts! How the Entrepreneurial Generation is Rocking the World of Business.

• Greg Clayman, Executive Vice President of Digital Distribution and Business Development, MTV Networks

• David Brind and Adam Salky, the screenwriter and director of “DARE,” who will lead a Q&A after an exclusive screening of this 2009 Sundance Film Festival hit.

• Kit Yarrow, co-author of Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and 20-Somethings are Revolutionizing Retail

• Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur, interacting with a Totally Wired Youth Entrepreneur Panel

• Adam Aberman, director of digital strategy at Ashoka's Youth Venture, and Tim Showalter-Loch, of Best Buy, talking about a successful pro-social campaign

• Executives from Disney, covering best practices for user-generated campaigns targeting youth

• Bill Carter of Fuse, on cutting spending without losing marketing impact

• Daryl Butler, who directs retail brand marketing at Nike, on keeping youth marketing simple

• Youth Panel, ages 13 to 24, rating brand campaigns—ask them for feedback on your own campaign!

FOUR FOCUSED PRE-CONFERENCE EVENTS

• Campus Case Study Slam: an action-packed morning off back-to-back case studies from brand, pro-social and agency marketers focused on reaching the college demographic.

• Urban/Multicultural Mashup: Trend presentations on African American, Hispanic and Asian American youth by some of the real stars of this space, sessions on new opportunities in the ‘urban’ mobile space and how a major gaming company teamed with a non-profit to create a movement, plus a special discussion: "Identity Politics - Marketing to Youth in the Age of Obama."

• Youth Marketing Bootcamp: Fresh research on teens and tweens and how technology has transformed their interactions.

• Tweens (Un)Conference: you set the agenda for a focus on balancing online safety and fun for tweens.

Join us in San Francisco!

Click Here to Read More..

Follow Tonight's Panel LIVE on Twitter & Facebook

group Y will be providing live updates from today's Action Sports Panel at Red Bull headquarters, co-sponsored by Fuel TV.

Follow the event on TWITTER at @groupY or #groupY

Also a new feature on our FACEBOOK page -- live feed updates from our event at www.tinyurl.com/groupYlive.

Click Here to Read More..

April 15th - Industry Panel Discussion at Red Bull HQ, Santa Monica, CA

Action Sports In the Mainstream—Where Do We Go From Here?

Please join us for our next panel discussion co-sponsored by FUEL TV on Wednesday, April 15th at Red Bull’s US headquarters in Santa Monica. Featured panelists include industry leaders from X Games, Sole Technology, Blitz Distribution Board-Trac and ZJ’s Boarding House.

group Y panelists will explore the growth, exposure and use of action sports athletes and imagery by non-endemic companies and discuss what it means to the action sports industry. Should or can smaller brands capitalize on what the larger brands have established? As a brand or a retailer, how can companies utilize this exposure to help create sales? Or conversely, by the very occurrence of our sports now being considered the “norm,” is the edgy vibe and lifestyle that has helped these brands become what they are today now negated?

Our panelists will discuss these issues alongside of their own personal and professional experiences of how they effectively captured the mass audiences, as well as what current and future challenges may be.

Red Bull Headquarters
1740 Stewart St. , Santa Monica, CA >>map
6:30pm - 9:30pm

Panelists Include (bios):
• Chris Stiepock – Vice President & General Manager, X Games franchise

• Don Brown, Senior Vice President, Sole Technology (soletechnology.com)
• Per Welinder – President, Blitz Distribution and Chairman of the Board, IASC (blitzdistribution.com, skateboardiasc.org)
• Todd Roberts – Owner, ZJ Boarding House and Chairman, Board Retailers Association (zjboardinghouse.com, www.boardretailers.org)
• Angelo Ponzi – Senior Marketing executive and Co-founder, Board-Trac (www.board-trac.net)

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the panel will begin at 7:00 p.m. Admission at the door is $20, and pre-registrations are $15.

To pre-register: CLICK HERE

group Y invites all those involved in marketing & PR within the action sports, entertainment & communications industries to attend. Also college students who have interest in Action Sports & Marketing are welcome to attend.

About FUEL TV
FUEL TV is the action sports lifestyle network for skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle motocross, and wakeboarding. A unit of Fox Cable Networks, FUEL TV was launched July 1, 2003 and is seen in 26 million U.S. homes. To subscribe to FUEL TV, call 877-4-FUEL-TV. For program times and other information, visit www.fuel.tv.

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Panel Bios - April 15, 2009

Don Brown
Senior Vice President, Sole Technology

Born and raised in Brighton, England, Don Brown has been skateboarding for over thirty years. He came to the United States in 1984, where he was sponsored by Vision skateboards and shortly thereafter skated the world as a professional skateboarder. He was the first U.K. skateboarder to get a pro model skateboard from a U.S. company. In 1989 Don won the World Championships for freestyle skating in Munster, Germany. Soon after he helped long time friend and fellow skateboarder Pierre André develop etnies by running sales and marketing, he helped design best-selling shoes and brought some of the top skaters in the history of skateboarding to the brand. Today, Don Brown is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sole Technology, which designs, manufactures, and distributes five brands for the action sports market: etnies, Emerica, éS, Altamont Apparel, and Thirty Two snowboard boots.
soletechnology.com


Todd Roberts
Owner, ZJ Boarding House and Chairman, Board Retailers Association

Todd Roberts has been involved with the action sports industry since 1983. First as a competitive surfer, then as a shop-employee-turned-sales-rep, and finally opening his own shop in 1988. He co-owns ZJ Boarding House, a surf, snow and skate shop in Santa Monica, CA with partner Mikke Pierson. This past December, ZJ Boarding House celebrated their 20th anniversary. Todd is regarded as a pioneer of snowboard retailing in Los Angeles and has served on retail advisory boards for over 15 years. Currently he is Chairman of the board of BRA (Board Retailers Assocition) and is Retail Advisor to SIMA, ASR, and Surf Expo.

www.zjboardinghouse.com
www.boardretailers.org


Chris Stiepock
Vice President & General Manager, X Games Franchise

Chris Stiepock was named vice president & general manager X Games franchise in June 2008, responsible for growing the X franchise both domestically and globally. He manages the organization and execution of ESPN's owned, organized and televised events, including the X Games, Winter X Games, all International X Games events, and multiple platform extensions. Stiepock also oversees action sports programming on ESPN's networks, including ESPN’s 24/7 action sports website ESPN.com/Action.

Prior to his current position, since January 2005 Stiepock served as General Manager of the X Games. In that role, Stiepock led the development, organization and operations for all aspects of the two U.S. based X Games events, multiple X Games events held in international markets, and all brand initiatives.

Stiepock has worked for ESPN since October 1994, when he was hired as the director of marketing and communications for what was then called the Extreme Games. He continued in this capacity, adding the Winter X Games and several auxiliary events to his responsibilities until being promoted to general manager of the ESPN Original Entertainment Events department in January 2001.

In 2006, Sports Business Journal named Stiepock the fifth most influential person in the action sports industry. And he is largely credited for helping to make the X Games one of the most recognized action sports brands in the world.

Prior to his work at ESPN, Stiepock was a freelance journalist, an advertising account executive, a marketing and communications director for the World Scholar-Athlete Games, and a marketing consultant to the Irish Basketball Association in Dublin, Ireland.

Stiepock has a master’s degree in buisiness administration in International Sports Management from the University of Rhode Island, and earned a bachelor of arts degree in English literature from Wesleyan University, where he was the captain of the men's basketball team.


Per Welinder
President, Blitz Distribution and Chairman of the Board, IASC

Google Per Welinder, and your internet search will reveal the history of a pro skater; a legend who performed the stunts in the cult film Back to the Future, and a two-time World Champion Freestyle Skateboarder.

Today, Welinder is an entrepreneur in the business world. He earned his MBA from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA. Welinder is the President of Blitz Distribution. Blitz is a brand incubator for skate- and California lifestyle brands and has contributed and effectively built brands like Baker Skateboards, Birdhouse, Hook-Ups, Flip, and Howe Denim. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in the Los Angeles area and focuses on brand building through design, marketing and distribution.

Welinder also serves as the Chairman of the Board for IASC, the International Association of Skateboard Companies, with the mission to promote the growth of skateboarding worldwide.

Born in Sweden, Welinder now resides in Huntington Beach with his wife Elaine and their two boys, Lukas, 14 and Benjamin, 11.

http://www.blitzdistribution.com
http://www.skateboardiasc.org


Angelo Ponzi, Moderator
Senior Marketing Executive and co-founder of Board-Trac, Inc.

Angelo is a Senior Marketing Executive and co-founder of Board-Trac, Inc. and Craft Brand Support, LLC, with extensive experience in the field of marketing, developing and directing comprehensive market/product, research and communications plans for a variety of package goods, retail, consumer, food/beverage, business-to-business, high-tech, medical and financial clients. As a proactive, out-of-the-box thinker, Angelo has demonstrated his ability to research and identify company issues and problems and strategize solutions. His key strengths include understanding the consumer/end user by utilizing both primary and secondary information and filtering through it to identify the essence of a strategy. Angelo has led both small and large teams and has worked with global, national, regional and start-up companies with very large to small budgets. He has worked with products in all stages of their lifecycle from inception to implementation. Angelo’s focus is on the brand and how it relates to the consumer/user, a consumer-centric approach. He is an active public speaker on general marketing communications and youth research and has been an instructor of marketing and advertising at the University of California, Irvine for several years.

Click Here to Read More..

2009 Action Sports Film Series at Newport Beach Film Festival

On Friday, April 24, the 10th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival will kick off its 2009 Action Sports Film Series at 6:00 pm with its Action Sports Spotlight presentation of the Irish surf film Waveriders at the Regency Lido Theater.

The seven-day event is co-produced by ChopShop, Orange County’s leading action sports lifestyle film production company and sponsored by FUEL TV, SURFING Magazine and Etnies, and partnering with group Y. The Newport Beach Film Festival’s Action Sports Film Series will spotlight twenty films from around the world, including documentary, narrative, animated and short films featuring compelling stories exploring the realms of surfing, skiing, snowboarding, motocross and wakeboarding.

On Saturday, April 25 at 8:00 pm at the Regency Lido Theater, the NBFF will present the Festival world premiere of Berkela Film’s new film Street Dreams starring Rob Dyrdek, Paul Rodriguez and Ryan Sheckler.

The Festival will also present the world premieres of Echo Beach, a local OC-produced film portraying the emergence of surf culture in Newport Beach in the 1980’s, Billabong’s new wakeboard film Out of the Pond and Harley-Davidson’s road adventure film Steezy Riders.

Other Highlights in the Action Sports Film Series:

On Thursday, April 30 at 6:00 pm at the Regency Lido Theater, the NBFF will host the world premiere of Brent Meeske and Ryan Casey’s latest film The Glacier Project, a stunning surf glacier documentary shot in Alaska, featuring big wave surf champions Garrett McNamara and Kealii Mamala, as the finale of the 2009 Action Sports Film Series. Beyond the Dream: The Joey Buran Story, Clay Marzo: Just Add Water, Havana Surf, Hermanos 2, The Lost Wave, Looking Thru The B-Sides, The Massive, Red Bull X-Fighters: Unleashed, The Ripple Effect, Swift Silent Deep, That’s It That’s All, Tougher Than Iron and Waterman round out the lineup.

The Action Sports Series is part of the Newport Beach Film Festival, now in its tenth year, which will open on Thursday, April 23, and run through Thursday, April 30, featuring over 300 films screening at the historic Regency Lido Theater and Edwards Island Cinema in Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

Schedule and tickets are available at www.NewportBeachFilmFest.com

Click Here to Read More..

March 25th - group Y Industry Panel Discussion w/ 686 & New Era

Join us for an evening event addressing the power of Brand Collaborations with New Era Caps and 686.

The discussion, co-sponsored by Transworld Business, will focus on the power of brand collaborations. What makes a successful collaboration? What are the best practices involved? How can two independent brand identities merge into a profitable hybrid product?

The panelists will speak to their experiences as well as promote discussion, questions and networking opportunities among members and guests.

Panelists Include:

• Braden Dahl - Strategic Business Unit Manager, New Era
• Mike West – President and Creative Director, 686 & Westlife Distribution
• Kristin Cusic – VP of Marketing, 686 & Westlife Distribution
• Rob Campbell (moderator) – Publisher, Transworld Business

Built upon collaborating, New Era has perfected the art of successfully uniting brand identities. Recent examples beyond their traditional branded caps have been the 20|94 collection with DC Shoes, the Good Livin’ Collection with Greg Lutzka and Oakley, the Times Collection with 686, the Capture The Flag Collection (athlete designed series – Jake Burton, Danny Way, James “Bubba” Stewart) and the latest New Era x TWSurf Top 44 Trading Cards.

686 has also made a “collaborative” name for itself by aligning themselves with like-minded brands and producing exclusive and innovative products. Partnerships over the years have included Dragon, Sanrio’s Hello Kitty, Dakine, Vestal, Levi’s, Famous, KR3W and New Balance.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the panel will begin at 7:00 p.m. Admission at the door is $20 and includes appetizers and drink specials courtesy of OC Tavern.

group Y invites all those involved in marketing & PR within the action sports, entertainment & communications industries to attend. In addition College Students interested in Action Sports are welcome to attend also.

Wednesday, March 25th, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
OC Tavern
San Clemente, CA

RSVP -- The fee for pre-registration is $15. Please pay ahead of time by Pay Pal/credit card via Click here to register. Pre-registration ends on Tuesday, March 24th.

Non-pre-paid RSVPs and walkups are $20 at the door. SORRY, CASH ONLY at the door!

co-sponsored by:

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group Y Panel Discussion at the IASC Skateboarding Industry Summit

group Y has been invited by IASC (International Association of Skateboard Companies) to produce a panel discussion as part of their annual Skateboarding Industry Summit. Industry experts Tiffany Montgomery of Shop-Eat-Surf, Chris Overholser of Vans and John Stouffer of Fuel TV will join us to speak to best practices for brand communications and public relations.

The Skateboarding Industry Summit is IASC’s yearly gathering of skateboarding industry leaders. Converging upon Woodward West in early April, members discuss the top concerns facing the skateboarding industry. The group of approximately 100 members will attend workshops, panels, and keynote addresses to discuss the future of skateboarding, manufacturing, and retailing among other topics.

For more info about IASC and the Skateboarding Industry Summit, please visit them at http://skateboardiasc.org

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The Youth Marketing Mega Event, April 26-29th

APRIL 26-29, 2009 - HYATT REGENCY RESORT & SPA - HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA

group Y proud to announce our partnership with the upcoming The Youth Marketing Mega Event 2009.

The Only Event that Covers Kids, Tweens, Teens, College, Young Adults and Families- Youth Mega event is THE #1 place year after year for learning the most up to the minute cultural, behavioral and technological trends – and the strategies for taking action on relevant trends most likely to impact your brand and business.

Join group Y and other industry leaders across ALL youth segments about sharing support, ideas and solutions on what to do now and what’s NEXT. Find out the latest in social media, virtual worlds, youth trends, shopping behavior and more to keep you ahead of the curve. It’s the original and only event that covers kids, tweens, teens, college students and families specifically, yet delivering all that matters most across the media mix.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

• 2 Symposia on Social Media & Technology and Insights, Foresights & Trends
• 2 LIVE focus groups targeting the segments you care about
• REAL youth track chairs
• Unpublished data, trend reports and studies on your target market across industries
• Authentic stories from peers and competitors to inspire, persevere and succeed
• Over 50 speakers

Industry Covered: CPG, TV & Media, Travel & Leisure, Retail, Online & Virtual Worlds, Video Games & Cellphones

Hear From: The Intelligence Group, Discovery Communications, Porter Novelli, Method, Cartoon Network, GQ Magazine/Conde NAST, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Burton Snowboards, Sanrio, Jordan Brand (a division of Nike), Kimberly Clarke Corp, Wrigley Jr. Company, Ian’s Natural Foods, Frito Lay, Cadbury, Cogate-Palmolive, Gaia Online, Verizon Wiress, Electronic Arts Inc., Boost Mobile, DoSomething.org, ... and many more

Because group Y is such a valued partner of the Youth Marketing Mega Event, we would like to extend to you a 15% discount off the standard rate when you register using code: YOUTH09GENY.

Find out more about why this event is a "must attend" for youth marketers searching for new opportunities and inspiration by downloading the event brochure.

Looking forward to seeing you in Huntington Beach, CA.

Click Here to Read More..

group Y kicks off 3rd Year with successful PR Industry Panel

group Y kicked off our 2009 event schedule with a bang on February 25th at the Grove of Anaheim. More than 140 action sports and youth marketing professionals joined us in a gorgeous setting for an expert panel discussion on the ins and outs of public relations. Industry heavy-hitters Shana Frahm of Burton, Chris Overholser of Vans and The Bungalow PR's Stacie Krajchir shared their insight and experiences on crisis management, effective pitching and planning strategies. Attendees also had a hands-on mini-workshop after the panel, addressing different PR scenarios and presenting them to the panel and the audience.

Check out photos, as well as recaps from both Transworld Business and Surf Expo as well. Its even being suggested group Y just might be the "most relevant social networking group—and also the most fun." Let us know what you think: groupYnetwork@gmail.com.

We want to again thank our event sponsors, G & C Event Production, our panelists, and all who attended. Its only going to get better from here for 2009!

Stay tuned!

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Thank you for coming to group Y Industry Panel

Thank you for attending group Y Industry Panel on Wednesday night. It was a huge success, with over 140 action sports industry attendees with great discussion and info sharing from Chris Overholser of Vans, Shana Frahm of Burton Snowboards and Stacie Krajchir of The Bungalow PR. We also want to thank everyone who participated in the roundtables after the event, we really enjoyed hearing what you all worked on and very much appreciate your enthusiasm.

We'd also like to thank our sponsors again--G & C Event Productions. The event decor was set up by G & C, and the atmosphere would not have been what it was without their special talents. Please consider G & C for your next big event, find them here at www.gamesandcreations.com.

The event also got some PR of it's own at Transworld Business (www.twsbiz.com)

Stay tuned for event videos, follow-up tools and info from both group Y and Transworld.

CHECK OUT PHOTOS FROM EVENT - click here

CHECK OUT EVENT RECAPS AT TWITTER – @groupY

If you have comments, feedback, and/or suggestions, we truly want to hear them. Don't be shy! We want to continue to raise the bar for group Y events in the future, so please let us know how we can do it even better. Email us at groupYnetwork@gmail.com

We will be announcing a number of events and conferences within the next few weeks, so keep looking on our website & emails.

Thank you again to all of you!

Click Here to Read More..

Feb 25th - group Y Industry Panel Discussion with Burton, Vans & more

Action Sports & Youth Marketing PR Pros Break Down the Ins & Outs of Public Relations; How to Maximize PR Opportunities & Expand Your Brand Awareness

In contrast to marketing practices such as advertising or events, public relations still remains the least-understood and most-neglected aspect of many industry marketing plans. Our panel of PR professionals will break things down for members and guests by pulling back the curtain on the many areas of public relations: What exactly is PR? What are the most common misconceptions? And how PR can help generate sales and brand awareness?

Join group Y to get the inside scoop on how to best maximize non-endemic opportunities and use PR strategies to spread your brand's message.

Wednesday, February 25th
6:30pm - 9:30pm
The Grove of Anaheim (adjacent to Angel Stadium of Anaheim)

map

The panelists will include:

• Chris Overholser - Senior PR Manager, Vans
• Shana Frahm - Global PR Director, Burton Snowboards
  
• Stacie Krajchir - founder, The Bungalow PR 

click here to see panelist bios

The event will take place at special VIP setting created by sponsor G&C Event Productions at the Grove of Anaheim.  In addition to the panel discussion, members & guests will participate in an interactive hands-on workshop. 

Doors will open at 6:30pm and the panel will begin at around 7:00pm.  Appetizers and a hosted bar will be provided before the panel.

We invite all those involved in marketing & PR within the action sports, entertainment & communications industry to attend.  College students are welcome to attend also.

RSVP -- $15 Pre Registration by Feb 24th - CLICK HERE To Register. $20 at the door day of the event (Cash only)

TAKE THE TRAIN, SAVE $5 -- We encourage you to use public transportation to this event. The Grove is located next to the Anaheim train station (Amtrak / Metrolink). Show us your train ticket and get $5 off your entry fee!

Click Here to Read More..

Bios - PR Panel Discussion

Shana Frahm - Global PR Director, Burton Snowboards
Shana is in her fourth winter as the Global PR Director for Burton Snowboards. She oversees media relations and corporate communications in Burton's offices in California, Vermont, Japan, Austria and the Southern Hemisphere. In addition, her team oversees agencies in Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Paris, London, Stockholm, Munich and Milan. Shana's background in action sports includes her role as co-founder of No Comment PR; and National Manager of Strategic Alliances and Sponsorships for Vans. She also has over ten years of experience in entertainment and hospitality, as former Director of Entertainment PR & Promotions for the MGM/Mirage Hotel/Casinos in Vegas; and National Manager of PR and Promotions for Hard Rock America and the (first) Hard Rock Hotel/Casino.








Chris Overholser - Senior PR Manager, Vans
As Vans, Chris manages lifestyle marketing efforts through art, music and street culture programs as well as oversees the company’s public relations including product and event publicity, product integration and product seeding. He is responsible for publicity for Vans properties such as the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing and the Vans Warped Tour. Prior to Vans, Chris worked three plus years at international public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard where he developed and implemented youth marketing programs for such clients as Sony PlayStation, Nestle, Budweiser and Yahoo! while also working on the United Airlines and Pacific Bell accounts. Before joining Fleishman-Hillard, he oversaw marketing for two professional sports teams, Minor League Baseball’s Wichita Wranglers and the Wichita Wings, America’s longest running professional indoor soccer team at the time. Chris gained his Master’s in Sports Management from Ohio State University following his graduation from Denison University, where he received degrees in Political Science and History.





Stacie Krajchir - Founder, The Bungalow PR
Prior to founding her PR firm The Bungalow, Stacie Krajchir worked as a television producer for 12 years. A woman of many talents, Stacie has been a producer at Extra, launched two shows for The Style Network, and has authored multiple published books with another on the way. She is a contributing lifestyle/trend expert and has been featured in The Washington Post, New York Times, Smart Money Magazine, Pink, Real Simple, Maxim, Esquire and Vanity Fair magazines. Stacie runs a working certified eco business in Los Angeles, and in 2007 launched the lite green project at The Bungalow. The [lite green project] encourages small businesses to take action and participate in becoming more eco conscious. Her action sports clients have included Stoked Mentoring, Bra Boys, and Sliding Liberia among many others. Visit her at thebungalowpr.com

Click Here to Read More..

More Events & Changes Coming!

2009 is here and with that group Y has a plate full of events planned for the year.  In addition we will be announcing changes and new features with our expanding network group very shortly.  If you haven't already, please sign up to receive our email updates from group Y.

Click Here to Read More..

Jan 15th - Tadpole Women in Marketing: Experience to Inspire

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15th

Tadpole Women in Marketing: Experience to Inspire

Tadpole Marketing is proud to be hosting the first Tadpole Women in Marketing: Experience to Inspire. The purpose of the evening is to honor, highlight and make accessible the women who have made an impact on the youth culture and action sports industry to aspiring and established women interested in marketing.

Event Details:
An evening dedicated to celebrating influential and inspiring women working in the action sports and youth marketing industry. The evening will consist of a reception, introductions of 8-10 speakers, and small round-table discussions. Each guest will have a chance to submit questions prior to the event.

When: January 15, 2009
Where: Red Bull Headquarters, 1740 Stewart Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Time: 7pm-10pm
Cost: $15 in advance, and $20 at the door. Students $10 in advance, $15 at the door.

All proceeds go to Global Inheritance, a non-profit partner dedicated to redefining activism for the next generation. www.globalinheritance.org

Registration:
Pre-register at www.suretomeet.com

Speakers:
We have hand-selected a group of the most dynamic women including:

Shanti Sosienski: President, SOS Communications
Caralene Robinson: Director of Marketing, Boost Mobile
Circe Wallace: Senior Vice President, Wasserman Media Group, LLC
Dyana Kass: Senior Director of Marketing, Interscope Records
Staci Levine: Partner, SNL Communications
Amy Stettler: Global Director of Communications, OMD/Apple
Kenna Florie: VP Marketing, Roxy
Renee Lawter: Partner, Eyerus Propaganda Kolektiv
Amy Taylor: VP Marketing, Red Bull North America

Attendees:
We are inviting men and women from the action sports and youth culture industry, UCLA, USC and LMU undergrads in addition to MBA students in Marketing and Communications programs.

Schedule of events:
7:00 -7:30pm: Registration and Cocktails

7:30-9:00pm: Introduce panel and quick Q/A session

9:00 - 9:45pm: Casual discussions led by a moderator

9:45 -10pm: Cocktails and gift bags

If you are interested in joining us for this event please pre-register here. Limited space available!

We hope to see you there!

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Happy Holidays from group Y

We hope your year end is wrapping up nicely and that you will be able to take some quality time off for the holidays. As per our holiday tradition, group Y will be on hiatus through December and January as we know this is for many of us the most hectic time of year with holidays, winter travels and trade shows. We will be back with our next great event in the new year of 2009.

We want to thank our members, sponsors, volunteers and speakers for making 2008 an amazing second full year for group Y. With amazing panelists sharing their insight and almost a thousand of you attending events over the year, we have to say we think it has been a huge success. We will continue to push forward into 2009, providing you with the best quality panels, educational opportunities and venues all focused around youth marketing.

Thank you to our past Speakers & Panelists;

(RED), Billabong, Carey Hart, C1rca, Electric Visual, Fox Head, Fuel TV, IMG, Myspace, Oakley, Project Blue, Quiksilver, Quiksilver Foundation, Roxy, RVCA, Sal Masekela, Saatchi & Saatchi, Skullcandy, Surf Expo, Surfing Magazine, Suzuki, Tony Hawk Foundation, Transworld Media, Verizon, Warped Tour

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ASR Registration Reminder

Tradeshow season is right around the corner--ASR is January 22nd-24th in San Diego! Our friends and supporters at ASR asked us to remind you that the early registration deadline for the January show is coming up soon! (Getting your badge early not only saves you $, but lots of time standing in line!)

To register now, click here!

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group Y Gathering & Discussion: 11/11/08

Please join us for the next Gathering & Discussion featuring Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman and hosted by Ketel One and ASR.

Tuesday, November 11th
6:30-9:30pm

Ketel One headquarters
30 Journey
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

We are very excited about this unique event, which will take place at Ketel One headquarters in Aliso Viejo. We will be hosting a discussion with Kevin Lyman, who is best known as the mastermind behind the Vans Warped Tour.

We will talk with Kevin about building one of the music and youth industries' best known properties, the positives and the pitfalls, and how after fifteen years, it is still as relevant as day one. Kevin also runs the Rockstar Taste of Chaos & Rockstar Mayhem Tours, which combined with the Warped Tour reach hundreds of thousands of concert goers globally each year.

Our friends at ASR will also be providing us with dinner, so as always, please arrive on time to have dinner, drinks and convo before the panel starts at 7:30 sharp!

Not only will we be hosting a one-of-a-kind discussion, but the posh venue at Ketel One is unlike anywhere we've hosted an event yet. Please leave your hoodies and flip flops at home, this will be a "Nicer Attire" event.

Please email group Y with any questions you would like to ask Kevin.

We invite all those involved in marketing & PR within the action sports, entertainment & communications industry to attend. Please feel free to invite non-group Y members to this event.

RSVP -- The fee for pre-registration is $15. Please pay ahead of time by Pay Pal via the link below. Pre-registration ends on November 10th. Those who do not pre-pay AND pre-register will pay $20 at the door. Sorry, CASH ONLY at the door!

Click here to pre-register!

EVENT SPONSOR:

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Speaker Bio: Kevin Lyman

Kevin Lyman began his career booking bands for his university and as a roadie for then unknown acts such as the Untouchables, The Bangles and Bad Religion. After college, Lyman began working with up-and-coming independent promoter Goldenvoice, serving as production manager for seminal punk rock and metal bands such as The Germs, Metallica, Circle Jerks, Anthrax and Jane's Addiction.

Kevin is best known as the producer and creator of the hugely successful Vans Warped Tour, the longest running traveling music and extreme sports festival in the world today. Now entering it’s 15th year, the tour reaches more than 600,000 kids each summer, and has spawned a host of imitators. The “punk rock summer camp” has introduced audiences to artists such as No Doubt, Sublime, Blink-182, My Chemical Romance, Eminem and Fall Out Boy among hundreds of others. With the Vans Warped Tour, Lyman pioneered the successful integration of corporate sponsors with the extreme lifestyle, creating a blueprint for sponsorship integration widely duplicated in the marketplace today.

In 2005 Kevin teamed up with John Reese to form Taste of Chaos, LLC (TOC, LLC) and produce the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour. Known to many as “Winter Warped” this tour has featured bands such as My Chemical Romance, The Used, Deftones, 30 Seconds to Mars and Avenged Sevenfold. A separate Rockstar Taste of Chaos International tour runs from Australia to Japan to Europe and everywhere in between. In 2007, TOC, LLC presented the first annual Rockstar Mayhem Festival, a summer metal festival featuring 15 metal bands including headliners Slipknot and Disturbed. A success by all standards, Rockstar Mayhem Festival perhaps most notably integrated the camaraderie Lyman had created on The Vans Warped Tour into a metal festival.

Kevin and 4 Fini, Inc. have also produced numerous other successful tour productions including The Watcha Tour, Down From the Mountain Tour, Sprite Liquid Mix Tour and Great High Mountain Tour, as well as custom events for SEGA Dreamcast, Vans, USSA, Jose Cuervo and New York's Z-100 radio station. In addition to production, Kevin is part owner of Side One Dummy Record Company, which has an impressive yet diverse roster including Flogging Molly, punk icons Suicidal Tendencies, Bedouin Soundclash, Gogol Bordello and swing favorites Royal Crown Review. He recently entered the film world as writer and executive producer of Endless Bummer (2008). Kevin acts as a music industry authority on multiple corporate branding projects, helping companies maintain the valuable street level credibility that endears their products to the youth market.

In addition to all of his business ventures, Lyman also takes advantage of his position to implement a variety of philanthropic and eco initiatives. Kevin founded the Unite The United Foundation, a 501 (3) (c) that has raised over $800,000 to date for a variety of efforts for everything from Hurricane Katrina and the 2007 California Wildfires to grass roots organizations such as Skate For Cancer and Keep-A-Breast.

His commitment extends to encouraging activism in the kids that attend his shows, whether it’s designating an area for non-profit organizations at all of his shows so they can educate themselves or organizing volunteer days for the bands and crew on days off.. In 2008 he teamed up with Declare Yourself on all tours registering young voters. He co-created a Red Cross Blood drive that rewards all Warped ticket holders that donate a pint of blood with a backstage pass and in 2007 The Red Cross awarded The Vans Warped Tour with “Blood Drive Promotion Of The Year” for raising over 25,000 pints of blood. Kevin also teams up with Phillipe Costeau’s Earth Eco Foundation to staff individuals that oversee recycling programs on his tours and organizes bio-diesel drops for all production busses. He creates incentives for bands, crew and audience members to reduce their “eco footprint” by rewarding 25 individuals with an Earth Eco trip at the end of each Vans Warped Tour.

Of course his biggest accomplishment of all is his wife and two daughters, who still make him take out the trash and put his Blackberry away during meals.

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