2011 – That number just seems like a space age futuristic number, the time of the Jetsons. An age where people communicate by quickly typing on little black boxes, phones that one can use anywhere on the globe, with no wires, beaming information, and communities of people that are intimate but have never met in person. Well that is 2007 not the Jetsons but from my vantage point, it seems almost like the Jetsons minus the flying cars. 2011 is just around the corner and it is predicted that 151 million homes worldwide will have HDTV.

One of the areas I feel has been lacking in new technology integration is in the advertising agencies and production companies for the agencies. There are no doubt the pioneers who understand the impact of You Tube and the importance of a beautiful picture selling a product, but overall this industry has not been leading the way but following.

At our June 6th & 7th HD EXPO, we are privileged to have the pioneers of this industry discuss what is next and how this burgeoning technology can and will be integrated into advertising. The AICP.Next ROUNDTABLE consist of the true leaders and pioneers of integrating new technology:
Rich Carter, Owner/Executive Producer, Gartner, The Viral Factory, Outsider, Tight; Denise Gilmartin, Vice President, Business Affairs and Non-Traditional Media Issues, AICP; Eriks Krumins, Executive Producer, Backyard; Massimo Martinotti, President, MIA Films; and Don McNeill, President / CSO, Digital Kitchen.

HD EXPO June is less than three weeks out of our June 6 & 7 expo in Chicago at Navy Pier. And there have been many more details and regional issue to deal with than we had expected. All is well, but the legwork for this show has been an uphill battle. But that’s a blog entry in itself.

HD EXPO creates venues where future technology and creative vision converge – this is our purpose, our mission and what we strive for with all our events, workshops, conferences and our online community.

Delivering this to the Midwest has been challenging, especially pulling together the community to serve our industry and move forward with the technology and it’s benefits in all creative outlets.

I don’t feel alone in these struggles and I am not giving up - our June HD EXPO is looking fine - but I don’t feel so alone here. Open up the most recent Ad Week and the cover story is “Chicago Blues – Why the Windy City lost its focus, and what it could do to get it back.”

Some real powerhouses are interviewed in the article such as Bob Scarpelli, CCO DDB and Tom O’Keefe, CCO Draft FCB Chicago. The article points out and the interviewees acknowledge that Chicago is behind the times in the Digital world. Hey wait a minute, there is an HD EXPO in less than three weeks that discusses exactly that in Chicago’s backyard.

Will this community rally together to save Chicago’s position and reputation as a creative innovative market? I am ready to go and have HD EXPO be a place where this conversation can begin.

I find this amazing but understandable; a warning label to be placed on TV that are not HD. Who is not aware that HDTV switch gets flipped in 2009? Maybe my grandmother or someone living under a rock.

The impact of HDTV and the consumer is large both from the revenue side and also the hope that is bringing back the viewers to television. At our upcoming event in Chicago – HD EXPO June, we have added a conference day prior to address the basics of HD and also marketing in HD. Many vertical markets have not woken up to the power of HD and how the message is delivered with a punch when in HD. All of these topics will be discussed and the attendees will leave with a greater understand and application of this exciting technology.

Feds Require TV Warning Label
May 7, 2007
By Aldo Cugnini

Starting on May 25th of this year, retailers will be required to display prominently a warning that that analog TVs on their shelves will not receive over-the-air broadcasts after February 2009 without a converter. The FCC-mandated warning, released earlier this month, reads as follows:

"CONSUMER ALERT - This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nations transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products. For more information, call the Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-225-5322 (TTY: 1-888-835-5322) or visit the Commissions digital television website at: www.dtv.gov."

To read the rest of this article, click here.