Dear John,

It is with great pleasure that I announce our upcoming iMedia Agency Summit, Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, October 2nd-4th this year. Our team has been busy at work crafting the program, a refreshed format, and re-imagining our time together for maximum outcome for all of you.

As somebody who has been directly involved with iMedia events around the world for many years now, like you, I am deeply passionate about them. As we can all relate, they have contributed immensely to my career and so many of my best relationships in digital have been created and cemented at iMedia summits.

Making the decision to rethink our approach was a sensitive one, but one that was necessary for the sustainability of our community and the business we do together. In light of some of the more radical changes -- the organizational restructuring for example -- I have spent the last number of months doing my homework and consulting with industry leaders, members of our advisory board, past and present sponsors and delegates to ensure that our refreshed outlook reflects the needs and desires of those who have supported the event over many years.

Itâs been truly humbling how much support we have received throughout that process. And, now we are thrilled to re-open our doors with an event gathering that reflects all the thoughtful, devoted input we have received.

What Can You Expect?
Our new program, format and approach to networking maintains the integrity of what has made iMedia Summits great for so many years, and had such an immense impact on this industryâs direction as well as the direction of so many of our careers. We firmly believe that given the pace of growth in our sector, learning is as much through conversation with your peers -- both organized and social -- as it is from what you take from the many presentations and sessions throughout the event. This philosophy guides the planning for all our upcoming summits:

The Buyers-only closed door meeting has been a foundation of the iMedia Summit success story. This year, in order to integrate its value into the overall event, we will kick-off with this session on Monday from mid-day to mid-afternoon, and then bookend the event with another session from mid-day to mid-afternoon on the Wednesday â a chance for you to reconnect with your peers and discuss what you have learned and what action you plan to take beyond the event.
We will continue with the renowned One to One speed meetings and the many other networking touchpoints across the event that make iMedia such a special event to attend to build lasting and valuable relationships, with plans to constantly tune these to meet your business development needs. We plan to address the buyer : vendor ratio, moving it back to 1 : 1.
Maintain editorial integrity through the content and ensuring that our theming meets the needs of the iMedia community. The content will continue to be fundamental to our value proposition.
The fun factor prevails. Recreational activities are such an important part of the iMedia experience. These offer you the opportunity to spend down time with like-minded individuals, in an intimate, connective setting, establishing commonality and building lasting relationships that will impact your current and future roles in this industry.

Just like the marketing and media industry, iMedia needs to evolve and adapt. We look forward to being with you at every step of this journey. For more information, please visit http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits

Best regards,

Jan Barthelemy,
Global Brand Director, iMedia & ad:tech
jan.barthelemy@comexposium.com