• by March 1, 2006

ORLANDO--It's almost spring, and that means a few things. The ice and snow that accumulated over the winter months are beginning to thaw, pitchers and catchers have reported for spring training, and the nation's top media managers and decision-makers are gathering down south for the American Association of Advertising Agencies' annual Media Conference and Tradeshow.

This year's meeting, themed "Now, Soon, and the Future," kicks off today at the Royal Pacific Resort here, where as many as 1,300 agency media executives and a substantial number of national advertisers are expected to attend. It concludes Friday, March 3.

The media industry's biggest names will be in attendance, as usual. These include Irwin Gottlieb of Group M, Publicis Groupe Media's Jack Klues, Interpublic Media's Mark Rosenthal, Charlie Rutman of MGP, Joe Uva of OMD Worldwide, and Carat Americas' David Verklin. They will all appear together on a Thursday panel entitled "The Shape of the Modern Media Organization."

Other conference sessions have equally weighty titles and are filled with equally well-known, accomplished personages. One panel discussion, entitled "How To Be A Media Mogul: 2006," includes the likes of blogger Ariana Huffington, Google's Tim Armstrong, Michael Kelly of AOL, Mike Shaw of ABC, Mark Mays from Clear Channel, and Comcast's Stephen Burke.

Other sessions will tackle issues such as how to sell non-traditional media to clients, strategic communications planning, buying media through electronic transactions (dubbed eBiz), branded entertainment, and non-linear media. All of those topics and more will be addressed in presentations and panel discussion throughout the conference.

But that's just the official agenda. When this many media people convene in one place at the same time, the corridor conversations, coffee break chitchat, and cocktail party gossip are bound to be just as intriguing--if not more so--than what's happening publicly. Here's a sampling of topics that are bound to come up in those off-the-record sessions.

Measurement. Nielsen figures and circulation numbers just don't cut it for advertisers anymore. They want something more definitive and with more depth from their TV and print buys to help them understand their customers, similar to what they can now get from their Internet buys. Bottom line: Advertisers continue to demand to know their advertising ROI. and media companies need to figure out how to give it to them.

Engagement. Do readers and viewers really connect with the media they consume? Does the content of a magazine or TV show truly resonate with them? Do they really see--and, more importantly, respond--to the advertising they are exposed to through media? Advertisers and buyers want answers to these questions, but it isn't going to be easy. The industry is still trying to precisely define engagement, and then figure out a way to measure it. But research has been conducted and progress is being made. General consensus: Getting there, but not there yet.

New TV Networks. There's no more UPN or WB networks, but there's a new combo of the two--the CW, put together by WB parent Time Warner and UPN owner CBS. Not to be outdone, Fox announced their own new network, MyNetwork TV. Bottom line: More changes on the TV landscape, all with huge implications for planners and buyers.

Newspapers . They're in trouble, losing ad revenue in droves to the Internet. Layoffs are rampant in the industry, even at some of the most prestigious dailies. Do they have a future, or are they hopelessly outmoded in the area in digital communications?

The upfront. It starts after the networks unveil their prime-time schedules at the end of May. 'Nuff said.

New Media. Consumers can now download all kinds of video and audio programs onto their iPods, cell phones, and other portable devices. Some say this is the brave new world of media. How can advertisers capitalize on this major new development?

Ratings. Thanks to the rise in viewers' use of digital video recorders (DVRs), there are new flavors in this candy store. They now come in Live, Live Plus Same Day, and Live Plus Seven Day. Soon there will be VOD ratings as well. All are playing havoc with negotiations and pricing.

Innovations. On TV, bunching the same spots within the same hour-long show for a saturation effect is catching on. So is a new call for a five-second commercial. In print, it's buying an entire issue of a magazine, like Target did in The New Yorker last summer, to much criticism. Do any of these ideas have legs, or are they just gimmicks?

Those are just some of the topics attendees are expected to be buzzing about. They might not find solutions to any of these complex media challenges--but if they don't, you can bet it won't be for lack of trying.