Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018

3:50 PM - 5:00 PM

Track I: Haas Conference Center, Room 171

Leveraging Content and Celebrity For Cross-Platform Success: From TV, Mobile & Internet to Social Media

Evan Sroka, Co-Head, Global Client Strategy, Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Jeanne Wolf, Award-Winning Journalist and Media Coach

Jonathan Lowe, Senior VP of Marketing, AEG Sports

Michael D. Ratner, CEO, OBB Pictures, Creator/Producer, “Cold as Balls” starring Kevin Hart

Perrin Kaplan, Principal, Zebra Partners, Moderator

Evan Sroka co-leads the Global Client Strategy team at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA).   Sroka works in the Los Angeles office, where he identifies and executes new business opportunities for many of the world’s leading talent and entertainment brands. Sroka began his career at The Walt Disney Company, where he worked on the Corporate Strategy and Business Development team and helped compile the company’s annual strategic plan. Subsequently he held roles at Hellman & Friedman, where he executed a number of buy-outs and capital raisings; Inner Circle Sports, where he advised clients on the purchase and sale of several sports franchises; and Activision Blizzard, where he led Strategic and Financial Planning for the company’s production operations. He joined CAA in the summer of 2012.   Sroka graduated from Harvard College with degrees in Economics and Statistics and Harvard Business School with an MBA.

Jeanne Wolf, Award-Winning Journalist and Media Coach: Wolf has been on the cutting edge of the Internet. She helped architect Parade.com’s arts and pop culture coverage. She was on the original team that took the prominent TV Guide magazine online. She made daily news for ABC.com, Movies.com and others. Since she’s first so often she’s been picked up and quoted by every major portal and site.n her blog, jeannewolfshollywood.com  and her You Tube channel she writes profiles and produces exclusive videos.Wolf is currently the West Coast Editor of The Saturday Evening Post. She was the first journalist to interview the entire cast and producer of Mad Men for their final season. As West Coast Editor for Parade Magazine she established relationships with the top celebrities and studios. Parade’s ability to book A list covers changed because of Wolf’s access and experience. Cover stories written by Wolf made worldwide news. As Editor-at-Large: US WEEKLY she was part of the team that made that magazine one of the biggest successes in publishing. Wolf honed her skills on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT. Her wide-ranging career has included feature reporting for NIGHTLINE and ABC's GOOD MORNING AMERICA .Wolf earned prominence for being a source of inside news. Her show business exclusives have led to recent appearances on every major national and international network CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, BBC, FOX NEWS CHANNEL, and  BILL O’ REILLEY’S THE FACTOR, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD, SKY NEWS, and EXTRA. Wolf  is the ultimate multi-platform early adopter. She’s so wired and up to speed with the latest tech devises, that you can always find her to give her a scoop

Jonathan Lowe is a strategic marketing and promotions professional with a proven track record of creating dynamic and innovative campaigns for sports teams, live events, music artists and consumer products. In his 12th year with sports and live event leader, AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group), Jonathan has created and executed marketing campaigns for its most prized assets including STAPLES Center, The Los Angeles Kings, The Los Angeles Galaxy and The StubHub Center as well as national music tours and pay-per-views. Currently, Jonathan serves as the Vice President of Marketing for AEG Sports, overseeing creative/branding, advertising, media buying, promotions as well as playing a key role in driving digital and social media innovation.  Jonathan has been behind a number of innovative digital and social media “firsts” that have positioned his properties as leaders in this ever-changing landscape. His marketing campaigns and promotions have received regional and national recognition in media outlets including the LA Times, New York Times, Daily News, Forbes.com, MSN.com, Fast Company, Life Magazine.com, Sports Illustrated, Los Angeles Business Journal, Entertainment Tonight, E!News, ABC (Los Angeles), ESPN TV and FoxSports.com. In addition, Jonathan has created marketing and promotions campaigns for The Los Angeles Lakers, 10 World Championship Boxing Events, Celine Dion’s Las Vegas Show A NEW DAY, The King Tut Exhibit at LACMA as well as national concert tours with Prince and Rod Stewart, just to name a few.  In addition to his role at AEG, Jonathan is also an Adjunct Instructor at the University of San Francisco’s Graduate Program in Sports Management and serves on the Promax BDA Sports Media Marketing Awards Advisory Council

Michael D. Ratner, Founder, President and CEO, OBB Pictures: President/CEO Michael D. Ratner founded OBB Pictures in 2014 and under his leadership the company has grown into a leading millennial-driven and digital focused content production company. Since its inception, OBB Pictures has carved out a stronghold in the OTT market and new media space by creating premium content that is length, distributor and platform agnostic. The company’s current slate of projects includes developing and producing original scripted and unscripted content across all media platforms, including Netflix, MTV, ESPN, EPIX, VICE and many others. Most recently, Ratner served as showrunner and executive producer for seasons 2 and 3 of The 5th Quarter a scripted comedy series he created for Verizon’s go90, as well as creator, executive producer and director of OBB’s most recent show, Cold as Balls, starring Kevin Hart and some of the world’s most famous athletes for Kevin and Lionsgate’s newly launched LOL Network. Michael’s company has been active with their deal-making, recently partnering with Crypt TV, a Blumhouse Productions and Eli Roth company, to work together on several projects that combine Crypt TV’s library of horror IP, rabid fan base and merchandising channels with OBB’s relationships and experience in developing, producing and selling premium serial content. Previously OBB partnered with Mandalay Sports Media to develop and co-produce a series of sports-themed films, TV projects and multi-media programming. The company also formed a strategic partnership with Authentic Brands Group, owner of a global portfolio of iconic fashion, sports, celebrity and entertainment brands including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Muhammad Ali, to develop content across their brands for digital platforms with the goal of exposing these icons to millennials. Previously, Ratner struck a deal with Netflix to be the exclusive platform partner to stream the company’s feature-length documentary, One in a Billion, which he produced. Ratner has also directed and produced on multiple series for VICE and VICELAND including the Ride Along series and The Clubhouse. Additionally, Ratner directed and produced the short film Gonzo @ the Derby for ESPN’s acclaimed 30 for 30 series, which covered Hunter S. Thompson, featured Sean Penn, and was named an official selection at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Before that, Ratner executive produced feature-length documentary In Football We Trust, an official 2015 Sundance Film Festival selection. He also wrote, directed and produced the romantic comedy film, The 30 Year Old Bris, which was an official selection of the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. In 2014, Ratner earned five New York Emmy Awards for his directing work on The Lineup: Sports Movies. In addition to all of their current projects in development, Ratner and OBB Pictures recently launched the OBB pilot season program, the company’s official television and digital initiative that partners with talented and hungry content creators to help develop and produce their dream projects. The goal of the pilot season program is to find undiscovered, auteur-driven and cinematic projects and introduce them to a larger audience by funding and overseeing the production of the creator’s pilot. Ratner was inspired to create the program after attending NYU Tisch Grad film where he met some of the best young filmmakers from around the world.  V in the D, an irreverent comedy created by a fellow NYU Grad alum was just recently announced as the 2016-2017 season winner. Ratner graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where he received a BA in Film & English. He went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts in film directing, writing, and producing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Ratner is represented by the United Talent Agency, 3 Arts Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson & Teller.

Perrin Kaplan, Principal, Zebra Partners: Perrin Kaplan is a global marketing and communications executive known for her award-winning work in tech, entertainment, gaming and virtual reality.  She is principal of Zebra Partners, which opened doors following her role as vice president, marketing and communications, growing Nintendo’s corporate brand overseeing notable global phenomenon’s such as the Wii; Pokémon; DS; and the brand ambassador movement. Her clientele includes innovative mid-size companies and brands such as Facebook/Oculus, Intel, Microsoft, Sony, DreamWorks, Reddit, and Qualcomm.  She started in the newsroom at Seattle’s NBC affiliate with stints in political communications. Considered one the best in her field, Kaplan is profiled in several books and articles and is an active speaker for top events and organizations. She has been honored for her continued roles in female leadership growth.