SAXOTECH MediaWare 2009 (User Conference)

[Jeff Hoffman]

Here are details on this year's event

Sign up here.

We have a full list of agenda topics and, by the end of this week, we will be sending out an email survey to customers for additional feedback. With the current economy, the team is working hard to make this as valuable to you and your organization as possible.

[Howard Fielding]

Hey, Jeff! What's the latest word on the re-thought user conference? Are you planning anything in Tampa or will it all be online? If in Tampa, people will need to make travel plans in advance, so any details you can give us would be helpful.

[Jeff Hoffman]

Yes, we are still having an event in Tampa and details will be forthcoming in the next few days. We are going to compress the schedule to a two-day event (May 4-5) and reduce the attendee price. This will also be held in our offices and there will be time scheduled for the attendees to site with the support/implementation team and review and resolve (where able) any system issues. We are striving for more customer participation and the moderators are meeting next Wednesday to coordinate this. We have just received a proof of the agenda this afternoon. Since this will be at our offices a hotel downtown would be the best and the Westin Harbour Island is right across the street. If you recall that hotel was connected to Jackson's where we ate after the Dragon Boat racing. We are blocking some rooms there and that info will be included in the upcoming email.

[Howard Fielding]

Sounds good! My office manager is nagging me for details, so I think we're still on -- but the sooner you can get the agenda and registration information to us, the more likely we can participate...

[Jeff Hoffman]

North American customers on the opt in mailing should have received this email; let me know if I can help anymore, Howard.

Mediaware ’09 – Navigating Rough Waters

Mediaware '09, SAXOTECH's 2009 North American User Conference, will be held live and in-person May 4 and 5 at SAXOTECH’s offices in beautiful downtown Tampa, Florida. For those of you unable to attend in person, the Conference sessions will be available online for remote participation. Mediaware ’09 will feature a series of interactive workshops and panel discussions focused on showcasing customer best practices, sharing ideas and gathering tips from both users and SAXOTECH representatives on specific customer issues and goals.

Click here to view the Mediaware ’09 conference agenda.

Customer Meetings with SAXOTECH Staff:
Communicating and interacting with our customers remains highly important to SAXOTECH. We have specifically set aside time on the agenda for you to meet with your dedicated CSR, or an Implementer, Developer, Mediaware Specialist, Manager, etc. to discuss any concerns and/or future plans. For those individuals attending Mediaware ’09 in Tampa, meetings will be scheduled on May 4 or 5. Individuals attending remotely will be scheduled for a time later in the week or the following week.

To schedule your individual meeting, please contact Kelly Hollings at [e-mail]. Kelly will be coordinating the individual meeting schedule.

Who should attend:
Representatives from all areas of newspapers and magazines: News, Advertising, Production, Classified, Systems/IT and Internet/Online.

Register Now At:
http://www.saxotech.com/events

2009 Conference Registration Fee:
The Early Bird Discount has been applied to the revised pricing!
Attend in person for only $149 or, join us via remote participation for $99.

Cancellation Policy: Full refunds will be issued for cancellations made 14 days or more prior to the event. Cancellations made less than 14 days prior to the event will incur a $50 cancellation fee.

Hotel Accommodations:
The Westin Harbour Island
725 South Harbour Island Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33602

Please contact Carol Brnich at [e-mail] for booking information.

We look forward to spending time with you at Mediaware ’09.

Thank you,

SAXOTECH

[Howard Fielding]

Latest development, for those who aren't on the opt-in email: The in-person conference has been canceled in favor of online sessions spread out over several months. (Details below.) I understand that about a half-dozen people were planning to attend in person. My question to them -- I hope they're reading this -- is what they plan to do now.

My problem is that our publisher has seen the value in meeting face-to-face with support staff, discussing outstanding issues, learning the development road map, and sharing experiences and tips with other users. I'm concerned that if we don't do it this year, we may not get the chance next year. Are others in the same boat? Is there something we can do as a small group?

Here's the latest email:

Mediaware ’09 – Navigating Rough Waters

Good afternoon,

We would like to provide to you an important update with regards to Mediaware ’09, SAXOTECH’s 2009 North American User Conference, currently scheduled for May 4 and 5, 2009 in Tampa, Florida.

Based on the fact that the vast majority of our customers would prefer to participate in this year’s user conference via the web rather than in person, we are canceling the in-person format of the conference. This allows us some additional flexibility regarding the conference schedule and, as a result, I am happy to announce all conference sessions will be provided at no cost to our customers via the web. In order to offset our costs of providing this service, as well as freeing our attendees from dedicating two full days to participation, we will be dividing the conference into shorter blocks of time, spacing out the sessions over the next several months. Online sessions will begin May 4, 2009.

Conference sessions for the next three months are shown below. We will provide registration information to you each month.

May 4, 2009

Digital Track: 1:00PM EDT
Print Track: 3:00 PM EDT

Social Media Networking
Emerging Media Technology


June 2009

Digital Track: TBA
Print Track: TBA

Online Product Management/Product Roadmap
Editorial Product Management/Product Roadmap


July 2009

Digital Track: TBA
Print Track: TBA

Search Engine Optimization
Adobe Scripting



Customer Meetings with SAXOTECH Staff:

As previously announced, communicating and interacting with our customers remains highly important to SAXOTECH. If you would like to discuss any concerns and/or SAXOTECH’s future plans with your dedicated CSR, or an Implementer, Developer, Mediaware Specialist, Manager, etc, please contact Kelly Hollings at [e-mail]. Kelly will be coordinating the individual meeting requests.

We appreciate your continued support and flexibility with this year's conference.

Best regards,

Marcel Badowski
Senior Vice President Services