UPDATED 09:10 EDT / OCTOBER 03 2011

What’s Next for MySpace? Details Emerge Today

As part of Advertising Week in New York today, advertising firm Specific Media is set to announce their plans for former social media titan MySpace.  The discussion will be addressed to CMOs and senior marketers, tackling advertising possibilities.

Specific Media bought MySpace for $35 million in June and had Justin Timberlake as a high profile investor. They also announced a press conference scheduled for August 17, but it was delayed.  The Wall Street Journal said Specific Media’s Myspace progress is rather “incremental” rather than transformative.

Justin Timberlake will appear for tonight’s “Future of Myspace Talk. Here’s the agenda:

Monday, October 3, 2011

10:00 AM – Reuters Leadership Roundtable. Tim Vanderhook, CEO of Specific Media will participate in a candid discussion on challenges and opportunities in today’s disruptive landscape.

8:00 PM –The Future of Myspace Talk: Tim, Chris and Justin host a private reception for 40-55 CMOs and senior marketers to discuss the strategy for Myspace, highlight first-100-day learning and achievements and outline advertising opportunities for brands.

9:00 PM – MySpace AMP’d UP Opening Concert. By invitation only.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

3:30 PM — New York City Game Changer’s Panel. Al Dejewski, SVP of Global Marketing for Specific Media will join other top marketers and panel moderator Hon. Katherine Oliver, Commissioner from the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, to examine how these dynamic leaders are fostering change and reinventing the industry at “breakneck” speed.

7:30 PM – IAB MIXX Awards Ceremony. Bill Schild, Regional Vice President, East Coast for Specific Media will present the Interactive Video Award.

The return of MySpace has been an iffy one for over a year now, and Specific Media’s own stability has come under scrutiny since taking on such a famous piece of virtual real estate.  Specific Media relieved a number of employees in recent weeks, indicating some underlying issues the company is dealing with. The advertising firm’s COO Chris Vanderhook said the move was a “big progress made toward achieving our goals,” impressing the company’s cutbacks as a necessary step towards the future.  The departments affected were sales and operations, in an effort to eliminate the superfluous processes within the company.

With Justin Timberlake as a partner, Myspace is reinstating itself to fame by making itself a music hub. They aim to compete directly with iTunes, Spotify and other music providers, with a marketing infrastructure at its revenue hub.  Specific Media also appointed Al Dejwski as the new VP for Global Marketing.

“We have over 70 million active users globally on a monthly basis, and in the U.S. it’s in the 30 [million] to 40 million range right now,” Mr. Dejewski said. “It’s no small database by any means. While we may have lost some traction to people like Facebook, things like LinkedIn are a very different proposition in my mind. We have a very broad reach and footprint today and one we can capitalize upon, no question about it.”

Here’s a funny video about saving MySpace created by a group headed by Sean Percival, a former MySpace executive, himself.


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