What makes a great conference?

As we started to plot out our first member conference a couple months ago, we spent a long time considering what makes these things more impactful. Topical sessions with great panelists? Without question. Solid networking opportunities? Absolutely. Ample social time with activities, great food and a few killer parties? Definitely. An amazing location that's detached enough from the daily grind? A major plus. Right Media Open (RMO), which starts on October 22, will have all of that. Moreover, if we agree that the most powerful conference reveals plenty of ideas and perspectives that you didn't know before, it follows that we would try to figure out ways to facilitate those revelations. Industry leaders discussing the state of the market and their businesses, and prognosticating a bit, are critical parts of that, as are the side conversations over coffee. But it's just as critical for participants to engage in spontaneous (and hopefully somewhat controversial) debate, and it's from that kind of debate that we often get some real pearls. It happens enough by itself, but what can we do to help bring some of that out? Mimosas for breakfast? Couldn't hurt, but there are other, less headache-inducing ways as well: - Try to create an environment of openness (just as we've created for the Exchange itself). Now before those beads of sweat start streaming down your forehead, let's be clear: we don't want anyone giving away any family secrets, either in debate at RMO or in the course of business in the marketplace. The ability to choose exactly how much you want to reveal about your business is as core a component of "openness" as anything. But that said, if we can perpetuate the notion that frank communication is a catalyst to growth in our industry, then the conversation really gets moving and sparks start to fly. Yep, that's why we named this conference "Right Media Open." - Get primary competitors together. While a respectful dialogue is a given, the combination of key market competitors and the aforementioned open environment should yield some fascinating, lively debate. We're thinking it will at RMO, when David Rosenblatt (CEO, DoubleClick), Scott Howe (president, DRIVEpm) and me sit on a panel to discuss our varying takes on the Exchange movement, what we've built and where we all think it's going. So here's to an impactful Right Media Open. If you'd like to request an invitation, email us at jodonoghue@rightmedia.com.