Council of Urban Professionals, Interactive One and BET Networks Host Second Annual Digital Summit

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NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council of Urban Professionals (CUP), Interactive One, and BET Networks will partner to host the second annual Digital Summit tomorrow September 28, 2011 at the SVA Theatre in Manhattan. The event will convene influential executives representing diverse facets of the digital media, advertising, marketing, content creation and finance industries to discuss and debate the evolution of multicultural online communities and examine new strategies for expanding business opportunities.

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The 2010 Digital Summit was the first comprehensive conference to convene a mix of digital thought leaders, venture capitalists and marketers in a dialogue regarding the evolving economic opportunities on the web and the importance of Latino, African-American, Asian Pacific Islander and other minority online consumers. This year, the Digital Summit will advance the dialogue further with in-depth panel discussions with some of the industry's most innovative companies and executives.

Mara Schiavocampo, digital correspondent for NBC News, will lead a discussion that explores whether social media has empowered multicultural communities and examines the balance between transparency and anonymity on the Web.  In a separate session, digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong will discuss digital strategies with brands AT&T and Pepsi to fuel conversations about how best to leverage online media that, in turn, translates to financial business success and increased integrity among consumers.

"Huge opportunities exist in the digital space for both minority entrepreneurs and consumers and we need to tap into and understand the best practices to expand prospects for these groups," said CUP Executive Director Chloe Drew.

The Power Lunch, an invitation-only event for senior executives representing various areas of the digital space including consumer brands, digital advertising and marketing agencies, entertainment companies and the media, will precede the Digital Summit panel discussions. Courteney Monroe, Executive Vice President of Consumer Marketing and Digital Platforms at HBO, will speak about building brands in the digital age in a discussion moderated by Soledad O'Brien, Anchor and Special Correspondent at CNN.

"With CUP, we created the Digital Summit to assemble some of the industry's brightest minds with a focus on cultivating creative solutions for reaching minority consumers in more strategic, thoughtful ways," said Maria Weaver Watson, Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing for Interactive One. "With the brand power and expertise of BET Networks and our line up of participants, this year's event is one not to be missed."

The Digital Summit will begin at 2:00 p.m. with the following featured speakers confirmed to participate:

• Ty-Ahmad Taylor, CEO, FanFeedr
• Jared Hecht, Co-Founder, GroupMe
• Alex Iskold, Founder & CEO, GetGlue
• Kay Madati, Entertainment Marketing Strategy Lead, Facebook
• Mara Schiavocampo, Digital Correspondent, NBC Nightly News
• Laura Hernandez, Executive Director, AT&T Diversity Marketing
• Mario Armstrong, Digital Lifestyle Expert, Host & Contributor, NBC TODAY Show
• Richard Cruz, Lifestyle Marketing Specialist | Cultural Branding, Pepsi

For more information and to register for the Digital Summit, please visit http://www.nycup.org/2011-digital-summit/.

ABOUT THE COUNCIL OF URBAN PROFESSIONALS:

The Council of Urban Professionals connects, empowers, and mobilizes the next generation of diverse business and civic leaders through targeted leadership development, promoting board diversity, and providing access to capital and opportunity.

ABOUT INTERACTIVE ONE:

Interactive One has more than 15 million members and reaches millions of Black Americans each month. With approximately 3 billion annual page views on its suite of sites, the company has become the definitive social network for Black America through BlackPlanet, as well as a number of leading content sites.  These sites include: NewsOne (http://www.NewsOne.com), which provides up to the minute, comprehensive coverage of newsworthy events relevant to Black Americans across the country and the world; TheGrio (http://www.TheGrio.com), a video-centric interactive community and division of NBC News that provides original content on topics ranging from breaking news and politics to health, business, and entertainment; TheUrbanDaily (http://www.TheUrbanDaily.com), the eyes and ears for Black Americans looking for what's hot online, on the airwaves, in theaters, and on the street; HelloBeautiful (http://www.HelloBeautiful.com), the definitive lifestyle resource for today's Black woman; and Elev8 (http://www.Elev8.com) a site devoted to elevating the mind, body and spirit.

Interactive One was launched by Radio One in 2008 to complement Radio One's existing portfolio of media companies targeting the African American community. Since its launch, Interactive One has quickly become the #1 online platform for the African American community.  Interactive One is powered by the mission to create an online community that engages and positively impacts the lives of African Americans.

ABOUT BET NETWORKS

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

SOURCE Interactive One