Entertainment Visionaries Tom Freston and Shane Smith Set to Keynote PromaxBDA: The Conference 2014 (June, NYC)

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Apr 15, 2014, 08:05 ET

LOS ANGELES, April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- PromaxBDA, the leading global association for promotion, marketing and design professionals in the entertainment industry, today announced Tom Freston and Shane Smith as Keynote speakers at PromaxBDA: The Conference 2014, June 10-12 at the New York Hilton Midtown. The event, with this year's theme as #WTFuture, is a unique opportunity for high-level, creative thought leaders in the entertainment marketing industry to meet, share ideas and celebrate their work.

Tom Freston and Shane Smith share a unique ability to capture the essence of youth culture and appeal to a critical demographic that drives the entertainment industry. As former Chief Executive Officer of Viacom, Freston spent 17 years as Chairman and CEO of MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and other networks. He is now an advisor for the global youth media brand VICE and a principal of Firefly3, an investment and consultancy firm focusing on the media and entertainment industries.

Shane Smith is the co-founder and CEO of VICE, which operates an international network of digital channels, a television production studio, a record label, an in-house creative services agency, a book-publishing house and a feature film division. VICE is the leading digital content creator with an audience of 130 million viewers across its platforms. Smith is also the host of Emmy nominated HBO series, Vice, which is currently in its second season.

"PromaxBDA supports and celebrates excellence in all areas of creative and visual content development. As innovative and thought-provoking leaders in this area, Tom and Shane—and their work—embody what great storytelling can be," said Jill Lindeman, Senior Vice President PromaxBDA. "Their experience and passion for their work is truly inspiring, and attendees can look forward to hearing about each one's journey, inspirations and perspective on where they believe the industry is headed, coinciding with the theme of this year's conference "#WTFuture."

Both Freston and Smith have a passion for empowering youth, providing fresh, relevant viewing experiences and having a good time while doing it. The two iconic cultural innovators will take the stage together in a unique PromaxBDA session talking about the expanding media landscape and how they got where they are today.

PromaxBDA: The Conference is the one and only place marketing, promotion and design executives in the entertainment industry gather as a global community to share ideas, discover cutting-edge marketing techniques and be inspired by the brightest luminaries in the industry. The annual conference features speakers, breakout sessions, creative presentations, panels and workshops for every career stage in the marketing, promotion and design industry.

For more information or to attend, please visit promaxbda.org, and for PromaxBDA: The Conference 2014 updates, speaker information and promotions, follow PromaxBDA on Twitter @PromaxBDA and Facebook at facebook.com/PromaxBDA.

About PromaxBDA

PromaxBDA is a member association representing more than 10,000 companies and individuals from major media organizations, marketing agencies, research companies, strategic and creative vendors and technology providers around the globe. The goal of PromaxBDA Association is to lead the global community of those passionately engaged in the marketing of television and video content on all platforms, inspiring creativity, driving innovation and honoring excellence. With companies and individuals drawn from more than 70 countries, PromaxBDA is a truly international organization uniting the individuals who will pioneer tomorrow's electronic and broadcast media.

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