I went to the PodTech Breakfast and all I got was this stupid t-shirt;)

Kidding of course, listening to Robert Scoble, John Furrier and all the smart folks at PodTech was great this morning, I hope they host more of these.

– Michael Moeschler

Technorati Tags: john furrier, podtech, scoble, socialmedia

LADIES AND GENTLEMENT…pack your sunscreen and back issues of US Weekly, FHM, and The Economist (okay…I’m the only PR geek who read it), dust off your poker and blackjack skills, grab your honey and lemon tea in lieu of your karaoke performance, visit your shrink for a last minute emergency session  to ‘center yourself’ for a very public meltdown in front of coworkers you just met (oh, wait…that was just me)…LIVE FROM GLORIOUS LAKE TAHOE…IT’S THE 2006 VOCE RETREAT…(AUDIENCE APPLAUSE)!

Every year, Voce Communications proudly hosts a three day retreat for its steely band of smart, dedicated, creative, talented, overachieving, hyper-competitive employees.  The annual respite, painstakingly planned by the company’s Culture & Community committee, is an opportunity for the Voce Nation to catch a little R&R, socialize with co-workers you might not work with on a daily basis, and get back to nature (and by ‘nature’ I mean ogling a bevy of multimillion dollar Caligula-esque homes on the Tahoe shore).

Having been on the roster at Voce for a total of 15 business days and the very dramatic build-up propagated by past attendees - through a steady (read: unrelenting) drip of insider anecdotes and pictures from times of yore - I was obviously intrigued (read: frightened).  To be perfectly frank, many so-called company ‘retreats’ usually entail copious amounts of people staring blankly at one another, sprinkled with feigning smiles and uncontrolled nervous laughter.  Typically, the most interesting aspect of these shin-digs is the pre-game analysis of whose behavior will go supremely overboard, embarrassing themselves and others (enter: uncomfortable moments of silence).  The corporate annals are littered with stories about Jim from accounts payable retelling his favorite uber inappropriate joke or Veronica from marketing (thanks to a couple apple martinis that would make Carrie Bradshaw take pause) finally delivering to her boss what she really thought of the edits made to her webinar script.

With these expectations and cautionary tales in mind, I was completely surprised by my first Voce retreat (cue: ‘I’ve really learned my lesson’ sitcom music…Full House or Growing Pains will do just nicely).  Flown out the window was the pretension and political calculation that tends to hamper genuine bonding with coworkers.  Instead, this event achieved what these types of company activities are really designed to foster (but rarely do) - a relaxed, open environment where team members can really learn about one another and build relationships that are often difficult to develop.  Especially, during the day-to-day hubbub of routine PR agency life.  Here and here and if you dare, here, you’ll find some choice snapshots and videos documenting our journey (Flickr feed to be updated shortly).  Now is a good time to mention that any unauthorized use of said mementos will be hearing from my attorney.

This message was brought to you by the Committee to Disavow ‘Cup Flipping‘ or any Deviation Thereof as an Official Recognized Sport of Voce Retreat.  Thank you!

-JT

Technorati Tags: retreat, tahoe, voce

Some of the Voce crew attended the Churchill Club’s event The Future of Movies: Digital Age Cinema Executive Roundtable last week and we all concur that the Club came through once again (even if tickets cost more than seeing a Giant’s game).

Moderated by Scott Kirsner, author of the CinemaTech blog, and columnist/contributing writer for Fast Company, The Boston Globe, and the Hollywood Reporter, the panel included some movie industry heavy-hitters like:

• Randal Kleiser, President, Randel Kleiser Productions, Inc.; Director, Grease, The Blue Lagoon, Honey I Blew Up the Kid, Lovewrecked
• Bob Lambert, Sr. Vice President, Worldwide Technology Strategy The Walt Disney Company
• Tim Partridge, Sr. Vice President and General Manager, Dolby Professional Division, Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
• Jerry Pierce, Senior Vice President, Technology, Universal Pictures
• Todd Wagner, CEO, 2929 Entertainment

The consensus from other posts we’ve read is that Wagner stole the show with his sometimes brash but consistent articulate points, progressive thinking, and business experience with his partner Mark Cuban, another entrepreneur most know isn’t afraid to mix it up with the big boys. Todd made the point that there are many similarities between Hollywood and start-ups here in the Valley. He said that making movies is like starting a company - it takes a lot of money to get going, hire, create, and market a movie (something Cuban blogged about recently), just like a company, with both seeking financial returns in the midst of big risk. The difference is though, as Wagner said, that after 72 hours of a picture being on the street you already know your financial trajectory. With a company there is time to right the ship.

Some other key takeaways:

• Wagner advocates a multi-platform method of distribution, whether it be releasing a movie in the theater and selling it as a DVD to patrons on the way out from viewing the movie or syndicating live broadcast to TV, radio, and the Internet much like what CBS did for the NCAA Basketball Tournament last fall.
• Panelist concurred that currently there are a couple hundred digitally capable movie screens in the U.S. and that it will be a fairly long time before the conversion to digital is complet
• The fastest growing segment of entertainment is home theater. This is due to technological improvements in consumer electronics - TVs, DVD, HD, etc. This, one panelist claims, is contributing to the movie industry’s demise as consumers see less incentive in going out to a movie when the quality of the viewing experience is comparable in the home.
• High definition’s presence in the home is growing, but 40 percent of displays in the home don’t have HD input despite having the capability. Do consumers care?

The Churchill Club’s event ties together a lot of the work we do at Voce. With clients at both ends of the spectrum, NEC Digital Cinema and Digital Deck, it’s interesting to hear industry perspective on where Hollywood and Silicon Valley both build and burn bridges. One thing remains clear through all of this - consumers rule. When consumers are fed up paying an exorbitant amount of money to go to a half decent/half digital (sound only) movie they will revert to the comforts of their digital home theater system. When more technology companies push Hollywood to embrace the digital era - bring to movies the visual quality blockbusters deserve - distribute mind blowing 3D features - coordinate cross multi-platform distribution - then we’ll see the true power Hollywood and Silicon Valley are able to embrace.

You can download the podcast of this event here, although it has yet to post to the site.

Ryan Lack & Josh Gershman

Technorati Tags: churchill club, events, silicon valley