TVB's 2005 Annual Marketing Conference was a home run.

TVB President Chris Rohrs opens the 2005 Annual Marketing Conference

Nearly a thousand broadcasters crowded New York's Jacob Javits Conference Center to take in lively panel discussions and break-out sessions.

Among the highlights:

• Steve Sturm, VP, North America Planning for Toyota Motor Sales, was the automotive keynoter and told the crowd he was looking for ideas from broadcasters about how to make his brand stand out. "We will need your creativity, your ingenuity and your expertise," he said. Mr. Sturm said more and more advertisers are focusing on the same key times and programs to push their products, so it's harder and harder to break through the noise. "It's not always about price," he said of ad placement. Rather, he's focused on both quality and quantity in advertising.



• Filling in for an ailing Peter Jennings, ABC's Barbara Walters was interviewed by B&C editor-in-chief J. Max Robins.



• Alan Frank, president and CEO of Post-Newsweek Stations, accepted B&C's Broadcaster of the Year award. He then joined a discussion about the future of the industry, which featured previous honorees David Barrett, president and CEO, Hearst-Argyle Television; Dennis FitzSimons, chairman, president and CEO, The Tribune Company; and Dennis Swanson, EVP & COO, Viacom Television Stations Group.



• Abby Auerbach, TVB executive vice president, led a lively panel discussion with agency power players. Featured were Kathy Crawford, president of local broadcast, MindShare; Lannie Dawson, SVP/director of media services, Martin/Williams; Peggy Green, president of broadcast, Zenith USA; and Sue Johenning, EVP/director of local broadcast, Initiative Media.

Click here to read Chris Rohrs' opening remarks.

Click here to read acceptance remarks by Alan Frank,
2005 Broadcaster of the Year

Click here to see a photo gallery of TVB'05.