Just Radio Only: It's All About The Experience

Sunday, September 21, 2014

It's All About The Experience

9-15-14

What's a typical in-car experience? Just driving along, maybe stuck in traffic, listening to the radio. Right? Nope, not anymore. Drivers still listen to music, but they're increasingly likely to be getting it from an Internet service like Pandora or Slacker. Maybe they're checking the weather report from a built-in app on the dashboard, or getting traffic information from that handy navigation app. And they're still hearing from advertisers, but it may well be by way of branded, dashboard-enabled content and services. For all consumers today -- not just in the car -- it's all about the experience.

At the DASH connected car conference -- presented by Radio Ink, Jacobs Media, and Shuman Consulting Group and coming up October 15-16 in Detroit -- you can hear from a panel of experts on how radio can help create and enhance that all-important in-car experience. Reps from the business-development wings of Slacker and Pandora (don't tune out; you can learn from these guys) and from the head of UIEvolution -- a company that specializes in mobile branding, including a suite in automotive products -- will talk about how to build the partnerships that create a great user experience in the car. You can hear from people who are doing this NOW how consumers interact with content and services as they drive.

More below about the panelists we've confirmed to date. You need to be in on this. Sign up for DASH today.

Panelists

Chris Ruff is president and CEO of UIEvolution, and is recognized as one of the most experienced individuals in the mobile market. Ruff is responsible for leading UIEvolution's growth, setting global strategy, and driving sales and marketing execution, and has grown the company into a global leader of software solutions to over 100 business customers and such major brands as Disney, Princess Cruises, Toyota, ESPN, and ATT.

Michael , director of business development at Slacker Radio, focuses on partnerships with automotive manufacturers, wireless carriers, and consumer electronics companies. With more than 20 years of international experience in the automotive electronics and consumer industries, he leads the coordination of engineering, product development, marketing, and branding for Slacker's broadening presence in automotive. Before joining Slacker, Kasparian served as market development manager at ST Microelectronics Inc.

Geoff Snyder is vice president of automotive business development for Pandora. Since joining Pandora in 2010, he has been instrumental in the extension of Pandora into the vehicle. As consumers demand a better in-car music experience, Snyder has developed and managed relationships with representatives of the world's top automotive brands to work as a liaison between engineering and business development teams to make personalized radio on the road a reality. Today, 26 major automotive OEM brands are on Pandora's partner roster, and over 145 vehicle models with Pandora integrations have been made available for sale to date.