Call for Presentations

Overview of NAA Conference Program Planning and Call for Presentation Process

The 2008 Marketing Call for Presentations Proposals is CLOSED.

Thank you for your interest in participating in the 2008 Marketing Conference.  This page describes the Call for Presentation/Proposal process and the guidelines.

Approximately one year before the conference begins, the Program Planning Committees are formed. Each track of programming has its own planning subcommittee. The chairs of the committees work together to plan the theme of the conference as well as any joint sessions. The NAA staff provides the overall structure for the program and supports the committees throughout the decision-making process. Program Planning Committees are comprised of newspaper industry volunteers who are experts in their field.

The committees tend to work from the big picture down to the details. The first few months of planning consist of determining the issues believed to be most significant to attendees and then building those concepts into specific sessions. Most sessions are 75 minutes, though a few are 60 minutes. They generally involve two-to-six speakers.  Your proposal may be considered for participation in panel discussions rather than solo speaking opportunities.

The 2008 Marketing Conference takes place February 24-27, 2008, at the Orlando World Center Marriott. The Marketing Conference attracts more than 1,600 newspaper industry professionals in the advertising, circulation, research, marketing and digital publishing disciplines.

CALL FOR PRESENTATION PROCESS:

Call for Presentation Process Opens:  Proposals will be accepted beginning July 23, 2007.
Submission Deadline: All presentation proposals must be submitted by October 1, 2007 via NAA’s online proposal submission form.
Acknowledgement: All presentation submissions will be acknowledged in writing upon receipt.
Review Period: Proposals will be reviewed by NAA staff experts and members of the Program Planning Committee. If any reviewers have questions about the proposals, NAA staff will contact those who submitted them.
Review Guidelines: All proposals received before the deadline will be reviewed with specific criteria, including:       

  • Relevance to attendees and session topic
  • A well-defined topic with focused objectives
  • Practical application of material
  • Timeliness of topic
  • Original material
  • Overall perceived level and quality of session content
  • Completeness of presentation proposal
  • Speaker qualifications, including: previous presentations in topic area, participant evaluations of presenter(s) at previous events (if applicable) and speaking experience of presenter(s)
  • Availability of NAA newspaper members to co-present on the topic
  • Length of presentation - Submittals should be based on a 20 minute presentation

    Sale pitches for products or services disguised as proposals will be eliminated.

    Notification: NAA staff will notify submitters of the status of their proposal by December 21, 2007. Please note proposals will be reviewed as they are submitted on October 1, 2007.  After October 1, proposal submission will be closed and NAA will not review any submitted presentations.  In some instances, NAA may ask companies to submit a presentation proposal on a specific topic.

    Once all sessions have been selected, the program planning committee will assign one or more of its members to help develop or oversee each session, along with topic matter experts from the NAA staff.

    NAA staff will gather all materials required from speakers (photo, bio, AV needs, travel information, handouts, permission to record presentations and permission to post presentations to NAA Web site).  The participants in the session (panelists, moderator, coordinators, etc.) will meet via a conference call at least once to iron out the details of the presentation.

    All presenters must submit their presentations to NAA for review prior to the conference. On-site, all presenters are required to check in at Speaker Registration and the Speaker Ready Room.

    SPEAKER BENEFITS:

  • Promotion in electronic and print marketing materials
  • Visibility, recognition and credibility within the industry
  • New networking opportunities (your peers will acknowledge your expertise and experience)
  • Participation in the growth of your profession and industry

    Note: NAA policy generally precludes honoraria. Travel, accommodation and meal expenses are usually the responsibility of the speaker. Generally, all presenters must pay a registration fee.

    SPEAKER OBLIGATIONS:

    If your presentation is selected you are required to:

  • Register and pay the appropriate registration fee
  • During your presentation, provide educational material ONLY and abide by NAA's policies and procedures (i.e. Non-Commercial Policy)
  • Submit your photo (300 dpi), bio, presentation, handouts, and AV support requirements by the deadline dates. If you require equipment or services beyond the standard setup provided in each session room, you must get approval and may be charged an additional fee. The standard set-up is: classroom or theater-style seating, LCD projector (which will display your uploaded presentation), screen, podium and microphone, panel table and microphones.
  • Submit your final presentation and handouts to NAA 30 days before the conference. Handouts presented by this date will be reproduced and transported to the conference site at NAA's expense. NAA will not reproduce handouts on-site.
  • Allow NAA to record your session for documentation purposes.
  • Allow NAA to post copies of your final presentation online after the conference.
  • Check in on-site at Speaker Registration and the Speaker Ready Room to ensure that your final presentation is uploaded and displays properly with the AV equipment.

    Failure to meet these requirements may result in cancellation of your session or no further invitations to participate.

    THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM COMMITTEES RESERVE THE RIGHT TO:

  • Select any - or none - of the submissions. A proposal may be exceptional, but inconsistent with the goals of the program committee, duplicate another session, have legal/antitrust implications, or prove otherwise not acceptable.
  • Change the length of time allotted to the presenter.
  • Make decisions based on limited meeting space.
  • Contact the applicants before, during and after the review process for clarification.
  • Include industry suppliers in a committee-generated session at the committee's discretion.
  • Combine short sessions on similar topics. 

    PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

    Please note that you do not need to have a full presentation in place at this time, just a general sense of what you would like to contribute to the selected session topics. Please have the following information ready when submitting your proposal.  There is a 45 minute log-in limit. If you do not save your submission prior to the 45 minutes, you will automatically be logged out.   To expedite the submission process, please have the following information prepared:

  • Track and session topic to which the presentation proposal relates
  • Presentation/Proposal Title or Topic Addressed (10 word maximum)
  • Presentation/Proposal  Objectives and Brief Description (500 word maximum)
  • Presentation/Proposal  Length (Note: Most sessions are 75 minutes in length and are typically a panel of 3-4 people)
  • Presentation/Proposal Submission Contact Information

    Note to Newspaper Industry Suppliers: If you are a supplier of products or services or a consultant to the industry, you are encouraged to provide the names of newspaper industry personnel who have used your product or service and who may also be willing to present on the topic submitted. Your proposal may be considered for participation in panel discussions rather than solo speaking opportunities.

    The Call For Presentations will close on October 1, 2007. After October 1, you will not be able to make changes to your presentation. Everyone that submits during this process will be notified on the acceptance status of their proposal by December 21.  If you have any questions please contact Stacy Carr via e-mail or call (571) 366-1066.

    PROPOSALS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED ONLINE.


    Questions? Please contact:

    Stacy Carr, Federation Services Coordinator
    Newspaper Association of America
    Phone: (571) 366-1066
    e-mail: stacy.carr@naa.org