The event will bring together an elite group of top executives to assess the media climate. The traditional media forecast on the first day will debate several issues that will touch upon whether media agencies have met the challenge of the media explosion in the US.

The panelists will include Universal McCann's creative director Alan Schulman, Carat CEO David Verklin, Initiative Media CEO Alec Gerster, Mediacom CEO Jon Mandel, Starcom MediaVest Group's corporate business development president Nick Brien.

The online media forecast on 25 September will debate the issue of whether the internet will never beat television as a branding medium. Most online advertising budgets are moving outside the publishing model towards search, contextual marketing, email, and desktop applications.

The rich media business model is shifting away from third party vendors and toward control by the ad server networks. Regulation and litigation will be the only path to effectively eliminate the plague of spam, smut, spyware, popups and junk. The panelists include eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey, InsightExpress president Lee Smith, Carat Interactive's media director Cory Treffiletti. Both conferences will also be presented with a sneak preview of MediaPost research on the future of traditional and online media and the spending outlook for next year.