Jason Arend Featured Professional. In February I was honored to be the Business Journals featured professional. The article highlights many of my professional accomplishments over the last 10 years, what I’m currently working on and some big things I have planned for the future. Below is a copy of the article.

Professional Spotlight: Jason Arend

Jason Arend is the youngest professional we have ever featured and at only 25 years of age he has accomplished more than most will in a lifetime. Starting college at 16, Jason has degrees in both Electronic Media Production and Electronics Technologies & Computer Science. At 17 Jason Started working at ABC KSPR 33 as the Graphic Designer, 3D animator and editor for commercial production as well as the director of daily news promotions. At 19  Jason was asked to teach “Producing and Directing Television” and “Post Production in After Effects”, the cap-stone courses of the Electronic Media Production Program at Ozarks Technical College. All of the students he was teaching were older than himself. In 2004, after several years of freelancing, Jason left teaching to start Creative Deviance Studios, an award winning production company, where he worked on everything from comprehensive multi-channel marketing campaigns, design and development to art-house film productions. In 2006 Jason was chosen to be one of the headlining artists for the MOTUV international Art Exhibition showcasing nearly 20 pieces of his original art and photography with simultaneous openings in Kansas City, San Francisco and Beijing.

Not only is Jason extremely talented in art, media and marketing but he is one of the rare few that can that can bridge artistic creativity with cutting edge technical and business prowess. In 2007 Jason joined PFI and has helped grow their web division from a small 4 man operation to a global brand that now ships to over 40 countries. He has accomplished a lot in 3 years creating a consistent image and brand for the company, helping build the television show “Shopping Western Style” on satellite and cable channels with 40 million subscribers, designing packaging for PFI’s Napa Valley Wines and other products, developing an enterprise level online video shopping experience and recently finishing a global syndication deal that will take PFI’s show to another 52 million viewers worldwide.

The amazing success he has helped bring to these companies has only increased his responsibilities. He is now the director of E-Commerce, Online Marketing and Creative Services for all PFI Companies including Diamond Ridge Market, Saddle City, PFI Western Store, PFI Family Wines, PFI Family Farms, PFI Magazine and pfiwestern.com. He is also Director of Production for PFI’s Internationally Syndicated television show and now oversees media and global marketing for the Starlite Theatre in Branson, Missouri.  Jason has recently become more involved to take the theatre to new levels as they present an all star lineup for this season including The World Famous Platters, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, The Texas Tenors from America’s Got Talent and the new Vegas Cirque show “Montage”.

Jason is now considered to be one of the leading pioneers in the global video commerce industry. In November of 2009 he was invited to give a speech in Silicon Valley on the successful multichannel video marketing strategy he created at PFI and the cutting edge technology he developed to achieve it. Attending were 3,000 media executives from the largest media & technology companies in the world. Other speakers included executives from NBC Universal, CNN, HBO, Microsoft, Google, Youtube, HSN, majorleaguebaseball.com and XBox Live. Jason has already been invited to give several more speeches around the country this year including the VIP guest speaker for a global webinar on Successfully Monetizing Online Video in March, a featured speaker for Streaming Media East in New York City May 11 and one of the main speakers at Seattle’s Video Commerce Summit in July where he will be the first to publicly lay down a vision for the future of video commerce in mobile technologies and television.

Despite the economic recession the innovative business model and cutting edge work Jason has done in video commerce and online video marketing has helped take PFI to new levels as they enter their 35th year in business. The technology he is currently working on will allow a consumer to simply touch an object within a video and instantly be shown more information on the product including the ability to buy it immediately. The technology can be used on computers, tablets and other form factors such as multitouch mobile devices.

Improving the quality of arts and education continues to be an important part of Jason’s life. Jason has often teamed up with other local artists and filmmakers to produce some of the most successful community theatre at the Vandivort Center in Springfield, MO including Dracula in both 2005 and 2008. Where he worked on audio and visual design, SFX, all artwork, marketing and Technical engineering. In 2009 he created the campaign and artwork for the successful production of Evil Dead the Musical. Since 2002 Jason has sat on the Electronic Media Production Advisory Board at OTC, a committee made up of media professionals to consult in industry trends, community needs, cirriculumn development and better preparation of students for the workforce. In October of 2009 at the age of 25 Jason Arend was unanimously voted chairman of the board the youngest person to ever hold this position. Jason has also received numerous awards in design, media marketing and development including several Addys, the Missouri Broadcasters Award while at ABC KSPR 33 and was just nominated for the Business Journals top 40 businessmen under 40.

In 2010 Jason will be officially launching “Evolve” a high-end media, web, design, development and consulting venture with partner and developer Myke Bates.  He assured us that his previous accomplishments are nothing compared to what he planned for the future and at 25 this is one rising star everyone in the industry is keeping an eye on. 

Jason Arend will be one of the featured speakers at this years Video Commerce Summit in Seattle, Washington. He will be exploring the future of Video Commerce in his presentation on Extending the Video Commerce Opportunity through Mobile & Television and will join a panel with REI and Overstock.com to discuss Workflow & Automation in Online Video Production.

About the 2010 Video Commerce Summit. The 2010 Video Commerce Summit is the e-commerce industry’s only annual gathering of e-commerce video pioneers and thought leaders. The event will feature speakers on the cutting edge of video retail environments, strategy and technologies.

2010 Video Commerce Keynote Speaker. Dr. BJ Fogg, Director of Stanford University’s Persuasive Technology Lab and one of Fortune Magazine’s “Top 10 Gurus to Watch” will lead the keynote session, “Placing Persuasive Video on the Path to Purchase.”

2010 Video Commerce Summit Speakers Include:

Video Commerce Summit Keynote Speaker:

BJ Fogg, Ph.D.
Director
Stanford University Persuasive Technologies Lab

Video Commerce Summit Featured speakers:

Emery Skolfield
Sr. Manager, Content and E-Commerce
HSN

Mark Robertson
Founder/Publisher,
ReelSEO

Jason Arend
Director E-Commerce, Media and Global Marketing
Director of Television Production
PFI Companies

Video Commerce Summit Panelists and Moderators:

Natalia Alexander
Online Marketing Specialist
Microsoft

Jason Arend
Director E-Commerce, Media and Global Marketing
Director of Television Production
PFI Companies

Jordan Blum
CEO
BeautyChoice.com

Andy Chen
Co-Founder
PowerReviews

Daniel Dreymann
Founder/CEO
Goodmail Systems

Victor Chemtob
Email Marketing Manager
Hewlett-Packard

Justin Foster
VP Market Development
Founder
Liveclicker
Video Commerce Consortium

Dan Greenburg
Founder/CEO
Sharethrough

Aaron Smith
Principal, Smith-Harmon, a Responsys Company

Bill Hildebolt
CEO
ExpoTV

Peter Leech
CMO
Onlineshoes.com

Jason Lohr-Johnson
Video Art Director
Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI)

Ralph Mondeaux
VP Website Marketing
Overstock.com

Amy Norton
Director Online Marketing
Costco Wholesale

To attend the summit you can register at:
RegOnline – 2010 Video Commerce Summit

Jason Arend will be speaking at the Streaming Media East conference in Manhattan, New York City on May 11. The presentation will include case studies of successful multichannel video marketing strategies in retail and e-commerce, video SEO, branding, increasing viewer/customer interaction, distribution and syndication.

About Streaming Media West
With more than 100 speakers across 30 sessions, Hear the worlds leading experts in online video and media from NBC Universal, ESPN, Adob, Microsoft, Yahoo, GoogleThe New York Times, Accordent, PFI, and Youtube. Streaming Media East is still the one online video show that is solely focused on giving you real information you can apply immediately in your business. Get real-world advice of what is and isn’t working from those whose businesses rely on online video products and services.

Now in its 13th year, the Streaming Media East show is the number-one place to come see, learn, and discuss what is taking place with all forms of online video business models and technology. Content owners, viral video creators, online marketers, enterprise corporations, broadcast professionals, ad agencies, educators, and others all come to Streaming Media East to see and hear the latest online video technology but, more importantly, to discuss the business models that are coming of age.

Streaming Media East combines cutting-edge exhibitors and intensive conference sessions, giving you the chance to hear and see the best and the brightest minds in the online video industry -at the podium, in the Exhibit Hall, and among the attendees.

2010 Streaming Media Speakers Include:
Mark Abbott, President, Major League Soccer
Rafat Ali, Editor, Publisher, PaidContent.org
Shujaat Ali, Director, Digital Services, NBC Universal
Scott Anderson, Director E-Commerce, Vitamin Shoppe
Thomas Aquilone, Media Services, Enterprise Technology Programs Manager, Lockheed Martin
Jason Arend, Director of E-Commerce, Media and Global Marketing, PFI Companies
Eric Armstrong, President, Kontiki, Inc.
Roxanne Austin, CEO, Move Networks
Scott Barnett, Director, Web Communications, Fairfield University
Frank Bentley, Principal Staff Research Scientist, Experiences Research, Motorola
Ron Berryman, CEO, Canvas Technology
Patrick Bishow, Director, Multimedia Broadcasting, Standard & Poor’s
Lynn Bolger, EVP, Advertising Solutions, comScore
David Boyll, Director, Digital Media Technology, Oracle
Louis Broome, Content Publishing Manager, Microsoft Tellme
Jim Bruton, Associate Director, Voice & Video Telecommunications, Ernst & Young
Richard Bullwinkle, Chief Evangelist, Rovi
John Caldwell, President, National Geographic Digital Media
Thomas Carpenter, VP Operations, Digital Chief of Staff, EPIX, Studio 3 Partners
Peter Cervieri, Director, Scribe Media
Hayle Chun, Director, Digital Media, NBC Sports & Olympics
Rob Davis, Partner, Interactive Marketing Director, OgilvyInteractive
Beth Doyle, Innovations Associate Director, VivaKi
Scott Doyne, Sr. Director, Business Operations, Turner Sports, NASCAR.COM
Troy Dreier, Senior Associate Editor, StreamingMedia.com
Craig Duff, Multimedia Editor, Time Magazine
Justin Eckhouse, Senior Product Manager, Video and Mobile, CBS Interactive
Darren Feher, President, CEO, Conviva
Justin Foster, Founder, Video Commerce Consortium
Dan Frommer, Deputy Editor, The Business Insider
Jeff Gattis, Director, Product Management, Qualcomm FLO Technologies
Paul Gelb, National Manager, Emerging Media, Razorfish
Larry Gelfand, SVP, Media Sales, NHL
Glenn Goldstein, VP, Media Technology Strategy, MTV Networks
Daniel Graf, CEO, Co-Founder, Kyte
Dave Habiger, CEO, Sonic Solutions
Greg Harris, Chief Creative Officer, Daily Interactive
Jeffrey W. Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company
Joe Inzerillo, SVP, MLB.com
Brian Jaquet, VP, Marketing, Roku
Brian Joe, Video Network Planning, Verizon
Nick Johnson, VP, Sales, NBC Universal Digital Media
Chris Johnston, Director, Technology Partnerships, Brightcove
Peter Kafka, Senior Editor, All Things Digital
Dina Kaplan, Co-Founder, blip.tv
Larry Kless, Founder, President, OnlineVideoPublishing.com
Chris Knowlton, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Tellme
Jason Krebs, EVP, Sales and Marketing, ScanScout
Jim Lanzone, CEO, Clicker.com
Lisa Larson-Kelley, Flash Platform Consultant, Video Specialist, Flashconnections.com Adobe Community Professional
Ryan Lawler, Staff Writer, NewTeeVee.com
Bill Lederer, CEO, Kantar Video
Bismarck C Lepe, President, Products, Ooyala
Robert Levy, Production Operations Manager, Executive Producer, Discovery Digital Media
Jason Liebman, CEO, Co-Founder, Howcast
Alex Limberis, COO, Popbox
Jim Louderback, CEO, Revision3
Tara Maitra, VP, GM, Content Services, TiVo
Jeff Malkin, President, Encoding.com
Andy Marks, GM, MATTER
Mark Marvel, Senior Director, Video Monetization, MSNBC.com
Richard Mavrogeanes, Founder, VBrick Systems
Bill McCandless, GM, Executive Editor of Multimedia, TheStreet.com
Krish Melon, CTO, Synaptic Digital
Jeff Misenti, Manager, VP, Fox News Digital
Monty Montgomery, Director, Xiph.Org Foundation
Gregg Moss, SVP, Video and Broadcast, Global Marketing & Corporate Affairs, Bank of America, Knowledge Channel
Scott Nadzan, Director, Technology Services, Syracuse University
Adam Najberg, Senior Editor, Video, The Wall Street Journal
Tim Napoleon, Co-Founder, President, Alldigital
Mike Newman, CEO, Accordent Technologies
Ron Newman, Assistant Vice President, Huntington National Bank
Jennifer Okula, VP, Data Innovation, Safecount
Jan Ozer, Principal, Doceo Publishing
Shalini Pai, Group Manager, Partner Solutions, YouTube, Google TV
Rebecca Paoletti, Director of Video Strategy, Yahoo!
Ari Paparo, Product Director, Advertiser Products, DoubleClick
Patty Perkins, Team Leader, Wells Fargo Creative Services Technology, Wells Fargo
Andy Plesser, Executive Producer, Beet.tv
Lance Podell, CEO, Next New Networks
Tony Raimundo, SVP, Digital Media and Collaborative Technologies, CitiGroup
Dan Rayburn, Executive Vice President, StreamingMedia.com
Roxanne Reid, Senior Director, Video Department, HowStuffWorks.com
Avner Ronen, CEO, boxee
Jack Rotherham, SVP, Strategic Development and Partnerships, Metacafe
Russ Scaduto, Director, Multimedia Solutions, Penn State Hershey College of Medicine
Robert Schwartz, Director, Digital Dialog, OgilvyInteractive
Paul Slavin, SVP, ABC News Digital
Bill Smee, Executive Producer, Slate V
Dr. Renee Smith, Lecturer, Coordinator, Digital Media Services, University of Tennessee
Matt Smith, Senior Director, Systems Architecture and Strategy, Inlet Technologies
Daniel Sokolow, Multimedia Operations, North Shore LIJ
Anthony Soohoo, SVP, GM, Entertainment and Lifestyle, CBS Interactive
David Stravach, Technical Producer, U.S. Postal Service
Jason Suess, Principle Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Tellme
Scott Szczurek, Online Video Specialist, CME Group
Richard Tanner, Senior Producer, Video, The New York Times
Jennifer Taylor, Senior Director, Adobe Systems, Inc.
Matt Timothy, President, VINDICO Group
Paolo Tosolini, Manager, Social Media, Online Video, Microsoft Tellme
Kevin Towes, Product Manager, Flash Media Server, Adobe Systems, Inc.
Chris Wagner, EVP, Co-Founder, NeuLion
Mark L Walker, VP, Yahoo! News & Information
Martin Webb, Technology Manager, Multimedia, Symbian Foundation
Tom Wilde, CEO, RAMP
Michael Wolfson, Founder, COO, Rocket Fuel
Jahn Wolland, Director, National Sales, Online Video, Microsoft Tellme
Ron Yekutiel, Chairman, CEO, Kaltura
John Zehr, SVP, GM, ESPN Mobile

For more information or to register for the event go to Streaming Media East 2010.