Think macro-picture for keynote sessions because this year’s speakers invented things like the universal bar code.

Magid Abraham is president, CEO and co-founder of U.S.-based comScore – effectively the BBM of the online and mobile world. Headquartered in Virginia, this global digital measurement tracker has offices in Canada, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Japan. Abraham’s opening address on Feb. 18 will detail trends in digital behavior in Canada and around the wrold.

‘If you’re talking about a guy who knows about keeping track of stuff, this is the guy,’ says Marc Séguin, CFTPA VP feature film and new technology. ‘We deem him a guest of honor because it’s a coup for us.’

Abraham ‘can give us an international perspective and what the key trends are,’ explains Séguin. ‘And then he can address more specifically what’s going on in Canada, so we position Canada in a global context, at the consumer level, as he tells us what users are doing online.’

Again, consumer demand is key here.

Abraham ‘paints the big picture,’ Seguin continues, ‘and he sets the theme for the conference – in the new world, this is what it looks like.’

Blueprint of a national digital strategy

Also in the macro-arena is the concept of a national digital strategy, which will be addressed at the conference.

‘I think our prosperity in this country is very much going to depend on having a national strategy for the digital economy,’ wagers Séguin.

‘And I think that we can stand to learn from the experience of others,’ he adds, with reference to keynote speaker Adam Singer, chair of the British Screen Advisory Council, an independent association which provides advice on audiovisual policy issues to government and policymakers at national, European and global levels.

The BSAC ‘regroups telecom players, broadcaster players and content creators,’ Séguin elaborates, ‘and Adam, in particular, is someone who understands these [digital strategy] issues to the nth degree. He’s very knowledgeable about what we’re experiencing now and what we are likely to experience in the very short to medium term in Canada.

‘Adam not only has lots of experience working for broadcasters and entertainment companies around the world, but he’s the chairman of the council,’ he adds. ‘He also had a very significant role in the development of the U.K. digital strategy.’