2nd Annual Cable Apprentice - April 25, 2008

Click here to see the Winning Case Study - The Slowskys

4/25/2008
Bruce Goldberg
Denver Business Journal

KINDER, GENTLER 'APPRENTICE': There's a lot at stake in the Second Annual Cable
Apprentice competition, with a $1,500 cash prize and paid summer internships in the
cable industry for members of the winning team.

Three-person teams of graduate students from the Daniels College of Business at the
University of Denver compete Friday, April 25, at the Comcast Media Center in Littleton.
Their challenge is to create a high-level marketing strategy for a cable company that's
preparing for television's switch from analog to digital in February 2009. The teams were
given a highly detailed case study from which to work.

Paul Maxwell, chairman and CEO of Media Business Corp., will moderate a panel of local
industry executives. The teams will make their presentations in isolation from the other
teams. It's scheduled for 8-11 a.m.

Those providing the paid internships include Comcast, Comcast Media Center, Starz, Disney
and ESPN Media Networks (as one unit), Sand Cherry Associates and Time Warner Cable.

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing
(CTAM) conducts the event. Other chapters nationwide are looking at copying this event, and
the local chapter won the Innovator of the Year Award from CTAM's national organization.

MultiMAX
" The Cable Apprentice"
By Paul S. Maxwell
4/29/2008

Last week, it was my pleasure to again emcee the 2nd Annual CTAM of the
Rockies "Cable Apprentice" competition at the Comcast Media Center in
suburban Denver. This year's case study - developed, I think, for
Comcast's SVP of Sales & Marketing Steve Brouchard who was probably
looking for something to justify growing a budget - was "Preparing for
the Digital TV Transition" and was posited around answering three key
questions about what to do in Comcast's Denver market:

1) How should Steve position Comcast services in preparation for each
of four target customers groups?

2) What are the important customer trends, demographics,
techno-graphics and market behavior of the Over The Air segment that
Steve should consider?

3) How should Steve allocate his $1M marketing budget for the four
target segments in a way that maximizes his ROI?

It was taped (as was last year's) and will be up the association
chapter's site soon.
The competition pitted five teams each made up of three students from
the University of Denver's graduate Daniels' School of Business.

The winning team got $1,500 to split (three ways, of course) and
guaranteed paid internships in the cable industry. This year, CTAM
Chapter Prez Jeff Pratt (of Time Warner Cable) arranged for three more
confirmed internships (and "guaranteed interviews" for the runners-up).

One takeaway: don't worry too much about a shortage of smart graduate
students. The three teams of three were uniformly more than just
impressive (two teams had been eliminated before the formal face-off),
they were quite put together, good presenters and thoughtful
participants.

The judges - Comcast's Brouchard, Charter's Cathy Fogler, TWC's Kip
Simonson and Starz' Nancy McGee - had a real quandary picking the
winning team. But "The Slowskys" original research, use of video and
smoother transitions carried the day over the "Transformers" and the
" Digital Enterprise." The winners: Jasline Dhillon, Katherine Hanks and
Adam Loveland.

Ms. Hanks spent four years after Dartmouth playing pro basketball all
over the world; India's Ms. Dhillon has worked in wealth management and
Department of Statistics; and Mr. Loveland is a former Deloitte
consultant. One member of the DE team, Bryce Wallnutt, is a former 1st
Lt and Iraq infantry vet; another contestant, Michael Foland is headed
to Officer Candidate School after graduation.

They also had some interesting ideas for guerrilla marketing focused on
Hispanics and one team wanted to target DIRECTV customers.

Watch the competition when you get a chance ... this idea won an
innovator award for the chapter ... at least one other chapter is doing
this ...

So, HEY! CTAM, get other chapters to do the same and then hold regional
and competitions (with escalating prizes, of course) and then a national
one at the annual CTAM show ... and put it all on cable TV (of course).

Already looking forward to next year's competition.*

The Cable Apprentice
APRIL 29, 2008

There were no Donald Trump sightings, but a trio of University of Denver
grad students came away with the big prize at the second annual "Cable
Apprentice" competition, which wrapped up last Friday at the Comcast
Media Center (CMC) .

The winning team -- "The Slowskys," a homage to the Comcast anti-DSL ad
campaign -- gets to split the $1,500 grand prize. Additionally, each
member of the team -- Katharine Hanks, Adam Loveland, and Jasline
Dhillon -- can also pick a paid internship from one of six slots being
offered by some local companies with cable ties: Charter Communications
Inc., Comcast Colorado, Sand Cherry Associates, Time Warner Cable Inc.li
sull; eric bec, and Starz Entertainment LLC , which is donating two
positions.

They beat out four other teams that were tasked with selling Comcast
video services to prospective new customers, with a special focus on the
business challenges the MSO is facing with the coming February 2009
digital TV transition. (See FCC OKs Dual TV Carriage Rules.)

Members from the two runner-up teams are also guaranteed at least one
interview opportunity from the remaining internship positions.

The Rocky Mountain division of Cable & Telecommunications Association
for Marketing (CTAM) runs the Cable Apprentice competition.

- Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News

Press Release

SkiTAM 2008 Wrap Up

13th Annual SkiTAM a Success for U.S. Disabled Ski Team

Thirteen proved to be a lucky number for the CTAM of the Rocky Mountains and
the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. The 13th Annual SkiTAM, which was established
by CTAM's Rocky Mountain chapter to save the team from ceasing operations,
continued that tradition with another outstanding turnout of 1,300
industry members and their families.

"SkiTAM is the biggest supporter of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team and their
dedication to our athletes and organization enables us to continue to
develop athletes who can compete and win at the World Cup and at the
Paralympics," said U.S. Disabled Ski Team Program Director Sandy Metzger.
" Our athletes look forward to this event each year because they know how
important SkiTAM is for the Team."

The event was highlighted by SkiTAM's $1,000,000 donation to the U.S.
Disabled Ski Team, which will be put into the Team's endowment fund to
generate money for the disabled program in the future.

"Establishing the endowment fund represents a major milestone in the mission
for SkiTAM that was envisioned by its earliest supporters," said Jeff Pratt,
director of retail operations for Time Warner Cable's Corporate Marketing
Group and President of CTAM of the Rocky Mountains. "Thanks to the
continued support of industry leaders like Tryg Myhren, Chuck Ellis, Joe
Rooney and Steve Raymond, our support has helped to ensure that the team has
a secure future."

The annual event provides numerous opportunities for industry members and
their families to spend time with these inspiring athletes in a variety of
different activities, including ski racing, tubing and the SkiTAM awards
banquet. Special events also bring Sponsors of SkiTAM and its Athlete
Partnership Program together to learn about the impact of their support on
the Disable Ski Team program.

The event also hosted a silent auction where people bid on a variety of
items from a big screen TV to a trip to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. The
auction set a new fundraising record, pulling in an estimated $75,000 for
the Team and securing another year of SkiTAM festivities in 2009.

"The secret to the success of SkiTAM is the ability for a sponsor company to
spend quality time with a member of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team," said SkiTAM
co-chair and USSA board member Steve Raymond, who was also one of the event'
s founders. "They build a special connection with the athlete that develops
into a long term relationship. This allows SkiTAM to make such a significant
donation to USSA to benefit the Team."

"It's always a nice way to end the season when we can come back to our
biggest supporters, our family at SkiTAM. They really care about us," said
U.S. Disabled Alpine Head Coach Ray Watkins. "It was such a great event, as
it always is. The races were fantastic and it was nice to be able to spend
time with our SkiTAM friends."

SkiTAM 2007 Wrap Up
[click here to read press release]

For Immediate Release

University of Denver Team Triple Play Wins First-Ever
“ The Cable Apprentice” Competition

CTAM of the Rocky Mountains Educational Event Gives $1,500,
Choice of Four Industry Internships to Winners

Click here to download the winning Apprentice presentation!

Highlands Ranch, Colo. – Jan. 26, 2007 - The Rocky Mountains Chapter of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) crowned University of Denver graduate students at the Daniels College of Business Aubrey Eggertsen, Megan McCourt, and Akash Vijay -
Team Triple Play - the winners of the inaugural “The Cable Apprentice” competition held yesterday at the Comcast Media Center in Littleton, Colo.

Eggertsen, McCourt, and Vijay split the grand prize of $1,500 and may each select a paid internship opportunity from amongst positions donated by establishments in the local cable business community, including (alphabetically):

Comcast Colorado,
Sand Cherry Associates,
Starz Entertainment, and
Time Warner Cable – National Division

“The Cable Apprentice” was conceived as an educational event by CTAM of the Rocky Mountains for its members. “The Cable Apprentice” leverages the great talent from the existing education base in the Greater Denver/Front Range with the wide collection of cable operators, programmers, consultants and vendors in the region.

Click here to read press release in its entirety.

2006 CTAM of the Rocky Mountains - 14th Annual TeeTAM Golf Event

On a beautiful August morning in Littleton, CO, CTAM of the Rocky Mountain members gathered at Arrowhead Golf Club for the 14th Annual TeeTAM. The new venue provided a terrific new location to golf and as a result, the event was SOLD OUT with 146 golfers participating in the tournament. Everyone had a wonderful day golfing and admiring the beautiful scenery at Arrowhead, one of the top public golf courses in the US. The day also included a luncheon for the teams to receive their awards and mingle with industry dignitaries. Along with providing a great golf outing, the event also raised money for Littleton Meals on Wheels, a terrific and worthy organization that delivers healthy meals to people unable to leave their homes. CTAM of the Rocky Mountains was able to increase the donation to Meals on Wheels fifty percent in 2006 (vs. 2005’s TeeTAM donation) with a contribution of $7,500 to this worthy cause. Click here to view TeeTAM 2006 event photos.

CTAM Rocky Mountains.