Don Blanton is the award winning producer and creative force behind The WOW Factor® Inc. His talent and success with multimedia design and production were born out of a unique combination of computer expertise and his in-depth knowledge and performance experience in the entertainment industry. His entertainment background spans more than 30 years, dating back to age 12 when he became one of the youngest on-air radio personalities in the country. At the age of 17, he became the youngest disco DJ working in major nightclubs and invented several techniques and products still in use today. He was recognized for his accomplishments at the Billboard Music Convention in 1978.

Blanton went on to achieve success not only as a radio personality and disco dj, but in many other facets of the industry including television and film. Later, while performing on cruise ships, he had the idea of creating a cruise line talent agency, which eventually provided entertainment staffing for 65 cruise ships for more than 8 years. This experience helped him to sharpen his talent for recognizing, managing and developing top creative talent. This skill would prove to be a valuable commodity in his future role as a multimedia designer and producer.

In addition to his ability to conceptualize, design, produce and direct entertainment projects and content, Blanton developed an affinity for computer programming and software development in the early 80's. His talent for blending entertainment with technology emerged in the form of customized, digital media solutions for companies in a variety of industries. Together with ETI, Inc. an internationally known sound, lighting, and video company, he has designed, developed and marketed innovative computer products and produced numerous special projects including the world's first automated disc-jockey system for Dick Clark, and animated games for the Disney, Warner Bros, and Build-A-Bear retail stores.

In 1990, along with his desire to take on new and different design challenges, he started The WOW Factor® Inc. (formerly Don Blanton Productions) in response to the increasing demand for computer-generated programming and content. Building on his solid technical, programming and entertainment background, he has designed and produced everything from interactive kiosks to live stage events and sign spectaculars. Hardware, software and programming designs include the creation of the first automated video server sign and content delivery systems for Space Center Houston, Universal Studios Hollywood, Discover Card, and GameWorks. He also designed the world's largest video server for the Olympic Spirit indoor theme park in Munich, Germany.

Every year, since the turn of the Millennium, The WOW Factor® has produced the majority of the sign content seen in Times Square and around the world for the New Year's Eve Celebration. New Year's Eve 2005 productions included animated content for Panasonic and Coca-Cola, and Don produced the live "Panasonic Times Square Sing-Along" with the cast of the new Broadway Show, "Good Vibrations". In 2004 he produced the same event with Cyndi Lauper. For the 2003 New Year's Eve celebration, his company produced segments of the world's largest bell ringing for Discover Card.

Three years ago Don Blanton became the "Official Voice of Times Square" for the New Year's Eve celebration. In 2005 he was the first emcee in Times Square history as he hosted a more than 6 hour televised variety show entertaining more than one million revelers in the square as well as more than 220 million television viewers worldwide. One of the show's highlights was when Regis Philbin (guest host on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve) did a live comedy bit with Don during the show!

Don has become a leader in outdoor and out of home advertising and in 2004 Blanton and his company conceived, designed and produced all of the content for the new Coca-Cola Sign Spectacular in Times Square. In addition to the content production, The WOW Factor® team created, designed and produced a highly successful live event to launch the Coca-Cola sign on July 1, 2004. This was an historical first as the event drew a crowd of more than 40,000 people in the streets of Times Square and more than 36 million television impressions worldwide.

Don and his team at The WOW Factor® have been the past recipients of many advertising, production, and commercial awards, and this year is no exception. The New York American Advertising Federation awarded The WOW Factor® with two prestigious Gold and Silver ADDY awards at the New York local level, two Gold ADDY awards at the district level, and has been nominated for the national ADDY awards competition. The Independent Film and Video competition also honored Don and his team with a Platinum AURORA Award and two Gold AURORA awards for the Coca-Cola Live Event Launch, the resulting "behind the scenes" DVD and the original music score. The Outdoor Advertising Association of America nominated The WOW Factor® as a finalist in the 2005 National Competition for an OBIE Award, which is the outdoor industry's highest award. The winners will be announced on May 24, 2005.

Don and The WOW Factor® creative team have produced numerous branding messages, advertisements and games for several famous signs in Times Square and the Las Vegas strip. A partial client list in Las Vegas includes various high profile signs at Caesars Palace, Bally's, and Paris, and in New York, Coca-Cola, Pontiac, Discover Card, Skechers USA and Panasonic.

Most recently Pontiac awarded The WOW Factor® with the content creation contract for their new sign spectacular in Times Square. The WOW team will also produce the live event unveiling both the new sign and the new Pontiac Solstice production car on June 21, 2005.

The WOW Factor® is well known for producing the top content for digital networks and large outdoor electronic display's. Don's critically acclaimed production of the 9-11 Tribute for the Panasonic CNBC Astrovision Screen in Times Square resulted in his work being included in a New York Time Capsule which was buried in honor of the 9-11 anniversary.

Blanton is slated to produce a large segment of the 2005 Times Square New Year's Eve Celebration and has been asked to return as this year's host. Blanton will also release a book this year about Digital Sign Content and continues to be a sought-after designer, producer, host and speaker.

Don and his team have mastered the integration of cutting edge technology, software, design, entertainment, live events and digital content to produce what he calls, "The WOW Factor®!"