The Marketing Show returns to SA

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The Marketing Show conference runs like a television programme, with short keynote-style presentations, discussions, interviews, product demonstrations, short features on new developments and some outstanding speakers - as well as video interviews with trendsetters and news makers.

This year's programme is focused on four key themes:

1. Effective marketing strategies for today's economy and marketplace.
   
2. Innovation in today's ultra-competitive, consumer cash-cautious economy.
   
3. Key marketing global trends every marketer should know about, including emerging best practices in media, emarketing, ecommerce and digital.
   
4. Emerging killer insights that give marketers an advantage.
   

The speaking platform is led by host Tom Garrahan, CEO and executive producer of AlphaQ, who has more than 25 years experience in international marketing and will be using a TV moderator's style.

“Top-level expertise”

“This year we've moved the calibre of the speaker up a notch,” says Garrahan. “We have not only top-level expertise, but some outstanding personalities as well.”

The speaker lineup features a mix of international (UK, US and Europe) and South African marketing, media and academic thinkers who will examine the compelling, innovative trends and changing marketing strategies taking place around the world:

• Bill Carney, an accomplished professor of Marketing for MBA and Executive programmes at IE Business School in Europe, is usually the star of any conference he speaks at. In Johannesburg he will be doing two segments.

• Ron Banks, marketing professor with Marketing Webster University, Geneva, and coming out of a career with international companies, focuses his keen insights on the consumer behaviour that can lead to new innovations.

• Jim Marshall is executive director of StarCom Mediavest Group (UK), one of the largest media companies in the world. He offers top-level insights into the changes taking place with brand promotion strategies and media suppliers innovations, to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving consumer media consumption curve.

• Graham David Brown, co-founder and managing partner at Mobile Youth, is one of the world's leading specialists in mobile marketing. This until-now-elusive marketing medium is now coming into its own and deep background knowledge is essential to understand how it can be an effective addition to brand promotion programmes.

• Diana Verde Nieto, CEO of Clownfish with offices in London, New York and Shanghai, is regarded as one of the few experts that understand both environmental and CSR issues and marketing.

• Gary Alfonso is the COO of CNBC, African Business News; chairman ABN Nigeria and ABN Kenya. Alfonso is representing these businesses to marketing communities in SA to further the understanding where CNBC and ABN fit with companies looking to achieve their promotion objectives.

• John Buckie, director, Marketing Practice at the Marketing Leadership Council and the Corporate Executive Board. This little-known organisation is one of the most connected and clued-in research/consulting firms in the world. Working a membership-style customer base, the company works directly with most of the Fortune 500 companies to help uncover the answers to some of their most challenging marketing issues. In Johannesburg, Buckie will walk through several case stories of his leading client companies on today's most challenging issues.

• Amy Carroll of Carroll Communications is another dynamic speaker who will focus on the human side of achieving successful marketing goals. Her programmes and teachings are being picked up by leading Fortune 100 companies, including Microsoft, to help make executives more effective in the works environment.

Additional speakers

Microsoft will be adding a number of top international Microsoft experts to the speaker platform in different areas of digital marketing.

For programme details and registration information, go to www.marketing-show.com. Bizcommunity.com is a media partner.