Opening Address

 The Digital Marketing Forum is pleased to announce that Erik Qualman, Author, Professor, Speaker and Entrepreneur will make the 2013 Opening Address.

Erik, termed a Digital Dale Carnegie, is the author of “Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business;” his latest book “Digital Leaders are made – not born” helped earned him the selection as the 2nd “Most Likeable Author in the World” behind Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling!

In Digital Leaders, Erik suggests that Generations X and Y are more likely to text, Tweet, Facebook or use an iPhone App than to sit through a 30 second TV commercial. What does this mean for leaders or those aspiring to lead the remainder of this Digital Decade and beyond?  What new skills do you need to obtain to succeed starting today? How do you achieve your best life, leadership and legacy in these crazy Digital Times? What traits do you or your company need in order to rise to the top now and in the future?  These are some of the questions that Erik has considered and will share at the forum. 

Qualman produced "Social Media Revolution," the most watched social media video series in the world and it has been used by NASA to the US National Guard. Fast Company Magazine listed him as a Top 100 Digital Influencer.

He is an MBA Professor at the Hult International Business School and for the past 18 years has helped grow the digital capabilities of many companies including Cadillac, EarthLink, Yahoo and AT&T. He is the founder and owner of socialnomics.com and in 2012 he was selected as one of the Top 50 Professors in the world.
 

Keynote: Beyond The Horizon

In the uncertainties of the modern world, successful individuals and teams must be adaptable and responsive to change. Drawn from over twenty years of observing people all over the world, explorer and TV presenter Monty Halls will explore the dynamics of the team, the individuals within it and the common themes of how we all deal with change.

Illustrated with stories of individuals and teams getting it magnificently right and hideously wrong, Monty’s unique insights will help you evaluate your personal ability to respond to change and how to keep sight of your goals in an ever shifting environment.

Monty Halls is a writer, explorer and television presenter. A former Royal Marines officer, he left the services in 1996 to pursue a career leading expeditions. Over the next decade he circumnavigated the globe four times on various projects, leading multi-national teams in some of the most demanding environments on earth. Monty has presented numerous documentaries, most notably ‘The Great Escapes’ series and ‘Great Barrier Reef’. He continues to run expeditions and diving trips from his fully equipped corporate training facility in Dartmouth.
 

Flip the funnel - how to use existing customers to gain new ones’

Joseph Jaffe, one of the most sought-after consultants, speakers and thought leaders on marketing, new media and social media presented the Opening Address, ‘Flip the funnel - how to use existing customers to gain new ones’. Jaffe presented a  a social media-powered customer activation model that harnesses the true potential and impact of customer-generated word -of-mouth, reviews and referrals.

Gerald Ratner - the rise and fall and rise again

The extraordinary story of the rise and fall of Ratners and how Gerald Ratner made a come back is inspirational. He now runs a highly successful online retailer, Geraldonline and is passionate about the opportunity for any company to compete on a level playing field online. Gerald told the forum, “there are 9 billion websites and unless you scream from the rooftops nobody is going to visit your site. Your website should not be a vehicle to show how technically clever you are, it’s about making life simple for your customers.  You don’t have to carry huge ranges, just carry what sells!”. This was a unique opportunity to hear a story of sales, marketing and brand engagement learnt the hard way!

Beyond the hype - using social media to connect, engage and transform your business

• How to harness the power of new ways of communicating, connecting, interacting and innovating beyond having a Facebook fan page, a Twitter feed or identifying the next social media blockbuster. 
• How to use the concepts behind social media to enhance your business, improve sales, grow brand, engage staff and gain a competitive advantage.
• Applying the concepts behind social media to your business model, your strategy, your teams and people, the customer facing parts of your business and even your supply chain – in fact, every part of your organisation

Activating advocacy: how to turn theory into practice

• How to turn strategy and vision into tactics and action.
• Identification of the chasms/disconnects across the retention continuum.
• Customer segmentation based on both economic and influential value.
• Closing the loop with metrics.
• Service as culture, from campaigns to commitments to ecosystems.

2012: the year you make money out of content marketing?

• Content is now central to most digital marketing plans, rated as more important than advertising and set to grow
• Here’s how to plan and produce effective content marketing with limited budgets, resource and expertise
• Tips and techniques for creating, maintaining and governing high-quality content
• Multiple B2B and B2C examples of good and bad content marketing 

The nuts and bolts of social media

• Getting the right system to monitor, respond and learn from social media.
• New and changing organisational roles to manage social media.
• Internal resourcing to effective manage different social channels.

The future is mobile

• Understanding the exponential growth of mobile and its potential.
• Driving business growth - integrating mobile with other online and offline channels.
• What’s yet to come – new developments, payment, QR etc.

What’s the best in British digital?

• Key insights on what it takes to win in digital media.
• Key digital trends for the rest of 2012 and beyond.
• Showcasing winning entries from the 2011 BIMA Awards.

Putting data at the heart of your digital strategy to increase sales and drive ROI

• From data to insights, creating research lead digital campaigns
• The importance of mobile data and how to develop a profitable strategy
• How data can be used to inform a successful content and SEO strategy that increases conversion rate and ROI (with case study examples)

Organisations don't tweet, people do

• Many organisations are uncertain as to how to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Web and social platforms.
• This session will provide practical advice, insight and inspiration to enable effective integration of social media into organisational culture and strategy.

Understanding performance to get executive teams working effectively and powerfully together

Building on 6 years’ research and an on-going collaboration with the Wall St Journal, Jessica will cover:

• Understanding the real tasks of leadership and how leadership will shape the future.
• Analyzing trends and findings in digital marketing for both UK and international data.
• Investigating some practical tools and techniques that will help leaders in the digital industry.
• Thinking about how to personally and practically incorporate this into your working life.