Leading brands lining up to support Cross Media 2012 event

A significant number of leading brands - including MTV, Microsoft, Expedia, Crew Clothing, BBC Worldwide, Heinz, British Gas, The Guardian, Financial Times, Bauer Media, Oxford University Press, The Week, American Express, Twinings, Shop Direct and Tourism Ireland - have confirmed their attendance at the Cross Media 2012 event scheduled to take place at the Business Design Centre, London, on 3rd and 4th September 2012.

Senior executives from these companies will deliver educational, thought-provoking sessions, lively panel discussions and case studies examining the challenges of developing effective integrated, multi-channel marketing campaigns that engage with customers through multiple touch points. A main focus of the seminar programme will be the latest trends and technologies available to combine online and offline channels to achieve outstanding response rates, increase customer engagement and improve return on investment (ROI).

Other highlights include a session by The Economist’s Vice President, Customer Engagement & Operations, Audra Martin, who will evaluate the role of print versus digital channels for content delivery and examine what this means for customer acquisition and retention.

Ian Bates, Creative Director at Indicia, the agency behind the award winning multi-platform campaigns for very.co.uk and Tourism Ireland, will highlight consumers’ changing relationships with brands and examine how to successfully and measurably allow social interaction into campaigns.

Crew Clothing’s Multichannel Marketing Director, Iain MacDonald, will provide 10 practical top tips for planning a multi-channel marketing campaign.

“Visitors to Cross Media 2012 will hear about the latest trends and technologies that will shape the future of multi-channel marketing,” explains Nick Craig Waller, Marketing Director, Cross Media 2012. “The event will provide an unmissable chance to hear marketers, brand owners, innovative printers and publishers share inspirational case studies, practical tips and knowledge that they can take-away and apply directly to their business.

“For print service providers planning to attend Cross Media it’s a perfect opportunity to meet with the marketing audience to understand their needs and motivations. Print continues to have a powerful place within the marketing mix but printers need to embrace other channels to respond to the tightening grip on marketing budgets and the constant quest for more personalisation, creativity and higher ROIs.”

Supported by the Institute for Direct and Digital Marketing (IDM) and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), Cross Media 2012 will bring together all the parties with a stake in the future of cross media marketing to provide marketers, publishers, designers and creatives, brand owners and their advertising and marketing agencies with a tightly-focused insight into current and future developments in the delivery of integrated marketing campaigns using multiple platforms.

Lisa Turner, Marketing Director at the Institute for Direct and Digital Marketing (IDM) believes that anyone involved in marketing, publishing and print will benefit from attending the event. She says that “Understanding the breadth of cross-media channels available and grasping how they can ‘play together’ to achieve the best ROI for specific clients is absolutely vital for marketers if they want to provide real value to their customers. The market is ripe for a dedicated event such as Cross Media 2012 which will address the challenges that multi-channel marketing services can bring while offering some forward-thinking ideas, demonstrations as well as strategic and tactical insights into this rapidly evolving sector.”

The Cross Media 2012 Seminar Programme

The Cross Media Show 2012 seminar programme is open to all visitors and will provide best practice case studies, in-depth insights, panel discussions and practical hints and tips.

The programme is split into six theatres, focusing on five themes:

• Cross Media: Fresh approaches to integrating digital and traditional marketing channels to drive customer engagement and increase revenues
• Digital & Direct Marketing 1 & 2: Essential insight into the practicalities of using mobile, social, online, email and print to achieve marketing and business objectives
• Print & Innovation: New strategies for printers to transform their business to capitalise on multi-media marketing, the latest printing technologies and digital innovations
• Design & Creative: The latest know-how on how to develop multi-channel creative strategies to achieve engagement, cut through and deliver results
• Publishing Strategies: Innovative tactics for publishers to monetise content and capitalise on new channels and platforms for content delivery

OgilvyOne Worldwide, one of the UK’s leading digital and direct customer relationship marketing agency, is a huge supporter of Cross Media 2012. Donna Brown, Joint Head of Production comments: “We have seen an increased trend and need towards helping our clients to talk to their customers by using the most appropriate channels. A combination of offline and online channels is the smartest way to be communicating our messages, so Cross Media 2012, is in my opinion, perfectly placed and perfectly timed, to help us to understand how to do that better.”

Pre-registration for the event is now live. For more information on Cross Media 2012, please visit www.crossmedialive.com