The Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA) will bring Digi-Byte, the industry body’s new networking and education event, to Melbourne.
Digi-Byte, which will be held at Fortress Melbourne on 9 July, is designed to explore the nation’s digital landscape.
Paco Albie, Digital Immersion co-founder, will bring his e-commerce and digital data expertise from working client-side at Chemist Warehouse, Country Road and Nike to discuss personalisation, e-commerce and retail media trends in a keynote presentation.
The event will also feature panel discussions and an immersive gaming experience sponsored by GCA Media Network. The panel discussions will focus on:
• Retail media: to be moderated by Hatched head of retail, Simon Porter, and featuring GCA head of media strategy and pnsights, Cameron Gunns, and Criteo managing director, Colin Barnard.
• Digital audio: to be moderated by Media33 head of digital, Robbie Ibbotson, and featuring SCA head of digital ad product and operations, Kim Loasby, Nova chief commercial officer, Nicole Bence, ARN head of digital audio, Corey Layton, and SEN head of digital sales, River Bradley.
• Ultimate programmatic channel: to be moderated by Half Dome co-founder, Joe Frazer and featuring QMS head of programmatic sales, Laura Wall, Spotify head of automation JAPAC, Liam Hickey, Nine director of programmatic and digital sales, Jordan King, Blis head of sales, Elias Psarologos, and ACM senior product manager, Anushka Aghaian.
The inaugural Digi-Byte event, held in Sydney in May, drew in an attendance of close to 200 independent agency executives and media partners to discuss hot topics in the digital space, including the evolution and impact of AI, the next wave of social media, the rise of shoppable content and leveraging influencer collaborations.
Blis head of sales Australia/New Zealand, Elias Psarologos, said: “Following the success of the Sydney Digi-Byte event, we are thrilled to extend our support to the Melbourne event. Melbourne’s dynamic digital landscape makes it a crucial hub for innovation and growth in Australia, and with that, Blis wants to ensure our continued dedication to advancing the Melbourne adtech market.
“Our involvement with the Digi-Byte series not only highlights our commitment to staying at the forefront of digital advancements, but also reflects our dedication to providing advertisers, media agencies and marketers with the insights and tools they need to thrive. We thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Sydney Digi-Byte event and look forward to contributing to another enriching and impactful experience in Melbourne.”
IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, said: “We were overwhelmed with the response from the Sydney indie sector to our first-ever Digi-Byte event, and we’re looking forward to bringing the energy and excitement from the Sydney session to our members and partners in Melbourne.
“Digital media will receive the highest proportion of investment from our members, according to our latest IMAA Indie Census. The Digi-Byte series provides an opportunity for our members to come together to discuss the current digital state-of-play, as well as what’s to come, and to hear and learn from experts in the space. We’re excited to have a stellar line-up of panellists for our Melbourne event – I know their insights and learnings will be invaluable for agencies as they plan their 2024/2025 campaigns.”
The Digi-Byte series is supported by Blis, GCA Media Network, ACM, Cool Media and StackAdapt.