Hosted on Thursday, 1 November at the Maslow Hotel in Johannesburg, guests will gain access to professionals in the marketing field.

Two international speakers headline the event. They are Adam Pattison, vice president for BBM across Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas, and Paul Wright MD of Apps Flyer across the United Kingdom, France and EMEA.

Local speakers include:
  • Guest speaker Julia Ahlfeldt, a customer experience professional
  • Uber’s head of marketing, sub-Saharan Africa, Lindsey Elkin
  • Ogilvy’s Chief creative officer Pete Case
  • Standard Bank’s executive head for interactive, Bellinda Carreira

Zia Namooya, CEO of Mindshare South Africa, and Daryl van Arkel, CEO of Vicinity Media, will host a CEO Session to debate concerns and opportunities within ABV, while three Smarties judges present their how-to guide on how to win an award.

An in-depth ABV Report and Smarties guide will be made available for all guests at no cost.

"Our customers and their data are in the driver’s seat, and we’re catching a ride. How do we use this new normal to our benefit? This is what we discuss in detail at the MMA SA’s Accelerate Forum," says MMA SA’s country director Sarah Utermark.

"During the day, our expert speakers take a good look at projections for the mobile marketing industry in 2019 as well as reflections on 2018’s key learnings and best practices," Utermark adds.

Among speaker topics, guests will listen to Pattison, who talks about the digital paradox and what brands and content providers can do to take advantage of an increasingly 'post-digital' world.

Additionally, Carreira shares her vision of what lies ahead for marketers. She will discuss the emergence of new technologies, and the widespread adoption of data-driven driven marketing solutions, as well as how the way in which brands operate digitally is changing faster and more significantly than ever before.

Julia Ahlfedlt CCXP will focus on artificial intelligence, and how the secret to winning over Gen Z is customer experience. 

"Marketing is being significantly affected by the need for brands to be customer-centric, a deluge of data, ad fraud and automated technologies. Mobile is at the heart of these changes," says Utermark.

"The Accelerate Forum zones in on these key issues to arm guests with information and intelligence that they can take back and use in their respective roles," she adds.

Individuals can book a seat for the MMA SA’s Accelerate Forum here. Tickets cost R750 per person for members and R950 for non-members.  

For more information, visit www.mmasa.org. You can also follow MMA SA on Facebook or on Twitter.