Palace, industry bigwigs to grace 2011 IMMAP Summit

The government's Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) will present along with several advertising and marketing executives in this year's Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) Summit, which will focus on the digital shift occurring within the industry. PCOO Secretary Sonny Coloma will reportedly grace the fifth staging of the event—slated on August 17 and 18 at the Powerplant Cinemas in Rockwell Center, Makati—and talk about Government 2.0, or the role of the Internet and social media in President Benigno Aquino's governance. The PCOO is among the government agencies that led the government's charge into the online domain, establishing various web properties that sought to bring public service closer to citizens. Aside from Coloma, about 30 top-level executives from different advertising and marketing agencies will also headline the event dubbed "The Digital Shift," which is presented in a two-track format reminiscent of the TED Talks conducted in the US. Cognizant of how the Internet and social networking is changing how consumers behave and interact with brands and companies, the summit will feature various sessions that would keep advertising and marketing professionals up to speed with the fast-paced evolution of the digital world. One of the more poignant points of the summit include a discussion led by Will Sansom, writer and consultant at Contagious Communications, who will talk about the evolving consumer behavior and how it triggers changes in a brand's digital strategy. Other speakers include MRM Worldwide Regional Director Mark Cripps who will speak on the power of Social Media and its role in CRM; OgilvyOne Asia Pacific Head of Digital and Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) Chair Barney Loehnis who will discuss his view on the dilemma of pervasive connectivity; Euro RSCG APAC Chief Digital Officer Andrew Knott, will tackle the challenges of mounting a digital communications strategy and how to use it to tell a brand’s compelling story. One of the pioneers of digital marketing in the country, Media Contacts Philippines President & CEO and 2011 Summit Chair Eduardo Mapa will also talk about how the Filipino digital marketer should address and take advantage of the digital shift. Meanwhile, MRM Worldwide Managing Director & IMMAP Founding President Donald Lim will talk about converting online awareness to measurable sales. The complete list of speakers can be viewed at IMMAP’s website. The summit will be capped off by the annual Boomerang Awards, an event that recognizes the best online and mobile campaigns by different local agencies and is touted as the "Oscars of Digital Marketing." IMMAP is an organization that aims to spearhead the use of the Internet and mobile as recognized marketing media by the industry, and is affiliated with the international Mobile Marketing Association and the International Conference on Online Media Measurement (I-COM). Aside from holding the IMMAP Summit every year, the group also conducts digital marketing seminars and webinars in partnership with the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA). “We have Digital Wednesdays with PANA, and a free webinar educational series [called] DigitalisNOW.com. [We can say that these were highly successdul because] this year the latter had over 1,000 registrants and requests," said Hans Roxas Chua, incumbent IMMAP President. Roxas Chua added that IMMAP is also active with other stakeholders of the industry, such as PR professionals and the academe, as some of its directors have been invited to speak to members of the Philippine Marketing Association, the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, as well as different universities in the metro. — TJD, GMA News