[Digital branding] Answering marketer’s questions

Brand architect Patrick Collings from Sagacite brand agency, who has one of the coolest business cards I’ve ever received – transparent plastic – was the MC at today’s digital branding conference from Knowledge Resources in Johannesburg. He explained that the conference wanted to take marketers back to the basics of the digital world to enable them to understand what was happening to their brands online.

About bloody time too. Pity there aren’t more marketers here today. This is one of the best lineup of speakers at a one-day event that I’ve attended this year. I’m doing more networking here than on Facebook – even met one of my Facebook stalkers, Eric Edelstein, Internet strategist and Muti man, who claims to have met me, though I certainly haven’t managed to remember spotting him… Oh well, in this virtual world sometimes one knows more of someone online than from face interfacing. And of course Cerebra’s Mike Stopforth, who has more profile than Dr Phil on the speaker circuit these days when it comes to providing tough love on social media issues.

As explained Patrick in his intro, this event is hoping to answer some of the questions that marketers have : “The digital world is very busy place for brands at the moment. Very exciting… but the landscape is shifting around us all the time.”

Speakers on the podium today are: Warren Griffiths, MD of Gloo, the agency of 5fm’s Lonely Finger fame for a Web 2.0 introduction; followed by Arthur Goldstuck with an update on Internet 101 to where it is in the world today. After tea and cookies, Mike Stopforth promises ‘new stuff’ on blogs and social media (he’s a really great speaker btw), with Eric Edelstein talking search. The afternoon session is where the future of digital will be looked at with things that exist now a little further down the road, with Saatchi AtPlay’s Allan Kent on viral marketing; Collings on social networking and the international speaker everyone is waiting for in anticipation, the digital ninja himself, Faris Yakob from the UK’s Naked Communications on new consumers and the future of ideas.