Are you going to Mobile East Africa 2014?

This year, the agenda for Mobile East Africa 2014 has finally been launched. Since its first running in 2010, this agenda has shown itself to be the most progressive and comprehensive.

To make Mobile East Africa’s position to be the leading business technology event in the region, this agenda has to deliver to you. Here is how it will be achieved.

·  Tomi Ahonen (measured by Forbes as the world's most influential expert in mobile in 2012) will deliver a Special Address.
To have confirmed someone with the global reputation that Tomi has is evidence of the commitment to making this the technology conference of 2014 in the region.
Ahonen is going to deliver 60 minutes of the best sort of information that will propel you and your organisation in 2014 at maximum velocity.

·   This year's conference will kick off with a "Leaders of Mobile" session.
Already confirmed for this are Andrew Waititu (MD Eastern Africa, SAP), Jose Henriques (Group VP Data, Airtel Africa), a senior representative from IBM, and John Waibochi (CEO, Virtual City), to name a few.  The contributors have agreed to give their perspectives on growth and what needs to be done to achieve it. 

·  There is a massive focus on monetisation, business models, innovation and creativity.
It is believed that these are the four key factors that will stimulate future growth.  Presenters have been secured who have gained worldwide exposure due to their expertise in these core areas. 

·  Presentations have been confirmed from a multitude of countries.
Contributors from Kenya, Hong Kong, Tanzania, India, Uganda, South Africa and the United Kingdom will be given recognition for its international contribution. 

·  To end the conference, plans are put into place to run a unique "celebrating and learning from failure" session.
For too long, failure has been the elephant in the room.  Leading thinkers and entrepreneurs are going to celebrate their hard earned lessons - so everyone can benefit.

And that's just covering the main two-day conference.  Over the next 10 days we're going to lay out plans for the second annual Mobile Marketing East Africa Focus Day which will be held on Tuesday 11 February and to provide you with a breakdown of Tomi Ahonen's full day workshop on Friday 14 February.

Even though prices for the event’s tickets have been increased by 25%, it is still always best to secure your place at the conference this week.

Article by +Lauren Immelman  

Free Mobile Marketing Conference for Durban in August

MMA Conference for Durban

Mobile advertising is increasingly becoming an important component to most marketers especially as smartphone adoption trends are soaring to high proportions. With a range of mobile advertising options, including SMS, WAP, mobile app display ads, search ads, rich media, video and push notifications, the landscape can be a bit complicated. Advertisers are now accruing value and increasingly adding mobile in their marketing budgets. In South Africa, SMS is one of the most popular advertising methods and this is attributed to its low cost and ease of use.

The biggest decisions for marketers now is, whether to build a mobi-site or an app, for advertisers, whether to advertise on mobi-sites, apps, or both. Mobile advertising is constantly proving that marketers are taking an interest in new technology, marketing within apps is as easy as creating an ad campaign targeted to a specific audience.

Following the second successful Mobile Digital Revolution Conference held in Durban in 2012, the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) have organised yet another techno-packed conference including top practitioners to discuss mobile trends and successfully monetised apps.

Case study presentations on actual mobile applications will include local and international brands such as MTN, PriceCheck (Recently won the Blackberry Achievement Awards App of the Year), TomTom, Spar, Nedbank, Morrisons, Vodacom and many others.

The topics of these presentations will include Mobile User Experience, Indoor Maps, Navigation and Live Traffic, Mobile Customer Service, Mobile Marketing Applications amongst others.

The MMA conference will be held at The Gateway Hotel, in Durban on Wednesday, 14 August 2013, Corner Boulevard and Twighlight Drive Gateway. The conference is an initiative of the MMA in association with mapIT, AAT, Boost Communications, Thoughtworks and Omniscience and will kick off at 15:00 until 17:30, and guests will then enjoy a networking drink and snacks. Members and non-members are welcome, and admission is free

The panel of dynamic guest speakers includes:

• Raymond Buckle, MMA Chairman & CEO, SilverstoneCIS
• Alan Haarhoff, AAT (Always Active Technologies)
• James Erasmus, Boost Communications
• Rob Enslin, ThoughtWorks
• Andre de Wet, PriceCheck
• Byron Moorgas, mapIT (A division of TomTom Africa)
• Tobie Van Der Spuy, Omniscience
• Pieter Geldenhuys, MallInfo
• Jon Hoehler, Manager Mobile Technologies, Deloitte Digital

The conference is an initiative of the MMA in association with mapIT, AAT, Boost Communications, Thoughtworks and Omniscience and will kick off at 15:00 until 17:30, and guests will then enjoy a networking drink and snacks. Members and non-members are welcome, and admission is free.

The twitter hashtag is #mmadbn.

To register, visit: http://mmadbn.eventbrite.com/

(Source - MMA)

article by +Fred Felton