Acceleration is hosting its third Digital Ignition Symposium in Franschhoek in June 2014 with the aim of helping marketers maximise their ROI from their growing spending on technology. The symposium brings together South Africa's top digital executives to engage with local and international guest speakers who are at the forefront of digital thinking and practice.

The Symposium will provide digital executives with practical insights that will help them to create successful marketing, publishing, mobile, social and app strategies for their organisations. Delegates will gain exposure to the latest innovations in digital marketing and will have opportunities to network with senior digital marketing and publishing executives from around the world.

Says Richard Mullins, director at Acceleration: “According to the latest forecasts from Gartner, worldwide IT spending will reach $3.8 trillion in 2014, a 3.2 percent increase from 2013 spending. Much of this spending is being driven by marketing departments, which Gartner says will spend more on technology each year than their organisations' IT departments by 2017.

“In this Symposium, we aim to offer marketers the latest thinking and ideas that will help them get the most from their investments in technology. This year’s theme—‘Know your audience’—is particularly relevant for marketers striving to get the most from their budgets.”

“This year, our speakers will be focusing closely on audience data and its importance in the evolving digital landscape,” says Mullins. “We’ll be talking about how data can be used to drive meaningful customer engagements and experiences, as well as how agencies, publishers and marketers can build data platforms that will give them sustainable competitive advantage.”

Steve Pimsoll, who is responsible for Mindshare's global technology and data vision, will be one of the international keynote speakers. He will be joined by another legend in the digital marketing industry, Jeff Eales.  Eales is Director of Systems & Development at BSKYB and is a TV advertising veteran of nearly 40 years.

Local speakers will include Mike Stopforth, CEO of South Africa’s social business authority, Cerebra. WPP—which also owns Acceleration—recently acquired a majority stake in Cerebra. Stopforth has given more than 400 presentations on social media and its impact on business, and is recognised as one of South Africa’s top thinkers and experts in this area.

“I am looking forward to this Symposium as an opportunity to meet with some of South Africa’s top digital executives,” says Stopforth. “In my talk, I’ll be focusing closely on the business returns of social media and how knowing your audience can set your business on a path to success.”