The University of Missouri–St. Louis’ College of Business Administration and School of Professional & Continuing Studies will present the State of Digital Media Marketing Conference from 1–5 p.m. on April 2 at UMSL’s J.C. Penney Building/Conference Center.

Consumers are changing the way they communicate with and research brands, and brands are changing the way they promote and engage with consumers. Attention has been shifted from traditional media marketing to the Internet, wireless devices and other digital platforms. This half-day conference will delve into the latest digital trends that are shaping the future of marketing with presenters from companies such as Yahoo, Nielsen, IBM, Foresee and Nickelodeon.

“It is imperative that universities begin to seriously change their marketing curriculums to reflect the changes being driven by technology or they will be outdated and irrelevant,” said Perry D. Drake, academic director of programs in business and assistant teaching professor of marketing at UMSL.

This conference will explore in depth the latest trends in digital media marketing including:

• How the third screen is redefining the consumer experience
• Why search continues to play a large role in the marketing mix
• How we can better measure social return on investment
• Efforts being taken to better understand appropriate campaign attribution
• E-commerce solutions being developed for a less “siloed” and more seamless customer experience across touch points
• The changing role of the marketer in this new world of data, software and metrics
• Privacy issues regarding the use of consumer data and the tracking of those consumers online

A distinguished panel of experts will include individuals from the following organizations: Google, Nielsen, Yahoo, IBM, Foresee, Nickelodeon, University of Missouri–Columbia, Evidon, Bonfyre, Qnary, Fleishman-Hillard, Evolve Digital Labs, Twist, Momentum, Falk-Harrison and Switch.

A question-and-answer session will follow each topic discussed. Audience engagement will be encouraged and monitored live using NetBase and Bonfyre.

“UMSL understands the need for change and is preparing new certification programs and courses both on the credit and noncredit side to reflect this demand for digital media marketing content,” Drake said. “We are excited to be working with Bonfyre to help us increase the awareness of what we are doing on campus.”

Registration is free to anyone interested in attending the event; however, pre-registration is requested. Call 314-516-6775, view the event flier or visit the School of Professional & Continuing Studies for more information or to register. Can’t attend? Get the app and engage with the conference live using your Android or Apple device, thanks to Bonfyre.