News Limited CEO Kim Williams joins Accountability in Ad Spend Conference, Thurs 23rd August at Sydney Convention Centre

News Limited chief executive Kim Williams will discuss the challenges of building and monetising cross-platform media brands at this month’s half-day Accountability in Ad Spend Conference at Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre on Thursday 23 August.

The Audit Bureaux of Australia (ABA) has announced the chief of Australia’s largest newspaper publisher and one of the largest online and magazine publishers will join industry heavyweights from across the media buying, publishing and marketing worlds.

For tickets or more information phone (02) 9954 9800 or visit the website here.

Williams joins a packed speaker line-up that also includes Maxus Australia chief executive, David Gaines, ACP Magazines’ director of sales, Louise Barrett and Fairfax Metro Media’s commercial director, Ed Harrison.

Gaines will kick off the CAB’s conference, discussing the importance of accountability in ad spend and exploring what constitutes audience measurement, with a particular focus on digital media in his keynote presentation.

Barrett and Harrison will later join business journalist and BRW editor, Kate Mills for a panel on the changing nature of the advertising proposition, sharing their insights on the role accountability plays in the marketing mix as media moves from a purely print to a multi-platform approach.

Ian Alwill, principle of Alwill Associates and Nestle’s former executive director of group marketing and communications will examine the challenges facing marketers beyond 2012, discussing the key issues marketers have to consider when planning campaigns across platforms.

Says Alwill: “The way marketers blend new platforms and largely unproven activity, with traditional platforms and proven activity, and then measure, record and evaluate the outcomes of that new combination of activity will determine which of them wins in an increasingly tight economic, competitive and uncertain consumer environment.”

Chief executive of Starcom MediaVest Group, John Sintras will also look at the future media landscape in his presentation, discussing how savvy publishers can peak the interest of media buyers and what role media metrics should play in media buying as masthead reporting becomes the norm.

Sintras will then take his place on the couch for the culminating panel of the conference, debating the role of media and accountability in the years ahead.

Moderated by Mumbrella editor-in-chief, Tim Burrowes, the panel will also feature views from NewsLifeMedia’s chief executive, Nicole Sheffield, OMD’s head of print, Simon Davies and chief executive of the Australian Marketing Institute, Mark Crowe.

Says Paul Dovas, ABA chief executive: “The conference will be an invaluable opportunity for advertisers, publishers, marketing brand managers and media buyers to hear real insights and experiences in media buying, selling and publishing with a twist of accountability, and to pick the brains of some of the heavyweights of Australia’s media industry.”