My memo to your boss

Hi (Insert boss’s name),

As you probably already know, I really want to attend this year’s Mumbrella360, which is only a fortnight away now.

Not only will I learn a lot, but it’s a great chance to network with some key contacts and get some perspective on what our peers are up to. I think it may even make me a better person.

The ticket price may seem a bit hefty at first glance, but it’s significantly less than similar conferences, and the huge number of sessions to choose from over the two days makes it excellent value. This year there are five streams to choose from on the first day, and four on the second. What makes it even better value is that if I can’t get along to both days, I can have my ticket reissued to a colleague for the second day.

There are so many sessions, it’s hard to narrow down the highlights. You should probably take a look yourself at the Mumbrella360 website via this link.

But the opening keynote from Nick Baker certainly sounds well worth seeing. I hear that big things are afoot with the next stage of Tourism Australia’s There’s Nothing Like Australia campaign. If I’m going to be on top of the zeitgeist, then I should definitely hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. Not that I’m implying Nick looks like a horse.

That first morning also includes the first details of the Encore Score – which is a far reaching piece of research into key personalities. It’ll give me great insights into which personalities would fit the brands we work with.

Mind you, it’s on at the same time as the We Are Bonds presentation. Remember the fuss Mumbrella made about that campaign? I’d love to hear about how it really went.

There’s loads of stuff for anyone from agencies or marketing. The session curated by Joe Talcott – “Analysing a dysfunctional relationship” – will be worth the price of admission alone. Particularly because it’s then followed up by a hard hitting debate on procurement which includes Clemenger boss Robert Morgan. There are also sessions on launching agencies and future proofing them.

We also need to understand what crowd sourcing means to our industry. They’ve got some of the biggest names in the sector on that panel. The same goes for the discussion on music streaming. We need to get beyond the hype on what that means for us.

There’ll be some controversy too. Melinda Tankard Reist is going to have plenty to say about the sexualisation of children by adland. We really need to know what our critics are saying. And I always thought McDonald’s were brave for funding that documentary on Seven. I’ll be able to find out what went on there.

Speaking of Seven, it’ll be fascinating to hear from Bevan Lee and John Holmes about how they created Packed To The Rafters.

There’s a huge amount of digital stuff as well. The first day’s digital question time has got some really smart people. I’ll ask a question or two. And on the second day, I’ve got to get along to the so-lo-mo session. They’re promising to cover 100 facts about social, local and mobile in 100 minutes. That seems a brave promise.

Speaking of brave, I can’t wait to see Guy Gadney try to create and make a video go viral in 45 minutes. The session will also include some research on what actually drives viral video. And remember Kony 2012? I want to hear them discuss that piece of weirdness.

It’s worth staying right ’til the end too, for Mumbrella Question Time with Harold Mitchell, the boss of Google, Photon’s new CEO and the chair of the Australian Association of National Advertisers. They’re going to have industry intelligence I need. 

Of course, I’ll also be in touch with the office if you need me – they’ve got wifi.

And you know I’ve been looking a bit thin lately? Not only does the ticket price include the price of lunch, but there’s a free breakfast each day too.

We may even want to send a few staff. There’s a special five-for-the-price-of-four offer.

Can I go, boss? Can I?