Announcing Digital Sport Summit 2010, Melbourne

Optimising is proud to announce Digital Sport Summit: Australia’s Premier Sport and Digital Media Event

Digital Sport Summit (www.digitalsport.com.au), Australia’s premier sport and digital media event, will launch today and herald a new era in the arena of sports marketing. It provides a unique opportunity to hear from social media pioneers who are changing the face of Australian sport, and learn how social media and mobile technology is taking fan engagement to a whole new level.

Collingwood Football Club defender Harry O’Brien, noted for his strong fan engagement through use of Twitter and his own personal website (www.harrysworld.com.au), will be in attendance to speak from the player’s perspective regarding the social media phenomenon. Sponsorship for the event has been secured from internationally renowned social media website Mashable (www.mashable.com) and Read Write Web (www.readwriteweb.com)

The event will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 7, and will feature high profile speakers from the sporting industry specialising in a variety of areas including social media, technology and fan engagement.

Digital Sport Summit’s Director of Operations, Anthony Alsop, believes the event will change the way sport is viewed in this country. “Digital Sport Summit has been put together to provide a forum for sports and digital media professionals to discuss social media by debating themes, analysing case studies and viewing successful techniques.“

Digital Sport Summit will demonstrate how social media can help bring sporting organisations towards:

1. faster connection: connect with fans faster than ever before – instant notification, instant satisfaction
2. higher awareness: increase the channels through which fans can be reached with new and evolving technologies
3. stronger engagement: start a conversation with fans – create dialogue, not monologue

According to Alsop, this is a crucial niche in the Australian sporting industry where “many professional and amateur sporting organisations are daunted by the thought of social media. By holding this event, we hope that leagues and clubs around Australia will better understand the fantastic possibilities that social media can bring to their business, and begin to embrace this exciting new technology.” he said.

The event has so far secured many high profile speakers, including Darren “Pro Blogger” Rowse who is famous in internet circles for his ability to monetise social media, as well as Finn Bradshaw, current Online Editor for the Sport and Racing sections of the Herald Sun newspaper.

The program includes:

• Harry O’Brien – Collingwood Football Club
  Social media from an athlete’s perspective
• Darren Rowse – Pro Blogger
  Show me the money: How to monetise social media
• Finn Bradshaw – Herald Sun
  How technology is changing the media landscape
• Alana Fisher – Football Federation Australia
  Creating, building and managing social media communities
• Anthony Harrison – Cricket Victoria
  iPhone apps: Your favourite team in your pocket
• Peter Jankulovski – AFL Dreamteam
  Fantasy sports and fan interaction
• Nick Marvin – Perth Wildcats
  How management can use social media to their advantage
• Jonathan Simpson – Essendon Football Club
  The case for social media: Convincing management

Tickets from $260 and are available on the Digital Sport Summit website (www.digitalsport.com.au) and include a full-day conference, snack/meal breaks and post-conference drinks.

Tags: digital sport summit