WithIt.org adds three speakers to technology symposium

Event set for Jan. 13 in Greensboro, N.C.

-- Home Accents Today, 12/8/2009 7:22:00 AM

WithIt.org has added three digital marketing professionals to its upcoming technology symposium, set for Jan. 13 in Greensboro, N.C.

Serving as panelists in a discussion about digital and social media activity in the home and furnishings marketplace will be Bert DuMars, vice president of e-business and interactive marketing for Newell/Rubbermaid; Pamela Jordan, director of online marketing and e-commerce for Furniture Brands International; and Jessica Koster, marketing manager for Cargill Inc. BiOH Polyols.

Leslie Carothers, principal of The Kaleidoscope Partnership, will moderate.

"Digital and social media hold great promise in ways to move forward and build revenue," said Stephanie Lowder, 2010 president of women's leadership network WithIt.org. "Our panelists will explain how their companies have made decisions about relevance, strategy, structure, policy and investment in these global enterprise technologies."

The symposium, set for 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 13 at the Greensboro/High Point Marriott here, is titled Corporate Strategy, Integration & Investment in Digital & Social Media Technologies.

In addition to the panel discussion, the symposium will feature a keynote address by Emily Riley, a senior analyst with Forrester Research, the firm that published "Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies."

Maggie Fox, founder and CEO of Social Media Group, will present a case study on how her client, Ford Motor Co., generated real return on investment through its social media efforts.

The timely symposium is tailored to C-level executives and the critical decisions they and their digital media and marketing executives will make in 2010.

"It is a difficult time to be a business leader - tough economy, budget cuts, socially engaged consumers, competitors of every stripe, media fragmentation," Lowder said. "Despite the challenges, 94% of companies plan to maintain or increase investment in interactive technologies in 2010."

The symposium fee is $100 for the first attendee from a company and $80 for each additional person from the same company.

Registration is available at www.withit.org. Seating is limited.