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The forum will take place on 5-7 June at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel and Country Club in Warwickshire. Spaces are limited to 50 clients who wish to review their digital suppliers and discuss the latest marketing practices. Delegates will be able to arrange one-to-one clinic sessions with industry experts to discuss their online strategy and seek answers to any problems. They can also organise meetings with a selection of suppliers and debate issues at workshops and panel sessions.

Aside from the formalities, there will, of course, be the chance for an informal catch-up with peers over dinner, hosted by comedian Paul Thorne, and at the late night bar, as well as an opportunity to relax with a complementary massage.

An impressive line-up of field experts from both agencies and clients will offer insights on a range of hot topics, including emerging media channels such as podcasting, in-game advertising and RSS, as well as old staples like search and email.

Emerging media

Tim Faircliff, general manager of UK digital media business at Reuters, will appear in one panel session to discuss RSS. He believes marketing needs to move towards a more permission-based approach. While this offers more targeted and measurable advertising, problems can arise. Some audiences may choose not to be included or invited, so more work is needed to get their loyalty. "In future we will talk about how to maximise user-generated content that is cheap but incredibly useful for the user. I don't think marketers or media owners have cracked that yet," he says.

The theme of new technologies is continued in this session. James Cridland, director of digital media at Virgin Radio, will discuss podcasting, while Guy Bendov, founder and VP of Double Fusion, will examine in-game advertising.

Cridland will discuss how podcasting has moved from a niche media - when Virgin was the first UK radio station to use it - to become more widely accepted. Media owners such as The Sun, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph have released podcasts and even TV companies and brands are muscling into this area.

However, he warns that it is still a learning curve: "Podcasting clearly levels the playing-field between companies in the same way that the internet does. However, if you've got the content, it doesn't necessarily follow that you've got a podcast. Indeed, it seems many have forgotten that skills are required to produce engaging audio."

But, approached in the right way, there are many benefits to be had for advertisers targeting podcast audiences who have disposable income and time.

Elusive audience

Online gaming is another emerging media channel that offers advertisers a host of opportunities, particularly for targeting that elusive 18 to 35 male audience. Bendov points out that 50 per cent of households in the UK enjoy gaming on a regular basis and 20 per cent own a console such as a PlayStation or Xbox. "This calls for the attention of advertisers who find that traditional media like TV is under-performing," he says.

Brands can run a time-sensitive and measurable campaign by placing products within a game, on a virtual billboard or shop window, for example. "Starbucks could run a campaign that would promote iced coffee in the summer and hot tea in the winter," he explains. "It would enhance the look of the game and increase publisher revenue."

SMS marketing has been a popular marketing tool for some time, but it is only now, with the uptake of 3G handsets, that opportunities for brand marketing on mobiles are opening up.

Kevin Piper, chief operating officer and VP of products at Emblaze, feels that no-one has quite got to grips with developing mobile content that is better and easier to use than that which users can get elsewhere.

"The information and content I can get on my mobile relating to football is worse than all the other experiences I can get on my PC, in newspapers or on TV, apart from receiving the scores when they happen," explains Piper. "I'm not a football fan, I'm a Spurs fan, but all the content I receive is generic. This doesn't make sense when mobiles are personal. I should be receiving content that's specific to Tottenham."

He adds that mobile content has to be really compelling to attract users because it is mostly a pay-for medium: "It has to be content that is unique or interesting, whether it's personal, time-based or exclusive." Piper's workshop session will look at how to get the balance right and integrate messages delivered though TV, the web and mobile handsets.

More established digital channels remain important, and other forum sessions will focus on how to get the most out of search and email marketing.

Daniel Brown, CRM manager at Mazda Motors UK, will run a workshop on email marketing for CRM, and discuss how marketers can improve customer retention and maximise spend per customer. This will include a deeper probe into targeting customers based on case studies from automotive campaigns, as well as integration, measurement and testing.

Meanwhile, there is always some new and exciting discussion in the search sector, with Google usually at its heart. The search giant has launched the BigDaddy Data centre, which provides clients with an indication of how their algorithms will change over the months to come.

That's just one topic up for discussion and Dominic Barton, general manager at This is Money, will host a workshop on getting the most out of search marketing. It will examine how natural and paid-for search can be made to work hand-in-hand, compare whether they should be run separately or in conjunction, and who should manage search within an organisation. "It's a key issue as to who makes the decisions. I think it is fundamental to your success to get that right," says Barton.

This theme of ownership will be taken up further by Toon Diependaele, marketing and communications manager at Dunlop Europe. His session will discuss whether digital marketing should fit into the marketing or IT department.

Diependaele will explain how, in large corporations, digital has developed in the IT/IS departments. However, when it first began to emerge as a marketing tool, this led to a mismatch between what the marketing team wanted and the way in which the technology team operated. He adds: "Companies need to make sure their marketing departments and IT departments speak to each other, so that email campaigns, e-commerce sites and informative web sites are integrated across call centres and the rest of the company."

- An extremely time-efficient way to be briefed by leading suppliers about the latest products and services that affect digital marketing

- Practical insights and inspiration from focused round-table discussions led by acknowledged experts in their fields

- Informal meetings and chances to exchange ideas with peers from other leading companies in a range of industries

FACTS

What: the eighth Revolution forum will bring together a collection of respected brands and suppliers for the networking event of the digital marketing calendar. Delegates and suppliers can discuss their business needs in one-to-one meetings and more informally in the bar.

When: Monday 5 June to Wednesday 7 June 2006.

Where: Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel and Country Club, Warwickshire.

Who: more than 50 top-class client delegates and 25 selected suppliers will be there.

Clinic sessions: clients can organise one-to-one personal meetings with industry experts in which to confidentially discuss any problems they are facing and seek solutions.

Strategic programme: a series of panel discussions and workshop sessions will focus on key digital marketing issues, chaired by industry leaders.

Personal meetings: a series of pre-arranged meetings offer delegates the chance to talk to relevant suppliers.

Networking opportunities: delegates can exchange ideas and experiences with their peers away from the office.

COMPLIMENTARY MASSAGE: qualified practitioners will be at hand. Speakers: Rory Sutherland, creative director, OgilvyOne; Dominic Barton, general manager, This is Money; Daniel Brown, CRM manager, Mazda Motors UK; Kevin Piper, COO & VP of products, Emblaze; Toon Diependaele, marketing and communications manager, Dunlop Europe; James Cridland, director, digital media, Virgin Radio; Tim Faircliff, general manager, UK digital media business, Reuters; and Guy Bendov, founder & VP, Double Fusion. To register: book online at www.revolutionforum.co.uk or call 020 8267 4542. SPEAKERS AND WORKSHOPS Keynote speech: the consumer conversion to digital and how marketers must adapt Rory Sutherland, creative director, OgilvyOne WORKSHOPS Getting the most from your search engine strategy Dominic Barton, general manager, This is Money - How to plan a search strategy - Testing and refining - Integrating search engine with your marketing - Industry developments EMAIL MARKETING FOR CRM Daniel Brown, CRM manager, Mazda Motors UK - Targeting best practices for automotive campaigns - Integration and the role of email marketing within an integrated campaign - Email marketing KPI: going beyond open and click-through rates to measure the impact of email on lead and sale conversions - Developing a test strategy MOBILE MARKETING: how brands can exploit direct connections with users Kevin Piper, COO & VP of products, Emblaze - Which campaigns work well over mobile? - Refining and measuring mobile campaigns - Integrating mobile with the rest of your marketing THE ORGANISATION OF DIGITAL MARKETING Toon Diependaele, marketing & communications manager, Dunlop Europe - Where does digital belong - marketing or IT? - The right blend of creativity and structure - Balancing technology and business strategy PANEL SESSION: emerging media and new channels 1. Podcasting James Cridland, director of digital media, Virgin Radio - Real-life examples of mass-market podcasting - How best to use this advertising space - Usage patterns - Future developments and potential 2. RSS/new marketing technologies Tim Faircliff, general manager, UK digital media business, Reuters - How marketers need to adapt to new technology - What works for advertisers and media owners? - Learnings from Reuters 3. In-game advertising Guy Bendov, founder & VP, Double Fusion. - The games market becomes a mass media - Why online games are important to advertisers - Market potential, outlook and effect - Business case studies TIMETABLE Monday 5 June 16.00 -18.00: Delegates arrive for hotel check-in 18-00-19.00: Opening keynote speech from Rory Sutherland, creative director, OgilvyOne 19.30-20.00: Networking and drinks reception 20.00: Dinner Tuesday 6 June 07.00-08.30: Breakfast 09.00-13.00: Supplier meetings and workshops 13.00-14.00: Lunch 14.00-18.00: Supplier meetings and workshops 18.00-19.30: Relaxation time 19.30-20.00: Drinks reception 20.00 Dinner Wednesday 7 June 07.00-08.30: Breakfast 09.00-13.00: Supplier meetings and workshops 13.00-14.00: Lunch 14.00 Close