Marketing Festival Gearing up for First Edinburgh Date

Marketing professionals and students, among others, are being invited to attend the first Edinburgh festival set up to focus on the future of the industry.

The Edinburgh International Marketing Festival opens for the first time a fortnight on Monday, with a series of guest speakers from the likes of Thinkbox – the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK – set to appear.

Also involved in the six-day event, which is due to run in and around the city’s Assembly Rooms, is Thomas Gensemer, CEO of US-based internet strategy and technology firm, Blue State Digital, and Roisin Donnelly, president of The Marketing Society and corporate marketing director for Procter and Gamble.

Director and co-founder of the festival, Tom Holmes, told allmediascotland: “We didn't want this to be another boring old marketing conference but wanted to provide a stage for exciting talent and fresh ideas that had international appeal and relevance.

“We chose Edinburgh because it is the world’s Festival City where people come together from across the globe, to share their passion for arts, culture and ideas – the atmosphere makes it a perfect host city for the International Marketing Festival.”

Leading brands from around the world, such as Fosters, Irn Bru, Sony, Love Film, Google, Samsung, Santander, Umbro and Heineken, are all set to attend. And project director, Lis Faulkner, believes the event can become a firm fixture of the Edinburgh festival season in years to come.

Said Faulkner: “We are offering an opportunity both to industry professionals and also to people outside of the industry who want to know a little bit more about what marketing entails.

“We really hope it will become a part of the Festival calendar. We will look at how this year goes and are already talking about next year so let’s hope the event becomes a long-term thing.”