The Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA) has revealed its new-look member conference, ambitiously titled 'The Greatest Media Show', and plans for its speaker and content line-up.

The conference is set to take place at Hoyts Melbourne Central on Tuesday 20 February and will feature a mix of keynote speeches, CMO insights, and pitches from industry leaders. For the first time, the conference will feature a CMO panel, moderated by Gravia CEO, Vivienne Ryan. The panel will delve into the challenges and opportunities within modern marketing departments, strategies for marketers grappling with tight budgets, anticipated marketing trends for 2024, and the fostering of relationships between agencies, marketers, and business owners.

The event will also host a range of industry leaders from Commercial Radio & Audio, Boomtown, IAB, Outdoor Media Association, Think TV, and Think News Brands. These leaders, along with media partner Val Morgan, will discuss changes and developments within their respective sectors.

On the keynote speaker lineup are Tom Pitney, founder of youth media site Punkee and former strategy director at NewsCorp who Pitney founded AI agency AirStack last year; Julia Vargiu, Director of Australia at SI Partners, a global consultancy and M&A firm advising agencies, consultancies and tech service providers; James Zipeure, former COO of Havas and the founder of Exact AI; David Fish, renowned chief strategy officer; and Chris Savage, founding CEO of Ogilvy PR, former COO of STW Group (now WPP AUNZ), and founder of a growth advisory firm.

In a bid to add a dash of glamour to the event, a high-profile personality from the Seven Network will also join the speaker line-up, with the announcement expected soon.

IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, was excited to launch the first-ever Greatest Media Show.

"Just like its title, this conference is designed to be fast-paced, dynamic and entertaining – we really want to invigorate our members and get them excited for the year ahead," he said. "This year’s event offers not only a stellar line-up of speakers, but an opportunity for our industry leaders and media partners to directly engage with our members in a way that is witty and light-hearted, but still highly informative. The Greatest Media Show is the perfect way to kick off a busy 2024 for both the IMAA and our members – I look forward to seeing our agency members, media executives, and industry partners and associations gathered in Melbourne.”

QMS is once again hosting the after party for all attendees once the formal program concludes.

"We are excited to once again be hosting 'The Greatest Media Show’ after party with the IMAA, in what is becoming an out of the ordinary event on the media calendar," QMS General Manager Independent & Direct Sales, David Pullinger, said. "We look forward to an afternoon of great connection and celebration of the significance of our independent agencies.”