Boomtown has announced its first Masterclass of 2025, featuring a panel of industry experts, following a successful 2024 education program.
Registrations are now open for the first Boomtown Masterclass of the year, to be held online on Thursday, February 13, 2025, from 10 am AEDT.
The February Masterclass will feature an expert panel of Australian marketing and media executives, including Katie Rigg-Smith, chief strategy officer AUNZ for WPP, Tamara Howe, chief marketing officer of global food business SunRice, and Ruth Thompson, director and co-founder of Talent Corp.
The panel, to be moderated by The Ideas Business founder, Wade Kingsley, will focus on why brands should include Boomtown in their 2025 marketing plans, along with the unchartered advertising opportunities in regional Australia.
Katie Rigg-Smith has spent nearly 23 years at Mindshare and over two years in her WPP role. Rigg-Smith was one of the first women to be appointed CEO of a media agency nationwide. Rigg-Smith has been listed on B&T’s Women in Media Power List every year since its 2013 inception.
Tamara Howe is an expert commercial marketer, with more than 20 years’ experience in both national and global marketing roles. During her career, she has specialised in FMCG, with stints at Kellogg’s and Dairy Farmers, before joining the SunRice Group in 2022.
Ruth Thompson has had a 20-year career in the Australian media industry, including leadership roles in Brisbane and Sydney with Macquarie Media and Fairfax Media. Since co-founding Talent Corp, she has worked with dozens of brands including KFC, ClubsNSW, Spinaleze, Lorna Jane, Hairhouse, ModiBodi, Suzuki Qld and more.
“Our 2024 Boomtown Masterclass series were incredibly well-received, with a 9.5 average rating score from previous attendees,” Boomtown marketing lead, Leanne Glamuzina, said.
“Our first 2025 Masterclass is a fantastic opportunity for brands and agencies to find out why Boomtown represents an untapped market for advertisers – and why it’s delivered unparalleled brand campaign success.
“We’re kicking off our 2025 education program with a stellar line-up of industry experts. To have the calibre of marketing and media expertise as Katie, Tamara and Ruth joining our panel, is a testament to the value of the Boomtown Masterclass offering and the regional advertising landscape. All three bring diverse expertise to the panel, with critical insights for brands and agencies looking to launch or leverage the Boomtown audience in 2025″.
The February Masterclass marks the fifth year of Boomtown’s Masterclass series, designed to explore regional advertising opportunities through the lens of industry experts.
Since launching in 2020, the education series has trained more than 2,000 Australian marketing professionals on the benefits of Boomtown advertising. The masterclasses, combined with Boomtown’s ongoing campaign efforts, have helped to bolster regional advertising spend – the collective recently announced it had claimed a 17.6 per cent share of the national advertising dollar in FY24.
