And then it starts.

The sessions fly past you at a rate of knots. There are networking drinks. Dinners. Meetings for coffee. Your brain sags like an overworked sponge and you think, at some point, that the stream of same-same Twitter responses may just make sense. In between workshops, the occasional donut beckons. And then, before you know it, you cocoon yourself in your car and shuttle back to the office. The conference over. Swag secured. Notes to digest and summaries to write. Your boss will be expecting a report first thing Monday.

Yes. You know it’s true. ad:tech Sydney is a festival.

But what happens a month on? Three months? Six? After the bold curation of ideas – of jamming social media cheek-by-jowl with electronic direct mail, strategy and ad networks, SEO, virtual worlds and innovation – what happens next?

Every time I attend a conference I always see them as lost opportunities. They can be intense hives of activity, leaving participants with dozens of ideas to work on – to digest and execute. But rarely does a conference event extend beyond its immediate horizon. Rarely does a conference work with the biorhythms of the business world to enthuse, engage and energise its community over the longer term.

But the folks behind ad:tech Sydney are taking on such a challenge – and doing admirably well. Not only do they have the ad:tech Brain operating as a blog and industry news aggregator, they have now run two free, breakfast briefings that provide us all with an intellectual caffeine hit just before the work day begins. Dr Jeffrey Cole, founder of the World Internet Project, will no doubt continue this new tradition and jolt us awake at next week’s briefing.

I like the way that Lucy James, ad:tech Content Director, is taking this opportunity to weave a story around the conference brand. The briefings are run with neat precision – setting a cracking pre-work day pace and leaving us all with a line or two, or an anecdote that we can easily relay back in the office. And the line-up of quality speakers adds to the experience – yes, you can read about Zappos until you fall out of your ergonomic chair, but it’s not the same as hearing Aaron Magness, tell the stories in his own words.

If authenticity is what we crave in social media, it doesn’t get any grittier than an intimate 80 seat room face-to-face discussion with the people who are taking these ideas and transforming them into successful businesses.

Is this the future of conferences? It certainly changes the way that you think of the conference “value exchange”. It’s not just a one-time event. It creates a sense of involvement, connection – and dare I say, “community”. It establishes an intellectual agenda and serves as a constant reminder of our participation in the world of ideas. I have a feeling other brands could learn some lessons here.

Read more on Gavin’s blog here.

Last year we lauched this - the ad:tech brain - and used the forum to get your suggestions, feedback and direction on what topics we should be programming and which speakers you’d like to hear from. If you take a look through this site you’ll see some of the conversations that took place as we developed the ad:tech 2009 agenda.

We’d like to get things rolling again and invite you to share your ideas on this site through the Voice of the Industry section (look at the tabs at the top of that page!) You can use that section of the site to write your ideas on:

* hot topics that you think MUST be discussed at ad:tech
* questions that you want answers to
* new things in the industry that you think we should include
* work that you’ve done that you think is particularly brilliant!
* work that other people have done that you think is particularly brilliant
* topics from last year that you think we should include again / change / build on
* issues & challenges that are really affecting you and your peers or colleagues

You can also write a post with your thoughts on who should be speaking on the ad:tech 2010 program and asking others what they think. You could write about:

* Experts who you’ve read about but never heard speak
* Companies that you know are doing great work that you’d like to hear more from
* Colleagues or peers that you think would be good speakers
* Suggestions for the ‘type’ of person you think should be on the program
* Excellent speakers that you’ve heard before that you’d like to hear again.

Of course that ad:tech brain can be used for lots of discussions - it’s a forum for the industry to debate as much or as little as you’d like to! We’ll keep an eye on the chat, answer any questions, through some responses in, ask some questions ourselves, but really - this is for you.

We look forward to seeing what you’ve got to share. Enjoy.

These relaxed, small scale events will allow you to gain quality education and extend your industry network, all before you get to the office. The first breakfast briefing is taking place in July and we hope you’ll be able to join us for an inspiring and through provoking session.

Google and Millward Brown

Analysis, Achievements & Anecdotes From The #1 Valued Brand In The World

24 July 2009

Hilton Sydney

8-9am

Free of charge **Blue note charity donation on the door

The breakfast briefings are free to attend but only available for club ad:tech members. Click here for further details.

Although there really is no subsititute for attending the conference this is a great way to get a feel for what was being discussed during the conference program.

Enjoy!