Urban Airship Details Agenda and Speakers for Fourth Annual Mobile Saturday at SXSW Interactive 2016

Brand leaders and industry experts join Urban Airship to share experiences and insights for some of mobile’s biggest opportunities

PORTLAND, Ore., February 23, 2016 – Urban Airship, the world’s leading mobile engagement platform provider, today announced the complete agenda and speakers for its fourth annual Mobile Saturday event at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSW). As SXSW’s only official daylong programming dedicated to mobile, Urban Airship’s Mobile Saturday brings together leading brands and industry experts to discuss what’s driving the most mobile success today and where investments are being made to seize tomorrow’s biggest opportunities.  

Urban Airship assembled an all-star lineup of customers, partners and experts to explore mobile’s hottest topics with five panel discussions throughout the day featuring representatives from: Atom Factory, Cleveland Cavaliers, Condé Nast, eHarmony, Eventbase Technology Inc., EXPRESS, Fan Duel, Kochava, Montclair State University, Nordstrom, POSSIBLE Worldwide, R/GA Ventures, REI, The Location Based Marketing Association (LBMA) and Zillow.

“For the fourth year in a row, we are driving high-caliber conversations at Mobile Saturday to bring the best ideas and practices forward to maximize mobile’s impact,” said Brett Caine, CEO and president, Urban Airship. “We’re pleased to welcome 2016’s exceptional roster aboard, which is sure to offer attendees of all stripes both inspiration and practical advice they can put to use immediately.”

Mobile Saturday will take place March 12 from 9:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. CST at the Courtyard Austin Downtown/Convention Center. Those interested in attending Mobile Saturday can register for email updates and a mobile wallet event pass, as well as add each Mobile Saturday panel to their schedule via the official app SXSW® GO for both iOS and Android.

Those without plans to attend SXSW, can follow real-time updates on Twitter at @UrbanAirship or use #MobileSat to participate in ongoing conversations.

The full agenda for Mobile Saturday includes:

Innovators or Idiots: Mobile’s Next Hits & Misses

Mobile veterans will detail the latest trends and opportunities in mobile, wearables and the Internet of Things (IoT), discussing whether they’re destined to break through or just break glass.

  • Dylan Boyd, Director, New Programs Development, R/GA Ventures
  • Suzy Ryoo, Venture Partner, Vice President of Technology & Innovation, Atom Factory
  • Ben West, Co-Founder, Eventbase Technology, Inc.
  • Asif Khan, Founder, Location Based Marketing Association

From Apps to Obsession: Sparking Enviable Fandom

Lessons from the playbooks of Fan Duel and the Cleveland Cavaliers will reveal strategies to create enviable fandom and obsessive engagement, applicable to any industry.

  • Dan Melinger, Product Direction, Fan Duel
  • Michael Conley, VP Digital, Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Michael Richardson, Co-Founder and Senior Director, Data Products, Urban Airship

Revenge of the Bricks, Driven by Clicks

Iconic retailers will share insight into how they are approaching mobile to deliver customer experiences that are much bigger and more valuable than mobile-only.

  • Jessie Morris, Mobile Program Manager, REI
  • Kate Johnson, Senior Product Manager, eCommerce/Mobile, EXPRESS, Inc.
  • Kerry Borland, Product Manager, Mobile, Nordstrom
  • Alyssa Meritt, Head of Strategic Consulting, Urban Airship

When Success Means an Always-Vanishing Customer

Gain new perspectives on user acquisition and engagement, as eHarmony and Zillow share how they handle the challenge of success meaning an always-vanishing customer base.

  • Tracy Kobzeff, Director, Product Marketing & Monetization, eHarmony, Inc.
  • Elizabeth Downs, VP of Acquistion Marketing, eHarmony, Inc.
  • Sara Buzak, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile, Zillow
  • Stephanie Capretto, Strategic Consultant, Urban Airship

Economic Realities: Ad Blocking & Consumer Control

Hear the latest thinking and recommendations to survive and thrive in a world where consumers hold all the power in the palm of their hands.

  • Arlie Sisson, VP, Emerging Products, Condé Nast
  • Merrill Brown, Director, School of Communication and Media, Montclair State University
  • Kunal Muzumdar, Managing Director, POSSIBLE Worldwide
  • Charles Manning, CEO & President, Kochava

About Urban Airship

Urban Airship provides the world’s leading mobile engagement platform, helping thousands of businesses of all sizes form a direct and lasting connection with their customers. With Urban Airship, companies gain total control of their mobile footprint — apps, wallets and user-level data — to deliver experiences that get noticed and drive action across mobile or any other customer touchpoint. More than 30,000 apps and some of the most innovative global brands trust Urban Airship to accelerate their business through mobile marketing with an independent study calculating an average 878 percent return on investment for customers.

For more information, visit www.urbanairship.com, read our blog and follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn