Digital Adelaide 2026

The Speakers

20+ practitioners, founders, and strategists. No buzzword decks. Every session is built to be immediately applicable.

13 speakers confirmed6–7 August 2026 · Adelaide

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Day 1 · Thursday 6 August

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Day 1

Julia George

Manager, Digital & Social

Adelaide Festival Centre

Julia George is the Manager of Digital and Social at Adelaide Festival Centre, where she leads a uniquely structured team that brings together digital marketing and data insights – combining delivery across websites, email, social, search and digital advertising with CRM, analytics, forecasting and sales reporting. With over 16 years of experience across the arts, not-for-profit, and government sectors in both Australia and the UK, Julia specialises in data-driven digital marketing, audience engagement, and martech integration. She currently oversees digital channels attracting over 1.4 million online visitors annually and delivering 17 million eDMs each year, supporting ticketed events, hospitality and customer experience for Adelaide Festival Centre's year-round program – including Adelaide Cabaret Festival and OzAsia Festival, as well as venue hirers such as Disney and Michael Cassel Group. Julia believes live entertainment is one of the last truly human experiences – and digital is what brings people to the door.

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Day 1

Stephanie Rossetto

Manager, Creative Content & Engagement

Adelaide Festival Centre

Stephanie Rossetto is the Manager of Creative Content and Engagement at Adelaide Festival Centre, where she leads the creative team responsible for delivering the organisation's visual and digital storytelling – from social media campaigns and video content to venue signage and audience engagement experiences. With almost a decade of marketing and publicity experience, Stephanie plays a key role in shaping how audiences connect with Adelaide Festival Centre both inside and beyond the theatre walls. Driven by a genuine love of the arts and live performance, Stephanie thrives on connecting with the diverse range of artists and audiences who pass through the theatre – from aspiring performers to household names like Jimmy Barnes, Nigella Lawson and Jeff Goldblum – reflecting her belief that there is truly something for everyone at Adelaide Festival Centre.

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Day 1

Paul Gordon

Partner

Wallmans Lawyers

Paul is a commercial lawyer specialising in technology, media law, marketing, intellectual property, and corporate governance. One of Australia's leading experts on social media and privacy law, he is recognised in Doyles Guide as a Leading Technology, Media and Telecommunications Lawyer and listed in Best Lawyers in Australia. His annual legal update is one of the most popular sessions at Digital Adelaide – unpacking the laws and rulings that every marketer needs to know.

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Day 1

Sam Davies

Creative Leader & Strategist

KWP+ Partners

Sam Davies is a creative leader, strategist and entrepreneur with two decades of experience across brand, digital and creative industries. A designer by background and entrepreneur by instinct, Sam founded Digital Noir in 2011 and grew it into one of Adelaide's leading digital studios before merging it with KWP in 2021. Today, his focus sits at the intersection of brand, strategy, digital experience and commercial growth, helping leadership teams make clearer decisions in increasingly complex environments. Sam believes strong brands create commercial resilience – helping businesses hold their shape under pressure, stay distinctive in crowded markets and make better decisions when things become uncertain. As AI accelerates everything, Sam believes the next great advantage for businesses will not come from faster execution alone, but from better judgement, sharper thinking and more human decision-making. His view is simple: robots are not the enemy, robotic thinking is. He is also the host of Humans Aren't Robots, a podcast exploring creativity, leadership and the role of human thinking in an automated world.

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Day 1

Shanelle Franklin

Speaker, Author & Podcaster

Shanelle Franklin is a speaker, author, presenter and award-winning podcaster who creates connection through humour, storytelling and authentic human conversation. With a career spanning over 15 years across radio, television, podcasting, live events and speaking, Shanelle has built a reputation as a communicator who makes audiences laugh, think and feel something. Her experience includes national television, radio broadcasting, major live events and executive leadership forums, working with leading organisations and globally recognised brands across media, entertainment and business. Known for her warmth, authenticity and ability to hold a room, Shanelle blends humour with insight to explore resilience, leadership and the realities of modern life. She is the author of Because Adulthood Shouldn't Be This Boring, co-host of the award-winning podcast The Beautiful Nightmare, and a scheduled TEDxPerth 2026 speaker.

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Day 2 · Friday 7 August

Day 2

Geena Lamb

Social Media Lead

Adelaide University

Geena is an award-winning social media strategist with nearly a decade's experience in higher education marketing, having worked across the University of South Australia, the University of Adelaide, and now, Adelaide University. Currently leading social media for the new Adelaide University, she pairs creative instinct with strategic thinking to build social media experiences people actually want to follow.

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Day 2

Steven Dent

Head of Marketing, Content and Partnerships

Sweat

Steven Dent is Head of Marketing, Content and Partnerships at Sweat, founded by Kayla Itsines – one of the world's leading women's fitness apps, helping millions of women reach their fitness goals. With over 15 years in social media and digital marketing, he's spent his career at the intersection of community, content and commercial growth. At Sweat, he leads a team responsible for the Sweat brand, go to market strategies, in-app content and partnerships across global markets, with a focus on turning audience signals into product and content decisions – and why most brands are still leaving that opportunity on the table.

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Day 2

Rubina Carlson

Head of Marketing

90 Seconds

Rubina Carlson is Head of Marketing at 90 Seconds, leading the global marketing function from Adelaide. She's a Certified Practising Marketer with 15+ years of experience across tech, tourism, and higher education. Rubina is best known as an AI builder. She uses tools like Claude Code and Replit to ship marketing infrastructure most teams are still waiting for. That includes 90Labs, an AI-powered sales-enablement workspace used daily by 90 Seconds' global field team. She served as a Director of Digital Adelaide from 2015 to 2025 and grew the conference from 40 to 270-plus delegates. She holds a Bachelor of Media in Marketing from the University of Adelaide.

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Day 2

Kelly Dang

SEM Specialist

Refuel Creative

Kelly Dang is a Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Specialist at Refuel Creative, an award-winning digital marketing agency based in Adelaide. With a deep understanding of the paid media landscape, Kelly specialises in building, managing, and optimising high-performing paid search campaigns that drive real, measurable growth. From navigating seasonal high-stakes periods like Black Friday to outmanoeuvring competitor brand bidding, she has a proven track record of helping businesses maximise their market share and step on the gas when growth opportunities arise. Continually testing, learning, and analysing search trends, Kelly excels at transforming complex data into clear, scalable digital marketing strategies. She is excited to take the stage in the Ian McLachlan Room at Adelaide Oval to share actionable insights on maximising performance in today's highly contested search environment.

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Day 2

Ben Luks

Marketing Specialist

Subnet

Ben Luks is the Marketing Specialist at Subnet and has been working in the marketing field for nearly 15 years, primarily in the IT and software sector. Ben is a Fellow Certified Practising Marketer with the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI), and has previously served on the State Advisory Committee of the AMI in SA. He has also served as Chair of the AMI's Emerging Marketers Committee in SA. Ben completed his MBA from UniSA in 2023 and is a Graduate of AICD. He completed his Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Marketing, Management and International Business) from The University of Adelaide, before graduating with Honours in Marketing. Ben is also a Certified Practising Manager with the Institute of Managers and Leaders.

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Day 2

Lucy Bloomfield

Founder

Magic Marketer App

Lucy Bloomfield is the founder of Magic Marketer App, the app that makes Build In Public simple, fast, and scalable for personal brands. A marketer who's worked across growing startups and established organisations alike, Lucy built Magic Marketer App after recognising a universal problem: whether you're a solo founder or a marketing manager inside a larger business, showing up consistently online is harder than it looks - and the pressure to do it is only growing. Magic Marketer App is built for exactly that in-house marketer - giving them the power to run personal brand content across an entire team in the same time it would normally take just to handle the company's own marketing. At Digital Adelaide, Lucy brings a refreshingly honest take on one of marketing's most common growing pains: when leadership goes all-in on a trend before the strategy catches up. Her session, Your Boss Just Discovered Build In Public. Here's How Not To Panic, is equal parts survival guide and strategic playbook for marketers navigating top-down enthusiasm with grace (and a solid content plan). Lucy is based in Adelaide and is passionate about making smart marketing practical, accessible, and actually enjoyable - no matter the size of your team or your budget.

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Day 2

Meenakshi Iyer

Social Media Lead

River Torrens to Darlington Project

Meenakshi Iyer is a journalist-turned-content strategist with 15 years of experience shaping stories that connect and cut through. She's led digital storytelling for brands like ELLE, SeaLink and the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, turning big ideas into thumb-stopping content backed by strategy and a sharp understanding of what audiences care about. Currently, she leads social media for South Australia's largest infrastructure project – the River Torrens to Darlington Project – where she focuses on making complex, technical information clear, relatable and engaging. At her core, Meenakshi believes great content should do more than inform: it should build trust, spark connection and leave a lasting impact.

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Day 2

Cate Mayer

Marketing Manager

CAASie

Cate Mayer is a performance marketing leader with 15+ years of experience helping brands grow through smarter media strategy, sharper measurement and cross-channel thinking. Having worked across agency and in-house roles, she has led campaigns for B2B, education, finance and consumer brands, managing multimillion-dollar budgets across Google, LinkedIn, Meta and emerging platforms. Currently Marketing Manager at CAASie, Cate works at the intersection of digital and real-world media, helping brands access global digital out-of-home opportunities through self-service technology. Her experience spans both demand capture and demand creation channels, giving her a practical perspective on how modern teams should build balanced, high-performing marketing mixes. Known for translating complex performance concepts into clear commercial action, Cate is passionate about helping marketers move beyond last-click thinking and measure what truly drives growth. She brings hands-on operator experience, strategic thinking and straight-talking practicality to conversations around attribution, full-funnel strategy and the evolving role of channels like Reddit, audio, Pinterest and DOOH in today's media landscape.

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