Boomtown announces first 2025 Masterclass with must-see expert marketer and media panel held online, 10am Thursday 13 February 2025

Boomtown, the collective representing the 9.8 million people living in regional Australia, today announced its first Masterclass of 2025, featuring a panel of must-see 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 10am 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, CMO 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 is one of the brightest strategic minds in Australia. Having spent nearly 23 years at Mindshare, and now over two years in the WPP role, Rigg-Smith was one of the first women to be appointed CEO of a media agency nationwide. Throughout her career, Rigg-Smith has been recognised both nationally and internationally for her contribution to the media industry, including being 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. Howe has also been formally recognised for her work, winning several Effies for US campaigns for Kellogg’s. She was also listed on the CMO50 list in 2018 and 2019.

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. Her passion for connecting brands with ambassadors was the basis for her co-founding Talent Corp. Since its inception, Talent Corp has worked with dozens of iconic brands including KFC, ClubsNSW, Spinaleze, Lorna Jane, Hairhouse, ModiBodi, Suzuki Qld and more.

Boomtown Marketing Lead, Leanne Glamuzina, said: “Our 2024 Boomtown Masterclass series were incredibly well-received, with a 9.5 average rating score from previous attendees.

“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 popular 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% share of the national advertising dollar in FY24.

Next year, Boomtown will continue its efforts to take a bigger portion of national media budgets, following sustained growth in regional Australia markets.

To register for the February Masterclass, visit: https://boomtown.media/education/