An in-depth discussion featuring AT&T Mobility’s Rob Russell, Industry Solutions Director, Consumer Goods, Retail and Hospitality and Siteworx VP of User Experience Giovanni Calabro

Mobile adoption among consumers of all income levels is growing exponentially. And yet, we’re still at the very beginning of the adoption curve.

If you’ve been around the Web for more than a few years, you’ve likely observed the mobile hype cycle ebb and flow with little overall impact to your Web strategy. We believe those days are over, and the reason is clear.

On Thursday, September 16 at 1 p.m. ET Siteworx will host a live Web event featuring AT&T Mobility’s Rob Russell, Industry Solutions Director, Consumer Goods, Retail and Hospitality and Siteworx VP of User Experience Giovanni Calabro.

During this moderated panel discussion, Rob and Giovanni will share some of the key design and technical hurdles that marketers must overcome to better serve and engage their users through the mobile channel.Key topics include:

• The pros and cons of native mobile apps vs. mobile web sites and compare customized mobile experiences to those leveraging off-the-shelf solutions
• The most effective techniques for identifying mobile users’ preferences and expectations
• Case examples of best practice mobile website and mobile application design, development and testing

Presenters:

Rob Russell, Industry Solutions Director, Consumer Goods, Retail and Hospitality – AT&T Mobility

Rob Russell has over 16 years of marketing, finance, and strategic planning experience with top consulting firms, major global brands and startups in the U.S. and overseas.

Rob currently serves as Industry Solutions Director at AT&T Mobility where he leads product development and interactive marketing strategy for consumer mobile marketing solutions such as opt-in text messaging, downloadable applications for augmented reality and m-commerce, 2D barcodes, and location based services.

Rob holds a BA, in Economics and International Relations and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from George Washington University.

Giovanni Calabro, VP of User Experience, Siteworx, Inc.

Giovanni Calabro has over 13 years of experience leading interactive research and design efforts for a wide range of business sectors. At Siteworx, Giovanni leads the design team responsible for user experience strategy, brand analysis, search engine optimization (SEO), search and analytics integration and social media strategy. With clients as diverse as MTV Networks, USATODAY.com, NPR, and JPMorgan Chase, Giovanni’s team provides expert strategy and advice in the areas of stakeholder and staff alignment and new publishing models for emerging platforms such as social media and mobile channels.

Prior to Siteworx, Giovanni worked for washingtonpost.com, where he organized coverage and coordinated design strategy for special projects such as Sitewide Redesign, Iraqi War, Elections 2004, and D.C. Sniper Coverage. His team’s unique approach to covering the D.C. Sniper story was covered as a case study in the use of multimedia and interactivity in the book, “Flash Journalism: How to Create Multimedia News Packages”.

Giovanni is a member of Usability Professionals Association International, The American Society for Information Science & Technology and graduated from George Mason University with a B.A. in Communications. Read Giovanni’s Design blog on FastCompany.com.

Moderator:   

Jason Munson, General Manager, Siteworx Atlanta

Jason Munson is General Manager of Siteworx – Atlanta.As GM, Jason leads project teams responsible for developing cutting-edge approaches to social media, mobile and content management challenges.

Prior to Siteworx, Jason spent more than 10 years as a Product Management Director at Aol where he led several key initiatives including International Portals, Homework Help Search, Safety and Security Premium Services, International Clients, and Connectivity.

Jason is also a Contributing Author at CMSWire.com, and Founder/Organizer of the AolReunion.com event series. For more on Jason, follow him on Twitter @JasonMunson.