Ask any knowledgable marketer or technologist today what's next and one of the most common answers you'll get is "mobile." Social Media Club Louisville will focus our August event on understanding more about mobile marketing as we present a panel discussion of the industry, how companies can utilize mobile marketing to connect with customers and even some lessons learned from experienced mobile professionals. The event will take place Tuesday, August 17 from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m at Ice Box Co-Labs at 217 East Main Street. Hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar will be provided, courtesy of Verizon Wireless.

The panel will feature moderator and experienced mobile strategist Chris Bergman from Wiseacre Digital; Robert Strojan, CEO of mobile application company Blackout Labs, Brian Raney of Awesome Inc., a business incubator that hosts mobile marketing developer events and Ben Loetz, data sales manager for Verizon Wireless. The discussion will focus on the state of the mobile marketing industry, what's in store for the future of mobile marketing, how companies can leverage mobile marketing to drive business and the successes and failures of the panel participants in their mobile marketing experiences. The discussion will include information and insight on SMS/text messaging, mobile websites and mobile applications popularized by the advent of smart phones.

The evening is being presented by Verizon Wireless which will have several models of their latest line of phones, including the new Droid X, on hand for participants to experience. There will be informal networking both before and after the panel discussion, which is scheduled to begin approximately 7 p.m. The event is being hosted by Ice Box Co-Labs, a new co-working environment in downtown Louisville.

Attending the event is free, but Social Media Club Louisville does ask participants to RSVP to ensure accurate head counts for space, seating and food purposes. You may RSVP at the event posting online at http://smclouisville.org.