Livonia , Mich. - Valassis, one of the nation's leading media and marketing services companies, announced today an upcoming conference of industry leaders on Emerging Marketing Technology, hosted by Valassis Relationship Marketing Systems (VRMS), the premier developer of customer database products for grocery, drug, convenience and mass retailers.

Over the course of the 18 years VRMS has been hosting this conference, it has drawn from its own experts, clients and thought leaders across industries to provide insight into new technologies, consumer behavior and marketing trends. Topics at the conference, to be held Sept. 19 through 21 in Orlando , Fla. , will include:
- Media Consumption in Today's World;
- Social Media Marketing;
- Trends in Loyalty;
- Consumer Behavior After the Economic Storm; and
- The New Frontier for Customer Marketing Relationship (CRM) Programs.

Featured speakers represent customer relationship marketing, social media, academia, media and information technology. At the summit, participants will hear from:

- Gareth Hershel, Gartner: He will share his 17 years of industry experience on the use of analytics to drive improved business performance in the area of customer relationships. Today, companies employ predictive analytics to drive better decisions. They apply social network analysis and text mining to improve their understanding of customer segmentation, value and satisfaction across the marketing and customer service channels.

- Stephanie Kovner-Bryant, Unilever: An expert in integrated marketing, Kovner-Bryant will present a case study on consumer packaged goods (CPG) integration. In 2009, she was named as one of Mobile Marketer's Mobile Women to Watch. Unilever is a leading global company whose portfolio includes major brand icons such as Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Degree, Dove personal care products, Hellmann's and Vaseline.

- Shareef Dajani, Yahoo!: Targeting for the future is the topic Dajani will address, drawing from his expertise with local partnerships for Yahoo! He also brings with him 18 years of experience in the advertising and marketing industry where he has worked for several top media companies. At Yahoo!, Dajani has developed strategies in relation to online coupons and display advertising.

Additional speakers will share insights from their roles at IZEA, LoyaltyOne US, Loyalty 360, Morning News Beat, Northwestern University , redplum.com, Valassis and VRMS

"The expertise shared at the summit ignites new ideas that participants take back to their respective companies," said Chris Linskey, VRMS General Manager. "These ideas are rooted in this exchange of information and enhance marketing plans utilizing new tools, data and learnings."

The conference attracts leaders from grocery, drug, convenience and mass retailers. About 50 companies will be represented from these industries. Registration is still available for those interested in attending the conference to be held at the Omni Championsgate Hotel in Orlando . Space is limited for this offering.

VRMS' software products are the most widely used CRM operational solutions in the marketplace today, serving a wide range of retailers, including grocery, drug, convenience and mass. Its CRM Solutions MarketExpert and TargetExpert are installed at major national retailers in the United States, Canada and Europe.