• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, August 8, 2011

As it finalizes the agenda for its FutureM series of marketing and technology-related events in the Greater Boston area next month, the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX) has identified a half dozen themes likely to impact the future of marketing. Those themes, which were gleaned from more than 100 organizations that submitted ideas for the week-long series of conferences, events and presentations during FutureM include:

* Customer-permitted target marketing * Effortless applications and interfaces - making sure the right technology is in front of a user at the right time - will lead the next wave of consumers (late adopters) to embrace digital media

* Mobile commerce technology platforms continue to emerge - Multi-platform buying options will force mobile commerce to find its place in the purchase chain

* New processes are emerging to drive a reshaping of the online commerce channels, integrating social media, search preferences and traditional marketing to deliver a new selling and buying experience

* 4G will deliver the platform that many businesses and content providers have been waiting for to make their smartphone and tablet application dreams a reality

While those themes shouldn't be surprising, given the nature of MITX, a unique trade organization blending marketing, technology, academic and financial leaders based in New England, they appear to be the ones that currently are most likely to impact the way marketers work with technology to influence consumers.

"We began by reaching out to our community to get their perspective on what they would like to take place at FutureM," says MITX President Debi Kleiman, noting that more than 100 proposals were submitted, from which MITX accepted about 60 that comprise the current agenda of FutureM.

"There were some threads coming across in terms of what was most often mentioned," she adds.

Kleiman said the analysis was more "back-of-the-envelope" than scientific, and noted that new themes continue to emerge even as MITX ratifies its final agenda, because technological innovation happens so fast that a month from now when FutureM kicks off in Boston and Cambridge, some of the themes and priorities may have changed.

"We're getting more details about sessions each day, and things continue to change," she explains, noting, "Google+ wasn't even on our radar when we began doing this. Now we're pulling together a session on Google+."

The full current agenda can be found here on the FutureM events page.