Trains, Planes And Automobiles: Getting You Outside “The Conference Center”

pepsico

Trains, Planes And Automobiles: Getting You Outside “The Conference Center”

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

Following on yesterday’s post by Toby Daniels, we thought it might be helpful to provide some inspirational examples of some ways in which the Social Media Week platform can deliver upon these new ideas of “experience design” for events.

In just a few short years since its inception in February 2009, there have been hundreds of Social Media Week events that have taken place across the fifteen cities that have hosted SMW. It’s true that many of these events have been panel discussions, but there has also been a consistent stream of exciting, innovative and creative attempts to bring people and ideas together while making use of the flexibility of the Social Media Week platform and the outgoing and adventurousness of its community.

While there are countless examples to draw from, I wanted to pull out three particularly innovative ideas that constitute a sort of “trains, planes and automobiles” theme.

TRAINS

Possibly my favorite Social Media Week idea yet, this event in SMW Rome last February really shows how a smart idea can pick up steam and carry a freight train’s worth of impact when executed well and by the right folks (pardon the puns).

“Journey to the Center of the Net”, organized by Augmendy, SMW city partners for both Rome and Milan,took the idea of a pre-SMW kickoff event and put it rails. Many SMW cities host pre-week launch events as press conferences, lunches or virtual events, but Augmendy had the ingenious idea to go above and beyond all of that with a cross-country blast that managed to combine all of the above plus networking, high-speed travel and multiple SMW city connectivity.

How did it all happen? For ”Journey to the Center of the Net”, the Augmendy team worked with SMW Rome sponsor Ferrovie Dello Stato, aka the Italian Rail, to commandeer a high speed train heading from Milan to Rome for an SMW journey like no other. This event pulled in leaders and luminaries from the Italian tech, media and press and invited them to take the three hour trip across SMW cities to connect and learn more about social media “in Italia”. This event featured an immersive cultural speed dating experience where attendees rotated on 10 minute shifts of meeting face-to-face with other train attendees. The event then wrapped with a press conference at the Central Station, where SMW Rome held court throughout the week.

PLANES

Another great example of the flexible, multi-city framework of Social Media Week providing event inspiration in ways no other conference platform can provide includes last February’s participation of PepsiCo, who sent Bonin Bough, their global director of digital media, on a worldwide tour across three cities during the February SMW program.

Beginning at the opening global press conference in New York on the Thursday before the week, Bonin helped commence the week with remarks about SMW and the exciting things to come throughout the week. He then began a whirlwind of activity to discuss the idea of Brands in a Borderless Society that should include the phrase: Don’t Try This At Home:

He flew to London to oversee PepsiCo involvement in a panel there on the week’s opening day,
Then flew to Sao Paulo to give a midweek keynote to a packed crowd and
Finally, returned to New York to provide closing remarks at JWT’s Business Media and Communications Hub

And somehow Bonin even had the energy to attend the official Closing Party that evening! Truly a showcase of what can be accomplished when a conference connects not just a city but a global community, and a great opportunity for PepsiCo to make a worldwide impact in just one week.

AUTOMOBILES

Not every great Social Media Week event idea must involve high-speed transit or international travel.

One great city-focused idea put forth during the February 2010 conference in New York was by an organization called Dollar Van Demos, who decided to enact their unique brand of travel-meets-art on an excited and willing Social Media Week audience. Dollar Van Demos showcase musicians, rappers and comedians performing inside a “dollar van” with real passengers. They brought their talents to SMW by integrating with the platform and to provide rides and entertainment for conference-goers all over the city through tweet and email requests for pickup. Dollar Van Demos Live!” was not just a hit, but a great showcase of how an organization can think outside the box to showcase what the do and connect with a larger network.

See below for a quick example of one Dollar Van Demo captured during the week:

So what can your brand do to take part in Social Media Week this September? Brainstorm and think big, and maybe your organization just might be the one to make a splash this September in your city or perhaps around the globe. If you know already, go here to submit your event or get involved, or contact us if you want help talking through an idea.

Tags: "sao paulo", Augmendy, get involved, london, milan, pepsico, rome
Posted in Event Spotlight, Featured, Getting Involved, global

Video Highlights from Borderless Brands Launch Event at JWT June 1

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

We shared with you earlier today our recap of last week’s Borderless Brands launch event at JWT.

The event served to both introduce the Borderless Brands iniative as well as feature a conversation talking through the concept of what it means to be a Borderless Brand and what challenges those brands face in innovating for the future.

For those of you who missed the event, included below now are a number of highlight videos from the event.

SMW Borderless Brands: Toby Daniels Gives an Overview of Borderless Brands Initiative

SMW Borderless Brands: Toby Daniels Discusses Ways To Get Involved With Borderless Brands

Borderless Brands: Social Space Exploration recap

Carolyn Everson of Facebook Discusses Importance of Global Conversations

Bonin Bough & Freddie Laker Discuss Shaping Global Organizations

Freddie Laker Discusses Importance of Brand Passion Points

Carolyn Everson on How Facebook Innovates

How Brands Handle Language Differences Across Borders

About Social Media Week’s Borderless Brands Program

As part of Social Media Week this September 19-23, the Borderless Brands program will take 10-15 participating brands on a unique tour of three international cities over five days to meet and engage with some of the world’s top emerging media and technology influencers, representing an incredible opportunity for brand marketers to close the gap between where society and organizations are in their understanding and adoption of social media tools and technologies.

If you are interested in learning more contact Toby Daniels to discuss ways that you can get involved.

Tags: AOL, borderless brands, Event Spotlight, facebook, GE, global, jwt, New York, pepsico, sapient nitro, social media week, video
Posted in Borderless Brands, Business, Media & Communications, Event Spotlight

RECAP: Borderless Brands Initiative Launch Event at JWT, June 1

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

“Are we prepared to adapt?”

This was a question posed by Bonin Bough, global director of digital for PepsiCo last week at JWT during the Social Media Week launch event for Borderless Brands, a new program that aims to provide marketers with unique perspectives into how social media is impacting global brand communications.

This Darwin-esque interrogative set the stage for an evening designed to showcase the underlying principles of Social Media Week’s new Borderless Brands platform, through a panel discussion featuring marketing and branding leads from Facebook, GE, PepsiCo, AOL, JWT and SapientNitro, starting with Bough’s preamble, “Achieving Digital Fitness in a Borderless World”.

Borderless Brands panelists (l-r): Bonin Bough, Peter Nicholson, Taylor Gray, Linda Boff, Freddie Laker, Carolyn Everson and moderator Todd Wasserman

Bough’s question of “Are we prepared to adapt?” was highly germane to the evening and was asked repeatedly during the hour and a half of conversation.

Social and technological innovations and an ability to connect with and get feedback from the consumer are driving these adaptions, said Taylor Gray, VP of Marketing & Social Media Strategy, AOL Huffington Post Media Group: “Companies and brands have an incredible opportunity between the technology and the platform to give a much broader experience of their brand and their company to consumers.”

Organizations big and small around the globe have begun to understand that the age of Borderless Brands demands similar ideas about the need for change and adaption, as well as in listening to the consumer. On how her company GE has been able to grow and evolve in the 21st century, Linda Boff, Global Director of Marketing, said that she realized that “We’ve got to get out of the business of just talking and start listening and engage one-on-one.”

“Social is a great listening mechanism and an incredible way to transform your business. We think the most interesting businesses are saying, ‘How do we redesign our business?’” said Carolyn Everson, Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook. Everson stated that “two and a half million businesses have given up on their own website and have put their presence on Facebook pages: ‘We’re going to go where the people are and be part of the social network.’”

But right now, not everyone has figured this out yet, according to Peter Nicholson, Chief Creative Officer of JWT, but in order to survive, they must, he said. “A lot of brands are afraid to take risks. They are precious about their messages and what to put out… but at some point you have to throw uncertainty out the window.”

At Facebook, it’s written on the wall that “It’s OK to break things,” said Everson, but it’s hard for many brand marketers to have the courage–and internal backing–to take such risks.

“We need to exercise those muscles so we feel comfortable with them and we will see more risk taking as a result,” said Bough, whose company PepsiCo was referenced repeatedly as a chief innovator and a brand unafraid of learning new ways to engage and adapt. According to Bough, “Those organizations who have figured out how to deliver strong, global passionate campaigns around the world have been able to change their business.”

Bonin Bough, Global Director of Digital, PepsiCo

Throughout the evening, the speakers were lively and engaged as the conversation ranged throughout to answer the six questions listed above defining Borderless Brands. At the end of the day, while many brands are daunted about the potential adaptions and evolutions required of them to grow in today’s borderless age, but for those that do, the possibilities are endless. “If you can use [data compiled from Facebook and others] in an amazing way, you will be able to communicate with consumers in a way that has never been possible before this time. The relevancy that you can deliver through this insight is mind-boggling,” said Freddie Laker, Vice President of Digital Strategy for Global Brands, SapientNitro.

It was a fascinating evening, and the first of many conversations to take place over the next few months on the topic of Borderless Brands. See more photos from the event at the SMW Flickr page here.

Toby Daniels, Founder and Executive Director, Social Media Work

Toby Daniels, Founder and Executive Director, Social Media Week”

About Borderless Brands As part of Social Media Week this September 19-23, the Borderless Brands program will take 10-15 participating brands on a unique tour of three international cities over five days to meet and engage with some of the world’s top emerging media and technology influencers, representing an incredible opportunity for brand marketers to close the gap between where society and organizations are in their understanding and adoption of social media tools and technologies. If you are interested in learning more about the Borderless Brands initiative and would like to find out if you and your company are qualified to participate, contact Toby Daniels for a meeting and consultation.

Tags: announcement, AOL, borderless brands, Event Spotlight, facebook, GE, global, jwt, New York, pepsico, sapient nitro, social media week
Posted in Business, Media & Communications, Event Spotlight, global

Line Up of Cities Announced for September 2011 Events and Your Chance to Get Involved

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Today we are thrilled to announce the (nearly) final locations for the next edition of Social Media Week (SMW) this September 19-23, 2011 and, most importantly, details on how you or your company can Get Involved in the global event.The initial lineup of seven confirmed locations announced in April included returning cities Milan, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, and São Paulo, plus new entrants from Rio de Janeiro and Moscow. Today we are adding four additional cities, beginning with returning city Los Angeles, and new cities Vancouver, Beirut, and Glasgow.

With these additions, SMW September 2011 will take part in eleven cities across four continents, offering a great diversity in both geographic and cultural locations. There is still a possibility that one or two more cities may be confirmed, but as of today we are not accepting any new city applications for September. If you wish to apply to host in February 2012, you can do so here.

Social Media Week Timetable
Following on from today’s announcement, here’s an overview of some important dates and milestones between now and the September conference:

May 11: Get Involved Announcement - “Get Involved” in SMW September 2011 (sponsors, media partners, speakers, event hosts, venue providers, etc.)
June 14: Event Submission – Local Event Proposal Submission Opens (submit an event idea, or theme or topic that you would like to see covered)
July 6: City Agendas Announced – Initial Programs in Each City To Be Shared (early look at the agenda’s and program outline in each city)

Note: These dates and milestones are subject to change. We will provide more detail in the coming weeks/months.

Over the next two and a half months each of our Social Media Week cities will begin activating their communities and kicking off the ideation process around the events, themes and topics that they want to cover during the week.

In the past, our partners around the world have brought incredible creativity to their events and helped to shape programs that are both diverse from a content standpoint and also exciting from an experiential perspective. Some of the most exciting and fulfilling of these collaborations include: SMW Rome kicking off with a commandeered train ride and event from Milan to Rome train sponsored by Ferrovie della Stato (the Italian Railways); the Ogilvy-hosted Ideas Pop-up Shop at SMW London; the virtual/global Nokia Connects web application; the SMW New York Business, Media & Communications Hub at JWT; Bonin Bough of PepsiCo’s three city SMW tour of London, Sao Paulo, and New York; and SMW Bogota’s Open Day at the Casa de Editorial at El Tiempo.

PepsiCo’s Bonin Bough speaks to Shelly Palmer about Social Media Week

As an open and collaborative platform, Social Media Week provides many additional ways to participate, including curating and hosting events, speaking and presenting, designing workshops, sponsoring campaigns, parties and mixers, facilitating interviews, providing editorial coverage, providing custom design and web development, volunteering staff and participating on the local committees and city advisory boards.

Wrap-up overview of Social Media Week Rome

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of some of the ways you and your organization can participate:

Host an event: Join the ranks of Google, the BBC, New York Times, MTV, JWT, MoMA, Edelman, and others who have all hosted events at their space during previous conferences.
Volunteer: Join the host committee in your city, work at the events, support the communications team, help with outreach. There are many ways to get involved individually.
Provide in-kind products/services to attendees: Much like Foursquare, Livestream and Mobile Roadie, your company could provide services to SMW attendees that enhance and improve their experience.
Speaking opportunities: Do you have domain specialism? Do you want to share your ideas with a broader audience?
Sponsor an event: While many events will place throughout each city during the week, sponsored events receive additional promotion and curatorial assistance from the local and global SMW teams, giving your brand or organization even more opportunities to connect and engage with an audience of hyper-social influencers.
Sponsor SMW Globally or Regionally: Want to reach an even broader or global audience? Unveil a campaign or series of events across multiple destinations? Get the highest level of visibility and dedicated support from SMW with a global sponsorship.

Of Social Media Week, Bonin Bough, Global Director of Social and Digital Media for PepsiCo, has said, “Social Media Week is a truly global phenomenon—showcasing borderless brands and communications, via the power of social media. We are proud to have been an integral partner—with PepsiCo employees contributing to discussions and idea exchanges on three continents and there, demonstrating the depth and breadth to which digital media is permeating our company.”

With nine cities and 30,000 worldwide attendees participating in February 2011’s Social Media Week, it seems almost hard to believe that Social Media Week can continue to grow with each successive outing; but with eleven cities on-board for September 2011 and a global community that grows larger by the day, all signs indicate the next edition will be the biggest Social Media Week yet.

Social Media Week Global Wrap Up Video (February 2011)

If you have any questions about Social Media Week or getting involved, please contact Ben Scheim at ben@crowdcentric.net for more information.

Tags: #smw, announcement, global, jwt, partnerships, pepsico, schedule, smw11, social media week
Posted in Getting Involved, global

5 Questions with….Jamie Stein, Director of Digital Initiatives at PepsiCo

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

This post is part of a weekly series called “5 Questions With…” featuring Q&As with Social Media Week Global Advisory Board members

Jamie Stein is the Director of Digital Initiatives at PepsiCo and we were lucky enough to catch up with her to discuss SMW and her newest initiative, PepsiCo Win. You can register for her panel, Building Brand Advocacy Among Women Using Social Media here.

Q: When and why did PepsiCo first get involved with Social Media Week?
Jamie Stein: PepsiCo has been a collaborator and significant supporter of Social Media Week since the early days. It’s great to see SMW grow in influence and become a premier global stage and launch-pad for news. It’s a unique opportunity to collaborate with the digital leaders of today and tomorrow around the world. We truly believe in the power of digital to help achieve our company visions and goals – and see our participation in Social Media Week as part of that path.

As part of our global partnership, we are activating in key markets—Sao Paolo, London and New York. In all, more than 30 digital leaders at PepsiCo are participating in panels and keynote addresses. It’s about one digital community – building relationships, driving innovation and harnessing thought-leadership from around the world.

Q: Tell us about the panel that you’re doing on Friday and why the topic is significant to PepsiCo’s initiatives.
JS: The panel on Friday is called “Building Brand Advocacy Among Women Using Social Media” and will focus on the increasing influence women have in social media and its impact. We’ve assembled a terrific panel with prominent female leaders who can speak to how brands are engaging these women through cause, community and content.

– Lindsay Avner, Founder and Executive Director, Bright Pink
– Jory Des Jardins, President and Co-founder, BlogHer
– Catherine Balsam-Schwaber, SVP of Marketing at iVillage
– Natalia Oberti Noguera, Founder and CEO of Pipeline Fund
– Christine Cea, Director of Communications, Unilever (TBD)

This topic is especially important to PepsiCo as we believe in the collective power of women as the most powerful force in society – and the marketplace. The greatest changes in society – in nutrition, health and the environment — have been forged by women; women are no less a driving force in business. Their influence can be felt both inside and outside companies. Now with connectivity, women have extraordinary power and reach. .

That is why we’re excited to launch the PepsiCo’s Women’s Inspiration Network at this year’s Social Media Week. PepsiCo WIN is an online interactive network offering video content on topics important to women. We share a behind-the scenes look at events, offer interviews with experts across a variety of topics and discuss trends and latest digital information. We cover both the fun and the informative in a way that encourages conversation and provides inspiration.

Q: What is a major trend you see rising in the social media space?
JS: One of the most important trends we are currently seeing in the social media space is the growing importance of women as influential social media users. As a company, we are investing in efforts to engage them at a corporate level as well as across the PepsiCo enterprise
– 86 percent of women in the U.S. have a profile on a social networking site and 72 percent log on everyday
– Of those online women:
– 44% are mothers
– 33% are college grads
– 11% have incomes of 100k +
– 60 percent are married
– And social and digital marketing is impacting what they buy — 53% of women who use social networking made purchases based on blog posts

Q: How do you use social media for both personal and professional use?
JS: Professionally, I’m excited to use PepsiCo WIN as a great leap forward in our global conversation with influencers. Our long-term goal for the network is to create a robust online community with interesting, informative content provided by PepsiCo, but also contributed by women around the world. We want to foster a two-way dialogue and provide a snapshot into what is going on with women, and what is important to them on a global scale.

Personally, I’m active on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook, and am extremely interested in connecting with female influencers to constantly learn more about the digital space and keep on top of the latest trends.

Q: What are you looking forward to the most during Social Media Week 2011?
JS: I’m extremely excited about all of our PepsiCo-curated panels as well as third-party panels at which our PepsiCo and brand team members, and am looking forward to seeing the public response to PepsiCo WIN and engaging with influencers and fans alike.

Tags: advisory board, panel, pepsico, Social Media Week NY
Posted in 5 Questions With, Advisory Board, Event Spotlight, global, Interviews

From PepsiCo’s Living the Promise Blog: Social Media in Brazil

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

By Regina Teixeira

Cross-posted from PepsiCo’s Living the Promise Blog

Our tendency as a company is to communicate and relate to different audiences. That’s why PepsiCo has stood out as a pioneer in social media – finding channels to communicate with the company’s consumers around the world.

But more than an opportunity to talk about brands and new products, our social media channels were always seen as an exceptional means to communicate the company’s vision for sustainability – called Performance with Purpose.

In 2011, the company’s investments in social media will continue to engage consumers in the dialogue about the company’s activities. In Brazil and around the world, Performance with Purpose is already present in this dialogue and inspires the brand’s actions. PepsiCo’s support of the Operation Smile NGO in Brazil, for example, has benefited underprivileged children with surgeries to correct cleft lips. Besides supporting the program, the online campaign multiplied the number of surgeries supported by the company.

The company’s partnership with Young Americas Business Trust (YABT), an NGO that works in collaboration with the Organization of American States (OAS), is also promoting, for the second consecutive year, the Eco Challenge, a competition aimed at young entrepreneurs in Latin America who care about preserving the environment through innovation and entrepreneurship.

But rather than speaking about sustainability, PepsiCo wants to hear the Brazilian public on the company’s activities. That’s why, after the channels created by our foods and beverages brands, PepsiCo Brazil created its corporate profiles in 2010. PepsiCo Brazil launched profiles on Twitter (@PepsicoBrasil), Facebook and Orkut.

For all that, we’re happy to participate in Social Media Week São Paulo, exchange ideas and talk about all that’s coming this year. See you there!

Para ler em português, clique aqui.

Tags: brazil, pepsi refresh, pepsico, social media, social media week
Posted in Coverage, global

From PepsiCo’s Living the Promise Blog: Social Media Week 2011!

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

By Josh Karpf

Cross-posted from PepsiCo’s Living the Promise Blog

This week is Social Media Week all around the world. Once again, PepsCo is involved and we’re thrilled to be participating! In fact, last year we launched the Pepsi Refresh Project at Social Media Week which speaks to the how important we think it is at PepsiCo.

Sitting at the launch press conference last Thursday, I was reminded of the impressive global growth of this little event. Executive Director of SMW, Toby Daniels, walked through the massive changes. There are over 15 cities globally taking part in the event, planning micro-conferences and networking sessions this week; each coordinating on their own, yet feeding ideas and collaborating with the other host cities. It’s a massive endeavor. So much energy is coming out of each host city, that you can’t help but be excited about the power of social media. Hearing NY Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith at the event, talking about the need to invest in technology and communications, and to make NY (PepsCo’s background) a big component of that, was great to see.

However, if you look at the content of the events, you would quickly notice that Social Media Week events aren’t really focused on Social Media and Marketing, or Social Media and Advertising. But they are exploring how social media is effecting industries like Energy, Healthcare and Global Economics. One needs only look at our newspapers to understand the power of social media on society. It’s this power which SMW is celebrating.

At PepsiCo, we are excited to be involved – It’s not just a platform to connect with the space, it’s also an opportunity for us to create a “digitally-enabled” culture inside the company. You may have read a blog post from our colleagues in Brazil (translated too) discussing their activations for SMW. They will be attending events and exposing a number of employees. In fact, we have employees on four continents involved this year! This isn’t just an opportunity to go to fun events and conferences – it’s part of the digital understanding we are trying to build. We all know the trends point towards a 100% digital future – and we need to have a big role in that, because this is how our consumers view the world. We need to be where they are – understand the language and be prepared to participate!

I am traveling to London where I’ll be working with PepsiCo employees, attending social media week events and meeting with agencies and technology companies!

Tags: 2011, pepsi refresh, pepsico, social media week
Posted in City Focus, global

Branding the Future with PepsiCo

Monday, February 1st, 2010

About this Guest Blogger: Ilana Arazie is a vlogger and blogger who writes at Social Times and Downtown Dharma. You can follow Ilana on Twitter @ilanadonna.

The times they are a-shifting!

Adweek’s Brian Morrissey this morning moderated “Branding the Future with Social Engagement,” a PepsiCo-sponsored event comprised of the brand’s judging panel for its new Refresh campaign, which strives to put power directly into the hands of consumers.

The panel consisted of Lauren Hobart, CMO of Sparkling Brands for Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages; Max Schorr, co-founder of GOOD, Inc.; Facebook’s VP Fabio Freyre and PepsiCo Chief Engagement Officer Frank Cooper. This group will ultimately decide how PepsiCo will spend the $20 million being funneled into community-enhancing projects via the Refresh campaign, which went live this morning on PepsiCo’s Web site.

Adweeks Brian Morrissey joins panelists from PepsiCo and Facebook to dicuss the brands new Refresh campaign. Photo by Leora Israel.

Adweek's Brian Morrissey joins panelists from PepsiCo, GOOD Inc. and Facebook to discuss the brand's new Refresh campaign. Photo by Leora Israel.

Morrissey asked how Pepsi’s leadership approached its decision to leap into the social media world. Hobart said momentum grew quickly with a consensus belief that the best way to drive a campaign is from the ground up. With that, change at Pepsi’s headquarters rose to the top. Campaigns will not work without two-way engagement with the consumer, he added.

Measurement was a hot-button topic for audience members interacting with the panel. While Pepsi uses many different types of measurement services, the company is largely focused on creating buzz and driving Pepsi engagement offline.

Freyre said he was impressed by Pepsi’s courage to embrace transparency, ignite crowd-sourcing and engage an audience using the social Web. Social media is responsible for bringing a face to the problems we face and the people who most need our help, added Schorr, who is also facilitating Pepsi’s Refresh campaign.

Photo by Leora Israel.

Panelists said that at PepsiCo’s last Town Hall meeting, employees were visibly moved by how social media can affect change. Given this, it seems social media is building morale internally as well as externally for PepsiCo.

A streaming press conference followed the panel; featuring Demi Moore and Kevin Bacon, both of whom have partnered with Pepsi on the Refresh Project. You can follow the initiative at www.refresheverything.com or on Twitter @Pepsi and by using the #pepsirefesh hashtag.

Photos by Leora Israel. You can follow her on Twitter @leoraisrael and via randomnightout.com.

Tags: facebook, GOOD inc, pepsico
Posted in News

Global Press Conference Kicks Off Social Media Week 2010

Monday, February 1st, 2010

About this Guest Blogger: Ilana Arazie is a vlogger and blogger who writes at Social Times and Downtown Dharma. You can follow Ilana on Twitter @ilanadonna.

The Second Annual Social Media Week kicked off today at the Paley Center in New York with more than 100 digital innovators and members of the press in attendance.

Instantly stealing the show was PepsiCo, which this morning unveiled its Refresh campaign. Pepsi will donate $20 million to ideas big and small that strive to move communities forward, said Frank Cooper, Chief Consumer Engagement Officer of PepsiCo. For more information, check out our Q&A with Cooper right here on the SMW blog.

Frank Cooper, Chief Engagement Officer at PepsiCo, speaks at the SMW Opening Press Conference. Photo by Leora Israel.

This campaign comes on the heels of PepsiCo’s ongoing commitment to top-to-bottom rebranding with social media platforms. Starting today, anyone can go online to submit ideas and vote on their favorites.

Toby Daniels, Social Media Week’s founder, pulled off an impressive lineup this year. He doubled global participation to 6,000 and scheduled nearly 200 events for the week that will take place simultaneously in New York, San Francisco, Berlin, London, Toronto and San Paulo.

A testament to the conference’s multinational scope, festival organizers in each city made real-time cameos during the opening press event to share their event lineups for the week.

“Through these events and real-time communication tools like Twitter and Meebo, we are fostering cross-collaboration and learning how to leverage social media for future benefits,” Daniels said.

Toby Daniels speaks at the Opening Press Conference. Photo by Leora Israel.

Pip Marquez de la Plata of Meebo – Social Media Week’s Global Headline Sponsor – discussed the difficulty of defining social media. He read a Wikipedia definition to the audience before adding, “We need this week to further clarify what this media is and what it can do.”

Ian Shafer, founder of Deep Focus, was especially passionate. He told the crowd that social media brings us closer to the world around us. For example, it can force government to listen to people and get corporations to listen to customers.

“This week, I’m really looking forward to conflicting points of view,” he said. “We can agree that everything in media has been disrupted. And everyone thinks they are right — which is exciting.”

Ilana Arazie and Toby Daniels. Photo by Leora Israel.

These lively debates will increase as the week’s events unfold. Don’t forget to continue the conversation right here on the blog (via comments), and on Twitter by using the #smw hashtag.

Photos by Leora Israel. You can follow her on Twitter @leoraisrael and via randomnightout.com.

Tags: deep focus, meebo, pepsico
Posted in News

Page 1 of 212

Social Media Week

February 13-17, 2012

NOW OPEN

Social Media Week

pepsico