Tag: marketing

Beyond The Moonwalking Bear: New Ideas In Understanding Human Attention

Posted on by Nicole Brown

How does advertising need to change in order to adapt to a fragmented, saturated media culture and a sweeping evolution in how people communicate? The ad industry has discussed ad nauseam by now that it’s tough to get through to distracted, overloaded consumers — we’ve all seen that “moonwalking bear” video that explains human attention, probably multiple times.

We’ve acknowledged that we can’t actually increase the capacity for human attention, and how it’s a problem for advertisers, marketers, and storytellers in our hyperconnected world. So how do we actually apply this knowledge to day-to-day leadership in the industry?

On Tuesday February 24, join Sarah Hofstetter, CEO of 360i, Joe Marchese, CEO of true[x] and Faris Yakob, Principal at Genius Steals, as they examine the problem of attention from a decision-making standpoint.

 

To attend this event, get your pass today here, and join us and our partners for what will be an extraordinary week of exploring our upwardly mobile, connected world. Grab your pass to get full access to SMWNYC!

Growth Hacking Quick Wins: Strategies To Increase Customer Base

Posted on by Nicole Brown

Growth hackers are a hybrid of marketer and coder, one who looks at the traditional question of “How do I get customers for my product?” and answers with A/B tests, landing pages, viral factor, email deliverability, and Open Graph. Some of the most successful startups of all time have used growth hacking techniques to grow products up to millions, 10s of millions, and in some cases 100M+ users, including Facebook, Mint, Dropbox, Zynga, Twitter, Pinterest and Quora.

There are a lot of things you could be doing (or at least testing) that you probably aren’t. Instead of talking about a lot of theory, on Wednesday February 25, Mattan Griffel, Founder and CEO of One Month, will share ideas for what you should be doing and why. He’ll also cover some interesting case studies from companies to see what worked and what didn’t.

This Master Class is targeted to marketers, business developers, startups, and anyone looking to get more users and grow their products. Users will not only learn about growth hacking and the methods that come with it, they’ll walk away with tactical, practical skills and strategies to significantly increase their customer base.

 

We’ve announced many new incredible official and independent events. Check out the latest lineup here.

Get your pass today here, and join us and our partners for what will be an extraordinary week of exploring our upwardly mobile, connected world. Grab your pass to get full access to SMWNYC!

Marketing Lessons From Crowdfunding: The Psychology Of Success

Posted on by Nicole Brown

Storytelling. Platform. Pricing. Scarcity. Urgency.

Platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have completely changed how entrepreneurial and creative projects get funded and launched. But crowdfunding, like any business venture, requires more than just a dream. It takes planning, research, great marketing, and a true understanding of human psychology to know what will be successful.

On Thursday February 26, Clay Hebert, who has helped over 100 entrepreneurs raise over $25 million on these platforms, will lead an interactive tour through a series of interesting projects, Clay will explain what’s working today (and what marketers can steal) but also why the future of marketing will be very different.

 

Find out about all the great talks, events and speakers at this year’s Social Media Week New York event here.

Make Videos That Matter With These Tips From BuzzFeed, Mashable And Vimeo

Posted on by Nicole Brown

Video is the future of content marketing. That is, if it’s not the here and now. But celebs, cute cats and babies don’t guarantee viral success.

To learn the secrets for making killer videos, we’ve highlighted the best events taking place at Social Media Week NYC:

Creating Video Content For How It’s Consumed

Join us as Jonathan Perelman, BuzzFeed Motion Picture’s Vice President examines the evolution of media and how new innovations in distribution technologies have changed how it’s consumed. From LOLS to CUTE cat videos that pull at your heartstrings, Jonathan will dive into the science behind creating shareable content for the social web.

Storytelling with Vine: How to Create Short Form Videos That People Remember 

Today, storytellers are finding increasingly imaginative ways to share their ideas with interactive and visual elements, bringing their messages to life.

As the head of the visual storytelling team at Mashable, Jeff Petriello is responsible for the creative behind many branded social advertising campaigns, having worked with Olympus, Hewlett-Packard, Hot Wheels, MasterCard and more just in the past few months. This masterclass will explore Jeff’s storytelling techniques using Vine, specifically how to create short form videos that people remember.

Vimeo Video School Live: Creative Toolsets To Engage A Global Audience

Video is exploding online for many reason and the experts at Vimeo are here to teach you how to make your videos better and reach global audiences using their creator toolsets.

Vimeo will give a hands on tutorial on their industry leading creator toolsets with examples showcasing how to use video to engage your audiences more deeply and for those professional creators, best practices to market and even sell their work to viewers worldwide.

 

See the full preview of Campus at Highline Stages here, then get excited to join us for a week you won’t forget. Grab your pass to get full access to SMW14!

Getting Pinned

Posted on by Allison Heaps

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In a cyber-friendly world, be careful what you wish for — you just might get it on sale.

This week at Social Media Week New York, Huffington Post’s  Bianca Bosker moderated Reading Is No Longer Fundamental: The Shift To Visual Vocabulary (hosted by JWT) by engaging industry leaders from JWT, Nokia, and Curalate. Among the various topics surrounding the visual vocabulary discussion was a new model of marketing utilizing visual social media images procured from Instagram, Pinterest, and Buzzfeed.

Apu Gupta, CEO and Co-founder from Curalate, stated that “the shift from people and places to networks about things” is now here. According to the Pew Research Center, the social media users behind the “networks about things” have been classified into three categories: the creators, curators, and online image creators. Creators take pictures of themselves, curators post pictures found online and post to sites used for sharing images with others, an online image creators are a little of both. Which one are you?

The endless surge of social media “exhaust” allows companies, such as Brandwatch, to work with more than 700 leading brands and agencies in monitoring and identifying key insights from text-driven social media. Indeed, the current visual images created by curators and creators presents additional opportunities for businesses to partner with social media. Target and Nordstrom have utilized specific consumer-driven images displayed on Pinterest. Nordstrom has effectively created store merchandizing displays based on those most frequently “pinned” items.

Simply put, brands now know exactly what you want because you have told them! This, of course, is based on the assumption that all the ‘pinned’ items are analogous to a Facebook ‘Like,’ as opposed to a snarky “OMG” or the elusive “dislike.”

Craig Hepburn, Global Head of Digital & Social at Nokia, observed, “The biggest challenge is managing the images themselves.”

Hepburn also asserted that even news articles are being written entirely around images, while Gupta added that that is now a necessary to restore ”context to content.”  Will Palley, Trends Strategist at JWT offered this advice, “Brands need to be judicious about the images they use.”

It is evident that we live in a transparent world — even President Obama was busted taking a selfie. So the next time you pin, post, tweet, your fabulousness consider what you have released to the cyber universe.  In a final comment, Hepburn conceded, the “Biggest challenge is going to be around reputation management and privacy.”

Allison Heaps is corporate wellness advocate living in New York. In her spare time, she practices yoga, runs marathons, and sings jazz. She is a master’s candidate at NYU with a concentration is organizational effectiveness. Contact her here.

What Senior Ad Marketers Need to Attend During SMW

Posted on by Dani McNally

It’s not about gimmicks or the latest buzzwords. Advertising goes deeper than just slick tricks to get your click. The dominance of social media has changed not only the ways in which advertising and marketing executives present a brand to an audience, but also what the audience can offer back. So, this year, we’re stepping up what’s available for senior marketers. We’ll be looking at human behavior, creating sustainable retail models, and more with these events:

Brand New World: The Expanding Role of the Digital CMO
The role of the CMO is evolving rapidly through the influence of technology and digital, as we must extract insights from big data, learn from disruptors, and adjust approaches to product design. That’s why we’ve dedicated an entire half-day to helping senior level marketers understand the tectonic shift that is taking place today. Join fellow CMOs offsite at Bloomberg as experts, including Jill Nussbaum from The Barbarian Group; author Douglas Rushkoff; Lisa Shallet, Goldman Sachs, James Cooper from betaworks.

Before you head to Thursday’s CMO summit at Bloomberg, whet your appetite for advertising and marketing insight at these idea-spiking, success-spurring events happening earlier in the week at Campus:

  1. Fueling Social Fandom at MTV, VH1, and Comedy Central
    Millennials and Gen-Xers are passionate about the TV shows, movies, and songs they love—and they aren’t afraid to tell you how they really feel through their tweets, shares, likes, posts, hashtags, and more. Learn from the networks that do it best on how to excite your audience enough that they take their opinions to the web.
  2. PSFK Labs’ Future of Retail Showcase: Creating a Sustainable Instant Retail Model
    Piers Fawkes, Editor-in-Chief of PSFK.com, and the team behind PSFK’s much buzzed about 2014 “Future of Retail” report invite you on a riveting exploration of the ideas and innovations shaping tomorrow’s retail landscape. He’ll be joined by a thrilling lineup of guest speakers from leading brands and cutting edge innovation incubators, including Tim Queenan, Director of Strategy, Google Creative Lab, Lee Hnetinka, CEO & Co-Founder, WunWun and Rachel Shechtman, Founder, Cube Ventures and STORY.
  3. Grow Your Audience with Google, Hosted by Google+
    More eyeballs on your content are never a bad thing—they equal more logins and registrations, more app downloads, and more user engagement. The innovators at Google and the companies that have utilized their innovations share how you can, too.

    And if you want more from Google, Make Your Brand Social Across The Web brings Diya Jolly, Senior Product Manager at Google, to share how Google+ helps you express your brand, create deeper connections with your audience, and get discovered across Google and the web.

  4. The State of Real-Time Vs. Predictive Marketing in 2014
    Spontaneity and diligent planning: They both have their benefits, so which should your marketing team use to get the ultimate response from your target audience? Proponents of both real-time marketing and predictive marketing, uberVU’s CEO Mark Pascarella and MYR’s Chief Distribution Officer Jeff Melton, respectively, argue their case then open the discussion to determine the best ways and the best times to use both strategies.
  5. The UnQuiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Biggest Brand Surprises on Social
    Think you know social media? It might be time to think again. Author, former digital editor of The Onion, and comedian, Baratunde Thurston, will do his best Alex Trebek as he hosts this sure-to-be side-splitting quiz show to showcase what Unmetric already knows — which brands are succeeding online, and how.

Have you registered yet? No? Get your pass today here, enjoy tons of amazing free perks from Citibike, Naked Wines and the New York Times, and join us and our partners, Nokia, for what will be an extraordinary week of exploring our always on, always connected world.

Social Media Does, In Fact, Matter — To Every Kind Of Business

Posted on by Lane Blackmer

Let me be honest: I’m sick of seeing posts on LinkedIn looking for volunteers or interns to run social media. Furthermore, many of those that do offer pay, they are only suggesting a $30,000 salary.

The fact is this: those businesses misunderstand what social media is about — as do plenty of fresh-faced college graduates who think the job description consists of tweeting.

Social media managers and strategists don’t post on social media. They create, plan and execute marketing campaigns.

It’s all about social media strategy. Social media matters simply because of this fact — it’s new-age savvy marketing, not a just social tool.

2014: the year of salaried social media jobs

OK, so many businesses aren’t understanding the full importance of social media, but it’s at least important that businesses of every kind — non-profits, corporate and small businesses — recognize its potential. A staggering 88% of marketers would like to know the most effective social media uses.

Forbes declared last month that in 2014, investment in social media would be more than just a luxury — it will become necessary. A quick scan of social media-related postings on LinkedIn show that it’s true — many listings have the words “new position” embedded in there somewhere.

And there’s even data to back up that claim: Business Insider cited Constant Contact’s Small Businesses: Then and Now Survey saying that 87% of small businesses are using social media as a legitimate marketing tool.

The publication also predicted there’d be a vast expansion in these six social media-related jobs: SEO Specialist, Social Media Strategist, Online Community Manger, Social Media Marketing Manager, Social Media Marketing Coordinator, and Blogger or Social Media Copywriter.

This expansion makes sense. The Internet is accessible almost everywhere and folks are consuming more tidbits of information than ever.

People certainly take advantage of it.

According to Chelsea Krost, the average person has their smartphone with them 20 hours out of the entire day. And 80% of people reach for their smartphone when they wake up.

But why are so many skeptical to jump on the bandwagon?

Here’s the big question in social media for businesses: how do I measure the return on investment (ROI)?

That question isn’t easily answered — because there’s no way to be 100% sure you’re tracking the right data to prove this… or that you even can track the right data.

Every company is different. And sometimes it’s about trial and error to figure out which platform is most effective for your business. B2B companies seem to have a lot of success on LinkedIn; while B2C companies, depending on what they do and if they’re business or service oriented, can see great success on Twitter or Instagram.

Regardless, Social Media Examiner reported that some businesses actually have mastered tracking ROI. It seems like most of those businesses don’t have direct proof per se, but use of social media is the differing variable when the company started to see decreases in spending or increases in sales.

Either way, Social Media Examiner’s 2013 Report finds 89% of marketers surveyed claimed increased social media marketing increased exposure and site traffic.

Social media matters — and here’s why

When I talk about social media use I don’t mean quoting eccentric family members at Thanksgiving dinner on Twitter (though I’m guilty of this). I mean using it for marketing, branding, developing brand trust, hearing from individual customers, and doing damage control.

It’s pretty much a given that businesses, marketers, and even individuals (in a lot of fields, you market yourself) should care about these things.

A lot of businesses may not see an ROI on their social media, but the question should be this: why?

Sometimes it’s not about the use of social media as much as how it’s used. Social media can be used poorly or used well. Someone doing a company’s social media should be paid for their expertise — because social media is not just about posting on the platforms, it’s about posting content to the platforms.

According to HubSpot, companies that blog 15 times or more per month see an increase of five times the traffic on their site.

The other key to social media is persistence. Social Media Examiner’s 2013 Report also cited that companies using social media for three or more years said it helped by improving search rankings, creating more partnerships, generating ideas, increasing traffic, providing marketplace insight, and reducing marketing expenses — to name a few things.

Social media in use — effectively — isn’t just about posting. It’s about executing a strategy specifically tailored to a company — and it is proven to help marketing efforts.

So why aren’t you investing in social media?

Lane Blackmer is a self-employed former journalist. Although she’s no longer a newsie, Lane since discovered other uses for social media such as public relations, marketing, job searching and trying to win gift cards from her favorite local businesses through contests. Lane inhabits Philadelphia, where’s it’s not always sunny…but at least there’s cheese steaks. You can follow her on Twitter at @LaneBlackmer.

Image courtesy Social Media Examiner 2013 Report. Featured image courtesy Dan Meyers.

8 Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2014

Posted on by Dion Hinchcliffe

Even though spending on social media marketing is at an all-time high and continues to grow, there’s a good reason that the overall portion of the marketing budget dedicated to social channels remains comparatively small. Frankly, this is a bit surprising. It’s been nearly 10 years after social media arrived on the scene; and today, social media essentially dominates as a share of digital consumer attention, yet social channels remain an under served target for many businesses.

The underlying reasons for this general underinvestment in social media marketing are complex. In general, marketers have discovered that attaining their objectives through social media can be less predictable, particularly because the discipline itself is one of the fastest changing in the media business. It is harder to tie outcomes to specific business goals. Directly translating traditional marketing activities into social media usually doesn’t produce the best results, as marketing efforts typically have to be rethought for two-way engagement, user participation, and/or viral amplification.

Some of the current data is sobering:

Yet over 70% of marketers plan on increasing their investment in social media next year, and by an average of 50%. This means marketers will be doing more in social, expectations by the business will be higher, and successful outcomes more important than ever.

In this environment then, my research indicates that marketing teams will be looking to increase the effectiveness of their social marketing efforts in three ways: a) by better adapting their digital assets and campaigns to social channels, b) shifting to a focus to managing for quality metrics, instead of just quantitative measures, and c) preparing for more rapid engagement in new channels including mobile and new emerging social networks.

Against this backdrop, here’s what 2014 holds in store for social media marketing:

  1. Marketers will get Facebook fatigue as the social networking giant continues to change its algorithms. 
    Fresh off the most recent — and rather contentious — changes to brand pages, marketers will re-evaluate how much they invest in the platform in 2014, looking for a more diversified social strategy. I’ve long recommended that companies serious about social media should avoid driving their traffic to Facebook in general, and the latest round of changes by Facebook should give marketers reason to carefully rethink their plans.
  2. The resurgence of Google+. 
    Now that Google+ has grown recently to become the #2 social network online, it will get new respect by marketers next year, who will figure out how to incorporate it into their social marketing plans.
  3. Image-based services and surprisingly, blogging, will see new emphasis. 
    Whether it is Pinterest or Instagram, or images in feeds on Twitter and Facebook, compelling visuals continue to drive high engagement and attention. Marketers will be looking at expanding their efforts in this area next year. Blogging will also return as a key engagement strategy that avoids the lock-in and control issues of major social media sites.
  4. Integrated marketing begins in earnest. 
    In 2014, it’ll be practical for the average organization to largely achieve a long-standing goal: Easily create an integrated marketing campaign that has presence and engagement capabilities at all the major social and non-social touchpoints. What’s new that will finally make this happen? The rise, maturity, and recent prominence of new multi-channel and “omnichannel” marketing platforms like Marketo and Eloqua that perform a lot of the work automatically to make consumer experiences seamless across Web, mobile, social, and other digital channels.
  5. Real-time marketing will get real. 
    RTM was all the rage this year, and powerful examples like T-Mobile’s customer retention effort demonstrated that major, market shifting results were possible. But most organizations were just learning about it in 2013. Next year, they will begin integrated real-time efforts into their social media efforts, particularly as more companies build social media command centers capable of scaled listening, triage, and dispatch.

  6. Social marketers will continue to struggle with mobile. 
    Over 250 million Facebook users are mobile-only and that number is growing. While Facebook was able to gets its act together around mobile, it took an investment and effort that most marketing organizations won’t possess. Organizations willing to focus on mobile-first for their social marketing efforts will fare better, but it will be another difficult year adapting marketing strategies to both social and mobile.
  7. The move to measurement of quality of engagement, instead of quantity. 
    Not that quantity won’t continue to matter, as it always determines the ultimate funnel size, but as measurement methods continue to improve dramatically, social marketers will also be able to determine if their efforts are resulting in the quality of engagement needed to drive business outcomes, like conversions. You can’t manage to what you can’t measure, and measuring quality of engagement will ensure more effective and efficient marketing campaigns in 2014
  8. A significant shift in the social networking landscape. 
    The emergence of Snapchat and a host of other new social networks and apps shows how dynamic the industry is. Marketers will find it easy to focus on the old standbys like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, yet some of the best demographic segments will shift their attention to new social networking services in 2014, and smart marketers will allocate resources and budget next year to tap into them.

Of course, much more will happen in social media marketing next year, but these will be some of the most significant in my analysis. That’s not to say that some of the strategies of five years ago aren’t still key. For example, I’m still sanguine the major investments in customer communities have the biggest bang for the buck, even as the window increasingly closes on the easy opportunities.

What are you seeing as the biggest trends for social media marketing next year?

Dion Hinchcliffe is the Chief Strategy Officer of Dachis Group. To find out more about Dachis Group’s session at Social Media Week, click here.

You’ve Built A Fan Base, Now What?

Posted on by Lindsey Taylor Wood

 


EngageSciences was set up to build a platform that would help social media managers deliver measurable return for enterprise marketing departments. So it stands to reason they have partnered with us to sponsor this year’s Advertising and Marketing Content Hub at JWT.

In addition to acting as the sponsor, they have put together an incredible event: You’ve Built A Fan Base, Now What? which explores the idea that while building an engaged fan base is important, CMOs are now looking for tangible proof that measurable commerce and brand value can be driven from social marketing activities. During the event, attendees will learn how famous brands are achieving social marketing success by analyzing, tracking and activating their community to achieve marketing goals.

Leading this panel, is Richard Jones, founder and CEO of Engage Sciences, joined by Brad Spikes, Head of Social Media & Influencer Marketing, North America, Nokia and Gretchen Ramsey, VP, Strategy MRM, who will explain the strategies and tactics they are implementing to acquire fans, engage their followers and amplify the voice of their advocates. They will also illustrate how social content and social data can drive performance across multiple marketing channels, illustrated by the impressive outcomes they achieve.

Though this event is currently full, there’s good news! Pass holders can still walk in and grab a seat. So, if you haven’t snagged one of our passes yet, purchase one here. See you there!

In Brand Ambassadors We Trust

Posted on by Lisa Chau


This month, General Motors (GM) decided to stop spending ten million dollars a year on Facebook advertising. In a time when many are suffering Facebook fatigue, it’s easy to point the finger at the social networking platform. Surely, as a company which employes 202,000 people, conducts business in approximately 157 countries, and has a 100+ year history, GM must have made an informed and saavy decision.

Not so fast.

While I do suspect that Facebook has reached a saturation point, at least in the United States and Canada where seven million active users left the site in May 2011 (Yes, seven million in one month, according to CNN.), were GM and other businesses really optimizing their presence on social media sites?

The rest of this article will discuss the union between Facebook and businesses in general. I am not familiar enough with GM’s advertising strategy to speak specifically about that company but I do think it presents an interesting starting point for discussing the intersection of advertising in social spaces.

Individuals were much more enamored with Facebook before corporate management realized its advertising potential. While Facebook has been available to the public at large since 2006, many businesses have yet to fully comprehend the power the network still encapsulates & the work necessary to harness the network’s power. I touched upon this subject briefly in my previous article: Public v. Private.

A few months ago, a company who is a leader in management consulting tasked me with creating a Facebook campaign which could be deployed in 30 to 60 days.  Deadline: One week. I have never done any outward-facing work for this company before. My first thought: This company does not understand social media.

The most valuable, and consequently most effective component of social media is trust.

Trust is built over time. Even ten million dollars won’t buy that- at least not immediately.

As Ben Kunz wrote for Bloomberg Businessweek, “What GM’s retreat really shows is the harsh reality that other brands must face: Making social-media communications work requires heavier lift than many organizations can muster…”

From personal experience, I would say it takes at least six months to get a new online community to accept, & possibly trust, a new member as one of their own. That is, after a dedicated campaign of listening & regular participation. On more than one occasion, I have been mistaken for a community manager or asked if I worked for the sites I belong to.

Kunz understands that “keeping Facebook conversion rates up and customer acquisition costs down requires a constant battery of audience-targeting refinement, creative testing, and website ‘landing page adjustments,’ whereas those unfamilar with social media think it’s about the number of times the Like button has been pressed.”

If you have a massive budget, it’s easy to get your Like numbers up quickly- just offer people a cool trinket in exchange for their Like.  However, it won’t mean much in the long run if you don’t deliver on your core product & connect with your target demographic.

Social media is about postive engagement.

Maintain conversations which lead to trust and exponential word of mouth endorsements. The way that advertising and marketing works hasn’t changed, only the tools have.

Consider a class of senior students attending a lecture taught by the most popular high school teacher versus a substitute who just joined the faculty a month ago. Who would the students respect? Whom would the students pay attention to? These same dynamics hold for virtual communities. Social media strategists need  resources and time to build a trusting audience.

Show people you care about them & they will care about your product or service, in turn.

It’s important to note that sucesses cannot & should not always be measured in Likes. People may not be commenting about your company online, but they could very well be bringing the conversations offline. This is why social media is so difficult to quantify.

On the flip side, if people are adding to your number of Likes, do something! How many times have we liked something only to be faced with silence?  We toss the ball onto a company’s court & it just lies there, & too often dies there.

If your customer invites interaction, seize the opportunity. Acknowledge their compliment.

1) Do something!
Kunz “tested a dozen big brands, including Apple (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC), Starbucks (SBUX), and others, “liking” them on Facebook to see how they would respond. I then checked into Facebook 31 times over the next week, each time scrolling back through several hours of friends’ posts, to see which brands would reach out to me. On average, the brands I had liked engaged with me 0.6 times over seven days—an awful performance, given the basic marketing precept that three or four interactions are required per week to trigger consumer response. I liked you, Zappos (AMZN)—and you didn’t return my call.”

2) Make your response personal, if possible.
Don’t reward your audience’s attention with some generic algorithm: If Like, respond with form letter. It’s difficult and time consuming, but don’t be just be adequate, be outstanding. What makes a good hotel great? Personalized services. The best hotels offer more than a clean, safe space to sleep and relax.  They anticipate their guests’ desires. As a new client, they won’t know your preferences, but they will try to please you nonetheless. After you’ve visited several times, they will have built up [providing you share this information] a database of your favorites. Thus, during your next stay, your room will be outfitted with your fruit, flowers, etc of choice. Without your further input. The most extraordinary hotels will even provide private butler service.

Make deep, lasting connections & appeal to people’s emotions.

Of course, this level of service is hardly feasible for most companies’ social media strategists; and that is where volunteer brand ambassadors enter the picture.  A trustworthy social media strategist is worth his/her weight in gold, but unpaid brand ambassadors are priceless. The latter group is motivated to endorse products or services not for money but genuine love (See Apple fanatics.) The social media strategist should absolutely be an active participant of the communities s/he wishes to engage, but ultimately, his/her job should be to cultivate & lead proactive teams by leveraging the trust s/he has built up in his/her followers.

 
Lisa Chau has been involved with Web 2.0 since graduate school at Dartmouth College, where she completed an independent study on blogging. She was subsequently highlighted as a woman blogger in Wellesley Magazine, published by her alma mater. Since 2009, Lisa has worked as an Assistant Director at the Tuck School of Business. In 2012, she launched GothamGreen212 to pursue social media strategy projects. You can follow her on Twitter.

Image courtesy of AllMediaNY.

Friday Finale… Finally For Me

Posted on by smwnyc

This is a guest post by Anna Choi.

 

While the end was near for dedicated attendees of Social Media Week New York City, Friday was just the beginning of my experience. There was no time to waste and after debating over the serious line up of various events, I was ready for my first SMWNYC gathering.

 
What Real Time Marketing Really Takes
Emily Steel from the Wall Street Journal led the panel discussion including Beth Waxman-Arteta of JWT, Ryan Davis of Blue State Digital, Bill Wolff of Primetime Programming, and Mike Sommers of Viggle at the Advertising and Marketing Content Hub at JWT. Topics from preparing for and challenge with real time marketing were touched on with much talk about the type transition period social media is fueling.

And what did I take away?

  • HR/human power is essential behind real time social media, real thought processing and relevance is needed to sustain engagement.
  • Every brand could use real time marketing, how it’s executed may differ.
  • Advertising agencies will transition into “brand content” agencies so the meaning of CMO may be defined as editors of content. Simply put, “real time” marketing will be just marketing in the future.
  • People/consumers are looking for substance and authenticity.
  • Filtration of information is diminishing, as communication is becoming more real/raw.
  • Currently real time marketing is a mixture of PR, social media, and brand management.
  • The thing about authenticity is that it’s imperfect sometimes. Mistakes happen.

 
Future of Social Technology
Michoel Ogince of Big Fuel and Jason Kincaid of TechCrunch discussed their predictions/opinions on the future of social networks/technology at the Global Society Content Hub at Big Fuel Headquarters. The conversation circled around the topic of humanization and the complex human behavior that social technology has yet to mirror perfectly. It was great to hear the opposing sides that Michoel and Jason brought especially when Path was brought up. They did agree that this is still the early stage of social technology and that if we think it’s really social right now, we’re wrong.

But the discussion also touched on:

  • Facebook: is it a place to dump a ton of content?
  • Social gaming (Zynga in particular): gamers invest a lot of money and time in the beginning but it dies off, they hit a wall.
  • App Store’s future: currently it’s a challenge to find/access specific apps.
  • Far future: social technology will be penetrated in every aspect to “friending” objects such as your fridge.
  • Advice for entrepreneurs: be driven by passion, don’t cling on to every “success story advice”.
  • There will be “niche networks” for social media/technology in the future.

 
Left Brain Meets Right Brain –The Blueprints for a Sophisticated Social Marketing Campaign (hosted by Shoutlet)
Jason Weaver, the CEO of Shoutlet, led this discussion including David Armano of Edelman Digital, Doug O-Reilly of MWW, Chris Eichman of Rayovac, and Brenda Schmerl of Reader’s Digest. The hour-or-so long conversation revolved around the controversial topic of left brain, right brain, or both. Planning and organizing people who are left-brain dominant among those who are right-brain dominant seemed to be key in finding the balance for a company. There was a debate over people who were both, or a hybrid, and if this category even existed. David Armano walked everyone through what he called a community engagement blueprint when touching on the subject of scenario planning. Improvisation seemed to be a theme for reacting effectively, with the main focus on being able to utilize the strengths of those who are creative and those who are analytical.

My overall impression of Social Media Week NYC was great. (especially since is FREE!) Being a student that is always seeking for more real world information, besides a textbook or some year-old case study, these events left me satisfied. Actually, I take that back, SMW has left me hungry and on the edge of my seat in excitement for what’s next. Being a part of the generation that really digs deep into the data of this social realm is fresh and transformational. I truly can’t wait to see how what’s trending now transitions into traditional.
 

Anna is a quirky senior at Virginia Tech studying Marketing and International Business. She is curious and thirsty for anything related to social media and brands. Anna aspires to work in an environment that’s constantly battling between the trending and traditional. When she’s not geeking over new digital happenings you can find her working on her new healthy lifestyle and obsessing over froyo. Follow her on twitter @achoi12 or dig deeper on her personal blog, achoi12.tumblr.com, or marketing blog, annanciate.tumblr.com.

#SMW12 This Time Next Week: Friday Feb 17th

Posted on by Sara Haile-Mariam

Throughout this week, we’ll be giving you a heads up on everything that’s going on at our content hubs this time next week.  Events are filling up fast so check out what’s going on this time next week and click on the corresponding event link to register!

Note that events are listed in chronological order based on the time of day they occur. 

Business & Innovation: 8:30-9:30am: Keynote: Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of LinkedIn on The StartUp of You: A revolutionary new guide to thriving in today’s fractured world of work.

 

Global Society: 9-9:30am: The Guardian Interviews, hosted on the Nokia Global Stage at Big Fuel: Alec Ross

Art & Culture: 9-10am: Where is social media taking the travel industry in 2012?

 

Advertising & Marketing: 9-11am: What Real Time Marketing Really Takes

Social & Environmental Change: 9-11am: Keynote: Jeremy Heimans, CEO of Purpose, followed by Panel: Building A Transnational Human Rights Movement

Global Society: 10-11am: RAPP presents RAPPATHON – Hacking for Change: A New Way of Collaboration

Health & Wellness: 10-11am: Biomarkers, Technology, and Age-Reversal

 

Art & Culture: 10:30-11:30am: Untapped Drive: How innovation and entrepreneurship is revolutionizing daily life through social media & tech platforms.

Business & Innovation: 10:30am-12:30pm: Social Media, Sports, and Gaming

Health & Wellness: 11-12pm: How Socially-Enabled Feedback Loops Are Strengthening Your Wellness

Global Society: 12-12:30pm: Jon’s Fireside Chat: David Hirsch on Venture Funding

Art & Culture: 12:00-2pm: The New Role Models: Chefs, Restaurants, Bloggers & You — An Interview with Robyn O’Brien, Amanda Hesser & Bun Lai, followed by Who is Kale’s PR Agent & What Dictates a Food Trend? Panel Debate

Social & Environmental Change: 12-2pm: Keynote: Alec Ross, Office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, followed by Panel: Team Obama Talks Digital Vision: Strategies and Tools for 2012 and Beyond

Advertising & Marketing: 12-2pm: The LinkedIn Difference: How Brands Are Building Deep Connections with Professionals

Global Society: 1-2pm: Future of Social Technology

Health & Wellness: 1-2pm: Keynote: Daniel Kraft, MD, Executive Director, FutureMed

Business & Innovation: 1-2:30pm: Social Media HAS Changed the World

Global Society: 2:30-3:30pm: Peer Pressure: Using the skills we learned in 6th grade for good

Health & Wellness: 2:30-4:30pm: Feast on Health

Business & Innovation: 3-4pm: Keynote: Jalak Jobanputra on What in the World? The Global Startup Scene: Micro and Macro Trends Fueling Tech Growth around the World

Social & Environmental Change: 3-4pm: Leveraging online platforms to inspire social good

Art & Culture: 3-4pm: Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll: Social’s Steamy Side

Global Society: 4-5pm: Investigative Journalism with Social Media: How It’s Being Done

Advertising & Marketing: 3-5pm: Left Brain Meets Right Brain – The Blueprints for a Sophisticated Social Marketing Campaign

Interested in a particular Hub? Click on the following links to browse events according to content area;  Art & Culture,  Advertising & Marketing, Business & Innovation , Global Society , Health & Wellness , Social & Environmental Change. 

You can also view the full #SMW12 Schedule by Clicking HERE. 

Spotlight on Wendi Caplan-Carroll, Regional Development Director for NYC for Constant Contact

Posted on by Nicky Yates

Yes, we talk our partners up, but that’s only because we learn something new from them every year. With all the emphasis that can be placed on Twitter, Facebook, videos and the like, we can often forget that online marketing must incorporate a very solid email component. And Constant Contact knows that better than anyone else. They have mastered the art of incorporating social and email- just look at our Facebook Page to see their new Social Campaigns tool (and win a Hub Pass!). To help, they set up regional offices, staffed with experts well-versed in the trends and resources in each area. So, we talked with Wendi Caplan-Carroll, Constant Contact’s Regional Development Director, and she shared some valuable insights not just about Constant Contact, but also about social campaigns for small businesses.

Carol, What seem to be NYC’s emerging trends in marketing and how is Constant Contact helping small businesses and non-profits better handle and adapt to them?
The emerging trends that affect the way small business and non profit marketing is done in NYC are not unlike those in any major city with lots of people who want to connect with each other online and offline and have found social media to be the ideal medium to do this.

People want to feel connected to the businesses they patronize and want to be sure they’re getting the best service and products at the best price. That is where social media plays a huge role in facilitating word of mouth whether it’s an online review site, re-Tweet or a thumbs up on Facebook.

Regardless of the volume of online or offline traffic, businesses and non profits can adapt to these trends by viewing interactions with customers as opportunities to engage and connect. If you view every customer interaction as an opportunity to build a lifetime customer relationship you’re already on the path to success.

 
What will Social Media Week attendees in NYC see from Constant Contact throughout the week?
The NYC attendees are in for some great presentations that were created with their specific organization’s needs in minds. Whether you’re a small business or non profit in NYC, attendees will learn some great tips and gain insight from networking and case studies that will enable them to immediately apply social media best practices to their business.
 

If you could pick one piece of advice to share with new businesses, what would it be?
Don’t view social media, email marketing and mobile marketing as separate entities. They’re complementary and when integrated, deliver fantastic results on your campaigns.
 

How is email marketing changing and what is the biggest need for small businesses and organizations in this area?
Since it’s so cost effective, email is one of the first marketing tactics that small businesses and organization use. However, the glut of email we all face every day makes it harder to get through to your target audience. This is why it’s important that your messages are focused on engaging and informing as opposed to marketing and selling.
 

In your experience, what techniques have been most effective in converging email marketing with social media tactics- and why is this important?
There have been lots of successful techniques and we hear about new ones all the time. Yet one that I find particularly successful is providing exclusive offers to your VIP customers. They don’t necessarily need to be the ones who spend the most money. They can also be those raving fans who direct their family and friends your way. When you thank them for supporting your business through special offers or events, you build even stronger goodwill with them.

 
The global theme for SMW 2012 is “Empowering Change through Collaboration.” How will Constant Contact be addressing this is its sessions?
In NYC, Constant Contact’s sessions will address the specific needs of the NYC organizations that are looking to do just that– empower change through collaboration. With Engagement Marketing as the platform, attendees will learn from Constant Contact and each other. By the time the week is over, they’ll be on their way to improving awareness and driving even greater results for their business.

We’re sure Wendi has piqued your interest, so hear more during SMWNYC from Constant Contact! Follow the conversation on Twitter with #SMWCC and catch them at these events:

Supercharging Your Love of Facebook Marketing on Tuesday, February 14 at 4:30-6:30pm
at our Social & Environmental Change Hub at Thomson Reuters.

Email and Social Media: The New Rules of Engagement on Wednesday, February 15 at 4:30-6:30pm at our Social & Environmental Change Hub at Thomson Reuters.

Getting Started with Social Campaigns on Thursday, February 16 at 4-4:45pm from the convenience of your computer.

Keynote Spotlight: Ben Kaufman, CEO and Founder of Quirky

Posted on by Sara Haile-Mariam

Ben Kaufman, CEO and Founder of Quirky

 This post is a part of a continuing series of Keynote Spotlights– check back here throughout the week for more information on the phenomenal individuals who will be gracing #SMW12 events next week!

You can hear Ben speak on Wednesday February 15th from 9-11am followed by Panel: Marketing & the Internet hosted by JWT at the Advertising & Marketing Content Hub!

Ben is the 25-year-old founder and CEO of Quirky. His entrepreneurial journey started during his senior year of high school with a second mortgage on his parents’ house and the founding of an iPod accessory company called mophie. Shortly after mophie won “Best of Show” at MacWorld 2006, Ben discovered his passion for involving people around the world in the development of new consumer products. The rapid growth of the mophie brand led to its acquisition in August of 2007, which allowed Ben to focus his efforts on bringing his idea of ‘social product development’ to the next level. After two years of research and development on the unique technology platform that became the foundation of his future work, Ben publicly launched Quirky in June of 2009.

A passionate and opinionated speaker, Ben talks Quirky, products and design to audiences around the world. His work has landed him in hundreds of newspapers (New York Times, USA Today, New York Observer), magazines (Business Week, Entrepreneur, Inc., WIRED) and TV networks (CNBC, FOX Business News, The Today Show). In 2007, Inc Magazine named Ben the top entrepreneur in the country under the age of 30. He was 20 at the time. Other than participating in the development of awesome new products, Ben’s favorite things include his niece Lily, Jay-Z, cool kicks and black t-shirts.

Click here to register for his keynote!

#SMW12 One Week from Today: Monday Feb 6th

Posted on by Sara Haile-Mariam

Welcome to the first of post in our “One Week from Today” pre-Social Media week blog feature!  Throughout this week, we’ll be giving you a heads up on everything that’s going on at our content hubs this time next week.  Events are filling up fast so check out what’s going on this time next week and click on the corresponding event link to register!

Art & Culture: 9-11am:  The Mobile-Social Living Room: How Emerging Media is Reviving the Live Television Experience

Advertising & Marketing: 9-11am: Keynote: David Eastman, CEO of JWT North America, followed by Top Trends that will Shape Social in 2012

Business & Innovation: 9-11am: Keynote: John Bell, Global Managing Director at Ogilvy, on The Insidious Plot to Socalize Enterprise

Global Society: 10-11am: Managing Social Media on a Global Scale

Health & Wellness: 10-12pm: Keynote: Carol McCall, Chief Strategy Officer of GNS Healthcare

Health & Wellness: 10-12pm: Keynote: Michael Graves on People First: Redesigning the Hospital Room

Advertising & Marketing: 12-2pm: Beyond Borders: Impact of Social Media in Global Economy

Business & Innovation: 12-2pm: Keynote: Jeff Dachis, CEO, Chairman & Founder of Dachis Group Followed by Panel: Big Data and Bigger Conversations: Measuring Your Brand’s Social Performance

Global Society: 12-1230pm: Jon’s Fireside Chat: Social Listening with Patricia Gottesman, CEO of Crimson Hexagon

Social & Environmental Change: 12:30-2:30pm: Global Keynote: Don Tapscott, Speaker, Consultant & Author of Macrowikinomics on Re-Civilization: Empowering Change Through Collaboration

Global Society: 1-2pm: Global Social Media Listening

Health & Wellness: 1-2pm: Fast Forward Health presents 73 Cents followed by Q&A with Regina Holliday

Health & Wellness: 2-8pm: The Walking Gallery: An Exhibit

Art & Culture: 3-5pm: Keynote: Jermaine Dupri on Building Community

Advertising & Marketing: 3-5pm: State Your Case: Research vs Social Analytics

Business & Innovation: 3-5pm: Keynote Howard Lindzon followed by Panel: The Evolution of Reg-FD: How Social Media Has Changed Investor Relations, Hosted by StockTwits

Social & Environmental Change: 3:30-5:30pm: Is it Getting Hot in Here? Considering Social Media’s Impact on Climate Change

Global Society: 4-5pm: 10×10 Educate Girls, Change the World. Accelerating social change and leveraging media, technology and innovative strategic partnerships to get there.

Art & Culture: 4:30-5:30pm: Social Sharing and The Art of Doodling

Health & Wellness: 4-6pm: Designing for Desire

Health & Wellness: 6:30-8:00pm: Networking Cocktail Reception, Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson

Global Society: 6:30-9:00: Meet the Afropolitans: Digital Media + Culture In Africa

Interested in a particular Hub? Click on the following links to browse events according to content area;  Art & Culture,  Advertising & Marketing, Business & Innovation , Global Society , Health & Wellness , Social & Environmental Change. 

You can also view the full #SMW12 Schedule by Clicking HERE. 

 

 

 

 

Spotlight on Nathaniel Perez, Head of Social Marketing at SapientNitro

Posted on by Nicky Yates

Continuing our breakdown of local sponsors, we’re taking a deeper look at SapientNitro, an integrated marketing and technology company, building relationships between consumers and brands.

Nathaniel Perez, head of social marketing for SapientNitro, shares his insights on where marketing and technology are taking companies. He’ll also talk a little about how SapientNitro is challenging the way you look at education and just how they’ll be involving you in SMWNYC.

Read on, and keep up with this team on Facebook and Twitter.

How did SapientNitroSM get involved in Social Media Week? 
This is SapientNitro’s second year participating in Social Media Week NY and our first in DC, Miami, and San Francisco. The organic, collaborative approach of the festival draws people who are truly passionate about the space and are shaping its role for tomorrow. The quality of the content, the speakers, and the attendees is first class. But it’s the spirit and energy of the festival and the connections we make that bring us back.
 

SapientNitro has been involved with SMW NYC in the past and is continuing their involvement in SMW NYC’s Social & Environmental Change space. How is social change a part of your ethos/culture? 
SapientNitro has a human-centric mindset: from HR policies focused on human capital, to deep research skills in human-centered experience design and anthropology, to social experience. Our people are organically and heavily involved in social change and social good activities. In addition, we often takes on pro-bono work that is aimed at leveraging digital for social change, such as Malaria No More and Communication Shutdown (global autism campaign). We pride ourselves in having the heart to apply our digital skills to effect change. And we do so at SMW again, hoping to create change through a dialogue about the very things we do.
 

SapientNitro is a leader in integrated marketing & technology. What interesting trends are you seeing in this space and where do you see it going in the next few years? 
The next few years will not only be about harnessing Big Data, but about monetizing it. Transformation in the creative, social and digital media arenas will be required in order to make media much more reactive to trends, which we will soon be able to analyze in the moment. There will be a reversing of the social engagement model, widely moving from reactive to proactive models, with live insights always on tap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwBaFqMcjmA

As an international brand, what differences do you see in these trends across cultural borders and how does Sapient incorporate this into your strategies?
Technology today is the expression of human and advertising behavior. As the technology and audience landscape vary dramatically across regions, we are seeing different patterns of digital and social ecosystem formation. We study human behavior across cultures, understanding the differences in passions and pathways to engagement. Once we understand what relevant technologies will lead to the expression of local behaviors, we can activate locally relevant strategies successfully. That being said, the trends we see are global. The approaches we envision to monetize them are also global. Different regions will however require implementations that are locally sensitive, especially to language, linguistics, media behavior, social networks, social data sources and technographics.
 

Can you give us a sneak peek at what SapientNitro has in store for SMW NYC? 
On Tuesday, Feb 14 we’ll be leading a discussion in the Social & Environmental Change hub about the Classroom of the Future. Through a series of group exercise, videos, and discussion around new ways to get students the resources they need, we’re going to ask these innovators to envision a futuristic classroom – and we’re going to ask you to help. By the end, we want everyone to have a vision of what a socially empowered, and more equal, educational system in American could look like.

On Thursday, Feb 16 in in the same hub, we’re going to bring history to life. We’ll assemble some of the voices of both Berkeley and Zuccotti Park and explore how technology has, or hasn’t, changed social mobilization and protest over the course of 40 years. We’ll look at images, video, hear stories from the protestors, as well as members of the media, to understand how much the dynamic of civic movements has been affected by the technology boom. We want good, healthy debate, so we’ll provide opportunities for our speakers to challenge and learn from each other, as well as from you.
 

What are you most looking forward to regarding participating in SMW NYC again? 
Creating experiences that spark dialogue and connections, long after the festival ends. (And, we admit, the closing party is a hoot.)

Green Gamification: Combining Social Media & Game Mechanics to Promote Sustainability

Posted on by Ashok Kamal

Games are like ketchup: widely loved and diversely applied, with an appeal rooted in childhood. In fact, a new report reveals that over 90% of U.S. kids aged 2- 17 are gaming today. Yet the gaming generation has been on the rise for three decades, leading to not only an army of young gamers, but also an influential adult segment. It is small wonder, then, that “gamification” is the most disruptive force to impact marketing since the arrival of social media.

Typically defined, gamification refers to the use of game mechanics, such as points, badges, leaderboards and challenges in non-game settings. Traditional examples include airline frequent flyer programs and “Buy 10, Get 1 Free” loyalty offers. But the proliferation of social media and smartphones along with the cultural adoption of gaming has increased both the scope and sophistication of gamification.

At its core, gamification is about one thing: fun. In today’s competitive battle for mindshare, games are the most effective tool for leveraging technology, rising above marketing noise and engaging the socially-networked consumer.

Like any marketing strategy, gamification can be applied to encourage frivolous consumption or provide superficial entertainment. But games are also uniquely suited to change the world for the better. As gaming enthusiast and renowned author, Dr. Jane McGonigal, points out, “When we are playing games, we are tapping into our best qualities, our ability to be motivated, to be optimistic, to collaborate with others, to be resilient in the face of failure.”

The power of gaming is derived from the underlying behavioral psychology that motivates people to play. Successful gamification design involves understanding player personality traits that can be identified through models such as Bartle Types and Keirsey Temperaments. A key finding of gaming studies is that the vast majority of players are driven by cooperative social interaction. Gamification guru, Gabe Zichermann, developed the “SAPS” rewards model to further outline the behavioral drivers “Status,” “Access,” “Power” and “Stuff.” While extrinsic rewards, such as free products (Stuff), can be short-term motivators, Zichermann reveals that intrinsic rewards, such as community recognition (Status), are superior mechanisms for fostering engagement and loyalty. The most compelling rewards fulfill innate human desires for achievement, reciprocity and appreciation. Great games make us feel alive.

The Gaming Era is upon us. Gartner analysts predict, “By 2014, a gamified service for consumer goods marketing and customer retention will become as important as Facebook, eBay or Amazon, and more than 70% of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one gamified application.” As a result, gamification presents an exciting opportunity to advance sustainability initiatives. Research from OgilvyEarth suggests that games can be a vehicle to create brand equity while also promoting green behaviors. The synergy between gamification and sustainability is based on the fact that, like gaming, greening is largely a social action that triggers an emotional response. Innovative companies recognize the opportunity to tap into consumer passions and have begun to employ “green gamification” to create shared value for individuals, businesses, communities and the environment.

The recent union of Recyclebank and Greenopolis affirms the traction of two leading platforms that reward people for everyday green actions. Recyclebank’s “Green Your” challenges use quizzes, pledges and social sharing to educate and incentivize players on interactive microsites. Greenopolis’ RecyclePix mobile App encourages users to share pictures of recycling to earn rewards. The interface includes a dynamic photo stream that can be voted on for bonus points.

Solar manufacturer, SunPower, recently ran a Facebook contest to teach people about solar energy in exchange for badges and prizes. Startups such as Simple Energy and Practically Green use the social web to calculate metrics like household energy saving and reward users for their relative performance. These companies validate that people are proud to share eco-conscious habits and that a little friendly competition positively reinforces their green activities.

Traditional industries are green gaming too. The Nissan Leaf includes CARWINGS, which is a digital tracker that both measures fuel consumption and ranks drivers according to fuel-efficiency. The Ford Fusion Hybrid adds graphical flair by incorporating a Tamogochi-style game, in which a small dashboard plant grows and shrinks based on green driving practices. Even social games on Facebook are experiencing a makeover; for instance, Guerillapps and upcycling pioneer, TerraCycle, partnered to introduce Trash Tycoon, which applies Zynga-like gameplay to bridge the gap between virtual and real-world sustainable living.

Gamification and game development are still in their formative years, evolving to exhibit more purpose and tangible impact. As the sustainability movement also matures, it behooves the stakeholders to embrace the potential of green gamification.

In order to propel green into the mainstream, we need to make it enjoyable, accessible and rewarding. As my fellow eco-entrepreneur, Anthony Zolezzi, proclaims, let’s embrace “fun and fame, not guilt and shame.” This is the new spirit of sustainability and green gamification is leading the way.

***
Ashok Kamal is the Co-Founder & CEO of Bennu, which is the leader in green social media marketing. Connect with Bennu at @Bennuworld. To learn more about green gamification and engage with companies highlighted in this blog, join us at Social Media Week NY’s “Green Gamification” panel on February 15th.

Hub Spotlight: Business, Media & Communications, hosted by JWT New York

Posted on by Toby Daniels

Following previous posts regarding the People & Society and Science & Technology Hubs, today we would like to share details about the Business, Media & Communications Hub, which is hosted by Social Media Week’s global sponsor JWT at their headquarters here in New York.

JWT is one of the world’s best-known marketing communications brands. Headquartered in New York, JWT is a true global network with more than 200 offices in over 90 countries employing nearly 10,000 marketing professionals.

JWT consistently ranks among the top agency networks in the world and continues its dominant presence in the industry by staying on the leading edge—from producing the first-ever TV commercial in 1939 to developing award-winning branded content for brands such as Bloomberg, Ford and HSBC.

Social Media Week is proud to be working with JWT and excited to also partner with their London, Toronto & São Paulo offices.

GET INVOLVED IN BUSINESS, MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS

The Business, Media & Communications Hub will focus on everything advertising, marketing, publishing and enterprise related and will bring together some of the leading individuals and companies who are helping to shape the future of communications. Confirmed speakers include:  John Winsor, CEO of Victor & Spoils, David Eastman, CEO North America, Worldwide Digital Director, JWT, Benjamin Palmer, CEO/CCO of the Barbarian Group, Faris Yakob, Chief Innovation Officer, MDC/kbs+p.

Themes & topics covered will include:

  • Social production & mass collaboration
  • The future agency
  • Engaging the audience in publishing
  • Social commerce
  • Brands as storytellers
  • Branded entertainment
  • Humanizing brands
  • Data, analytics, and insight
  • Utilizing the social graph

This list is by no means comprehensive, but it provides a flavor of some of areas we will be covering.  The agenda will be released in January, however if you would like to suggest themes and topics that we should be covering, please let us know.

If you or your organization is interested in curating a session and helping to shape the programming at the Business, Media & Communications Hub we would love to hear from you.  Sessions are typically two hours in length and can include a series of talks, a panel, a workshop or seminar.  We encourage our guest curators to think creatively about their sessions and consider designing an experience that moves beyond traditional conference formats.

To submit a session idea, please visit the event registration page and reference which Hub you are interested in, in your application.

If you are interested in sponsorship or media partnership opportunities, we have some really exciting ways for brands to participate  in the experience and contribute to the programming. For more information please contact: toby@socialmediaweek.org

The Business, Media & Communications Hub is brought to you by Social Media Week organizers Crowdcentric & host sponsor JWT.

About the Hubs

Social Media Week Hubs include: Science and Technology Hub, hosted by Google; Business, Media, and Communications Hub, hosted by global advertising agency JWT; People & Society Hub, hosted by The Paley Center for Media; and Music, Gaming & Sports, hosted by Red Bull Space. As we mentioned in our announcement, we are also launching a fifth Hub which will cover Arts & Culture, the location of which we will share in the coming week or so.