The Gravity Summit team is excited to announce that MC Hammer, our latest keynote speaker booked to appear at Gravity Summit Harvard on August 31st, was interviewed about his use of social media by CBS News.

He will appear in the technology segment of a special eight-part series called “The Future” that is set to air on CBS Sunday Morning News and streamed on www.cbs.com in mid-August. MC Hammer’s keynote involvement at Gravity Summit caught the attention of CBS News as an unusual speaker for a popular conference that predominantly caters to Fortune 1000 brand marketers, as well as nonprofits and the technology startup community.

For a special sneak peak of the interview recorded from Hammer’s home kitchen, while Tweeting live with fans, visit http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1853537 .

In addition to CBS News, be on the lookout at the end of August for a Parade Magazine interview with Hammer about social networking tips, timed with his upcoming Gravity Summit keynote. @Morocca is the interviewer from CBS, they had a good time for sure. We can’t begin to tell you how much fun we’re having working with Hammer to set up these interviews!

Since launching the Gravity Summit only five months ago, we have been excited and overwhelmed by the level of industry and media interest as well as sponsorship support for our conferences and mission to keep business leaders ahead of the curve in maximizing the use of social media for a competitive edge. We’re finding that our one-day intensive event is not only time effective, but cost-effective for participants.

Stay tuned for more exciting developments leading up to the Gravity Summit in Boston. If you don’t have a ticket yet, get one now before we sell out. We look forward to seeing you soon!

-Jonalyn Morris

07.20.2009 – Beverly Hills, CA Gravity Summit is pleased to present an action-packed agenda for the upcoming Gravity Summit at Harvard event to be held on August 31, 2009.

Keynotes from MCHammer and Gary Vaynerchuk, as well as business executives sharing their social media expertise from EMC, the American Red Cross, Arnold Worldwide, Southwest Air, Domino’s, Dunkin’Donuts, CNN Worldwide, SHIFT Communications will address business leaders at the historic Harvard Faculty Club.

Attendees will walk away with actionalbe information and guidelines to implement successful social media marketing strategies immediately.

8:30 AM — Registration - Prepare for the day (please be on time)
Join us for a scrumptious breakfast and lots of networking.

9:00 AM — Welcome and Introduction Co—Hosts: Beverly Macy, Rodney Rumford
Setting the stage for a full day, we’ll introduce the core concepts of social media and review the speaker agenda.

9:15 AM — Social Media Marketing Overview, Beverly Macy
Beverly teaches Social Media Marketing at UCLA and works with clients at all levels to understand how social media tools fit into the traditional Integrated Marketing plan. She will discuss the social media marketing landscape, giving best practice examples of how major brands are using Social Media as a fast, efficient, and relatively low-cost way to get their message directly to an audience. Learn how companies from all industries are changing the ways in which they engage with their customers and associates.

9:30 AM — Twitter & PhotoSharing to Drive Business Results, Rodney Rumford
Rodney is a major force in the social media world today. He will discuss Twitter as a Business Tool; how you choose to use that tool will be determined by what you want to use it for: ie. news distribution, customer service, sales, branding, extending product awareness, product launches, promotion, relationship building, etc. He is also the CEO of TweetPhoto, a new photo sharing service and will discuss the value of photo sharing in customer engagement.

9:45 AM - Arnold Worldwide, Troy Kelley, EVP, Chief Digital Officer – “How Twitter and Social Media affect advertising and branding”
Arnold Worldwide is headquartered in Boston and has two full-service agencies in New York and DC and a complete network of global offices in 75 countries around the world. With advertising and the new technologies grabbing an ever greater share of the total advertising dollar, the need for accountability is greater now than ever. Join Troy for this bird’s eye view of how agencies are working with brands to implement social media campaigns to help ensure the best visibility in the market for the client and how this is affects businesses today.

10:10 AM — CNN, Andy Mitchell, VP of Digital and Development Marketing
Based in New York, Andy is directly responsible for trade and consumer marketing of CNN’s digital assets and the company’s growth into wireless and other digital platforms. Learn how CNN has adapted to the rapidly changing news business as user-generated content and passionate consumers seek an increasing voice in the overall tone and delivery of the news. Find out how this affects your business and what lessons learned and best practices you can glean from this marketing giant and implement in your company immediately.

10:35 AM - Networking Break

10:50  - SHIFT Communications, Todd Defren, Principal
How do companies use new social media tools to get their brand noticed and “rise above the noise”? Todd is a major force in the world of PR and his “claim to fame” was coming up with the Social Media News Release template in 2006, which is currently being used by big companies like Cisco, HP, Coca Cola, SAP AG, etc. Todd will share his insights on how social media has changed public relations and what businesses need to know in order to be competitive in this brave new world.

11:10 - Rebel Industries, Josh Levine

Rebel Industries strikes a balance between traditional marketing and new social media tools.  Hear how Josh and his team have taken brands to new levels by the perfect combination of both.

11:25 - American Red Cross, Wendy Harman, Social Media Manager
Non-profits have seen a huge uptick in donations utilizing social media tools. The Red Cross has gone a step further and used tools like Twitter and Facebook to help accelerate on-the-ground relief and recovery activities following major national disasters. September kicks off the American Red Cross National Preparedness Month and Wendy will focus on how organizations can (and should) use social media as a risk management tool.

11:50 — KEYNOTE, MC Hammer, Rap Star, Twitter Star, Star of Hammertime
MCHammer, the multi-platinum selling rapper and Executive Producer and star of A & E’s new reality series Hammertime is a social media maven. With over 1M Twitter followers, he has mastered the art and science of branding in this new medium. As he said recently in an article for AdAge, “Social Media is quickly becoming a vital tool for brands, especially those driven by a celebrity. The use of social media outlets effectively shortens the distance between the content that is created and produced for a brand and the consumer like no other medium.” Hear how Hammer has revitalized his brand and his businesses with these new tools. This is sure to be a dynamic presentation!

12:30 PM — Networking Lunch

BUSINESS CASE STUDIES
The sudden emergence of social media has been happening for the last couple of years, but the importance of building communities online for brand awareness and increased revenue generation is just coming into focus. These speakers will explore the art of managing social communities and how this relates to media relations, customer service, and employee interaction with social media. They will also discuss the best practices as well as the lessons learned as they have ventured out into the new social media realm.

1:30 - Case Study - Q/A SouthWest Airlines, Christi Day, Social Media Manager
1:50  - Case Study - Q/A Visible Technologies, Mike Spataro, VP
2:10  - Case Study - Q/A Dunkin Donuts, David Puner, Social Media Manager
2:30 - Case Study - Q/A Domino’s, Ramon deLeon, COO, Domino’s Chicago
2:50  - Case Study - Q/A EMC, Polly Pearson, VP Employment Brand and Strategy Engagement

3:00 – Networking Break

3:30 – KEYNOTE, Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee), Author Crush It!
Gary Vaynerchuk has captured attention with his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business. After primarily utilizing traditional advertising techniques to build his family’s local wine business into a national industry leader, Gary rapidly leveraged social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to promote Wine Library TV, his video blog about wine. As his viewership swelled to over 80,000 a day, doors opened to a book deal, several national TV appearances, and a flurry of speaking engagements around the world. Gary’s dual identity as both business guru and wine guy has made him the “Social Media Sommelier.” Gary’s landmark seven-figure book deal with Harper Studio was featured in The Wall Street Journal.

4:00 PM – How to Get Started, Which Tools to Use Beverly Macy, Rodney Rumford
Discussion on how you can establish strategic objectives and ROI targets for successful social media campaigns. Find out how to get started in the Social Media world and move in the right direction to meet your business objectives.

4:15 PM – Expert Q&A

4:30 PM — Adjourn
Prepare to put your new knowledge into action! Your brain is going to feel very, very full.

5:30 –TWEETUP /Afterparty

From ADWEEK

July 19, 2009

-By MC Hammer

Social Media is quickly becoming a vital tool for brands, especially those driven by a celebrity. The use of social media outlets effectively shortens the distance between the content that is created and produced for a brand and the consumer like no other medium.

The same is true with celebrities, artists and entertainers like me who are now closer to fans than we’ve ever really been before.

While new social media platforms seem to pop up every day, I’m strongly behind Twitter, a micro-blogging tool that has become a game changer for me. The platform offers celebrity brands the means to build and develop relationships in an intimate and personal way.  The friendly and efficient interface links to video and audio and integrates with various other social media outlets with ease. That means my brand can live on a wide variety of platforms where fans might find me.

The short, 140-character tweets give brands the power to quickly bond with consumers, point them to projects or products that they can interact with without  interpretation or personal interjections messing up the communication flow.

Additionally, Twitter gives power to the users by allowing them to track the brands and celebrities they choose, whether or not they follow back.  Twitter followers tend to be a loyal and engaged audience who are more likely to continue to spread the brand’s buzz when they feel they are part of it.

I was an early adopter of Twitter and currently have more than a million followers. I have used my Twitter feed to discuss events in my personal and professional life, to encourage various behaviors, causes and initiatives that I get behind (i.e., “Respect Women Wednesday” and “DJ Appreciation Day”). Additionally, unlike many celebrities and brands, I follow many of my followers back, encouraging one-on-one dialogue. I follow more than 26,000 people, which I think is pretty atypical of a celebrity or brand account.

My love of social media is being integrated in a big way into my A&E reality series Hammertime. We are displaying my tweets on screen so viewers can see how I interact with the platform, and my Twitter account is a major feature on the official Hammertime Web site — www.aetv.com/hammertime — which also includes videos, some of my wife’s recipes, a fun online board game, a widget and plenty of other digital bells and whistles.
Digital media has become such a strong part of my life that it was a given to put Twitter to work on the series. In fact, I am working closely with the network to use social media to bring attention beyond the show itself to promotional efforts around it, like a recently posted YouTube video that features 60 people dancing, dressed up in “Hammer pants,” during a recent flash-mob stunt at a Sunset Blvd. store. That little clip went viral and is nearing 2 million views.

According to Guy Slattery, senior vp of marketing for A&E, who I talked to for this column, the watercooler has been virtually replaced by social media. “Word of mouth all starts online these days, and for a new television series to succeed, it needs to become part of that conversation,” he told me. “For Hammertime, we had the Hammer pants, the Hammer dance and MC Hammer the Twitter feed. We knew that if our campaign was done right, people would be buzzing about the show before it even hit the air.”

Amen.

Understand that the value in marketing and promotion dollars that a brand with substantial followers brings to the plate is immense. Brands and celebrities can benefit from utilizing the platform in the days leading up to an opening weekend, a premiere or release date by connecting fans with links, trailers, contests, video and photo content, and each other, just like we did for Hammertime.

Brand marketing, promotion and distribution via 140 characters…a digital triple threat!

Threat in the negative sense is the fear of the unknown. But while social media may be seen as a daunting and unknown to some, the most savvy businesses, brands and celebrities are adopting the platform to establish a one-on-one dialog with their consumers and fans. Those who aren’t will surely be riding the “fail whale” in the near future.

Don’t forget to check out my series Hammertime and follow me at w.ww.twitter.com/MCHammer

I’m a tweet away.

MC Hammer stars in the weekly reality series Hammertime on A&E.

Twitter Star, Author, and Modern Day Entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk Will Discuss How Social Media Put Wine Library TV on the Map and Landed Him a Seven-Figure Book Deal

07.13.2009 – BEVERLY HILLS - Gravity Summit is pleased to announce that Gary Vaynerchuk (aka “garyvee” on Twitter) will be a featured speaker at the upcoming Social Media Marketing for Business conference at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, MA on August 31, 2009.

The theme of this year’s event is “Twitter and social media’s role in today’s culture and how that impacts your business today,” and in his featured remarks, Gary will speak to an audience of business, advertising, marketing and public relations executives on how social media is impacting his role as an entrepreneur and author and how he has used social media to build a following of over 600,000 fans via Twitter, viral video and Facebook.

Gary Vaynerchuk has captured attention with his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business. After primarily utilizing traditional advertising techniques to build his family’s local wine business into a national industry leader, Gary rapidly leveraged social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to promote Wine Library TV, his video blog about wine. As his viewership swelled to over 80,000 a day, doors opened to a book deal, several national TV appearances, and a flurry of speaking engagements around the world. Gary’s dual identity as both business guru and wine guy has made him the “Social Media Sommelier.”

Gary’s landmark seven-figure book deal with Harper Studio was featured in The Wall Street Journal.

“Gary built the Wine Library TV brand in less than a year with smart use of social media,” says Rodney Rumford, founder of Gravity Summit. “Gary will provide the best practices and lesson learned for our business audience. He is a compelling speaker and his experience, enthusiasm, and insights into how to use these neww communications tools will be of great benefit to our attendees.”

Gravity Summit events help bridge the gap between the new Social Media Marketing tools and the business community. Gravity Summit events seek to help educate and inform marketing professionals, small business owners, advertisers, and c-Level executives, and others, about the exciting new marketing and communications landscape that is evolving daily.
In 2009 Gravity Summit events have been held at the University of California, Los Angeles, Stanford, and the University of California, Irvine.

With the upcoming event at Harvard, Gravity Summit continues to serve the business community and provide quality content and information to companies and corporations. Earlybird registration is now open. For more information, please visit: http://www.gravitysummit.com/register

Gravity Summit is pleased to announce that MC Hammer, the multi-platinum selling rapper and Executive Producer and star of A & E’s new reality series Hammertime, will be the featured keynote speaker at the upcoming Social Media Marketing for Business conference at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, MA on August 31, 2009.

The theme of this year’s event is “Twitter and social media’s role in today’s culture and how that impacts your business today,” and in his keynote address, Hammer will speak to an audience of business, advertising, marketing and public relations executives on how social media is impacting the world of entertainment, the role it plays in his career and how social media was incorporated into his new reality series.

As a legendary icon in pop culture, Hammer was considered a forefather and innovator of pop rap and dance and has an impressive string of hits including, “Too Legit to Quit” and “U Can’t Touch This.”

Recently, Hammer has emerged as a Twitter and social media ‘star’ and attributes his popularity resurgence to his savvy use of these new tools.  In fact, he’s incorporated Twitter into his new show and is using a Flipcam for recording footage and sharing it with fans.  He says his knowledge and use of these tools comes from “being located in Silicon Valley, wanting to see video on the internet and being connected and getting an early understanding of the applications and the solutions.”

With over 1 Million followers on Twitter and a very effective social media presence; MC Hammer has reinvented his brand and taken it to a highly effectively level in a very short amount of time. He truly is one of the rare Celebrities that “Get’s It” and fully understands the far reaching business implications and high impact benefits of a properly implemented social media strategy.

“Speakers invited to participate at Gravity Summit events are selected based on industry expertise and thought-leadership,” says Beverly Macy, CEO of Gravity Summit.  “We are delighted Hammer has agreed to provide his unique insights into social media marketing strategies and know our business audience will benefit greatly from his marketing savvy and social media expertise.”