The Keynote speaker for the upcoming Gravity Summit at UCLA event is Kodak CMO Jeffrey Hayzlett. Watch this short interview where Jeff talks about the common mistakes that CMO’s make.

Jeff will be sharing his insights, thoughts and lessons for marketers relative to the social space at the upcoming event. Is Jeff a maverick… yes. Is he smart, insightful, forward thinking and successful…yes. But he is truly one of the most energetic and dynamic speakers you will ever see. Make sure you are there to bear witness as he takes the stage at UCLA on 2-22.

The interview is from Marketing Obsessions with Kevin Lee.

1-27-2010 Beverly Hills, CA - Gravity Summit announces the full agenda for the upcoming 1 year anniversary event to take place at UCLA’s Covel Commons on Monday February 22, 2010. The agenda details a full day of learning, informing, and empowering for businesses and individuals implementing social media marketing. Registration is OPEN http://www.gravitysummit.com

A very special THANK YOU to our sponsors: UCLA Extension Business, Management & Legal Programs; TurboTax; GoDaddy.com; PayPal; LA Clippers; Mazda; Flip; The Roxy on Sunset, SpiritJump, Mashable, PitchEngine, TweetPhoto, and Fusicology.

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 Opening Remarks - Beverly Macy, CEO Gravity Summit, Instructor, UCLA Extension  Beverly’s opening remarks will set the stage the stage for a full ‘immersive’ learning day. Learn how the Summits’ best-in-class speakers; the Excellence in Social Media Awards program; and the afternoon Breakout Sessions will help you and your business understand where social media fits in your marketing strategies.

She will then introduce the core concepts of social media and Examine where social media is heading. Beverly teaches Social Media Marketing at UCLA and works with Fortune 100 clients to understand how social media can enhance traditional marketing strategies. She will briefly discuss the learning components of the day by providing an overview of the social media landscape, including Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and real time marketing as it stands today.

9:20 AM —- AM KEYNOTE - EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, Jeffrey Hayzlett – Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President
Jeff Hayzlett is an exciting and inspiring speaker and one of the few businessmen from Corporate America who has really and fully embraced the social media as a way to create a conversation and at the same time promote the Kodak brand. Find out how social media is a key part of Kodak’s strategy to improve their brand and drive revenue for the company.

Kodak has embraced the new platform, even making headlines with both controversial and ground-breaking social media ventures. Hayzlett has not only combated competitors via Twitter, but he also ran an unprecedented campaign to rename Kodak’s Zi8 – praised for its performance, criticized for its name – in which followers were asked to suggest an alternate name for the product. The winning suggestion replaced Zi8 and the winner was sent to this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

9:50 AM – USATODAY.COM – Brian Dresher, Acquisition Marketing Manager
“Tips for Engaging Audience and Staff in Social Media”
Brian is part of USA Today’s online marketing team and is responsible for customer acquisition initiatives which include content distribution, partnerships, RSS, widgets, podcasts, video, instant messaging, and social networking. Learn how USATODAY.com brings in new users and increases traffic on the site as well as how Brian has helped USATODAY.com’s brand awareness, user engagement, and traffic. This practical session will help you learn tips and tactics to be productive with these tools.

10:10 AM – BOOST MOBILE, Rachael Gross – Social Media Specialist
“Practical Use of Twitter and FB for Customer Relationship Management”
Find out how Rachael has grown Boost Mobile’s Twitter followers 30x over six months and how Boos engages fans on Facebook. Rachael will discuss in detail how Boost coordinates marketing, customer experience, customer care, and sales to maximize engagement with customers via social media.

10:30 AM - Networking Break

10:50 – MAZDA / REBEL INDUSTRIES – David Harris, Group Manager Digital and Alternative, NA and Josh Levine, CEO, Rebel Industries
“Connecting with Targeted Customers via Social Media”
Rebel Industries is a unique consortium of market-savvy, culturally-driven, connected individuals who reflect a fundamental shift in the way brands connect with consumers. Rebel develops and implements marketing programs that enable brands to contribute to — and become part of niche communities and consumer conversations. Learn how veteran digital marketer David Harris (formerly from Suzuki) is working with Rebel to help guide Mazda into Social Media and effectively bringing Mazda to closer communications with its key demographics.

11:10 – CITIZEN NET, Dan Benyamin, CEO and UCLA alumn
“How the Social Experience Affects Brand Awareness”
What are ‘real time’ social streams and how can your company use them to increase brand awareness? Learn first-hand from Citizen Net’s CEO Dan Benyamin, how real-time displays of social media activity, specific to a product, topic, or brand, are giving companies social analytic tools to understand how people communicate with each other and with the brands they love.

11:30 – Awards Program “Excellence in Social Media Marketing”
Hosts: Rodney Rumford and Beverly Macy, Co-Founders of Gravity Summit, Van Anderson, Program Director, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, International Trade & Commerce, UCLA Extension
Gravity Summit, helmed as the ‘gold standard’ of social media marketing events, is pleased to announce the recipients of the event’s first Excellence in Social Media Marketing awards. These awards were created to recognize the superior understanding and use of social media marketing tools by well known brands, businesses and individuals.

1. Excellence in Social Media Marketing in Business to Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is recognized for the company’s vision and outstanding achievements in using social media to connect and engage with consumers and grow its brand in the 21st Century. Kodak recently leveraged social media to crowdsource the name of its newest pocket video camera. Kodak also produced a Social Media Tips Booklet sharing key learnings and best practices to help businesses develop an effective social media plan. The booklet is available at kodak.com/go/followus. Accepting the award on behalf of Kodak will be Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Kodak.

2. Excellence in Social Media Marketing in Entertainment to Felicia Day
Co-presented by the UCLA Extension Business and Management Department, this award is being presented to Actress, Internet and Twitter star Felicia Day, who has achieved phenomenal success in digital, interactive and social media. Her web series, “The Guild” has achieved over 25 million total views and she has over 1.7 million followers on Twitter. Her video, “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar” has over 7 million views and sales of the MP3 reached #1 on iTunes and Amazon.

3. Excellence in Social Media Marketing in Social Good to Domino Foods
In 2009, Domino embarked on the company’s first social media campaign to talk to consumers about the Great American Bake Sale, a national campaign that mobilizes Americans to end childhood hunger by hosting bake sales in their community.  The social media campaign with agency DEI Worldwide included word of mouth/conversational marketing, Facebook and Twitter strategies and contributed to over 2,000 bake sales being held across the country and over $1.2 million dollars being raised.

12:15 – Networking Lunch – Please visit vendor tables in the Promenade

1:15 – BREAKOUT SESSIONS – Choose One
•    Music, Entertainment, Sports - How to Use Social Media to Engage Passionate Fans
Sponsored by the LA Clippers and Moderated by Nic Adler, Owner of The Roxy Theater on Sunset.  Panelists include Larry Weintraub, CEO of Fanscape; Jeff Eldersveld, of the LA Clippers; Valerie Michaels, CityPublicity/Action Sports; Alf LaMont, The Comedy Store.  Join them for a frank and revealing discussion on how social media is affecting and enhancing the music, entertainment, and sports businesses industries.

•       Social Media Meets Social Good: Cause Marketing Case Studies and Strategies. Moderated by Emmy nominated TV and Web Personality, Shira Lazar. This panel of experts will educate both corporate and nonprofit attendees on building an audience using social media, and about the intersection of social media and social good. Panelists: Barb Dybwab, Senior Editor at MASHABLE; Judy Chang, PayPal’s Principal Product Manager for Nonprofits; Chris Noble, CEO of Causemedia Group; Meaghan Edelstein, Founder of Spirit Jump.

•    “Getting Started” – Now What? How Do I Get Started and What Social Media Tools Do I Use?
Sponsored and Moderated by Alon Waisman of GoDaddy.com; Serena Ehrlich, Blaze PR; Lauren Kozak, Britney Spear’s Social Media Manager; Neal Schaffer, Author and Principal of Windmill Networking
This session is perfectly designed for those attendees who want to know How Do I Get Started? Serena is a social media campaign strategy expert; Lauren is Britney Spear’s Social Media Director and an expert on ‘the basics’; and Neal is a Linked In expert. They will ‘break it all down’ and answer as many questions you may have on what do when you get back to the office tomorrow.

2:30 PM – Networking Break

2:45 PM – PM KEYNOTE, DOMINO’S PIZZA, Ramon De Leon, COO, Chicago Franchise
“How to Engage Your Customers in a Non-Stop Conversation About Your Brand”
Ramon is one of the most dynamic speakers in social media today. His enthusiasm and knowledge of using social media to engage with customers is insightful and inspirational. Ramon has been called a “word-of-mouth SUPER GENIUS” and will present his case study on identifying where your customers are; discuss how powerful video can be for your brand; what it takes to “take the plunge”. Ramon is becoming a favorite on the ‘social media speaking circuit’ and got his start at Gravity Summit! You don’t want to miss this!

3:10 PM- TURBOTAX, Scott Gulbransen, Director, Corporate Communications
“How TurboTax Reinvented Tax Day with Social Media”
Think your industry is “too highly regulated for social media”? Learn how Intuit’s TurboTax has reinvented a cumbersome process by using Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to help the brand stand out as a software tax solution AND reinvent many American’s experience of the tax day in the process. Also hear how TurboTax is cascading the ‘social media’ message throughout the enterprise. TurboTax has been pioneering in their use of the web for several years now, using crowdsourcing to let people answer one another’s questions at every step of the tax process.

3:30 PM- SATELLITE MARKETING, Kevin Popovic, Communications Manager
“Using Social Media For Sales, Marketing, and Branding”
This session continues the conversation on how business leaders and marketing professionals are broadening their perspectives on the new medium and its application for business. Using a case study on Satellite Marketing, Kevin will answer questions on the minds of all decision makers: How much do we invest in social media? How do we repurpose our business content for our Facebook and Twitter presence?

3:50 – MARKYR MEDIA, Co-Founder Kyra Reed
“Bringing It All Together”
This session puts the cap on the day by helping you think strategically about the tasks you’re facing related to social media. Whether you’re already down the social media path, or just getting started, you’ll leave today’s summit with knowledge about what to do next.  Kyra is a Facebook expert and will help pull all the information of the day together.  This session will help you think strategically about the tasks you’re facing back in the office tomorrow and beyond.

4:10 – Closing Remarks
Thank you to our Speakers and to the Gravity Summit Attendees!

4:30 - Adjourn

6:30 PM – TWEETUP/COCKTAIL PARTY Sponsored by Mazda JOIN US for refreshments at the ROXY THEATER ON SUNSET 9009 West Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90069 http://theroxyonsunset.com/

Guest post from Dominique Miniaci, Spirit Jump

Whether you’re part of a 3 person non-profit on a shoestring budget or a multinational corporation trying to “figure out” social media, one of the most popular emerging tactics is to challenge your audience to do good.

Pepsi is forgoing its Super Bowl ads this year, Chase is pledging $1 million to one non-profit, dozens of brands and celebrities are uniting for Haiti relief.  These campaigns generate money for good causes, but they also generate goodwill and consumer interaction for brands.  And more and more, that interaction is taking place in social media.

At Spirit Jump, we’re excited to be harnessing this trend, and to be able to share our story at Gravity Summit.  Acknowledged as a top contender for “Best use of Social Media” by Mashable and others, we’ll talk about building an audience using social media, and about the intersection of social media and social good.

We’ll be joined by a panel of experts who will cover a range of best practices in this space. So if you want to do some good and build an audience while doing it, this panel is for you.  Please join us!

(Watch this blog for complete panel bios and information):

Moderator:

Emmy nominated TV and Web Personality, Shira Lazar.

Panelists:

Barb Dybwab, Senior Editor at MASHABLE

Judy Chang, PayPal’s Principal Product Manager for Nonprofits

Chris Noble, CEO of Causemedia Group

Meaghan Edelstein, Founder of Spirit Jump.

ATTN Nonprofits: please email Spirit Jump spiritjumper@spiritjump.com for discounted tickets. First ticket $199, $149 per additional organization member.

As I reflect back on all of the advancements, benchmarks, adoption and marked increase in overall adoption of social media in 2009; I want to share some forward looking thoughts on what 2010 will likely bring. Think about how these changes could impact your business (both positively & negatively) as you read this post

Social networks have forever changed user behaviors and expectations in ways that scare most brands. The power has forever shifted to the consumer. You can’t sit by the sidelines and wait for this “fad” to go away; because it is never going away. WAKE UP: You Have No Control!

The velocity of innovation, change and adoption of new technologies/platforms/eco-systems has never been faster. Metcalfe’s Law is in full effect via social networks. (Metcalfe’s law states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system)

It seems like only yesterday (2.5 years ago) that facebook had ONLY 20 million users as they launched their f8 application platform. Facebook now has over 350 million users worldwide; the world wide adoption is mind numbing and unprecedented.

Twitter has busted out of its early adopter geeky user base and gone mainstream with well over 60 million users. As a communication platform it is unprecedented in its how people use it as a flexible channel for dissemination and consumption of content.

Photo sharing services are rapidly moving forward with lots of mobile adoption and social interactions across multiple social networks. This is fundamentally changing the types of information we share socially and the types of photos we take.

Mobile has finally arrived (been hearing it is the year of mobile since 2000) with the widespread adoption of smartphones like iPhone and Google android. The app environment is ever growing with over 100 K apps for iphones currently.

The earthquake disaster in Haiti has taught people around the world that they can effectively “text” money/donations that will show up on their bill. This is a huge deal in the education of the north american population of users to the possibilities of text & commerce. Most people had no idea you could do this until this terrible human tragedy occurred.

7 Social Media Visionary Thoughts for 2010

1. Asynchronous casual gaming will grow to over 300 million users worldwide with increasing penetration into the mobile space. (companies like Zynga)
2. Opportunities for brands to truly engage, listen and participate beyond simple customer service and sales will emerge. Consumers will expect more participation from your brand, not less.
3. The mobile smart phone app environment will emerge as a more valuable communication channel as social networks add increased mobile functionality for sharing, interaction and commerce.
4. Android will be in a close second place race with iPhone by years end. The opportunities here are enormous for smart socialized businesses that develop with consumers needs in mind.
5. Users social graphs will become increasingly portable and allow deeper and richer experiences with consumers on large brand and business sites.
6. Social networks will finally penetrate/mainstream the boomer and above age groups as their children pull them in to socialized sharing as a more normalized way of communicating and staying in touch across geographic separations.
7. Mobile geo specific platforms (gowalla, four square, yelp) will effect local commerce, marketing and communications as recommendation engines and channels for promotion. These types of services will become more integrated into a variety of 3rd party applications and experiences.

So what does all this mean??? It means you need to stay on top of these advances in technology and how they can positively impact your business if leveraged properly. Staying educated in an ongoing manner is what we aim to do at Gravity Summit by bring together the brightest minds in this rapidly changing social, marketing and branding space.

We hope to see you in person at our UCLA Gravity Summit 2-22-2010. Get your tickets now.

Cheers!

Rodney Rumford: Gravity Summit Founder @rumford

Gravity Summit is excited about the upcoming 1 Year Anniversary event at UCLA on 2-22-2010.  We also believe in supporting and cross-promoting other high-quality events in the area and I wanted to let you know about a big opportunity from Bryan Elliott, a Gravity Summit alumni.  Brian is the Founder of SoCal Action Sports Network and does awesome work in the space.

He’s planning a huge by-invite only networking event and has invited us to be part it. The event features special guest, best selling author and speaker Seth Godin Feb. 11, 7:00-10pm in Irvine. If you don’t know Seth Godin, Seth is to marketing and new media what Steve Jobs is to computers and digital technology–an icon. The event site is password protected so see the site link and password below.

Here’s the details:
What: One Night to Discover: How to be Indispensable
An evening with Seth Godin–Best Selling author, A-List lecture circuit speaker, marketing icon and writer of one of the most influential and visited marketing blogs in the world.
Seth will deliver a 1-hour keynote: “Keys to Success, The Present &
Future of Marketing: How to be Indispensable” based on his new book,
“Linchpin.”

When: Thurs. February 11, 2010. Time: 7:00-10:00 pm
Where: Ford Motor Corp. Western HQ, 3 Glen Bell Way, Suite 100 Irvine CA 92618
Agenda: 7-7:30pm reception, 7:30-8:30 pm Seth, 8:30~networking

Tickets start at $49.

Event link: http://www.linkedoc.com/?p=160

It’s important to know that Seth rarely ever does this kind of private event. He usually speaks to Fortune 100 companies who pay him $80,000/day to speak or at the TED Conference.If you know about the TED Conference, you know that it’s an annual event where the greatest  minds in the world gather. It’s by invite only and each ticket is about $9,000. Seth is also from the NYC and rarely comes out this way.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Here’s the IMPORTANT part. Seth has agreed to come BUT he will only come if we fill at least 100 General Admission tickets by January 25th.

This is a big opportunity but If we DON’T make it, the event is not happening and will be canceled. (You will receive a full refund so there’s no risk).