iStrategy 2010 Sold Out in Chicago: Paradigm shift in Social Media significance

We all know that time is money and understand that Social Media Marketing is a real-time, targeted way of communicating with an engaged and active demographic, one that gives as much feedback to the company in question as it provides to the demographic; hence its usefulness and transcendent ability.

Most companies, both on the business and consumer sides know and try to practice this, however success has not been equally quick for all enterprises. One of the reasons may be the lack of training within today's companies. The iStrategy Chicago conference, taking place at the the Hotel Allegro this week, packages this expertise in a way that all marketing and managerial professionals can utilize, no matter the company size, budget, or experience.

For a company, a single tweet, blog post or YouTube video can spread in a matter of hours, naturally finding its way into the attention of potential customers and clients. Even the most traditional CEOs are accepting the power of the tweet.
The event is sold out, adding a further confirmation stamp to the popularity and importance of social media to all businesses. Amongst the brands confirmed are representatives from Disney, Sony, Ebay, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, Cisco, Universal, Linkedin and Novartis eager to see the B2B and B2C capabilities of the right social media marketing package. They will be working with the leading social media experts from companies such as Adidas, Cisco, MTV, HSBC, Roche and Vodafone, amongst many others.

The success of these companies is obvious; their brands are synonymous within their relevant sectors; yet to be successful in an ever changing environment like social media, flagship companies understand the need to be flexible, adaptable and sympathetic to differing trends and movements, which is where iStrategy Chicago comes in.

Despite the simplicity of a social idea, the impact is incomparable; creating brand awareness money can't buy. Their relationship with iStrategy Chicago 2010 means that the power of social media marketing is now available to all, from the minds of some of the sectors best innovators and architects.

Although iStrategy Chicago 2010 is Sold Out, you can still get a piece of the action by registering todat at Fora.tv to watch the debates through a live online stream.

CIO Committee Calls for Cloud

Last week saw the meeting of the leading CIOs from Latin America’s most successful companies at the CIO LA summit (hosted by GDS International). The meeting was called as a result of the increasingly sensitive approach needed to operate business in our current economic climate.

The CIO Committee believes that there is a growing need to work outside of the box; in essence to create a forward thinking and visionary approach to the IT departments within every company. Latin America has traditionally been seen by the rest of the world to be behind when it comes to information technology. However, a recent announcement from Cisco stated that the company is hoping to form new partnerships within the region, which will boost the level of IT skills. The committee, who met in Mexico last week, believe that the next few months will see an increase in the need for professionals with a greater understanding of technology within their sectors. Increased investment and outsourcing data storage will help the continent to build on the more basic needs of better communication and government support systems for Latin America.

“It is up to each and every CIO to seek out and take responsibility for the most cost-effective and productive IT systems and strategies in order to create opportunity out of an increasingly rocky landscape. Quite frankly, IT is a game changer” David Broffman, Project Director

Key to conversations was the impact of cloud computing on the IT sector. The cloud is not new to business but the potential it holds to transform the internal workings of a company are still being discovered. At the moment, cloud computing is very much in the early years. Chuck Hollis – VP and Global Marketing CTO, EMC Corporation understands that we are still seeing security and networking issues. For bigger companies with large amounts of data there are risks to handing this over to a remote provider. We are seeing a “if you want a job doing, do it yourself” attitude which requires dedicated work from IT service staff. The agility of a business can make or break how it reacts to varying economic changes.

Business depends on quick response times, so it is vital that everyone has access to all relevant information and can keep up with the current economic climate.

“The Journey to the Private Cloud requires a transformational approach that balances an ambitious architecture with a solid operational framework. The result is rationalized business processes, applications and platforms that align with business imperatives – giving you the efficiencies, control and choice you need to thrive in this economy.” Chuck Hollis – VP and Global Marketing CTO, EMC Corporation

The CIO committee last week comprised of Patricio Melo, COO/CTO, Banco de Chile; João Lencioni, CIO Latin America, GE; Marcos Semola, CIO, Shell; and Jose Luis Fernandez Serrano, CIO Mexico, Pepsi Beverages Company. Now more than ever, companies can see the need to migrate towards cloud computing but are wary of the risks.

iStrategy 2010; bridging the gap in Social Media Marketing

We all know that time is money and understand that Social Media Marketing is a real-time, targeted way of communicating with an engaged and active demographic, one that gives as much feedback to the company in question as it provides to the demographic. Hence its usefulness and transcendent ability.

Most companies, both on the business and consumer sides know and try to practice this, however success has not been equally quick for all enterprises. One of the reasons may be the lack of training within today’s companies. The iStrategy Sydney conference, set to take place at the Sheraton Park Hotel on the 24th-25th November, packages this expertise in a way that all marketing and managerial professionals can utilize, no matter the company size, budget, or experience.

The news that Australia is to invest US$10billion in a pan-Australian fibre-optic network will transform its country socially and economically and will set an example for economies throughout Europe. The roll out of broadband across Australia will also open a world of Social Media Marketing yet untapped by the business community within the continent.

For a company, a single tweet, blog post or YouTube video can spread in a matter of hours, naturally finding its way into the attention of potential customers and clients. Even the most traditional CEOs are accepting the power of the tweet.

iStrategy Sydney 2010 is hosted by GDS International; the company has over 15 years in some of the largest international industries in the world, Oil and Gas, Pharmaceuticals, IT and Mining to name but a few. Their C-level business to business summits and clients have given them an innate understanding of how to translate and explain the future of social media in B2B and B2C to executives who know their companies should be aggressive, but do not know how to execute. iStrategy 2010 is bridging the gap the way so many other social media conferences either haven’t, or haven’t bothered to.

Already confirmed are representatives from Disney, HSBC, Pfizer, AMD and Coca-Cola eager to see the B2B and B2C capabilities of the right social media marketing package. They will be working with the leading social media experts from companies such as Adidas, Cisco, MTV, Allblacks.com, Commonwealth Bank and PepsiCo .

The success of these companies is obvious; their brands are synonymous within their relevant sectors; the Pepsi Refresh Project allowing the customer to interactively distribute profits, Evian’s Roller Babies viral spread on YouTube and Cisco’s winning the People's Choice award in the tech company’s category for its myPlanNet campaign - a downloadable simulation game.

Despite the simplicity of a social idea, the impact is incomparable; creating brand awareness money can’t buy. Their relationship with iStrategy Sydney 2010 means that the power of social media marketing is now available to all, from the minds of some of the sectors best innovators and architects.