The moment you’ve been waiting for is finally here! With two sold-out years of the Social Brand Forum behind us, we are excited to announce more details on how we are making this year’s event bigger and better than ever. Drumroll please …
The Social Brand Forum is the Midwest’s premier digital marketing event, bringing national speakers and industry thought leaders to Iowa’s Creative Corridor for two days of learning. In the time since our first event, the Social Brand Forum has been featured on several lists of social media conferences that marketers can’t miss. This year’s event will follow in these footsteps.
Speakers Announcement for Social Brand Forum 2014
This year’s event takes place on September 25-26 at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center at the Iowa River Landing in Coralville. Once again, I’m thrilled to announce that we have some of the very brightest names in the social media and digital marketing universe.
Chris Brogan, CEO of Owner Magazine – Chris is Publisher and CEO of Owner Magazine, a business magazine helping you improve your worth by growing your capabilities and connections. He is a sought-after keynote speaker who has addressed crowds of thousands, been on the Dr Phil show, and once presented to a princess. Chris has consulted with companies you know like Disney, Microsoft, Coke, Titleist, Pepsico, Google, Motorola, and many more. He is the New York Times Bestselling author of six books and counting, including The Impact Equation, with Julien Smith. He lives in northern Massachusetts, where he frequently plays Minecraft with his kids.
Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs – Ann speaks and writes about how you can rethink the way your business markets. Cited in Forbes as the most influential woman in Social Media and recognized by ForbesWoman as one of the top 20 women bloggers, Ann is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, a training and education company with the largest community of marketers in its category. She is a monthly columnist for Entrepreneur magazine, a member of the LinkedIn Influencer program , and the co-author of the best-selling book on content marketing, Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business.
John Jantsch, Founder of Duct Tape Marketing – John has been called the World’s Most Practical Small Business Expert for consistently delivering real-world, proven small business marketing ideas and strategies. He is a marketing consultant, speaker and best selling author of Duct Tape Marketing, The Commitment Engine, The Referral Engine, and Duct Tape Selling. His practical take on small business is often cited as a resource in publications such as the Wall St. Journal, New York Times, and CNNMoney.
Other speakers as well as a full conference agenda will be released in the months ahead. The best way to get a feel for the event itself is in this new video made by our good friends John and Caitlin Wiedenheft.
How’s This Year’s Event Bigger and Better?
As we said, Social Brand Forum 2014 comes on the heels of two sold out events drawing hundreds of marketers from across the country. Anyone who was at last year’s event knows that we were packed in the room with people sitting at added tables and on the floor. This year, we’re planning for even more attendees in our largest space yet.
We’re also excited to announce that we’re growing our schedule as well. This year, along with their registration, attendees can purchase additional access to a special pre-conference workshop with keynoter Ann Handley. More details will be coming soon on this workshop but it promises powerful content and personal access to best-spelling author and speaker Ann Handley. We’re limiting this session to 50 attendees.
Our opening night reception will be even bigger and better as we expand our party to Backpocket Brewing, Iowa’s largest craft brewer. We look forward to getting social with you after hours as well!
We’re honored and excited to again bring this kind of expert content to the area for an action packed two days of learning. Social media and digital marketing are changing at such a rapid pace, it’s essential that we all stay current. Our mission is to help organizations of all sizes build better brands online and the Social Brand Forum does just that.
We’re also thankful for early support from an incredible group of sponsors including Fusionfarm and Zephyr Printing and Design. Interested in sponsoring? Contact us now.
What’s It Cost?
Registration for the event is $375, which includes a copy of Chris Brogan’s new book, The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth, and a new book from Ann Handley for each attendee. However, the first 150 to register will receive a special rate of $275 as well as a copy of John Jantsch’s new book Duct Tape Selling. The pre-confernece workshop costs an additional $75.
A student rate of $95 is also available by emailing [email protected].
What’s Next?
- Ready to go? Registration is open at socialbrandforum.com.
- Are you a potential sponsor? We have several amazing opportunities available to get your brand in front of an excited group of marketers and social media influencers. Contact us now.
- Join the Social Brand conversation by liking Brand Driven Digital on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and using the hashtag #socialbrand14.
We’ll have many updates to share here and on the conference website in the months leading up to this event with new speakers and additions to the agenda.
Thanks for reading and for your support!
I hope to see you in Iowa again this fall for the Social Brand Forum!
