Article

Foodservice social media conference FSMU runs Early Bird Special

August 3, 2011 by Valerie Killifer — senior editor, NetWorld Alliance

The Foodservice Social Media Universe, set for Sept. 18-20 in San Francisco, is offering $100 off the registration rate of $695 for people who register by Aug. 8. In addition, early-bird registrants will be automatically entered to win two complimentary nights at San Francisco's Hotel Kabuki during the conference week.

The conference is intended to raise awareness and use of social media tools and strategies for restaurant operators and foodservice industry vendors, manufacturers and service providers. It is being presented through a partnership between social networking site FohBoh and NetWorld Alliance, publisher of FastCasual.com, QSRweb.com and PizzaMarketplace.com.

The event will begin with an opening reception Sept. 18 and end with a closing keynote Sept. 20 to be given by FohBoh founder and CEO Michael L. Atkinson. Prior to the official conference launch, the social media team at FohBoh will host a pre-conference workshop that will cover the basic social media tools and applications available for foodservice operators — Social Media 101. The FohBoh team of social media practitioners also will host a post-conference session designed to help operators develop a custom social media strategy based on conference topics and takeaways — Social Media 201.

The conference is open to all executive members of the foodservice industry, including public relations and marketing professionals, human resources executives, business development directors, branded food and beverage manufacturers, CEOs and their executive teams.

Agenda highlights include the opening keynote presented by Jeremiah Owyang of Altimeter Group. A second general session will be given by Kathleen Wood of Kathleen Wood Partners LLC, and Nate DaPore, CEO of People Matter, will deliver a third general session address on emerging technologies.

Other sessions include:

• How to Develop Your Social Media Strategy: Moderated by John Scroggins, director, Integrated Planning, Noble. Panelists include Sarah Adams, Raising Canes; Paul Barron, Digital CoCo; and Dean Trevelino, principal, Trevelino/Keller.
• Navigating the New Media Landscape in a Social Web World: WithHilary Allard, vice president, The Castle Group; and Ken Langdon, co-founder/partner, Langdon Flynn Communications
• The Big Bang: B2B Social Media & Marketing:Moderated bySteve Groves, Online & Social Marketing Strategist, ProfitStreams. Presenters include Sheri Austin, managing partner, The Alchemedia Project, and Jim Crystal, Salt Communications.

Click here to view the full agenda.