Zocalo Group and the Chicago Tribune Partner to Host Social Media Week Chicago

CHICAGO, June 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Chicago will be friended, liked, linked and a-twitter when social media industry icons, area experts and marketing professionals assemble in Chicago for the City's first-ever Social Media Week, part of a global initiative to elevate the role of social media and mobile marketing.  Social Media Week organizers selected Zocalo Group, an Omnicom company and leader in word of mouth and social media marketing, and the Chicago Tribune, one of the country's leading multimedia companies, as Chicago market hosts for the event which takes places September 19-23 at various locations across the city.

Far more than just a conference, Social Media Week is one of the world's most unique organized events. Through a series of interconnected activities across the world, Social Media Week offers a global perspective on emerging trends in social and mobile media across all major industries. Along with Social Media Week activities taking place in Chicago, similar, simultaneous events will take place in eleven other cities, including Los Angeles, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Glasgow, Milan, Moscow, Vancouver, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.

"We're thrilled Chicago is among a select group of global cities included in Social Media Week this year and honored that Zocalo Group has been chosen along with the Chicago Tribune to assemble the highest caliber experts in social and mobile marketing," said Paul M. Rand, president and CEO for Zocalo Group. "Social media has become critical for brands, consumers and both public and private organizations. The event will highlight what's working best today, and what is coming next."  

Spanning seven days and a dozen or more venues across Chicago, Social Media Week Chicago will involve area companies, national brands, academic institutions, non-profit organizations and government agencies. Topics to be addressed will include: brands, business and companies; entertainment; government and social policy; learning; technology and innovation and mobile applications. Sponsorships and speaking opportunities are available. Organizations and individuals interested in becoming involved should visit www.socialmediaweek.org/chicago.

"The Chicago Tribune has been a connector of communities for 167 years and we've come a long way since we were delivering a broadsheet newspaper by horse," said Bill Adee, Vice President of Digital Operations and Development for Chicago Tribune. "Now we're facilitating discussions through Colonel Tribune's 800,000 Twitter followers and helping our advertisers use social media to build their businesses. We're excited to play a role in bringing together Chicago's social media innovators so we all can share what we've learned in this rapidly growing area."

The February 2011 Social Media Week events drew attendees from nine cities and eight countries and featured 600 events with more than 1,800 speakers. Participants included over 30,000 in-person attendees, 80,000 individuals watching presentations via live video stream and 200,000 more engaging online combined to help Social Media week become the world's largest simultaneous multi-city conference.

Please follow @SMWChicago on Twitter and connect with us on Facebook for real-time updates.

About Zocalo Group

Zocalo Group is a full-service word-of-mouth and social media marketing agency, helping leading consumer and business to business brands become the most talked about and recommended in their category. Based in Chicago, Zocalo Group has received numerous industry awards for brand programs and measurement initiatives. Zocalo Group is a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) and Ketchum. For more information, please visit www.zocalogroup.com.

About Chicago Tribune

For 163 years, the Chicago Tribune has been a market-leading publication of the Tribune Company.  Reaching five million readers each week in print, online and through radio, television and live events, the Tribune is known for its public service journalism and watchdog reporting.   In 2010, the Tribune launched Trib Nation, a community outreach and audience engagement program that includes a broad menu of live events such as Chicago Forward: Conversations About the Future, a series of public policy discussions; programs by columnists and other journalists; literary events including Author Talks, Lit Fest, and Literary Awards; and classes and seminars under the banner TribU: Lessons for Life.

About Social Media Week

Social Media Week is owned and operated by Crowdcentric Media LLC and is a global platform connecting people, content, and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media. Delivered primarily through a network of internationally hosted conferences and online through social media, Social Media Week literally connects hundreds of thousands of people every year through learning experiences that aim to advance our understanding of social media's role in society. To learn more, visit http://socialmediaweek.org/.

SOURCE Zocalo Group

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED