‘Bias’ bloggers to descend on Bentonville firm

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) 153 views 

Dozens of active bloggers will make their way to Bentonville on May 3 to take part in the Collective Bias SoFabCon – a three–day conference designed to bring bloggers and brands together under one roof.

Collective Bias is a pioneer in the social shopping media content area. The firm just barely four years old has signed iconic brands such as Nestle, Tyson and K-Mart/Sears. Their proprietary Social Fabric – a network of 1,400 active bloggers – actively influences brands with their web content.

The conference “SoFabCon”  is set for May 3-5 at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers. It’s the company’s first conference organized on behalf of its growing blogger community consisting of more than 1,400 active members which comprise the firm’s Social Fabric.

“One of the benefits to hosting a conference in Bentonville is being in close proximity with many big brands,” said John Andrews, CEO of Collective Bias. “This is a great opportunity for brands to build relationships with their shoppers in a unique, fun and valuable way.”

Mailena Urso, spokeswoman for Collective Bias, said registration is going well with some 220 participants already signed up.

The event will consist of two tracks, one specifically designed for brands and the other organized for bloggers. On May 3, the one-day Social Immersion track will take place for brands with feature sessions led by industry leading professionals who will share stories and case studies on how they have successfully and effectively leveraged the social space.

Brands who wish to take part in the “Social Immersion Day” will need to register online.

“SoFabCon is truly going to be a unique educational experience for brands and bloggers taking place right here in Northwest Arkansas, what we like to call the ‘Silicon Valley’ of retail,” said Courtney Velasquez, vice president of community relations.

Though organized for Collective Bias bloggers, the conference is also open to the blogging community at large. The cost for bloggers is $149 which includes access to all the SoFabCon sessions. Registration is available online

Some of the featured speakers slated for the business track segments of the conference include:
• Umang Shah, the director of social strategy for Wal-Mart, who speak about his analytical and data driven approach to social strategies.

• Mark Fidelman, CEO of Evolve! and Forbes columnist, will cover how retailers are profiting from social campaigns, influencers and company advocates.

• Tami Cannizzaro, executive director of marketing for IBM, will discuss three guiding principles for the next generation chief marketing officer.

• Calvin Peters, social media director for Duane Reade, will broach the subject of “Omni-channel shoppers” and discuss ways for retailers to drive sales and grow shopper loyalty.

Speakers addressing the social track segments include:
• Melissa Garcia, owner of ConsumerQueen.com, will cover the basics of how to monetize a blog.

• Tiffany Romero, co-owner of Launch Productions LLC, will discuss how to power down and find some life balance which is often a challenge for at-home bloggers.

Numerous other executives from Collective Bias and elsewhere will be speaking during the conference and the full agenda can be accessed online.