The College of Communication and Information is about to open its new Adam Brown Social Media Command Center, where faculty, staff, and students will be able to employ the same leading technology Fortune 100 companies worldwide use to publish, engage, and analyze their social media marketing activities.
This cutting-edge facility, which will be powered by Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Studio technology, is being constructed and will be operated through a fund established for the college by Adam Brown, an alumnus of the college. Brown, who earned his bachelor’s degree in advertising in 1994, is now executive strategist for Salesforce, a San Francisco-based company that pioneered cloud computing and is the world’s number one customer relationship management platform.
Additional funding for the command center is being provided through the Tombras Social Media Analytics Fund, which was established by Charlie Tombras, president and CEO of the Tombras Group and a 1964 UT advertising graduate,
The Social Media Command Center is located in Room 467 of the Communications Building. As part of UT’s Social Media Week, an open house to showcase the facility and its technology-driven learning opportunities will be held from 10:00 a.m. to noon on Thursday, March 31. The open house will be free and open to the public.
The command center will be operational on Monday, April 18, and will available for all CCI students, faculty, and staff.
“While the Social Studio software can be used by CCI students and faculty from anywhere, the command center houses technology that students can use to collaborate, prepare, and present their findings,” said Brown. “Social listening data is dynamic, and students will be able to practice presenting real-time data from over one billion sources in a command center environment no different than ones used by top global brands, research firms, government agencies, political campaigns, and relief organizations.”
Brown, along with fellow alumnus Ed Patterson, who earned his bachelor’s degree in public relations in 1989, have been instrumental in the development and continuing expansion of UT’s Social Media Week over the past five years.
“The Adam Brown Social Media Command Center will enable our students to graduate with unique skills and knowledge that will make them more marketable in a very competitive job market,” said CCI Dean Mike Wirth. “It will also provide a powerful tool for CCI faculty to utilize as they engage in curricular and scholarly innovation.”
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CONTACTS:
Donna Silvey (865-974-6727, dsilvey@utk.edu)
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)