JACKSON, WY (BRAIN)—With blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and many other social media and social networks gaining ground as influential channels of communication, particularly among younger demographics, social media strategies have become an integral part of public relations campaigns.
To address this shift, Base Camp Communications has hired Kendall Card as director of social media. The addition makes Base Camp a ground breaker in the ability to power the full spectrum of public relations—from traditional media relations and internal communications to blogging and video initiatives, social networking and word-of-mouth campaigns.
Card, known to many forum junkies and blog readers as powstash, will be in charge of Base Camp’s social media, social networking, word-of-mouth and online community initiatives.
Card will oversee blogging, vlogging and podcasting, as well as Facebook and MySpace strategizing, online community development, SEO and SEM, Web site design optimization, site analytics and performance metrics. His job is to research and explore the rapidly evolving field of social computing.
“We aren’t launching a new social media wing or division of Base Camp,” said Mike Geraci, Base Camp's director. “Social Media and PR have begun to overlap and in some instances converge and by having both competencies in-house we will be able to explore, develop and leverage the relationship directly.”
The Base Camp crew met Card when he was Backcountry.com’s Community Manager, leading the e-tailer’s blogging, community outreach and grass roots marketing activities. Card went on to start his own gig, Wombranding, and quickly amassed a list of clients for whom he was directing social media and grass roots strategies, including Ski Utah, ProBar, Bluehouse Skis, Utah Vacation Homes and Backcountry.com. These accounts will now become clients of Base Camp.
“Base Camp’s brand of PR has always focused on creating better ways for clients to connect on a more personal level,” said Geraci. “And years ago we were the first to experiment with social media and social networks as a natural way to achieve emotional connection. By adding Kendall to the Base Camp crew, we’re taking the next step in our relationship with social media, and we’re recognizing the evolution of public relations.”
Card will be working out of Base Camp’s Park City, Utah office and can be reached at kcard@basecampcomm.com.
