Cool Marketing Thoughts

I’m really flattered that I’ve been invited to cover the Mplanet 2006 event by means of blog. Live-coverage is pretty fun to do, but unfortunately not many people seem to know I live and work in Belgium and not in the US of A, so I’ll have to pass on this one unless I get an airplane ticket to travel to Florida (and back as well, if possible). That said, I promised to do a little promo for the event since almost 70% of my readership comes from the US and mostly marketing minded.

Mplanet, which will take place in Orlando, Florida from November 29-December 1, 2006, will explore today’s top marketing issues such as performance marketing, new customer reality, morphing media and channels, brand relevance, disciplined innovation and new organization reality. Mplanet will offer marketing leaders a chance to learn about new concepts, strategies and solutions that will drive actionable results within their organizations. A galaxy of innovative industry thought leaders (including representatives from P&G, Wharton, GE, AT&T, McKinsey, and comScore) will be conducting sessions at the event. A full schedule can be viewed here (pdf, 574kb)

Mplanet will bring together the world’s most creative thinkers and decision makers—they’re aiming for around 1,000 attendees—to discuss the top issues facing the marketing community today. Content will revolve around six core topic themes that marketers tell us are the most important and most pressing:

• Performance Marketing/Measuring ROI
• New Customer Reality
• Morphing Media & Channels
• Brand Relevance
• Disciplined Innovation
• New Organizational Reality

Mplanet will feature more than 50 senior marketing leaders from companies such as GE, Procter & Gamble, Nokia, Yahoo!, Hershey, Best Buy, Sony and Emerson. The event will be held at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla.
With Mplanet, AMA (American Marketing Association) will create a new definition of “trade show.” Each element of Mplanet has been strategically and creatively planned. The result is an event that is new, exciting, meaningful…and a bit different.

The American Marketing Association created Mplanet because consumers and businesses are holding marketers to a higher standard of effectiveness. According to research done by AMA in the past few years, marketers seek an event that delivers more than talking heads and Power Point presentations. To help marketers succeed, the AMA is providing personally relevant insight and tools from experts and their peers.

The AMA is the largest professional association for senior marketing practitioners, researchers and academia in North America with more than 38,000 members. No other marketing association has the depth and breadth of resources, education, training and knowledge to convene a conference as ambitious and unique as Mplanet. AMA created Mplanet in partnership with McKinsey & Company, The Wharton School and SpencerStuart, all of whom provided key input into the program direction and content.

The cool thing about Mplanet is that in fact it’s an “un-conference”. Attendees will be immersed in a podium-free environment, and they’ll participate in free-form talks, town hall forums, talk shows…engaging formats. Secondly, the content is new and fresh. This is not information you’ve heard at previous events. Lastly, attendees will not be thrown into a drab conference room and talked at. The moment you enter Mplanet, you’re in a new world. From an inviting registration area infused with orange essence that immediately stimulates the senses, to a blue sky and sweeping, grassy landscape providing no barriers to explore new ideas, Mplanet comes to life through an innovative and interactive program.

Again, thank you so much for the invite and the press pass, Rachelle. I really wanted to be part of this and I really appreciate you thought of me to be amongst the bloggers to cover the event. It’s really a shame I live so far away.

The full press release is posted after the jump.

AT&T COO Randall Stephenson Joins Impressive Line-Up Of Speakers at Mplanet™

Innovative Event Tackles Critical Industry Issues and Delivers New Concepts, Strategies and Solutions

Chicago, Sept. 19, 2006 – The American Marketing Association (AMA) today announced that Randall Stephenson, chief operating officer of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), joins a powerful roster of speakers at the first-of-its-kind marketing event, Mplanet™, held November 29 – December 1, 2006, at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla.

Mr. Stephenson will be a featured keynote speaker and will share his thoughts on current trends in the telecommunications industry and how emerging technologies can be used to market products and services in new and more effective ways. As Chief Operating Officer of AT&T, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, Stephenson has a unique perspective on how the convergence of wireless, broadband, video and voice is changing how businesses operate, as well as how consumers receive information and entertainment. Stephenson has been with AT&T for more than 20 years, and previously served as a senior vice president of consumer marketing and as chief financial officer.

“At AT&T, we’re not only enabling telecommunications convergence, we’re also adapting our strategies to take advantage of the opportunities this new era presents,” said Stephenson. “Our new suite of IP-based television, broadband and voice services will provide new opportunities for marketers to better reach potential customers. Multiple evolutions, both within the company and in the industry itself, provide many marketing insights into the changing nature of this field and point toward successful strategies in the future.”

“Mr. Stephenson has seen the communications industry go through several major branding and marketing initiatives, none more prominent than at his own organization,” said Dennis Dunlap, CEO of the American Marketing Association. “Mplanet’s goal is to create a unique, interactive and educational program that successfully provides insight into the topics most important to marketers. We are thrilled to have drawn keynote speakers, like Mr. Stephenson, to share their views and perspectives on the industry.”

Mplanet, created by the AMA in partnership with McKinsey & Company, The Wharton School and SpencerStuart, will enable marketing leaders to explore new solutions and resources, learn new ways to effectively connect with partners and customers, and understand the future trends that will transform their marketing organizations.

Stephenson will join Samuel J. Palmisano, chairman and chief executive officer of IBM as keynote speakers. Mplanet will also feature more than 50 senior marketing leaders from companies such as GE, Kraft, Procter & Gamble, Nokia, Yahoo!, Hershey, Best Buy, Sony, Emerson, comScore Networks, GfK NOP and others, in sharing innovative ideas and practices with the world’s most creative thinkers, decision-makers, influencers and academics.

Mplanet Program

Mplanet sessions will explore today’s top marketing issues such as performance marketing, new customer reality, morphing media and channels, brand relevance, disciplined innovation and new organization reality. Mplanet offers marketing leaders a chance to learn about new concepts, strategies and solutions that will drive actionable results within their organizations.
Mplanet’s “podium-free” and interactive environment will submerge attendees in content that is tailored to their interests and focuses on current and future trends, and the introduction of takeaway tools and techniques. Sessions include:

“Connect + Develop: A New Model for Innovation,” by Larry Huston, VP Innovation, Procter & Gamble. This interactive session will be driven by Huston’s insights into P&G’s business model for driving innovation that has been instrumental in turbo-charging innovation output. Attendees will learn about collaborating with suppliers, competitors, scientists, entrepreneurs and systematically scouring the world landscape for proven concepts or ideas that will lead to better, less expensive products faster.

“Succeeding In A New World of Media,” a talk show hosted by Tom Hernquist, SVP Global Chief Growth Officer, Hershey. This highly energized, multi-media session will share strategies for developing marketing communications in a world of convergence of media and channels. Hernquist will talk one-on-one with senior marketing executives and new media experts about how they’re leveraging new media/channels to reach their customers and determining the right marketing mix.

“Connecting Marketing Metrics to Financial Consequences,” a panel discussion led by David Reibstein, professor of marketing, Wharton. Join Reibstein and panelists Paula Sneed, EVP Global Marketing Resources, Kraft Foods, Cammie Dunaway, CMO, Yahoo! and Michael Linton, EVP Consumer & Brand Marketing, Best Buy, as they share their success in measuring marketing and integrating ROMI within their overall organization metrics.

“How Worldclass Organizations Innovate in B2B Markets,” a roundtable discussion led by Dan Henson, CMO, GE. Learn how successful BtoB marketers like GE, DuPont and Emerson define and successfully leverage innovation in their companies. Henson will provide an inside view of how GE successfully integrates innovation into its business strategy process and will share specific examples and lessons learned.

“Profiting from Proliferation,” by Tom French, Director, Head of North American Marketing & Sales Practice, McKinsey. A case-study based look at proliferation in market segments, customer offerings, customer touchpoints, communication vehicles and how organizations can use new solutions to capitalize on this explosion of alternatives.

“Elevating Your Brand in a World of Choice,” by Jennifer Dorian, SVP, TBS and TNT Branding and Network Strategy, and Katherine Johnson, VP, TBS and TNT Promotions & Marketing. In a world of fragmentation, full of products and media choices, brands are essential to rising out and above the competition. Attendees will learn how to elevate their brand by using tools such as psychographic segmentation, image campaigns and memory devices to gain higher results and heightened success.

“The Digital Age: Implications for Marketers in an Era of Consumer Control,” by Gian Fulgoni, Chairman & Co-founder, comScore Networks. An up-to-date overview, fresh insight and marketing interpretation of the key trends, both current and future, in how consumers use the Internet. Gian will look at trends in online shopping, use of search and streaming audio/video, emergence of social networking sites, growth of global Internet usage patterns, the effectiveness of online messaging and much more. He also will examine the role of consumer-generated media in marketing communications, the issue of consumer trust and adapting to a consumer-controlled environment and what all of this means to marketers.

Those who wish to register for Mplanet can visit www.mplanet2006.com or by calling 800-AMA-1150.

About the American Marketing Association:

The American Marketing Association (AMA) is the largest marketing association in North America. It is a professional association for individuals and organizations involved in the practice, teaching and study of marketing worldwide. It is also the source that marketers turn to every day for information/resources, education/training and professional networking. AMA members are connected to a network of experienced marketers nearly 40,000 strong and include leading marketing academics, researchers and practitioners from every industry.

AMA offers highly acclaimed seminars, workshops and Hot Topic events focused on the immediate needs of marketers, as well as trends shaping the future. AMA’s website, MarketingPower.com, is the everyday connection to marketing data, articles, case studies, best practices and a robust job bank. The AMA also is the source for the field’s top magazines and journals, including Marketing News. AMA local chapters keep members in touch with the best people and the best practices. For more information on the AMA, please visit www.MarketingPower.com