March 29th, 2010
2:31 pm
Events
At the AMA Houston January Luncheon, John Elmer, Chief Marketing Officer of Ingrain and Dr. Vikas Mittal, Professor of Management and Marketing at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business shared insights into how marketers can build credibility with chief financial officers.
Did you miss the event? If you’re an AMA Houston member, you can download copies of their presentations on the AMA Houston LinkedIn Group.
Check out the March 26th issue of the Houston Business Journal. The speakers are shown on page 26A.
Pictured from left to right are Penny Todd, CenterPoint Energy, John Elmer, Dr. Vikas Mittal and Sherri Scott, AMA past president.
Events / by
Robin Tooms
March 26th, 2010
3:50 pm
Events
Okay, here’s a month for you coming up. It starts with April Fool’s Day – followed immediately by Good Friday. Thirteen days later, it’s you and the IRS, mano a mano. So looking ahead, the end of April may seem like a long way off. It isn’t.
By the time April 30 rolls up and the vernal equinox 40+ days in the past, you’ll want put the Spring back in your step. Get it via AMAHouston’s Professional Development SIG seminar that very day.
The SIG people are calling it “Defying Gravity” because there are some marketers who overcome every challenge: They get themselves on the scoreboard and stay there. They constantly rack up points in categories like on-the-job performance, better relationships with the bosses, more influence and even bigger marketing budgets. They’re energized and on top of things full-time.
The SIG is thinking, “How can we get some of that for AMAHouston members?” Its secret weapon is Becky Robbins who is Partner and Senior Consultant with Houston-based Mark Kamin & Associates. She’ll be the star of the SIG show and bringing her passionate coaching methods with her.
Robbins is all about generating peak performance, about growing personal fulfillment, more revenue and stronger, more rewarding organizational relationships. She’s also strangely fond of marketing communicators and PR people. “There’s plenty of cynicism in some industries,” she says, “but marketers are more buoyant – imaginative, hard-working, loving what they’re doing. Marketers have to be pretty positive and companies with optimistic marketers can produce the things that will drive greater success.
The Professional Development SIG and its co-chairs, Brenda Bramhill and Kerry Fellers, are staging this event so you can take home the benefits*. Robbins will help you set “stretch goals” for a fulfilling future and even embrace unexpected change (‘cause who knows what will really happen after April 30?).
Most years, the month ahead starts with loud cries about “April Fools” and ends with shouts of “May Day! May Day!” This year you can discover how to defy gravity instead – a reserved seat is required for liftoff. BTW, I’m Richard Laurence Baron, AMAHouston volunteer and principal of Signalwrite Marketing.
*Stop (Word)Press. Mark Kamin & Associates is offering SIG attendees two great giveaways. You’ll have a chance to win either two free hours of one-on-one coaching with Becky Robbins – an $800 value; or one ticket to Robbins’s May event in Houston, “The Secrets of High-Powered Professional Sales People,” worth $300.
Events / by
Richard Laurence Baron
On March 15th, almost 300 marketers met at the Alley Theatre to celebrate the 2009 Marketer of the Year. All of the category winners were in attendance, which made for a “who’s who” in Houston Marketing. Congratulations to all of the winners!
The 2008 winner, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, was on hand to announce this year’s winner. Past Marketer of the Year winners include the Houston Zoo (2007), Weatherford International (2006) and the Houston Symphony (2005).
More information at the AMA Houston website.
Interview with Blinds.com and Boeing
Christine Hall, HBJ Reporter, was able to snag an interview after the event with both the winner, Blinds.com, and the keynote speaker, Kenneth Price, director of marketing, sales strategy and operations for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Read the full (very informative!) article.
Event Photos
Looking for event photos from the night? We’ve posted all of them on our AMA Houston Photo Gallery.
Event Webcast
Our friends at omNovia have posted a webcast from that night. You can see the full award ceremony and the Boeing presentation in its entirety.
Events, awards / by
Robin Tooms
Brock Wagner arrived casual, his aloha shirt laid way back. He spoke about guerrilla-marketing St Arnold beer as anticipated below. In the energy-packed crowd, though, what caught my eye and ear were the small, blue-covered tubes placed by each place-setting by Colin Hageney of sponsor Bullpen Marketing.
As you can see – this secret photo carefully taken for me by Bullpen CD Suzi Senna – each of these tubes advertises the upcoming AMA Crystal Awards. But when I picked one up and idly asked about it, one of my table-mates said, “Oh! ChapStick!”
I replied that I didn’t think this tube was actually ChapStick – one of America’s best-planted brands. Then someone else (Kerri Ryan, I think, of Kryanoutloud Marketing) pointed us all in the right direction: “Lip balm.”
Later, one of the luncheon program presenters drew the crowd’s attention to the promotional item, calling it…ChapStick.
Now part of Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, the ChapStick brand is 100 this year. Its website offers a shallow look at the product’s history – a visitor from outer space would be hard-pressed to figure out why ChapStick is so widely used and well-known. But we know, don’t we? A simple, always-useful product that’s as close as our pocket or purse, with a consistent trade dress that today’s company continues even through a gazillion product line extensions.
Then there’s Colin’s lip balm with its own purpose-designed label. For him, it is a extremely effective brand vehicle: “Be the name on everybody’s lips,” as he says on the Bullpen blog. I suspect that, as long as users think its ChapStick, everyone will be happy. The product and the brand are effectively the same.
My tube is kiwi-strawberry flavor. Thanks to everyone for the great luncheon program – a nooner filled with beer and lip balm. BTW, I’m Richard Laurence Baron, AMAHouston volunteer and principal of Signalwrite Marketing.
Events, Sponsors, Volunteers / by
Richard Laurence Baron
The President of St Arnold Brewing Company is speaking at the AMAHouston monthly luncheon next week. You can still register here.
It’s always a pleasure to be reminded that there’s great beer in Houston – and fresh too. The brewery’s Spring Bock label is shown here because I had a taste (or two) of it a couple of weeks back at the terrific new brewery location. It’s good stuff, Maynard.
I know Brock Wagner won’t be rolling out the barrels next week, if for no other reason than it’s a middle-of-the-day event and most marketers won’t want to return to work with beer on their breath.
Nevertheless, come to this lunch if [a] you believe in beer; [b] take an interest in beverage marketing; [c] want to learn more about creating a fan base using nothing but natural ingredients and personal energy; [d] want to network intensively.
Networking [d] is ever-important. Wagner will be talking about [c]: “Houston’s Home Brewed Beer: How Saint Arnold Built its Brand through Guerilla Marketing.” Check [b] if you got a big lift out of the Simply Orange presentation by Allison Barrett last November. (I did.)
Or throw up your hands and admit to [a].
Next Wednesday you can have ‘em all. (I will.) And I hope to [d] with you there. BTW, I’m Richard Laurence Baron, AMAHouston volunteer and principal of Signalwrite Marketing.
Events, General, Uncategorized / by
Richard Laurence Baron
February 28th, 2010
11:12 pm
Events
Thanks to Shanthi Subramanian at Gimmel Group for providing us with the event recap below:
The presentation focused on how the Houston Rockets sought to improve the experience of customers by creating the “Red Nation”. We discovered that an injured Rockets player decided to sew the Rockets logo on a red blazer (he sewed the logo himself) and wear the jacket while he was sitting courtside. The idea started spreading among people within the organization – the marketing group asked the announcers to wear the jacket and then the idea spread to the actual customers.
From this experience they realized that their employees are some of their best advocates (and customers as well), in addition the expected customers: people who attend games in Houston, attendees of away games, and then those who watch the games on TV. The marketing organization also did some research to further segment their customer base into: superfans, naysayers, experientialists, party people, and traditionalists. One of the tools they used was the Net Promoter Score which asks fans if they would recommend attending games to their friends. This was a way for them to track how good the customer experience was for fans.
The Rockets launched their marketing campaign to show that they are back, attract casual sports fans, keep fans involved, reinforce sponsor relationships, continue year-round promotions and get customers to buy season tickets. They built their marketing campaign to address the economic downtown, competition from other teams, going to playoffs but not having a championships, injuries to major players and a reduced budget.
The approaches fell in the category of performance and fun. It is important to have honest promotions/taglines to build credibility with fans and the press. They have studied the current team and fan situations to build the momentum of “red”.
Having a color campaign has been something that everyone can get behind. Red is associated with passion. Fans know what to do – wear red. Color campaigns are sustainable year over year and can be changed slightly while reinforcing messages. Their marketing efforts have resulted in a increased market share and a better customer experience for fans.
Note: If you are an AMA Houston Member, you can go to our LinkedIn group and download the full presentation presented at the lunch!
Events / by
Robin Tooms
There’s a special place in heaven for sponsors. Yes – the Healthcare SIG collected around 75 people for the extra-special “Outside-the-box Healthcare Marketing” seminar on Friday morning. Combined with the three top-grade speakers – Partha Krishnamurthy, Cara Zorzi and Steve McKee – there was a lot of energy and even laughter in the room…for more than three hours. The volunteers all were volunteery, the Houston Technology Center folks were great.
I’m going to drop more names, though, because a SIG seminar is fueled by more than elbow grease, bagels and coffee. (Okay – not altogether an attractive metaphorical collection.)
The sponsors Friday are supportive and involved. In no particular order, special sunny Sunday appreciation goes to Alleen Mitchener and Ana Rodarte of Gelb Consulting. Julie Laguarta and HALO/Lee Wayne. The people of Inn at the Ballpark.
There’s Karen Kershner and Communications Plus. Emily Bernard, Erin Lehr and Jen Pearsall of Pierpont. Susan Saurage-Altenloh and Richard Cisneros and Saurage Marketing Research. Randy Rigdon of Signature Media Group. Winnie Hart and The H Agency.
Author Unknown (not a SIG sponsor) said, “Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don’t unravel.” Thanks again to all our sponsors for keeping us raveled. BTW, I’m Richard Laurence Baron, AMAHouston volunteer and principal of Signalwrite Marketing.
Events, Sponsors, Volunteers / by
Richard Laurence Baron
At the January luncheon, we said thanks to the following volunteers:
- Board Member of the Month: Ana Mena Rodarte, Gelb Consulting Group
Anyone who’s been to our lunches know that they are well organized and fun to attend. That kind of great experience only happens, though, when you have great people behind the scenes. Ana is one of them – she handles all of the registration details for the lunches which is a massive task (that she handles calmly and with a smile)
- Volunteers of the Month:
C’Ella Clayton, who does National Marketing at Transwestern. C’Ella has gone above and beyond with her help on the AMA Houston Professional Development SIG. She’s invaluable to our SIG programming.
Steven Leeper, Freeman Leonard, has not only been helping with our events, but has also signed up new sponsors for the events as well. He’s doing the work of two people now. 
This is always a big help since it’s the backing of the sponsors that make the events possible.
Thanks to all of you for your help. We truly have the best volunteers!
Events, Membership / by
Robin Tooms
November 17th, 2009
7:40 pm
Events
Last week we were treated to a wonderful presentation by Allison Barrett, Group Director of Marketing at Simply Orange (and pictured second from the right). Who knew that orange juice was that fascinating? Really, I’m a believer now. So, let’s shake up that bottle of orange juice and see what lessons we learned that can apply to anyone:
Lesson One: Stay true to your brand
Allison spoke quite a bit about how they apply right brand guardrails to everything from their advertising, to their naming, to their product extension strategy. Simply has a clear definition of who they are, and what makes them different. Armed with that, they are able to charge a premium for their product because they have a distinct mindshare with their audience. One visual example of this is in their ads and website: to reinforce the brand attribute of “untouched,” there are no people or happy families anywhere to be seen. Quite a contrast from other marketing of this type.
Lesson Two: Know your market and your competitors inside-out
I have no doubt that Allison is a true expert on orange juice and all of the marketing, financial and competitive pressure that category faces. It truly pays to know your business! One interesting point is that you should distinguish between your competitors and your peers. There may be some overlap, but these are not always the same group. In Simply Orange’s example, their peer group is other orange juices fighting for that elusive spot in the shopping cart. Allison stated that their real gold standard is a bag of oranges, a point made clear in a recent advertisement that highlighted Simply’s freshness. A competitor, though, can be an aspirational or alternative choice, so rethinking who your audience is looking at, or the choices they’re making outside of your tight peer group is a good exercise to go through.
Lesson Three: Pay attention to the details
Granted, not everyone will notice the printing on the sealed lid on a bottle of Simply Orange, or the exact ergonomic shape and art deco fluting on the clear carafe, or even the fact they they print on the bottles they are headquartered in Florida. Little details like these add up in the overall experience! I’m reminded that customers may not always be able to verbalize individual characteristics when something is working well together, but one inconsistent detail might in actuality be so glaring that it changes a purchase decision. Details do matter, even if it borders on the subconscious, or the customer can’t tell you why it matters.
During the Q&A, one attendee inquired about the most scandalous orange juice story of the year (or any year in recent memory) – the Tropicana rebrand. There’s one final lesson to learn here: that any time you reposition a brand, there will always be a difference between brand and marketing conversations in a boardroom between those same conversations in the market. And while we as marketers put steps in place to test our decisions, we need to make sure we’re testing the right things. We can be assured that Tropicana tested the new package, but can only hope that the test included exercises around the “selection time” needed to choose your purchase. This is one area where Allison educated the audience. Brand messages ARE important, yes, but if your audience can tell enough about the way you’re presented to make a timely selection, your efforts will fall short (FYI, this i one of the ways the new Tropicana failed – consumers could no longer locate their favorite type of juice)
With the news that Minute Maid (also owned by Coca Cola) is undergoing a “brand makeover,” we know both consumers and the critics will be watching.
Look at the photos from the November Luncheon event online!
Events / by
Robin Tooms
October 18th, 2009
4:05 pm
Events
J.C. Fassino, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Market Representation for Gulf States Toyota was the speaker at the AMA Houston October luncheon, and he spoke about how Gulf States Toyota assesses and uses sponsorships and promotions to engage their customers.
Many marketers can relate to J.C. Fassino.
I say many marketers can relate, because J.C. sits in a tight spot. He’s not on the consumer level – the dealerships within Gulf States Toyota are the ones interfacing with the end buyer, and he’s not on the corporate level of Toyota either. Gulf States doesn’t get to choose what vehicles Toyota manufactures, nor do they control the direct customer experience. What they can control, though, are the strategies that his group employs to secure the strong relationship with the dealerships in his region. When you’re a B2B marketer (whether your customer ultimately sells to other businesses, or director to consumers), thinking about ways to partner is the ultimate killer strategy.
After the lunch, I walked away wondering what other partners I could co-promote with, or what types of event experiences might improve customer connections. There’s so much noise sometimes in traditional promotions, and perhaps events – where you can really build relationships in person – is being underutilized as a tool. J.C. did point out, that this tool like others, needs to FIT your marketing pillars, and you need to put measurement metrics in place.
As J.C. simply stated, you need to focus on good partnerships with your customers, and with other companies that serve your customers. With a nod to saying goodbye to traditional forms of vehicle advertising, “It’s about the relationship, and not so much as the size of the gorilla on top of the dealership!”
Be sure to check out the photos, they are posted at:
http://amahouston.smugmug.com/Events/oct09luncheon
Events / by
Robin Tooms
