Rice University MBAs Promote Strategic Impact of Marketing Research April 12, 2010

 The third annual marketing symposium focused on brand and customer insights and was presented by the Rice MBA Marketing Club in conjunction with the American Marketing Association Houston Chapter. Held on April 2, the morning symposium introduced cutting-edge marketing research from leaders at forward-thinking companies, as well as networking opportunities for its audience of MBA students and marketing professionals from the Houston area. In acknowledgement of today’s economic environment and the need to know how to efficiently and effectively connect with customers, the topics covered strategic business to business engagement, innovation, and using research to understand brand value. Presentations were given by Clinton Clark, Rice MBA ’09, the strategic programs manager at Waste Management; Pablo Orta, the marketing manager, fabric and home care at Proctor and Gamble International Operations; and Rajan Sambandam, chief research officer at TRC, a market research firm near Philadelphia. First year Rice MBA candidate Fred Valizadeh felt the symposium was an excellent way to “see true marketing in action through the daily lives of prominent marketers. The speakers were extremely interactive with the audience and very accessible. I enjoyed the discussions and the networking with professionals at the event.” Along with MBAs from Rice, University of Houston, University of St. Thomas, Houston Community College and Texas A&M, there were several Rice undergraduate business minors in attendance. Professional participants at the symposium came from various industries and represented companies such as Halliburton, Chevron, Shell, Texas Children’s Hospital, MD Anderson, CenterPoint Energy, Rackspace Hosting, Jiffy Lube International, and DLG Research, a sponsor. Ten alumni were also present, including Sean Burnett, Rice MBA ’06 and principal with Burnett Interests, LLC, a business solutions company. “The opportunity to learn from thought leaders in branding and marketing research is yet another immeasurable benefit included with being Rice alum,” he said. “Competing in today’s volatile, super-competitive marketplace requires business leaders to exercise calculated courage. Today we heard from a few great companies who are setting the standard for smart growth. The perspectives and tangible tools delivered during the symposium will facilitate my clients’ efforts to achieve challenging business objectives as positive economic activity slowly improves and opportunities for profitable momentum arise.” The symposium is sponsored in part by the AMA Houston Chapter, the largest in the U.S. and Canada serving more than 900 members with diverse marketing expertise from a variety of industries. The Houston Chapter has been working with marketing professionals for over 50 years.