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B2B Leaders Share Success Lessons
Marketers learned from the leaders what works in today’s challenging economy.
Denver, Colo. — Oct 14, 2009 — More than 100 marketers turned out Tuesday, October 13, for BMA Colorado’s breakfast and lunch programs to learn from B2B experts on what works in today’s challenging economy. Panelists for the day included Mark Shadle, president, Central Region, Edelman; Hans van Heukelum, vice president, Global Marketing and Brand, Aon; Mark Wilson, vice president, Corporate Marketing, Sybase; and Ian Heller, senior partner, Real Results Marketing.
Kicking off the day, more than 20 corporate marketers gathered for breakfast to hear in-depth presentations by each panelist on their areas of expertise, including:
- Mark Shadle shared the results of the 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer. In its 10th year, the survey reflected the plummeting levels of trust that customers have in corporations, the media and government. Shadle covered the continued challenges companies face in rebuilding trust, what role 25-34-year olds play in trust levels, what corporate actions have caused customers to perceive trust, and the “hard and soft” measures needed to rebuild trust.
- Hans van Heukelum noted that Aon, a product of 427 mergers, encompasses 37,000 employees in 500 cities across 120 countries. The company built its brand internally through employee engagement first, to ensure that the brand experience would truly reflect its brand promise. Van Heukelum shared his expertise on how companies of all size benefit from having employees understand the power of living their brand.
- A hot topic on everyone’s mind today, frugal marketing proved the focus of Mark Wilson’s presentation. He shared the what, why and how to get the most bang for a marketing buck in today’s economy. By enabling collaboration and participation by customers through Web 2.0 tools, companies are seeing a higher return on marketing. Marketers need to insert themselves into customer conversations through videos, blogs, books, virtual events and conversation monitoring.
- Ian Heller’s tongue-in-cheek title to his presentation, "How Not to Get Fired From Your Marketing Job," drew laughs, but also series attention as he reminded us what happens when marketing fails to collaborate with other areas in a company. Building cross-functional teams enables marketing—not just the marketing department—so create a successful customer experience and ultimately, profits.
Participants joined in an active conversation with the panelists and their peers, asking for advice on pain points, feedback on particular initiatives that have worked and next steps in implementing advice.
The day proceeded with our regular monthly program with the same panelists. Following brief presentations, President Tom Kennedy opened up the floor to questions from attendees about social media, branding, team collaboration and how trust impacts the decisions we make.
Copies of the panelists’ presentations are now available for download from the Members Resources section of the BMA Colorado web site.
From left: Hans van Heukelum, Aon; Mark Shadle, Edelman; Mark Wilson, Sybase; Tom Kennedy, president, BMA Colorado; Ian Heller, Real Results Marketing; Carla Johnson, programs chair, BMA Colorado.
Contact: BMA Colorado