Mary Dillon today chatted with marketing bloggers and social media experts at Mplanet following her presentation to conference attendees. Addressing the question of what marketers at all levels should do in the current economy, Mary provided the following tips: understand your target market; engage in simple, clear problem solutions; and invest in marketing analytics. She noted that people at times fear admitting a program – be it traditional or new media – failed, but in the end it’s far better to know what failed and what delivered positive results in this economy.

Both in her session with bloggers and her keynote, Mary talked about delivering what people want in a meaningful relevant way. Whether from internal networking platforms for the McDonald’s crew or a global brand tailored to local interests, Mary and the McDonald’s marketing team ensures their brand promise is the DNA of all genuine platforms. Mary was joined today by our fellow marketing bloggers: Scott Titus, Matt O’Hern, Toby Bloomberg, Greg Verdino, Becky Carroll, Greg Rollett, Susanne Sicilian and Susan Peyton.

Similar to Mary’s conversations on brand promises and its importance today, John Hayes, noted how our generation will “be defined by how we answer the economic hurdles that we face, how we respond not only to our current difficulties, but how we prepare our future generations for security, wealth and prosperity. It’s our time to set up. I don’t care if you’re 25 or 52. It’s up to us.” He provided some tips and points for clearing those hurdles. Take a look at this summary from onsite blogger, Matt O’Hern, on MarketingShift.com.

There’s more coming, including a recap of today. Check back soon and follow us on Twitter at #mplanet2009.
 
Nancy Costopulos, the American Marketing Association’s chief marketing officer, provided the above post.

To say we’re hyper-networked is an understatement. As I return from tonight’s opening networking reception, where colleagues, professionals, exhibitors and sponsors connected in person, I am amazed by the number of individuals with which we can share, interact and influence through traditional and new digital channels daily.
 
John’s post on today’s pre-conference Digital Marketing Lab clearly details the progress and potential digital marketing brings professionals today and tomorrow. In this time of uncertainty, marketers must not be afraid to try new ways of providing relevant, authentic information to customers and businesses when and how they want it. There’s no right way, best practice or one-size for all – consistency (of message and service), credibility and customization are what resonates today.

And as for tomorrow? Well, tomorrow kicks off two days of insights from global CMOs, industry leaders and AMA’s Dennis Dunlap. Global CEOs and CMOs from Xerox, American Express, McDonald’s and other leading brands will answer marketers tough question about building in a global brand in a transforming marketsphere where customers and businesses have greater influence than ever before. You can find an overview of today’s digital marketing lab takeaways and the rest of the conference’s line up here.

Looking beyond the conference, Dennis’ opening remarks will envision marketing’s “tomorrow” in 2015. What will our profession’s role be and do we have the ability to shape our future role today? AMA partnered with Decisions Strategies International in “futures” research on the industry – and the results will definitely give pause to marketers looking to create the next enduring brand.

I invite you to stay connected with all of Mplanet’s events here and on Marketing News, Facebook and Twitter in the following couple of days. Also, be sure to stay updated through the blogosphere. Here’s a post on one of our keynotes, McDonald’s Mary Dillon, who’s hosting a Q&A with bloggers onsite tomorrow.

 

Nancy Costopulos, the American Marketing Association’s chief marketing officer, provided the above post.

One of the highlights at Mplanet 2009 is sure to be the release of new research that will be looking at where marketing will be in the year 2015. Decision Strategies International is putting together the AMA-commissioned research that will be discussed at a Mplanet strategic forum by George Day, distinguished marketing professor at Wharton, and Roch Parayre, a senior partner at Decision Strategies.

Where do you see marketing in 2015? Will its role or it’s place in the corporate hierarchy have changed dramatically? The study is projecting seven years ahead, so a good exercise might be to think about seven years ago and what you were doing then.

As someone born and raised in New York City, the first thing I recall from seven years ago, of course, is 9/11. I was writing about public relations then for PRWeek magazine and the stories we wrote in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy dealt with how consumer-products PR had first come to a halt and then had to very gingerly find its way in the country’s newly somber mood.

Today, we’re in the midst of another crisis, this time a financial one. Will this have a lasting impact on marketing? You’d think the most immediate impact will be on marketing done by financial services firms. But, just as in the world’s stock markets, there’s likely to be a ripple effect that will spread to other areas.

Veteran business journalist John N. Frank is editorial director of AMA’s Marketing News, Marketing Management, Marketing Health Services and Marketing Research.  He has also started or relaunched a variety of magazines, newsletters, and Web sites in his more than 30 years in journalism.

By Toby Bloomberg, Bloomberg Marketing/Diva Marketing

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the AMA Mplanet Blog.

Perhaps a few people may wonder .. why AMA asked me, a volunteer who is active in social media but is not a Fortune 100 CMO,  to kick off the inaugural Mplantet Blog post.  My thoughts are that AMA wanted to reinforce its commitment to the new “marketsphere” where the people behind the enterprise and customers are in this game together. For me, that’s what Mplanet is about .. an opportunity to explore the innovative side of marketing where marketing professionals from diverse disciplines can learn with and from each other.

I agreed also as a way to thank AMA for the benefits I’ve received from my volunteer opportunities. In fact, it was my involvement as the chair of AMA’s first Hot Topic workshop on blogs that taught me initial lessons about social media.

In keeping with a critical concept of social media, transparency, I’d like to tell you my story and share the lessons both AMA and I learned. The experience reinforced that we were entering a new world where we could no longer pretend the brand was the center of the universe. Customers were influencing the brand perception and purchase behavior among thousands of their closest friends.

Marketing Beyond the Website kicked off  December 2004 in Seattle. It was the first national event developed for marketers that focused specially on how to use blogs as a marketing strategy. Needless to say all involved were excited about the venture. However, before we arrived in Seattle we had a jarring surprise and a wake-up call about blogger relations. 

A prominent tech blogger, TDavid, MakeyougoHmm.com, had reviewed our program and what he told the world wasn’t pretty. His post declared that the workshop wasn’t worth the price, the speakers’ incentives were to make money; and if that weren’t enough, he critiqued every speaker’s blog.

As the Mplanet conference confirms, AMA is no stranger to professional development events; however, the staff was not prepared for the impact bloggers could have before the doors opened. Pat Goodrich and Clara Nelson, the terrific AMA staff behind the scenes, said that although AMA had its share of negative reviews, this was a first for them … a before the event critique.  As TDavid told me .. the irony was blogs were being used to attack and defend an event on blogging.

Since I was the chair, I was asked to take the lead in reaching out to TDavid. I commented on his post, told the story on my blog and sent him a direct e-mail. Much to AMA’s credit they didn’t ask to review what I wrote.

Unlike some other situations, this story has a happy ending.  After listening to my explanation and realizing that we were committed to helping marketers understand this new world,  TDavid posted a positive comment about the value of the workshop.

TDavid wasn’t out to harm AMA or the speakers. He did point out several issues that we corrected, resulting in a stronger more relevant program. By honestly reviewing the workshop he sincerely felt he was servicing his community. Since he also was considering attending, he felt as a prospective customer he had every right to voice his opinions and concerns. The lessons we learned four years ago hold true today .. perhaps even more so.

Lessons Learned

One blogger can be the snowflake that can start an avalanche. There is risk and reward in a blogged economy. TDavid

• Bloggers are people who want to connect. They want to know that they are being heard. Bloggers care.
• With the easy use of blogs, micro blogs, podcasts, vlogs and other social media tools marketers can not  control how customers will reposition a carefully crafted message.
• You can not control customers’ conversations. The secret is you never could. However, you can manage those conversations by listening, participating, and caring.

What happened to the AMA workshop? It turned out to be the most successful Hot Topic AMA had presented. We brought the event to six markets within 10 months.

With the launch of the Mplanet blog and the continuation of the Mplanet conference,  AMA is taking an active leadership role in social media marketing. This is a multiple author blog and there are talented people waiting in the wings to add their voices.  Yes, there are CMOs along with authors, marketing practioners and AMA staff who will participate in our conversations.

My personal goal for this fledging blog is that together we can develop a community who will create a safe environment to explore new media marketing issues and challenges. A community where all opinions are welcomed and respected. Learning together we can keep our profession vital, innovative and relevant.

An exciting and powerful benefit from an active online community is relationship building. But it goes further. As Richard Binhammer  fondly known as Richardatdell, said to me, “Love online offline.” Virtual is great but nothing beats a handshake face-to-face. In January 2009, Mplanet provides us with an opportunity to take our conversations offline in Orlando. Until then please join me in creating a vibrant, virtual exchange of ideas.

Toby Bloomberg is the president of Atlanta-based Bloomberg Marketing and also writes for her blog, Diva Marketing. A national speaker and facilitator of social media marketing and traditional marketing topics for organizations like the American Marketing Association, the Olympic Organizing Committee and SCORE, Toby has over 15 years experience. In addition to co-hosting the Mplanet blog, Toby will be speaking at Mplanet's Digital Marketing Lab in January 2009.