Marketing Rebellion with Mark Schaefer

Technology has created new ways to help customers discover, share and discuss their favorite products. In fact, most of our marketing is occurring without us. Today, the customers are the marketing department. We can’t buy our way into these conversations, We have to earn our way in with a new business approach that appeals to constant human truths. The businesses of the past were built on advertising impressions. Today, they are built on human impressions that help customers believe, belong and find meaning. It’s time for a rebellious new approach and Mark Schaefer is your guide with an entertaining new book that is instructive, inspiring and filled with actionable ideas and insights.

About our guest:

Mark W. Schaefer is a globally-recognized author, speaker, podcaster and business consultant who blogs at {grow} — one of the top five marketing blogs of the world. He teaches graduate marketing classes at Rutgers University and has written eight best-selling books. Mark ‘s new book "Marketing Rebellion: The Most Human Company Wins" is an essential new view of business and a manifesto for human-centered marketing. It hit number one in both the Marketing and Advertising categories of Amazon. His many global clients include Pfizer, Cisco, Dell, Adidas, and the US Air Force. He has been a keynote speaker at prestigious events all over the world including SXSW, Marketing Summit Tokyo, and the Institute for International and European Affairs. He has appeared as a guest on media channels such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and CBS News.

The Future of Brands (or do they have a Future?)

Here’s a provocative statement or maybe it’s just a statement of fact: Brands as we knew them are dead. OK, here’s something a little more palatable: the way brands have been built up until now, will be very different from the way they will need to be built in the future. The world has changed. The consumer has changed. So why hasn’t marketing? What hasn’t branding? Why haven’t we adapted and evolved to make sure our innovation efforts are aligned with the march and progress of technology itself? Principles and fundamentals of marketing will only take you so far. After which, it’s time to explore what exists at the bleeding edge.

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WVU Marketing Communications Today is hosted by Whitney Drake from West Virginia University which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel. 

Never a Dull Day in Marketing

30 years ago the marketing landscape looked much different than it does today. The internet wasn’t around, there were limited media options and data took a while to compile, analyze and act upon. Today, marketing moves at the speed of light. There are thousands of ways to reach your audience. Data is readily available, decisions happen instantly, changes to campaigns can be made immediately. That’s the beauty of marketing, it is always changing.

While change at times can be hard, having the ability to change leads to results and growth. For over 30 years, our guest Andy Maier has worked in marketing for a variety of agencies and currently on the client-side for the past 9+ years. He and our host Susan Jones will discuss his marketing journey and why two days in marketing are never the same.

About Andy Maier

As a kid, Andy Maier enjoyed watching television commercials and reading magazine ads. He wondered what the advertiser was trying to accomplish and who they were trying to reach. That interest led to a marketing career. For over 30+ years, he has been responsible for developing strategies and goals and identifying target audiences for the clients he served and now for the company he works for, Gordon Food Service.

For 24 years, Andy worked for agencies of various sizes in Detroit, Denver, southwest Michigan and now Grand Rapids, Michigan helping B2B and B2C clients achieve their goals. His roles at the agencies varied in account services from Account Executive to VP Account Director. For the past 9 years, he has worked for Gordon Food Service, North America's largest family-managed, privately held, foodservice distributor. Andy’s first role with the company was as Marketing Manager where he played a key role in leading the efforts to re-brand the 120 year old company. He currently is responsible for marketing the company’s digital tools in the U.S. and Canada.

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WVU Marketing Communications Today is hosted by Susan Jones from West Virginia University which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel. 

Why is it so hard to talk about food?

Food is one of the few universal concepts that connects every living thing—we all eat. So why is the discussion about food, including how it’s produced, how it’s accessed and purchased, and how it’s consumed such a contentious debate? From genetically modified organisms to farm subsidies to local foods to food stamps, there is no shortage of hotly-contested subject matter in the food space. In this podcast, we’ll discuss where sticking points remain, what common ground exists, and where both the public and private sector are making strides to improve the conversation.

About Partrick Delaney

Patrick Delaney has spent the last 13 years talking about food and agriculture, across the agency, trade association, and legislative spaces. As a young public relations practitioner, he worked on campaigns for consumer-facing heritage brands at Unilever, Procter & Gamble, M&M/Mars and Campbell’s. He then spent ten years as spokesman for organizations representing the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, as well as the nation’s soybean farmers, working on public affairs communications on issues ranging from food safety and nutrition to trade, immigration and infrastructure. During that time, he received his master’s in IMC from West Virginia. He now directs the communications for the House Committee on Agriculture in Washington.

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WVU Marketing Communications Today is hosted by Michael Lynch from West Virginia University which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel. 

I said what I said. The art of internal and executive communications.

Internal communications are critical to building an informed and connected workplace. What happens when what you intend to communicate doesn’t have the outcome you desired? This is what happens when you don’t listen and frame messaging the wrong way.

Today, we live in a world where every internal communication can easily become external and trending on Twitter. As communicators, we have to understand this and navigate the environment to write for outcomes. The graveyard is littered with companies who have died when they were abandoned by their customers. In this podcast, we will learn how to write a communication for the desired outcome and not fall into the trap of tone-deaf.

About Courtney Hughes:

Courtney has extensive communications experience, currently leading communications for the Client Product Group at Dell. Over the last seven years at Dell, she’s held various roles in internal and executive communications, most recently leading communications for Client Solutions Group Sales. Prior to joining Dell, Courtney was a writer, video editor, DJ, and radio personality.

When she’s not writing, creating and executing communication plans, you can find her cooking, working out, modeling, watching and playing sports, spending time with her daughter McKenzie, eating snacks in the closet and answering “yes” to mommy for the gazillionth time. Courtney is a West Virginia native, who grew up in the small town of Beckley, W.Va. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from West Virginia University.

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WVU Marketing Communications Today is hosted by Michael Lynch from West Virginia University which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel. 

Using Data to Make a Difference

Measuring the return on investment for communications and marketing initiatives is essential across all industries today but how does data-driven decision making differ for non-profits, especially for those operating in the public policy arena?

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