WVU Marketing Communications Today

The ability to integrate different viewpoints enhances creativity or brings a creative solution to a problem. But why is it more relevant today? The world is way more diverse today, and the need to gauge the various groups’ dynamics is by building a team that has a better understanding of the mindsets. Crafting messages and setting a tone that resonates with these groups are no more an option.

Due to the current global health crisis and concerns around the spread of COVID-19, events, both large and small have been canceled across the United States. Where does the industry go from here? How has event planning changed and adapted? In this podcast, Deidre West, director of special events and celebrity relations at the Children’s Health Fund, will discuss her experience navigating this new reality.

Buyer centricity has long been the war cry for marketers and sellers alike, but the recent Global pandemic, economic crisis, and even civil unrest has proven that the reality falls desperately short of the promise. The root of the issue resides in the fact that marketing and selling, at least under ‘business as usual guidelines’, feel trite. The traditional go-to-market motions that many organizations have built come with a dependence on some degree of sleight of hand.

After 20+ year career in communications that included positions in public relations, advertising, media, and marketing, Lisa Sands stepped into the role of publisher for Edible Cleveland magazine, a local independently-owned publication that is part of a network of roughly 80 other “edibles” across the U.S. and Canada. After one year, Lisa’s has had to analyze all aspects of the magazine’s operations and face many realities about the role media plays in our lives, how we’re using it, where we get our information, and what we are willing to pay for as media consumers and as marketers. We’ll discuss the holistic media landscape from the viewpoint of journalists and also marketers including:

Is the traditional media landscape all doom and gloom?
Is there still a place for print media in the marketing mix?
Do we want to live in a world where everything we consume is online? If the answer is no, then where do we go from here?

About Mike's guest:

After 20+ year career in communications that included positions in public relations, advertising, media, and marketing, Lisa Sands stepped into the role of publisher for Edible Cleveland magazine, a local independently-owned publication that is part of a network of roughly 80 other “edibles” across the U.S. and Canada. 

Edible Cleveland had been a passion project and a side hustle for several years, starting when she was a marketing team leader with Whole Foods Market. During her time with Whole Foods, she discovered her interest and passion for food, particularly with regard to eating better, healthier, more sustainably, and closer to home. At the time, Lisa did not fathom that she would ever advance her part-time passion project into a full-time opportunity. Being the publisher of a magazine about local food merges her professional skill set with her personal interests. She also realized that her extensive and diverse career experience that had helped clients and their projects and brands thrive could be deployed to take Edible Cleveland into some interesting new directions at a time when print and traditional media are especially challenged, yet never more important. 

Lisa graduated from the West Virginia University Integrated Marketing Communications program in 2014.  Her undergraduate degree is in broadcast journalism from Kent State University. 

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

Without a doubt, the coronavirus pandemic has changed all of our worlds. But one of the hardest-hit industries is travel. US Travel Association and Oxford Economics recently reported that the US is projected to suffer a $519 billion decline in direct travel spending, which translates into $1.2 trillion in lost economic impact. But there is hope. Experts predict there will be pent-up demand for travel. It is in our nature to explore, escape and emotionally attach to our friends and family. And while travel will look different the industry will eventually bounce back.

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.

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.

The Creative Brief is the blueprint of a marketing communications effort. It provides guidance and vision for all the disciplines required to construct a successful integrated campaign—Research, Strategy, Account Management, Creative, Media, Production, PR, Social, Search, and Experiential. Unfortunately, most briefs are poorly crafted, overly long and often ignored. An effective brief, by contrast, inspires collaborative excellence among all involved in the process. In an era when brands bring together multiple agencies to execute an integrated campaign, clear and effective Creative Briefs are more important than ever.