Executive Connections LLC

Connecting organizations with the future of marketing

Jeff Gundersen

Filed Under: Connections E-Zine, LinkedIn, Personal Branding, Recommended Articles, Spotlight On

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 55

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion: 2013 Brand Planning
  • Blog Roundup (LinkedIn Endorsements, Online ID Survey)
  • Client Spotlight: James Brett
  • Career Announcements

In Our Opinion: 2013 Brand Planning

by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

On behalf of our colleagues at Executive Connections LLC, we begin by sending all our clients and friends best wishes for a Happy Holiday season!

Especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated so many families, we invite you to join us in making a year-end donation to the Red Cross (www.RedCross.org/HurricaneSandy) or another non-profit offering assistance to families in need.

Now is the ideal time to start planning to reach your goals for 2013. At EC, we believe personal brand development is one of the keys to creating a strong reputation on- and off-line, and this requires an active, ongoing personal brand management process.

[Read more…] about CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 55

Filed Under: Connections E-Zine, Personal Branding

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue 54

In this issue:

  • Thanks and Giving are Good for Branding
  • Blog Roundup (Spotlight on Craig Wood, DMA 2012)
  • Survey: Your Online Identity
  • Career Announcements

In Our Opinion

Thanks and Giving are Good for Branding

by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated. —William James

With the Thanksgiving holiday this week, we would like to express our personal “thank you” to all of EC’s connections—clients, friends, our business colleagues, and emerging members of our personal and professional network. We’ve been honored to reinvigorate and clarify career and personal brand directions for those we’ve touched this year, most especially with those who have experienced the power of our new Personal Branding Retreat Center.

Each year, we take our own offsite retreat to reflect on this year in business and to plan for the upcoming one. An important part of our mission is to “be the brand you want others to see.” For us, this also includes the focused charitable work we do and being a business growth catalyst to those personal brands we believe will have a great positive influence on others.

At this time of year, we encourage you to reflect on for what you are thankful and for what you can continue to give. Here is some food for thought:

[Read more…] about CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue 54

Filed Under: Branding Yourself Online, Personal Branding, Spotlight On

Spotlight on Craig Wood

While we were at DMA 2012, we asked Craig Wood, current Chairman of DMEF, to share his thoughts with our readers. Craig is the founder and CEO of Clarity Group, a strategic consulting firm serving the customer relationship management and data-based marketing needs of non-profit and faith-based organizations. We have been impressed with Craig’s leadership contributions to DMEF, and we thought readers would be interested in his point of view.

EC: After a 20-year career providing marketing services to industry-leading companies, what sparked you to found Clarity Group and focus on serving non-profit organizations?

CW: There were actually two motivations for this decision – one personal and one professional.

On the professional front, I had been carefully watching the nonprofit sector and observing that many wonderful organizations did not appear to utilize some of the best practices and techniques that my current for-profit, industry-leading companies were leveraging for brand success. Upon further examination, I found that many nonprofits relied heavily on stakeholders being drawn to their brand solely on the basis of their worthy causes and missions rather than as a result of leveraging industry best practices to attract, grow and retain their constituents.

[Read more…] about Spotlight on Craig Wood

Filed Under: Branding Yourself Online

Survey: Your Online Identity

At the recent Advertising Week and DMA conferences, we heard all the latest social media buzz related to corporate and product marketing. Today, you must also leverage social media for personal branding. As we are in the process of developing an exciting offering related to building and managing your personal brand online, we’d love to better understand how we can meet your needs. When you invest 10 minutes of your time to complete this online survey, you will automatically be entered into a drawing to win our Express Online Identity Makeover Package valued at $1500. This includes personalized consultation from Kirsten Vernon and Lola White, an online brand audit, an online branding roadmap, and edits to your LinkedIn profile.

Click here to take survey.

Filed Under: Digital Proficiency, Marketing Conferences & Events

Top Takeaways from DMA 2012

Lola White and I were in Las Vegas last month to attend the DMEF Annual Awards Dinner and the DMA 2012 Conference, branded as “The Global Event for Real-Time Marketers.”

As an advocate of networking, service to nonprofit organizations that are relevant to your personal brand (including Board of Trustee roles like mine for DMEF, which is recruiting nominees for Board service in 2013), and ongoing professional development to keep your skills evolving, I believe annual participation in conferences is a must. The professional connections and thought leadership we derive from the digital marketing conferences we attend each year are invaluable, and this year is no exception. Here are my top three takeaways from DMA 2012.

  1. The DMA brand continues to face challenges evolving from their direct mail/list brokerage/printing heritage into the rapidly evolving digital and mobile marketing present and future. DMA must act now to better lead this transition and retain its value proposition for members (outside of DMA’s Legislative activities).
  2. The DMA would benefit from having consistent senior leadership who is well equipped to guide the future direction.
  3. According to attendee feedback, the quality of content and educational programs needs to be addressed to assure long-term sustainability. Top-level CEOs and CMOs should be recruited as speakers and panel members, similar to what I recently experienced in my attendance at AdWeek.

Mark your calendars for these upcoming professional development and networking events.

As always, your comments and input are greatly appreciated.

Filed Under: Connections E-Zine, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue 53

In this issue:

  • Innovations in Advertising & Media
  • Blog Roundup
  • Career Announcements

In Our Opinion

Innovations in Advertising & Media

by Jeff Gundersen

We are witnessing the positive impacts of technology everywhere in our lives. The game-changing industry revolutions Steve Jobs championed in personal computers, music, and consumer electronics have resulted in a new generation of smart phones, tablets, and PCs which are sleeker, faster, cheaper, and offer greater consumer convenience and mobility. So why are so many people surprised this kind of innovation has finally hit the Advertising industry, a place long overdue for adapting?

Advertising Week 2012 has become, as one speaker suggested, the equivalent of the Consumer Electronics Show for technology fanatics, and I recently had the opportunity to attend.

Best Innovative Ideas from Advertising Week 2012

As a marketing executive talent management firm in constant search of excellence, we wanted to share some of the standout comments we heard at this conference: [Read more…] about CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue 53

Filed Under: Marketing Conferences & Events

AWNY Celebrates 100th Anniversary: Women Mentoring Women

One of the highlights of Advertising Week 2012 was AWNY’s breakfast and panel discussion at The New York Times. It was a milestone event with AWNY celebrating its 100th anniversary. The theme of the panel discussion was “women mentoring women” to achieve the highest executive levels in their careers, and many of the women in attendance invited their mentees to attend with them. Here are our takeaways from this inspiring event.

How Do Women View Mentoring?

The panel discussed how mentors and mentees find each other. Laura Desmond (Global CEO, Starcom MediaVest) commented, “You can learn from everyone, sometimes my best learning is to watch others fail.” Laura also encouraged women to be curious and confident. “When you believe you can do anything, you can.” Wendy Clark (SVP, Integrated Marketing & Communications, Coca-Cola) indicated, “There is a difference between mentoring and sponsoring and men are better at it [than women]. You need someone [in the executive suite] to speak up for you, put themselves on the line for you; women are better finding mentors than sponsors, you have to ask for it, have to lean in.” She also encouraged women not to be above doing anything to get ahead. “After college, I started in advertising as a receptionist. I knew if I got my foot in the door, I could outwork others and get ahead.” Carol Everson (VP, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook) echoed, “You need to build your own personal Board Of Directors. There is a network of men and women willing to help, and it will start to happen if you start to seek it out. The network I have today is entirely different than 15 years ago.” Rachel Haot (Chief Digital Officer, New York City) encouraged women to “be open to new opportunities, be humble, prepared to learn, work hard, add value, anticipate without being asked, mentorship is reciprocal.” Lisa Caputo added “be true to yourself, be passionate about what you do. In a true meritocracy you will be rewarded and the more women progress, they have responsibility to pull up the next generation.” Anne Finucane (Global Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America) encouraged women “not to get discouraged. If doors don’t open, find another way in, take stock of what you can do better, and be creative.

[Read more…] about AWNY Celebrates 100th Anniversary: Women Mentoring Women

Filed Under: Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Personal Branding

New Tactics for Getting Hired in Digital

The hiring process in the digital marketing space is getting more competitive, especially for leadership roles. And if you’re not preparing now, you could find landing your next great job to be much harder than you anticipated. iMedia’s Bethany Simpson speaks with Executive Connections’ CEO & Founder Jeff Gundersen about the dos and don’ts of developing a personal brand. See iMediaConnection.com for more.

Filed Under: Board of Directors, Connections E-Zine

Connections Ezine: Issue 52

In this issue:

  • Add a “Customer-Obsessed” Marketer to Your Board of Directors
  • Blog Round Up
  • Career Announcements

In Our Opinion

Add a “Customer-Obsessed” Marketer to Your Board of Directors

by Jeff Gundersen

Over the years, as many companies in various industry verticals (i.e., financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, technology) decided to raise their competency in areas including branding, marketing, and communications, they came to our firm asking for assistance in recruiting classically-trained consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketers from top firms (including P&G most notably).

Now, many years later as the marketing pendulum has swung from mass/push marketing to one-to-one customer engagement/pull marketing, multi-channel marketing and global competition have made building brands and businesses even more complex, we are seeing companies reach out to strengthen their Board of Directors by adding at least one “Customer-Obsessed,” C-level Marketing executive to their Board to serve in a role as “Voice of the Customer.”

[Read more…] about Connections Ezine: Issue 52