Executive Connections LLC

Connecting organizations with the future of marketing

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Filed Under: Announcements, Branding Yourself Online, Connections E-Zine, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Marketing Conferences & Events, New Executive Search, Recommended Articles, Spotlight On

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 80

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion: ‘Mad Men’ to Data Geniuses
  • Invitation REMINDER:
    • 2015 Rising Stars Awards Dinner – Tue, June 9, 2015
  • Announcements:
    • Monika Wilczak Joins Accenture Interactive as MD, Customer Advanced Analytics
    • NOW 2015 Women of Power & Influence Awards Dinner — June 11, 2015
  • Articles:
    • #MktgFemme – Direct Marketing News’ 2015 Marketing Hall of Femme Awards
  • Career Opportunities:
    • Marketing Leader, Private Exchange – NEW
    • Marketing Leader, Northeast – NEW
    • Social Media Strategist
    • Digital Strategist – Senior Manager
    • Digital Strategist – Manager
    • Social Senior Manager and Account Lead
    • Manager, Social Media
    • Director, Insights and Strategy

In Our Opinion by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

 ‘Mad Men’ to Data Geniuses

Kudos to AdAge Editor Simon Dumenco and his team in compiling the 2015 Agency Issue (published May 4, 2015). AdAge highlights several trends which underscore while ‘Mad Men’ the TV series is ending this year, there will be plenty of ‘Mad Men’ continuing to dominate the global marketing, media and entertainment sectors for decades to come. Except ‘Mad Men’ are starting to look much different today than the ‘Mad Men’ from the 60’s and 70’s.

With IBM Experience, Deloitte Digital, and Accenture Interactive moving into the list of Top 10 global agencies (and Top 3 global digital agencies), and digital capturing nearly 40% of total advertising spending and rapidly heading to 50%+, it is becoming clear the future of marketing is shifting (as Dumenco and AdAge projects) from Art & Copy ‘Mad Men’ of the past to “Data Geniuses and Technologists” of the future driving targeted digital, mobile and social brand engagements with consumers which are apparent in the revolutionary marketing innovations we are experiencing on a daily basis.

Where and when will the next Uber, AirBnB, or Jet.com appear? Almost every sector is rapidly shifting toward a greater digital focus to assure their business is not rapidly encroached by a new unforeseen digital competitor.

It’s great to see the marketing industry leading U.S. economic growth. In 2014, U.S. agency revenues grew 5.4% to a record $43.6B. Ad-agency employment is climbing, and agency stocks scored all-time highs. It’s indeed a good time to be in the agency business…especially if you’re connected to digital.

One final thought…some ‘Mad Men’ from the 60’s and 70’s who were really revolutionary and predicted the future of marketing…were the pioneers in direct marketing…leaders including Lester Wunderman, Stan Rapp, and others who predicted “mass marketing” was wasteful and would give way to “one-to-one” marketing (or direct marketing). Those who have been around the direct marketing sector for 3-4 decades know digital marketing is “direct marketing on steroids”…so thanks to Lester, Stan and the other direct marketing pioneers who paved the way for the data geniuses and technologists of the future.

As always, we welcome your input and comments.

Jeff and Lola

Announcements

Monika Wilczak Joins Accenture Interactive as Managing Director, Customer Advanced Analytics

Monika J. Wilczak Head ShotWe are pleased to announce Monika Wilczak has joined our client, Accenture Digital, as Managing Director, Customer Advanced Analytics.

Prior to Accenture, Monika was Global Head of Customer & Market Intelligence at Bloomberg LP, and earlier, Monika was Head of Decision Management, Commercial & Small Business Banking at Citibank.

In this new marketing era of targeted, relevant two-way communications with customers and prospects, Monika is an analytics executive leader with a proven ability to identify business growth opportunities and translate them into new revenue streams using customer insights. Monika’s expertise includes B2C, B2B, and vertical sectors including media, technology, financial services, and consumer goods/services.

At Accenture Digital, Monika will have both U.S. new business development responsibilities as well as leadership of clients/teams delivering cutting-edge Analytics strategies and program results.

Monika holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Statistics & Operations Research with Honors (from Stern School – NYU).

Executive Connections LLC initiated this executive placement as part of  an ongoing senior-level talent acquisition relationship with Accenture Interactive.

We wish Monika well in this exciting new career opportunity!

Upcoming NOW 2015 Women of Power & Influence AwardsNOW logo

Please join me at the NOW 2015 Women of Power & Influence Awards Dinner on Thursday, June 11, 2015 from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm at Three Sixty in New York City.

 

For more details…

Invitation REMINDER

Join Me At Marketing EDGE 2015 “Rising Stars” Dinner
in NYC on Tuesday, June 9, 2015RSA15-banner-linkedin

Register now and start planning how you’ll take advantage of the networking opportunities at the Rising Stars Awards Dinner – with this year’s Rising Stars and the 400+ industry leaders expected to attend.

Marketing EDGE provides many training and employment programs for college students including Collegiate ECHO Awards, Scholarships, Student Career Forums, One Week Immersion programs (I-MIX – Interactive Marketing Immersion Experience; I-MAX – Interactive Marketing Analytics Experience), Next Generation Leaders, Summer Internships, and Entry-level marketing positions.

Marketing EDGE also provides programs for educators in over 100+ colleges and universities nationwide including Professors’ Academy, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Research Summit, Professor’s Institute, and Collegiate ECHO Challenge.

Marketing EDGE sponsors and corporate partners include Brierley & Partners, Direct TV, Epsilon, Executive Connections LLC, Facebook, Google, Gerber Life, Guthy Renker, IBM, Javelin, KBM Group, Ogilvy & Mather, Merkle, Microsoft and Twitter, among others.

2015 RISING STARS HONOREES —Louis Cohen, Citi Cards | Andrea Steele, Unilever | Lisa Radding, Ethnic Technologies | Amina Dilawari, St. Jude Children’s Hospital | Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Direct

Link to MarketingEdge event…

Article

#MktgFemme – Direct Marketing News’ 2015 Marketing Hall of Fame

By Laura Gigliotti – April 27, 2015

“18 chief marketers who put the ‘excel’ in excellent”
“An elite group of women who are driving marketing today”
“Exceptional leading ladies who have risen to the apex of their profession”

So were the accolades floating around the Grand Hyatt in New York City last Friday during Direct Marketing News’ 2015 Marketing Hall of Femme Awards.

In its third iteration, the annual Award ceremony recognizes the achievements of the most accomplished and influential women in marketing. Over 80 nominees were submitted during the call-for-nominations period, 18 of which were selected for induction. Selection criteria included leadership style, approach to marketing, and career achievements—both past and present.

For complete article…

Career Opportunities

We have career opportunities at a variety of companies including a Global HR Professional Services firm, a Global Financial Services firm and a Global Digital Consulting firm.  Please take a moment to click on a link and see the complete position description:

Learn more…

Filed Under: Announcements, Branding Yourself Online, Connections E-Zine, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Marketing Conferences & Events, Personal Branding, Recommended Articles, Spotlight On

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 77

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion: New Year’s Resolution – ‘Aspire’
  • Spotlight On Sean Rach:
    • Sean Rach Promoted to Chief Marketing Officer at PCA
  • Career Opportunities:
    • VP, Individual Digital Experience – Global Financial Services
  • Your Comments:
    • Susan Cotton, Executive Chairman of The Lily Project – “2014-The Year of Social Enterprise“
  • Articles:
    • “The Tyranny of ‘Scale’ ” by Michael Baer

In Our Opinion by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

New Year’s Resolution – ‘Aspire’

Happy New Year!

One thing we love about January is all businesses start again at zero, create new surges of momentum, and begin implementing action plans to achieve the strategic, marketing, operational, and financial plans created in the prior fiscal year.

However, frequently there is an overlay to the global business environment, a general mood, influenced by CEO and consumer confidence, and economic forecasts/trends, which enhances or dampens the enthusiasm of individuals and organizations to assertively drive to achieve their best potential performance.

In our view, the 2014 economy (especially the US) outperformed forecasted growth rates, led by sectors including healthcare, mobile advertising and online shopping which grew in double digits. While there are several areas of global concern including rising terrorism, political instability in the Middle East, and government dysfunction, the overall sentiment heading into 2015 feels strongly positive on balance, and we see many early signs of companies investing more heavily in marketing, technology, and mobile commerce to achieve significant global growth objectives.

We recently read an editorial column by Matt Walsh, Editor & Publisher in the January 2-8, 2015 edition of Business Observer – Florida’s Newspaper for the C-Suite (www.BusinessObserverFL.com) where Walsh said…“The Word for 2015 is ‘Aspire’ “…and we could not agree more heartily. Walsh’s column included the following:

“We used to aspire. We aspired to be great, to be the best, to win. And we went for it. We worked for it. We did whatever it took to be great. We need to bring this back. We need to teach everyone – especially America’s children – to aspire to be great. Bring back Vince Lombardi. During Lombardi’s era in the 1960s as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, he epitomized America’s desire to win. He is most frequently associated with the quote, ‘Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.’ He expressed the opinion, forcefully and unapologetically, that the pursuit of victory, fairly and squarely, and within the rules, is life’s great challenge. Not victory for its own sake, but victory as a test of how far you could push yourself to your limits and beyond, a test of your ability to overcome your doubts and weaknesses, and a test of how much of your God-given talent and ability you were willing to expend in the pursuit of success and victory.”

Aspirational leadership starts at the top. We have written consistently about CEOs from companies including Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Starbucks, and Uber, among others, who have pursued aspirational category-changing strategies that resulted in hyper market capitalization growth in short time frames. These CEOS and category-leading companies demonstrate what’s possible with aspirational leadership which pushes for the extraordinary instead of modest growth objectives.

On a personal basis, this is a great time of year to take stock of your business and personal career/brand, and ask yourself the hard questions regarding whether you are playing full-out and pushing yourself and your team/organization/company to your limits and beyond in order to achieve the stretch goals you aspire to produce.

What we know, and what we feel, is we agree with Matt Walsh, if there was ever a year which was right for a mantra of ‘Aspire’…it’s 2015!

Best wishes for continued personal and business success, health and prosperity!

As always, we welcome your comments and input.

Lola and Jeff

Spotlight On Sean Rach

Sean Rach Promoted to Chief Marketing Officer at PCA

Sean RachWe are pleased to share an announcement from Barry Stowe, CEO of Prudential Corporation Asia, that Sean Rach has been named Chief Marketing Officer for PCA effective January 1, 2015.

Executive Connections LLC placed Sean at PCA in 2009, where he has championed the development of integrated marketing solutions for all business lines and has developed innovative digital and branding programs including Cha-Ching, Safe Steps, Prudential Eye, and the Regional Brand Platform – “I am Prudential.”

Sean brought a strong digital marketing foundation to PCA and his promotion to CMO fulfills an EC prophecy that the “CMO of the future” must be digital-first marketers.

Sean is also an “aspirational” CMO who stretches himself and his team to consistently produce the extraordinary instead of  the ordinary results.

We wish Sean continued success in his career!

Career Opportunities

VP, Individual Digital Experience – Global Financial Services

The VP, Individual Digital Experience is a senior level, cross-business leader accountable for collaboratively defining and designing digital experience for Individual constituent types. Constituent types include investors, participants, policyholders, beneficiaries and other individual consumers. The successful candidate will lead diverse, internal, matrix teams, including third-party consultants, to develop competitive web, social and mobile engagement channels across our Client’s portfolio of businesses and corporate functions, including brand, advertising, thought leadership, market research, communications, information technology and digital solutions, ensuring that the Individual’s critical cross channel needs are addressed throughout their customer life cycle.

Learn more…

Your Comments

Hi Jeff –  I was intrigued by your title 2014 – The Year of Social Enterprise, because I am studying at Pepperdine for a MA in Social Entrepreneurship and Change…and I see the impact of social enterprises increasing, but we still have a long way to go.  And while I find both of these companies really great examples of the collaborative consuming/sharing economy, I don’t believe they are great examples of social enterprises.  Social enterprises are built first and foremost to create positive social value – with measurements that go well beyond shareholder value to stakeholder value.  You can generally see it first in their vision, mission, values and financial reporting (does it go beyond shareholders?).   Here are a couple of articles that talk about the distinction between social businesses that are part of the sharing economic and social enterprises.

I think the easiest way to think about it is…Does the company view its mission to deliver social good first or is social good a side benefit?

There are really great examples of both for-profit/non-profit social enterprises – and many are hybrid organizations.  Take a look at Dlight, Divine Chocolates, Homeboy Industries, D-Rev, Enterprise Community Partners…even Warby Parker.  All doing awesome things!

I can see a lot of potential for your business to get to know this sector well – it is growing and there are some amazing people involved…I’m having a blast 🙂

Susan Cotton headshotSusan Cotton is Executive Chairman of The Lily Project, a community-based women’s health program based in Leon, Nicaragua.  Unlike the US, where widespread adoption of Pap testing has made cervical cancer one of our most treatable and least deadly cancers, in Nicaragua, regular screening is available to only about 10% of the population, and cervical cancer is the #1 cancer killer of women – responsible, on average, for the death of one woman every day. The Lily Project’s mission is to deliver preventive health care to women in rural Nicaragua reducing the number of women newly diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer 30% by 2020 through implementation of an innovative screen and treat approach proven effective in other low-resource communities. The Lily Project is launching in Miramar – a small coastal village where the closest medical clinic is more than two hours away – on January 28th, 2015.

Articles

“The Tyranny of ‘Scale’ ” – by Michael Baer

Commentary from MarketingDaily – December 9, 2014

There it was, in HuffPo, in a listicle called “10 Tricks to appear smart during meetings.” Along with a recommendation to “Pace around the room” and to “Nod continuously while pretending to take notes” was number 6 on the list: “Ask ‘Will this scale?’ no matter what it is.” And, it’s true – say this and people will think you are smart. But, unfortunately, it only perpetuates a fallacy.

You see, there’s an on-going illusion about scale. In digital and mobile advertising, marketers, sellers and buyers are all participating in this illusion day in and day out. That is, there’s a desire and demand for more and more impressions, more eyeballs and views, more tonnage reaching your target. But does this tonnage really reach the target? Is this scale actually useful, valuable or even real?

Link to complete article

Filed Under: Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Marketing Conferences & Events, Spotlight On

Mastering The Consumer-Driven Decision Journey

The recent DMA2014 Strategic Summit at the San Diego Convention Center opened with a keynote from Alec Bokman, Principal at McKinsey Digital, who highlighted the shifting marketing paradigms in a digital-first marketing eco-system.

Bokman told attendees the previous direct marketing funnel is dead…”it’s been announced DOA”…and it has been replaced by a new “consumer-driven decision journey”…with 2/3 of consumer decisions based upon their experiences during the journey. “Today’s brands are having intimate, personal conversations with consumers and geo-targeting and mobile devices are enabling targeted, real-time and relevant offers,” cited Bokman.

Segmentation is also being reinvented into categories including acquire/sell, stimulate/activate, and recover…to target communications to consumers based upon their position and positive (and negative) experiences in the customer decision journey.

Bokman provided both B2B and B2C examples including a bank offering a small business hardware store customer a $50K pre-approved credit line to expand inventories based upon the bank’s knowledge of rising home prices and housing starts in the community. Bokman also cited CapitalOne (a known revolutionary leader is data-driven marketing) for their “before time” credit scoring which enables delivery (digital and by customer service agents) of different content to “preferred” vs. “high risk” prospects.

Real-time engagement and delivery of customized offers/solutions is the new one-to-one marketing model.

Where does your business stand in relation to your customer experience journey? Are you harnessing data and utilizing analytics to customize real-time, relevant offers to customers and prospects?

Filed Under: Branding Yourself Online, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Marketing Conferences & Events, Spotlight On

DMA2014 Has A Magic Opening

DMA2014 needed a spark to ignite some passion into attendees at the annual conference held this week (Oct. 27-29th) at the San Diego Convention Center. DMA got that and more from keynote speaker Earvin “Magic” Johnson, 5- time NBA champion, NCAA champion, and successful business entrepreneur.

Magic lit up the crowd, much as he did years earlier playing for the LA Lakers at the Forum, with his big smile and warm, winning personality. And Magic’s message went far beyond his sports career and basketball successes. Many were surprised to learn Magic Johnson Enterprises has partnered with over 20 corporations, including Allstate, Delta, Disney, Sony Theaters, Starbucks, and Toyota…building successful businesses serving Urban American consumers.

Magic shared his winning marketing strategies of targeting urban consumers, knowing their needs, tailoring his product/service/message, and then over-delivering every day. “I love to over-deliver” was a strong message Magic shared while taking countless pictures and selfies with the engaged crowd of DMA2014 attendees. Magic also shared the value of persistence…never taking “no” for an answer…and believing in yourself (and your product/service) no matter what others say. After he was turned down five times in his attempts to raise institutional capital to expand his urban-targeted small businesses, Magic finally received his first institutional fund of $50M…and he has subsequently raised funds of $300M, $600M and most recently $1B.

The DMA2014 theme is Don’t Market Alone and Magic emphasized the importance and power of building successful partnerships…by understanding your partner’s vision, mission and core values. One example Magic shared was his unique partnership with Howard Schultz and Starbucks…where he was the first outsider to build, own and operate 175 Starbucks units in urban neighborhoods…which he later sold back to Shultz at a significant profit. In addition to switching scones for sweet potato pies, Magic spoke about treating customers special, knowing their names and favorites drinks…so loyalty remained high during times of economic recession.

Magic spoke about the value of mentors. When he left the LA Lakers he called 20 CEOs who met with him and gave him advice as he started his business pursuits. Magic ended his keynote address by challenging each attendee to perform 2 SWOT (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats) analyses each year…..then working hard to improve yourself and your business based upon these insights. Magic stressed the importance of paying attention to your competition. He spoke about his relationship with Larry Bird…..and how Larry drove Magic to become better. “I knew Larry was in the gym 3 hours every day so I knew I had to work hard to beat him.” Magic still gets up at 4:00am daily, hits the gym for 2 hours, and his mantra is “nobody outworks me.”

Magic Johnson was the spark DMA2014 needed to kick itself off in high gear…and everyone left the opening session buzzing.  JoAnne Monfradi Dunn, DMA Chair, even sold Magic a DMA membership backstage just prior to the opening session, so business had begun happening even before the opening bell.

You can learn more about conference highlights by visiting DMA2014.

You can also reach out to me directly (jgunderen@executiveconnectionsllc.com) or check my BLOG postings (@JeffGundersen) for additional highlights from DMA2014.

Filed Under: Ask Our Coach, Digital Proficiency, Executive Talent, Personal Branding, Spotlight On

Meet The 2014 Marketing EDGE Rising Stars

As an executive search and consulting firm positioned at the cutting-edge of marketing transformation and development, we continuously stay connected to the “next generation” marketing leaders who are changing the landscape of “best practices” in customer acquisition, engagement, retention, and loyalty/advocacy. One of our favorite events to find this talent is at the annual Marketing EDGE “Rising Stars Awards Dinner” which happened  Tuesday night  June 3rd in NYC.

Not surprisingly, this year’s best and brightest under 40YO come from backgrounds focused on new technologies, international/global markets, content strategies, social networks/business, and data analytics. We are pleased to offer a summary of the 2014 award recipients:

  • Yvette Lui is Director, Global Data & Audience Partnerships at Facebook; prior to her current role, Yvette led N.A. mid-market Sales at Facebook, and earlier she spent six years at Google leading agency development and strategic partnerships for social media advertising sales. Yvette continues to mentor students at U. California Berkley where she earned her undergraduate degree.
  • Dimitri Maex is President, OgilvyOne – New York; a forward-thinking innovator, he joined Ogilvy leading the global data & analytics practice. With data being so important, it’s not surprising to see a former head of analytics rise to President – NY; Dimitri’s recent book, Sexy Little Numbers, has received widespread coverage in business and trade publications. Dimitri has a global, Eastern European cultural background, which is important given the growing emphasis of global clients on Growth Markets. Dimitri also leads several of Ogilvy’s mentoring and leadership development programs.
  • Guillermo Novillo is Head of Global Acquisition Marketing for Bing Ads at Microsoft; he has launched successful acquisition programs in over 30 global markets. Previously, Guillermo worked in marketing at Apple and earlier he founded a direct marketing agency and grew it to over 250 people. Guillermo has been a part-time marketing lecturer and teaching assistant at Espiritu Santo U. in Ecuador and U. Washington where he earned his MBA degree.
  • Carrie Parker is VP, Content Innovation at American Express Open Forum, an award-winning social business website dedicated to small business success. Carrie has excelled in several digital marketing roles and was a finalist for Amex’s Chairman’s Award. Previously, Carrie led consulting engagements for Yankelovich (Futures Company) on consumer trends and database insights; there she led “YourBuzz” a social media mentoring tool. Carrie is a frequent guest speaker at Columbia Business School, her alma mater.
  • Emily Riley is COO at Ghostery, driving the company’s marketing and database operations. Previously, she was VP, Product Marketing at Audience Science an industry-leading data management and media buying platform; earlier Emily was the most acclaimed Digital Analyst and VP, Research Director at Forrester. Emily earned her undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins and she has been active in Marketing EDGE since her days at Forrester.
  • Alex Wasserman of CEO & Co-founder of TapFwd, where he is leading the development of the next generation of mobile ad technology. Alex is bringing big data to small phones enabling next generation targeting and real-time campaign optimization for mobile marketers. Previously, Alex was VP, Product & Marketing at Rapleaf (acquired by TowerData). Alex volunteers his time at several non-profits aimed at fostering entrepreneurship. Alex has also been an active mentor at Emory U. and Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern.

This is an exceptionally talented group of “Rising Stars” and you can see the impacts of Facebook and Google, leading data analytics and digital consultancies, technology, and emerging mobile marketing companies as key aspects of the professional backgrounds of next generation leaders.

We offer each of them our congratulations on their well-earned recognition as Rising Stars and can’t wait to see where their next career choices lead them.

Ask yourself, what parts of these profiles have I incorporated into my personal brand and which aspects are learning agendas for me?

 

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

Who’s Hot In Digital?

One of the hottest, fastest-growing areas of Digital Marketing is Social Media…and the top 10 global advertisers are all investing in SM brand-building and business-building initiatives. There is a growing demand for leaders in Social Media which is morphing into a bigger platform…Social Business. Finding stellar talent in this area is challenging since Social Media is only 5-6 years old and there are not many senior-level marketers with experience driving significant change in this new field.

Robert Harles
Robert Harles

One of the hottest, most successful Social Media/Social Business leaders is Robert (“Rob”) Harles, the new Global Head of Social Media at AccentureDigital. Prior to joining Accenture, Rob was Global Head of Social Media at Bloomberg LP, where he influenced Bloomberg’s global viewpoint and strategy related to this new emerging marketing and media channel. For a company as conservative and private as Bloomberg to embrace Social Media/Social Business, and open up to its use and possibilities, speaks volumes for Rob’s vision and leadership abilities.

Prior to Bloomberg, Rob was VP, Social Media at Sears Holdings, where he also evangelized the role of Social Media and developed the first platforms and programs across the entire Sears Holdings enterprise.

We congratulate Rob Harles on his latest career move and encourage top global brands seeking to establish a Social Media/Social Business strategy to connect with Rob Harles. Rob is one of the true revolutionaries in this rapidly emerging, important new marketing and media channel.

Filed Under: Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Spotlight On

“8 Pearls of Marketing” by Marty Homlish | ANA | Spring 2013

We are always looking to share Marketing “best practices” and highlight CMOs who are stars and game changers in the companies and industry sectors.

Marty Homlish, CCO at HP and former global CMO at SAP, is a marketing star and we are pleased to include a link to his 2013 ANA article and highlight Marty’s “8 Pearls of Marketing.”

Complete Article:  Marty-Homlish-ANA

  1. Communicate with your team. Never assume everybody understands what you’re trying to do and how you intend to get there. Always make yourself available for questions and feedback.
  2. Reach out to your peers. Successful marketing is a team effort across many disciplines — creative, IT, web development, just to name a few. Make sure you understand their requirements, limitations, and priorities — and establish a foundation of trust and good working relationships.
  3. Agility matters. Plans and circumstances can change in no time. When that happens, embrace the change and get the job done.
  4. Be authentic. Nobody knows your brand better than your fans. Don’t disappoint them by trying to be something you’re not.
  5. Approach the bandwagon with caution. The “next big thing” may or may not be just that. Do your homework before jumping aboard.
  6. Focus on what’s essential. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard said that investing in new product development and expanding the product catalog are the most difficult things to do in hard times, and also among the most important. But don’t let the quest to be innovative cause you to forget your business’s core competency.
  7. Have a story to tell. And make sure the story illustrates how you add value to your customers’ lives.
  8. Content matters. Create compelling content. Then package, distribute, and syndicate it.

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: 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