Marketing Conference: Market Uncertainty & Changing Consumer Behavior
Lila de la Chesnaye (WG '09) Contributing Writer
Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: News
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Breakfast chats, through which marketing club members could meet representatives from different companies, kicked off the conference. The chats gave students the opportunity to ask questions about each company in intimate settings of about six to eight people. Numerous companies participated, including American Express, Johnson & Johnson, and General Mills.
Michelle Goodridge, VP of Strategic Marketing at McNeil Nutritionals, addressed the conference as the morning keynote speaker. She spoke about the incredible rate of technological change and its effect on marketing strategies. Ms. Goodridge described three laws that together help explain the rapid change in the digital landscape. Moore's Law has correctly predicted the cost efficiency of computers and telecommunications, making technology both accessible and affordable to most people. Metcalfe's Law speaks to the network effects of connectivity. As more people can access the Internet, the value of the network itself rises. Last, Bandwidth Law explains that speed and capacity are growing exponentially, allowing our online experience to become cheaper, faster, and highly connected. Online usage has consequently become the number one media vehicle, and Ms. Goodridge stressed the importance of addressing the changing needs of the consumer and penetrating this space to reach them. She spoke about the significance of interactive marketing and personalization to connect with the consumer who has become the "pro-sumer," actively demanding a customized experience. Ms. Goodridge used Timberland's Custom Boots program as a great example of empowering the consumer to take part in a dialogue. Lastly, Ms. Goodridge urged the audience to rethink the 4 P's of Marketing by actively engaging the consumer and learning from consumer behavior. Innovation is key to brand and digital success and we as marketers should embrace the technology that can support and catapult our brands to be bigger and better.
Andrew Robertson, President and CEO of BBDO Worldwide, followed as the guest speaker on the topic of the attention economy. According to Mr. Robertson, resources are not scarce, but rather attention is limited. In order to capture the attention of our modern audience, Mr. Robertson suggests that we rely on the power of observation. Once we understand our consumers, we can create content that is both engaging and stimulating and therefore captures their attention. We have to leverage talent across brand, borders, and forms; furthermore, we have to use the network and earn the attention of the audience. Gaining consumer insight allows us to understand consumer needs so as to build a program around which we can grow a business. Mr. Robertson used the political example of Barack Obama's successful campaign. He highlighted the importance of 1) being relevant, 2) harnessing the power of online video, and 3) recognizing that people are going deeper online to niche spaces and social networks.
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