Chicago AMA Chapter’s BrandSmart Conference, as Experienced by a New Marketer
By Bette Marston, Editorial Intern
bmarston@ama.org
I was a little nervous walking into the Chicago AMA’s 2010 BrandSmart conference held at the UIC Forum in downtown Chicago yesterday because it was my first out-of-office event as an editorial intern at Marketing News. However, when I snuck in the door during Walgreen CMO Kim Feil’s opening keynote talk (yes, I was a few minutes late), I noticed just how many of the approximately 200 AMA members in attendance had smartphones in hand, on their lap or on a nearby table. As I reached into my bag for my own BlackBerry, I knew I was going to fit in.
The theme of this year’s conference was “Staying Relevant in an Ever-changing World,” with breakout speakers giving presentations according to three tracks: innovation, engagement and social media. I attended one presentation on each track to get a little bit of everything. Here are a few things that stood out to me (other than the number of smartphones) as a first-time BrandSmart conference attendee:
• PETA doing some marketing of its own – During the innovation talk given by Sofia Therios, director of U.S. marketing at McDonald’s, and Danielle Paris, director of U.S. menu management, product innovation and development at McDonalds, on the new line of McCafe formats, a PETA advocate (who was not a registered member of the conference) jumped up to the front of the room and urged the crowd to boycott McDonalds because of what she considered to be its brutal manner of slaughtering chickens. The crowd was unsure of what to do, and the impromptu speech elicited some boos until the Chicago AMA Chapter representative walked her to out after she finished her tirade. The McDonald’s representatives took it in stride, briefly noting the hilarity of the situation, before continuing on with their presentation.
• Wally Hayward, CMO of the Chicago Cubs, discussing the new Toyota sign at Wrigley Field – From a poll of the room, about two-thirds of the people who had seen the sign at the park didn’t mind it, but the other one-third were not happy with what it did to the appearance of Wrigley Field. Fans worry that intrusion of the large in-park sign might lead to more, sullying the look of the ballpark. Hayward mentioned that they are in talks with Toyota to make some sort of monetary donation if any ballplayer hits the Toyota sign or even better, hits a ball through the second ‘o’ in Toyota—a likely occurrence given the small field size.
• Facebook and Twitter now used professionally? – As a student, I still consider Facebook and Twitter to be fun social media networks used for play, and in no way connected to my professional life. However, the e-commerce manager at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago, Melissa Meulenberg, uses Facebook and Twitter daily to spread the word about Hard Rock Hotel Chicago deals, room availability and even to help customers staying in the hotel. She once assisted a woman who had tweeted that she thought all of Chicago was watching her through the uncovered bathroom window at the Hotel. Meulenberg responded to her tweet, explaining how to use the blinds.
• AMA CEO Dennis Dunlap wins a BrandSmart Vision Award – Dunlap’s work during his tenure at the AMA earns him a Vision Award, given to honor a person who successfully formulates and executes a vision for a brand.
• FedEx going green – We all knew that FedEx would soon be moving toward more economically friendly modes of transportation when Len Hostetter, vice president, brand engagement marketing at FedEx, talked about its new EarthSmart movement. But I was mind-blown when I realized that FedEx has an arrow in its logo!! I feel a little silly not ever noticing this for the past 20 years and 11 months of my life.
• Gaga with Polaroid?? – Lady Gaga is the official creative director of Polaroid, and being a Lady Gaga fan, I will buy any product she designs or promotes. To read more about Polaroid Senior Vice President and CMO Jon Pollock’s closing keynote talk, be sure to check out the next edition of the Marketing News Exclusives e-newsletter, out July 1.
