Past Events 2004
December 2004
Networking Holiday Party Mixer
What do investor relations, international business communications, public relations and marketing have in common? December 8, 2004. Because we all need a little Holiday spirit, seven professional organizations (PRSA-SV, IABC-SF, NorCal BMA, NIRI-SV, MRG, DMA and WIC) came together for a Gala Holiday Celebration of 2004.
We hada silent auction, special IMAX screening of Tom Hanks' new movie, Polar Express, chocolate tastings, other yummy treats, and more networking than anyone had experienced all year for one low, low price! It sold out fast.
November 2004
The Art of the Start!
Speaker: Guy Kawasaki, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
A new product, a new service, a new company, a new division, a new organization, a new anything—where there's a will, here's the way. From raising money to hiring the right people, from defining your niche to creating a brand, from creating buzz to buzzing the competition, Guy Kawasaki's speech guided usthrough the entrepreneurial adventure that's more art than science—the art of the start.
October 2004
Showcase Luncheon
Turning Imagination into Marketing Artistry!
On Wednesday, October 13, NorCal BMA’s Annual Beacon Awards & Showcase celebrated award-winning work in a gallery-style exhibition.
Everyone enjoyed soaring through an elegant afternoon awards luncheon with the Bay Area’s business-to-business leaders and a beautiful, gallery-style exhibit of the best creative work currently being done in Northern California.
The program began with a reception with live music, wine tasting and viewing of the award winning work. During the sitdown luncheon, awards were presented by Scott McGrew, NBC11 News Technology/Business Reporter. The awards presentation culminated with the presentation of the award for Best in Show – new this year!
September 2004
Search Marketing for Technology Marketers
It's All About Results!
Speaker: John Topping, Head of Enterprise Technology, Google Inc.
Google's Head of Enterprise Technology, John Topping, explored how technology decision-makers use search engines throughout the purchase process. John gave examples of how leading technology companies are using search marketing to cost efficiently build their global customer network.
We learedn how a company can use search to build a return on investment based model of customer acquisition which can revitalize and revolutionize your marketing programs.
John presented case studies to demonstrate how this medium has worked for technology marketers on Google.
August 2004
12 Creative Steps to Your Most Successful Direct Marketing Effort EVER
Speaker: Otis Maxwell
Every day we hear stories of another failed marketing effort that cost money and led to less-than-optimal results. Yet, in some corners of business-to-business, and in many consumer areas, smart use of Direct Marketing is probably the fastest-growing means of generating leads and sales, due to its accountability and its capability to deliver and measure effectiveness.
Creative strategist, marketer and creative director Otis Maxwell has made a career of delivering massive breakthroughs for companies in every arena of business and consumer goods. A recognized expert in what makes people read, comprehend and respond to media, Otis uses a combination of direct marketing technology, psychographics, demographics, testing, offer strategy and good old-fashioned common sense to capture exactly the kinds of leads and sales companies hunger for.
In this BMA session, Maxwell shared 12 creative steps that absolutely must be part of every marketing promotion to make it break through to your prospects and customers, and get them to act now — while being cost-effective and measurable. We discovered what excites people to respond, and what makes them ignore your efforts. Examples included typography, visuals, copy strategy, offers, and more.
July 2004
Facing Your Most Important Branding Challenge: Your Personal Brand
CAN-SPAM Compliance & Email Best Practices
Speaker: Laurie Beasley, President, Beasley Direct Marketing
Do you really understand what your email recipients want to receive in their in-box? Does anybody know? In July's BMA meeting, we heard Laurie Beasley, President of Beasley Direct Marketing, Inc. present the results of several research studies where email readers told marketers what they really wanted. Laurie presented the latest trends and regulations including the CAN SPAM act and new California regulations in email marketing. She shared the latest best practices in email marketing and email readers' preferences regarding HTML vs. Text. We saw the difference personalization makes in customer satisfaction. And we explored the world of spam filters, how they work and what can be done to avoid them.
June 2004
Facing Your Most Important Branding Challenge: Your Personal Brand
Presentation Available for Download
It probably comes as no surprise to you as marketing people that like it or not you have a “personal brand” which the world around you has formulated. Perhaps the single most important branding challenge that faces all of us is the articulation and management of our own personal brand.
Your personal brand has a serious impact on your life. Just as a product with tainted brand image cannot command top dollar–or in some cases, can’t be sold at all–a personal brand can cost you a promotion or prevent you from getting the peer cooperation you need to be successful at work. A strong personal brand can mean promotions, new job opportunities, and more satisfying personal relationships.
For the last five years, Dan Bellack has been thinking, writing and talking about the facing up to the task of examining our own personal brand and making that brand mean everything that you would like it to. During his career he has spoken to over thirty chapters of BMA and numerous business and professional groups.
In June, Dan offered some suggestions on how to:
- define the audiences that are important to you
- conduct research to determine your personal brand attributes
- go about the task of reinforcing your current personal brand or re-branding yourself.
May 2004
Global Competition and the Future of Silicon Valley
As business-to-business marketers, the future of Silicon Valley is the future for our companies and our jobs.
In May, we had a special luncheon featuring Carl Guardino, CEO of Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group.
Carl’s talk, “Global Competition and the Future of Silicon Valley”, outlined the impact that global competitiveness is having on the future of Silicon Valley. He focused on the key issues around the reasons for off-shoring, and how private and public sector leaders in the United States, California and Silicon Valley to address it.
He also emphasized how members of the Business Marketing Association can help move this debate forward in a way that helps Valley employers and workers survive and thrive through this heightened global competition.
SVMG was formed 26 years ago by David Packard of Hewlett Packard. Today, it represents 190 of the Valley's largest and most respected employers, who collectively provide a quarter of a million local jobs — or one of every four jobs in Silicon Valley.
April 2004
Is Offshore Outsourcing a Threat to Your Marketing Job?
Moderator: Larry Hayes, President of Hayes Marketing, and former BMA President
In recent years, offshore outsourcing has become much more prevalent. US companies are moving not just unskilled and low-skilled manufacturing jobs off shore. Skilled jobs, such as development engineering, customer service, and, yes, marketing services, have gone to countries such as India, China, and Singapore.
Will you be affected by the new trends in outsourcing? During our April luncheon, Larry Hayes, President of Hayes Marketing, and former BMA President, moderated a panel discussion of Offshore Outsourcing. The panel discussed:
- How offshore outsourcing changes the marketing landscape
- How it will affect your role as a marketing professional.
- What marketing services and jobs are most and least likely to be outsourced.
- What you can do to be competitive in the new global economy.
Our Guest Panelists
- Manish Mehta, President & CEO of Tangence
- Deborah Reinert, Director of Worldwide Marketing Communications & PR, LSI Logic
- John Heagerty, President & CEO of Coakley Heagerty Advertising & PR
- Ben Stanger, Senior Manager of Marketing, BEMR, Cisco Systems
March 2004
Developments in Market Research: It is Brain Surgery, After All
Speaker: Daryl Travis, author of Emotional Branding: How Successful Brands Gain the Irrational Edge and CEO of Brandtrust
At BMA's March luncheon meeting we heard the latest thinking on building brands that sustain competitive advantage.
It turns out that market research to determine the best branding strategies is brain surgery, after all. Because, to assess, then hone your branding strategy, you need to get inside the minds of your customers and understand how they feel.
What's really happening when consumers say one thing and do another? How often has conventional research failed to help you understand customers' emotions, which are critical to capturing competitive advantage — and determining your brand strategy.
In his book, Emotional Branding, Daryl Travis explains that the brand is the world's most powerful business tool. Specifically, he reveals that the brand is a promise made by an organization and by taking action on that promise (rather than just "talking the talk"), an organization creates trust and as a result, forms its image. At BMA's March meeting, Travis extended this discussion in March by explaining how new breakthroughs in the neurosciences are providing profound insights into how the mind works.
Emerging right-brain research techniques will forever change the way we do research and tap into customer emotions, preferences, and behavior.
February 2004
The State of B-to-B Marketing: 2004 and Beyond
Speaker: Ellis Booker, Editor-in-Chief, B-to-B Magazine
Presentation Available for Download
Now that the U.S. economy is showing positive signs of recovery, what is the prognosis for B-to-B marketing in 2004 and beyond? Where are advertisers spending in traditional media, online, events, and other channels? How and why are these allocations changing? Most interestingly, what changes in strategy and tactics — changes driven by the down economy of the last three years — have become systemic and will remain common practices, even after the economy rebounds?
Booker used both independent and BtoB Magazine research during his presentation, which also included case studies taken from BtoB's own extensive coverage of print, direct, database, online, CRM, event, and business media marketing.
Finally, Booker focused on the growing use of the Internet as a marketing channel to answer the following questions. What are the key trends in Internet marketing? Which techniques are working? Which are fading? What's on the horizon for this critical new tool?
January 2004
Metrics Reloaded: Your Key to Impacting Strategies
Speaker: Laura Patterson, President and co-founder, VisionEdge Marketing Inc.
In January, renowned metrics expert Laura Patterson unveiled an exciting new measuring framework that showcases marketing data and generates results. She showed us how to develop and deploy proven metrics that could influence our C-level executives, the CEO, COO, CFO, and president. She told to move marketing from merely tracking activities to leading the strategic direction of your company.
We learned that marketing holds more information about competitors, customers, and markets than any other department. And we found out how to make sure our company was using this important performance data to gain the leading edge. At the end of the show, Laura made her presentation available to anyone who requested it so that we could walk away with the key to impacting our own company's marketing strategies.