CG Execs Examine IT/Marketing Alliances

In this era of social media and mobile consumers, successful sales and marketing requires collaborative technology to make an impact. Themed around the coveted IT/Marketing Alliance, the 2014 Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing Summit united sales, marketing and IT trailblazers earlier this week in New York City to explore success stories and lessons learned in their journies toward true alignment.

Abundant networking opportunities and insightful presentations were centered wholly on IT/marketing collaborative initiatives in digital marketing, big data, mobility, trade promotions, retail partnerships, consumer insights, sales force effectiveness and much more.

Dedicated video microsites of the event's most popular sessions will be hitting your inbox soon. In the mean time, we'd like to share a recap of the event's many highlights:

• In a comedic yet insightful opening keynote presentation, Scott Stratten, national best-selling author and expert in viral, social and authentic marketing, talked about what it takes to successfully engage consumers when time is of the essence, authenticity is key, and consumers, armed with technology, can call your bluff for the world to see. He presented compelling case studies from companies that get it, and on the flip side, companies that learned today's marketing lessons the hard way. "In marketing, we think we craft the story, but we don't," said Stratten. "It's what we do with our brands and products that tells the story. Logos mean nothing!"
   
• Campbell Soup Company SVP and CMO Michael Senackerib shared real-world examples to illustrate how technology advancements are creating dramatic changes to marketing and how critical the alliance between marketing and IT is to drive growth. "Digital fitness can not be digital dieting," said Senackerib. "It must be a lifestyle change; something our employees live and breath every day of their lives."
   
• The “conversation agent” Valeria Maltoni (also VP of Digital Strategy for PM Digital) examined why successful and effective marketing — now and going forward — will require collaboration and coordination with IT, and why the digitally connected consumer makes that the No. 1 imperative for marketing success. "The CIO is starting to become the biggest innovator at companies; 73 percent of them believe that technology is essential in the evolving digital landscape," said Maltoni.
   
• Kimberly-Clark Corporation's Chief Marketing Officer, Clive Sirkin, was awarded CGT's first-ever CMO of the Year award for making the largest demonstrable impact on his organization through the implementation and successful use of new marketing strategies, technologies and processes as well as for driving change through a truly collaborative partnership with IT. "You simply can't build a brand today without a deep partnership and seamless collaboration with IT," said Sirkin upon accepting the award from CGT Publisher Albert Guffanti.
   
• The second day opening keynote presentation provided Wall Street's perspective, featuring moderator Anthony Bigornia, director, Global Consumer Products Industry Solutions, IBM, and consumer products analysts from Athlos Research, BTIG LLC, B|Riley and BB&T Capital Markets. Together, they divulged which consumer goods companies are building profitable brands and partnerships within the industry and touched upon the keys to their success. "The way that CPG brands have to be communicated and create value for consumers has changed dramatically" said panelist Jonathan P. Feeney, principal, Athlos Research. "It's created a lot of opportunities, but also a lot of challenges from an investment standpoint."
   
• Johnson & Johnson's Keith LaFrance, vice president, Sales Operations & Global Capabilities, and Kevin Puppe, senior director, IT, explained how their organization structured Sales Operations and IT to create a partnership that identifies opportunities — in account planning, trade promotion optimization, in-store visibility, etc. — and puts together action plans and resources to accomplish objectives very quickly. "Alignment is so critical," said Puppe. "The partnership makes IT's job a lot easier than it could be and delivers a lot of value for the business." LaFrance elaborated, "Because we built these capabilities, we're delivering better service levels to our customers, productivity gains and cost savings, and with in-store visibility, a competitive advantage for J&J."
   
• The event's closing act was performed by The CMO Club Founder Pete Krainik, accompanied by Evan Greene, chief marketing officer, The Recording Academy (The GRAMMYs) and Babs Rangaiah, vice president, Global Media Innovation & Ventures, Unilever. Together, they shared the CMO perspective on on a wide range of marketing, branding, and marketing-IT issues facing companies today. "IT and Marketing have not found an organic way to coexist," said Greene. Rangaiah added, "We're closer, but we're absolutely no way near perfection."

Don't miss CGT's live events coming this Fall, which promise to deliver unmatched insights around the consumer goods community's biggest trends and challenges. Click on the links below for more information on:

2014 Retail and Consumer Goods Analytics Summit
2014 Consumer Goods Emerging Markets Forum
2014 Consumer Goods Business & Technology Leadership Conference