Marketing Talent

Marketers Need to Reflect and Change

More on the CMA National Convention held last week in Toronto.

A few speakers highlighted the challenges that marketers are facing in the new decade:
-The 2009 consumer recession triggered significant job losses in marketing;
-Marketing is under siege; and
-Marketing budgets were cut but are starting to rebound in 2010.

Ken Wong from Queen’s University outlined two key challenges:

1. Marketing has a perception problem - Ken bluntly told the audience that research indicates that Senior Execs don’t value marketing. Marketers are perceived as “margin sucking maggotts’. They are seen as cost centers that don’t like to measure. But the key to “C-Suite” credibility is proving that marketing is a profit (or margin) driver.

2. Focusing on the tactics rather than strategy - marketers often change tactics randomly which Ken calls “schizophrenic” marketing. Changing tactics confuses customers and dilutes the impact on strategy. Companies need to build their marketing strategies around their overall business strategy and stay focused on key outcomes (not blindly chasing market share).

On a positive note, those marketers who can correlate their marketing efforts to generating profits will win big. Marketers just need to think more broadly in a business perspective and less narrowly about your business model and how you can manage customer segments and profitably change customer behavior. Profits will follow.

Geoff Linton

A Night among Top Ad Execs

Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec competition concluded at a closing ceremony gala recently. This year’s task was to develop a pre-launch campaign for the Chevy Cruze using non-traditional media. My boyfriend and I were lucky enough to represent Canadian Marketing Asociation (CMA) at the gala (CMA is one of the event’s resource partners), hear from advertising leaders and share in the excitement of the finalists as they waited patiently to find out who won.

The evening began with an introduction by Doug Turney, President & CEO of MacLaren McCann, who spoke to the evolution of the advertising industry, and how lucky we are to have the tactics and tools that allow us to be ‘that much smarter at what we do and to re-understand what our business is really about’. Doug praised the intelligence and resourcefulness of the new generation of aspiring advertising and marketing professionals and the growth of the Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec program: 355 entries were received for the 2010 competition, a 40% increase from last year.

Frank Trivieri, General Director of Marketing at General Motors was next at the podium - delivering a charismatic and quirky speech on the struggles of the auto industry over the past year, and providing some insight into the direction and future of the industry and GM. Frank conveyed his amazement at how creative the submissions were and announced that some of the ideas from the competition will be incorporated into the actual product launch of the Cruze.

Terry O’Reilly made his way to the podium after dinner, and delivered a wonderfully inspiring and thought provoking speech. He began by talking about the 1956 Volkswagen Lemon campaign, which was shocking for its time, and would undoubtedly create a stir even today. The idea that an auto maker would speak to a defective product in an ad was revolutionary because it spoke to the public directly in an honest voice. O’Reilly affirmed how our industry solves client’s problems with ideas and intuition and the only obstacle to great ideas is lack of imagination.

In an unforeseen outcome – not one ‘team’ won, but two! Mark Scattolon from McMaster University along with Rachel Zimmer and Bram Warshafsky from Queen’s University made their way to the stage to a standing ovation. The judges found both teams deserving of being named Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec, and for their win, each of the three students were handed keys to their very own Chevy Cruze! And a fun evening was had by all.

By Adam Adamek and Florentina Stancu-Soare @ CMA

Why I'm Optimistic

Fear not marketers and agency types. I am here to tell you that the future of our business is in good hands. I have just started teaching in the Communication Arts program at Seneca@York. And I'm pleased to report that I'm meeting young people who are working hard to break into our industry. They are passionate, creative, intelligent and hungry to learn.

The course I'm teaching is basically a workshop where students have 10 weeks to produce work toward building the perfect portfolio -- one they can take around to prospective employers. Or at the very least, Creative Directors who will give them an internship.

When I started in this industry, there were no courses at Humber or Seneca or Centennial for aspiring copywriters or art directors. I had no portfolio and wouldn't have known how to create one that would resonate with a Creative Director. I had a resume and the passion to break in and that was about it.

Today they have the passion but they have so much more. They have a place to learn. A place to prepare for "the real world". Although I have to tell you, the world they're living in is pretty real. If their work isn't up to snuff at the end of the 10 weeks, they don't pass and they don't get their internship. That's the real world they're living in. So it'll be interesting to see how the work develops and who makes the grade.

From what I've seen so far though, there's hope.

I'll keep you posted.

By Bryan Tenenhouse, Creative, The Tenenhouse Project

New Fundamentals of Marketing: Queens Conference

QMAC - The Queen’s Marketing Association Conference, is happening now: Jan. 14 - 17 (at Queens in Kingston, ON). This is year 25 of the Conference. This year's theme is especially relevant: The New Fundamentals of Marketing.

As we emerge from one of the most significant and wide-spread recessions of our time, the dust is beginning to settle to reveal an entirely new business environment. This includes the formation of a brand-new consumer, a new competitive landscape and a new way of conducting business. An entirely new marketing model is being formed and the marketing process is being redefined. Virtually every aspect of of marketing will be affected and it is our job to remain alert, ahead of the curve, and anticipate consumer trends.

Based on this wisdom, how do marketers continue to gain foresight while leveraging a rejuvenated consumer confidence?

Check-out the full program - and come on out if you can. We'll be reporting back by providing updates over the next several days - as comments to this post.

The Competition Revs-up

McMaster Commerce students are back again, soon to launch year 4 of Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec competition. This is a competition you want to tell your friends about, who will then tell their friends, and/or their friends children, who if eligible to compete…..may find themselves getting the ride of their life…..literally.

Anyone who is a full-time undergraduate business or commerce student, undergraduate with either a minor or major in business, or MBA student, can compete to become Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec (see full contest and eligibility details). The task is to develop a pre-launch campaign for the [all new] 2011 Chevy Cruze. The real-time pre-launch for the Cruze starts in July 2010 with the possibility of the winning campaign strategies put to the test.

The competition is a dream come true, especially for students who live and breathe new media. The marketing campaign can ONLY include new media: digital, event, guerilla, social, viral, mobile. No TV, Print or Radio. The budget is $500,000.

Chevy has done a great job of preparing the campaign communications brief and this short video gives you what you need to get started.

Key campaign timelines:

Dec 7 – submission process opens (register at www.topadexec.com)
Jan 22 – two page summary outlining the ‘campaign idea’ is due
Feb 22 - top 25 submissions are selected – these students create a comprehensive report outlining key objectives, positioning, media strategy and creative execution
March 30 – top 10 competitors deliver a 30 minute presentation in Toronto to a judging panel

Winning team (of two) each drive away with a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze.

Full disclosure - CMA is a proud sponsor of Top Ad Exec

How Funny is That?

I immigrated to Canada four years ago and started looking for a gainful employment. I contacted recruitment firms specializing in job placement in Marketing and received a ubiquitous response, “you have solid consumer marketing experience with global companies but you lack Canadian experience”. In other words, I lacked “relevant” experience. Though I believe that Marketing and Branding principles and practices are universal that cut across markets, I opted for getting Canadian experience first and worked in Market Research and later in Media.

Recently, I saw an opening for a Brand Manager position and wanted to check out the market after gaining Canadian experience. I applied, received a couple of phone calls (would not call it interviews) and finally the following response, “you have solid consumer marketing experience with global companies but you lack recent consumer marketing experience”. Earlier, the need was for “relevant experience” and now for “recent experience”. How funny is that.

Fazal Siddiqi at http://marketingmirror.wordpress.com

Laid-off? Maybe we can help...

Here's our offer to individuals who have been laid-off from a CMA member organization (not sure, check here):

-Discounted CMA Member rates for any CMA event

-Unlimited access and the ability to post their resume on marketing-jobs.ca , Canada’s premier marketing job board powered by CMA.

-Access to nearly 1500 marketing professionals that have signed up for the CMA group on LinkedIn.

And naturally, why not use this blog as a vehicle to demonstrate what sets you apart as the best candidate for that next opportunity......

What I did over my summer vacation

Who says learning about business can’t be fun?

The folks over at DeGroote School of Business believe they may have just the right mix of business and pleasure – at their summer camp programs beginning later this month. There are streams for students both in grades 7 to 12 (the 3rd year being offered) & university students (new this summer).

High school students get a real-world introduction to business practices, learn life skills for success – that will likely lead to a heightened interest in pursuing post-secondary studies. Activities like interviewing successfully, managing money, negotiating conflict, developing business and marketing plans. All this on campus - with the option of getting a taste of campus life by ‘camping out’ in residence.

University students get a taste of certain courses they will take in following school year - through project work that may be similar but in a camp environment.

Degroote is serious about cultivating marketing talent. The School’s Top Ad Exec annual competition is a resounding success and a springboard for students looking to make their careers in marketing and advertising.

Imagine what this summer camp might mean to high school students?

Take It

“There is an awesome marketing job that has recently come up. You would be perfect for it! Tell me your current salary and email me your resume asap. Sorry but I can’t tell you who the company is, where the job is located or the salary due to confidentiality reasons. I’m sure you understand. Talk soon. Bye."

Some people view headhunters, recruiters or executive search partners with suspicion or even a degree of resentment. When someone receives calls like that it’s not difficult to understand why. However I don’t immediately hang up on all recruiters. I take the call. Why?

I’ve gotten to know some recruiters over the years and quite a few are extremely professional people who take their craft very seriously. Many actively volunteer in their local communities. One of them I know took time off to volunteer for a summer in Africa which is more than can be said for most (including myself). Many have over the years given me pointers on my resume, interviewing tips and other invaluable career development advice.

I’ll also let you in on something else, I take calls or reply to emails from recruiters even when I’m very happy (as is currently the case) at work. Why on earth would I do that?

a. It’s always good to know what your relevant market value is.

b. If you have a firm relationship with your employer they won’t feel threatened by you getting unsolicited requests. If anything they should be flattered someone on their team is coveted. If they treat you well they should be confident they have nothing to worry about.

c. Someone in my network may be a free agent or looking for a change of scenery. If I can help a recruiter and another friend at the same time then I’ve helped two people in one stroke.

d. If I answer calls/emails from recruiters when they are looking for assistance, they’re more likely to answer mine when I am as well.

Now some may think “Well that’s all well and good when you know the recruiters or have experience dealing with them. What the heck do you do when you get contacted out of the blue from a complete stranger about a job? Or have never dealt with them before?" Indeed some people get nervous and don’t know what to do. I sure felt that way the first time a recruiter contacted me.

I’m not suggesting this works for everyone but my rule of thumb when fielding a call or email from a recruiter I’m not familiar with is to ask the following questions:

1. How did you get my name? I view this as a litmus-test. It shows the degree of transparency on behalf of the recruiter. Even if they say they found me on Google or LinkedIn that is fine but any relationship must be based on trust. If they are evasive or can’t answer that question it should tell you something,

2. What is the salary range for this position? I ask this not because money is the only thing as work-life balance, corporate culture and career development are just a few of many other elements that are as important as salary in making an employment decision. But I also don’t want to waste the recruiter’s time, my time or that of others in my network. So let’s cut to the chase so expectations are aligned from the start.

3. Who is the company? I’m not about to refer my friends to a place that has a lousy reputation or is viewed as a sweatshop. Just like I’m not about to refer a lousy candidate in my network to a good recruiter either. (You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.)

4. Are you on contingency or retained? In my experience I’ve found contingency-based recruiters look for a quick placement and not always examine the longer terms implications of proper fit. Based on the commission structure of their compensation they are there to quickly place someone and move on. My tendency is to only deal with retained recruiters in most circumstances. This doesn't apply to everyone but it applies to me.

5. How do you feel about them? This isn't a question for the recruiter but for yourself. Is the recruiter really pushy or not? Are they trying to jam a square peg in a round hole or do they carefully assess if there is a fit between potential candidate and employer? Excellent recruiters determine that before the dance begins and tell you. Mediocre ones don’t.

In the end, it really comes down to trust. Usually your first instinct about a recruiter is the right one. If you feel good then continue the conversation. If you get the heebie-jeebies politely decline and move on. But don’t view all recruiters to be ‘scum-sucking leaches’ as one person recently opined to me. You do yourself a disservice by making broad stroke assessments like that.

So the next time you get a call or email from a recruiter? Take it.

The Need for Cultivating E-Marketing Talent

There is no question that the Internet is transforming consumer behaviour and buying practices, and companies without access to digital marketing expertise quickly find themselves falling behind. Over the last three years, e-marketing has been growing over 50% per year and in 2009 digital marketing is forecasted to increase a modest 5% (which is decent growth given the -3% decline in traditional media spend forecasted by eMarketer). As a result of the growth and the unique nature of digital, one of the key future issues for employers is the shortage of digital marketing talent.

The big question that many executives have is “how will the current economic downturn affect the digital sector”?

The Impact of Lean Marketing

The landscape for Canadian marketers is changing rapidly, with major media players fearing bankruptcy and marketers constantly trying to prove their worth. The last six months has been a battleground out there and some people have been unfortunately caught in the crossfire. Many companies and agencies have trimmed their staff in order to survive and there are lots of experienced marketers looking for new jobs. Remaining departments are doing the same with less people and resources. In a downturn, businesses need to focus on efficiency and people need to be retrained. But few companies and agencies are stepping forward and investing enough in online marketing (other than a few smart boutique agencies who are picking up talent and enhancing their teams). Talent is waiting on the sidelines.

The Digital Talent Gap will Grow

Digital marketing is one of the largest short-term and long-term potential opportunities that marketers don’t want to miss. It’s efficient, growing and a coveted skill set. Digital marketing is by no means immune to the overall economic climate but there are good job openings. It’s also an exciting area with great future career potential. A CMA research study predicts that the number of online marketing jobs will increase 155% between 2007 and 2011 and there will be a gap of over 4,000 new “advertising jobs” in the internet advertising space (Source: Marketing’s Contribution to the Economy report p22). We will need entry level people but also senior talent with Internet expertise.

Many mid-level marketers are finding their roles now require more in-depth digital marketing understanding to advance and be successful. There’s pressure from senior management to stay ahead and leverage the huge cost-efficiencies and real-time measurability of digital media – in tough economic times, expenditures that can deliver measurable ROI are what the C-level executives want to see – and are pushing their marketing teams hard to meet these new standards.

The need for strong e-marketing talent is growing faster than the talent pool and we as an industry need to start working hard to close the gap.

So Where is the New Digital Marketing Talent?

The easiest source is to tap the current marketers who are out of work. Education is about lifelong learning and there are many willing and skilled candidates who can learn the specialties of online. Companies can grow and cultivate the online expertise but they must invest the training resources. Cultivating managers is a great strategy to enhance your competitive companies’ position.

The next best source of talent is the young new graduates. But there is a problem that many new graduates overlook marketing as a profession and they have the wrong perception of marketing. A few of the key findings from the 2008 CMA Talent Study:

• “Cultivating and competing for top marketing talent is a growing concern. Prospective hires and students considering a career path in marketing do not have a clear understanding of what constitutes a marketing career.”

• “… marketing needs to be presented as a competitively skilful profession, as are finance, consulting, accounting, medicine, or law.”

• “We need to do a better job of showcasing the marketing profession by featuring successful marketers as role models through a variety of media. Our study indicates that role models have a strong impact on a student’s decision making – it’s time to put marketing on the map as a rewarding, skilful, lucrative, creative, and professional occupation.”

Bottom line – Marketers have not been doing a good job of marketing marketing as a profession. Ironic isn’t it? CMA has taken action though, with marketing career resources for students – a place for students to learn more about the marketing profession and find a mentor or two.

Furthermore, as an industry, we also need to encourage recruitment and training for all levels. More on this next time.

Authored by Geoff Linton, VP Inbox Marketer and Taina Suomela, VP The Aber Group

Don't worry. Be optimistic.

A couple weeks ago, the cover story of the Sunday New York Times was about an executive who went from a $70,000 a year middle management job to a $12 an hour janitorial job for a friend's company.

Over the last year (and just this week), I've heard so many stories about friends and acquaintances, business associates and former colleagues and staff getting laid off. They range from intermediate to senior level. And certainly, it's happening more than any time in my lifetime. So, it got me wondering. Do people really know what to do when they get let go? Do they know how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and carry on?

I've had to lay many people off in my career as a Creative Director and unfortunately, all too often, it wasn't for performance related issues. A client consolidated their business somewhere else or "New York" insisted we "hit a number" that probably wasn't realistic in the first place.

However, today good people are being let go everywhere because of the economy and it must feel like there's no end in sight. And yet, there is hope.

Here's some of what I've learned (from people wiser than me and from my own excellent adventure) over the last year since I left the agency world and started my own creative consultancy.

1. Clients want to work with people who project a positive attitude – even on the days you're not feeling particularly positive. This might seem basic, but it's easy to forget -- especially when the news is all bad. Someone gave me this advice before I had even one client, but it's proven to be the best advice I've gotten.

2. Decide early on what you're going to focus on, then focus on that one thing. I knew I wanted to start my own business. So that's what I focused on. If I had divided my attention between that goal, talking to recruiters for another agency job or changing careers completely, I wouldn't have accomplished anything.

3. Network in the way you feel most comfortable. Not everybody likes to cold call or go to industry events and shake a lot of hands. Email, Facebook and Linkedin are great ways to break the ice. It gives your contact an opportunity to be thoughtful about their response and lets you craft your words more carefully than you might over the phone -- or worse, in a voice mail that inevitably ends up being way too long-winded.

4. Journal your experiences, thoughts and feelings. Whatever you're thinking makes more sense when you get it down on paper. It also helps you shake yourself out of a funk when you see that you've been throwing yourself your own pity party for way too long.

5. Exercise. It's a great way to deal with stress and whatever anxiety you're dealing with. If you're like most people I've spoken to over the last year, you wake up in the morning thinking you'll never work again. By noon you're worried about how you're going to handle all the work on your plate. Exercise gives you the fortitude to deal with both kinds of stress.

If you're reading this and you've recently been "economized", take solace in the fact that you're not alone. In fact, there are far too many people going through exactly what you're going through right now and they're not hard to find. So find them and commiserate.

Then decide what you're going to do next and get on with it. You might just discover, as I did, that your decision was the best one you ever made.

Recession Survival Strategies: 5 Job Saving Steps You Can Take Now to Prove Your Value as a Marketer

If, after dosing on the nightly news, you find yourself waking up every morning, grateful just to have your job, you’re not alone. Nowadays, employers are scrutinizing the ROI of every operational cost and headcount. And that includes you. In an environment where the next layoff can be as close as your cube, its more important than ever to have a “never let them see you sweat” job-saving action plan.

Those of us who are employed but anxious (and who isn’t) can take proactive steps to broadcast our successes and create a reputation of effectiveness and indispensability in the office. Whether you work on the agency, client-side, or media space, now is the time to channel your employment anxiety into proving your individual on-the-job ROI. Indeed, doing so can sometimes mean the difference between getting a pay stub or an EI statement.

If you’re ready to turn your job fears into a career-climbing advantage, check out these five recession busting tips to help you prove your ROI as a Marketer.

Marketer – Promote Thyself

Pretend everyone you work with is walking around with a sign around their neck that says “what have you done for me lately?”
As a marketer, you are hired – purportedly to cater and attract external stakeholders – your target market. This is part of your official job title and responsibilities. But we sometimes forget the unwritten part of our job description - promoting ourselves within our organizations to our internal stakeholders. These internal stakeholders can be your boss, senior management, the sales team, or anyone else who directly or indirectly benefits from the demand/ market interest your programs create.

As we go about our jobs, it’s important not only to create value for our company – but to also make sure that others recognize how our marketing activities help them keep their jobs. They need to know what your marketing programs do for them every day - by generating demand for the products they develop and bringing in leads that help them make their sales quotas. Your co-workers need to see you – the marketer - as a strategic partner in their success.

Does senior management know who you are and what you do? Does the sales team know about your latest campaign results which generated their best leads ever? If not, you’re probably neglecting your internal promotion campaign.

Snuggle Up to the Sales Team

For marketers, our most important internal stakeholders are often the sales managers and account executives – those who are supposed to be on the receiving end of the leads, traffic, or brand equity we are charged with creating. It’s important to forge deep partnerships with your sales team, and make them believers. A smart marketer knows that Sales can be their most important internal champion.
If you aren’t already doing so on a regular basis, make a point to talk to your sales team, and increase your visibility among them. Join them on sales calls to clients, get to know their key clients. Update the sales team regularly about your work. Get their feedback on your projects, strategic plans and budget spend and share your successes with them. Anything you can do to improve their standing and relationships with their own clients will – in turn demonstrate your value to the company.

Know Your Numbers

Do you go blank out and start counting ceiling stucco whenever sales spreadsheets appear on the powerpoint screen? A lot of marketers (me included) prefer brainstorming sessions to budget meetings and sales updates. But we need to put away our number phobia in order to seriously evaluate whether our projects are delivering to sales objectives.
On the revenue side: Do you know the annual and quarterly sales quota?, the status of the sales pipeline? Who your company’s best clients are? Which of your ads and media channels were the best and worst performers? It’s important to have this data, understand the impacts your projects are making on the business, and communicate that impact to your stakeholders. One former colleague of mine was an expert at this, and regularly introduced himself at meetings with new colleagues with “I am marketing director for Product Division X, which represent $X in revenue for our company.”

On the expense side: Do you have a good grasp on the dollar spent per lead generated? Can you track back branding dollars spent to impact on web traffic, calls, or sales? Knowing and being able to quote these figures confidently to your boss and stakeholders is key to justifying your budget allocations and individual ROI.

Show and Tell

Luckily, much of what we create in marketing is visible. As part of your “promote yourself” strategy, you should make it a regular practice to update your internal stakeholders on your activities. This can be as simple as distributing hard copies of the latest print ad to their desks or at a meeting, or as involved as preparing a detailed memo or post mortem meeting after a trade event, giving a breakdown of attendee feedback.
If your department doesn’t have an official “brag board”, try to create a wall in your cubicle dedicated to some of the best printouts of recent campaigns, ads, or even interesting swag that you have ordered.

Be the Rainmaker

As a marketer in a tough economy, you want to be seen as the rainmaker of leads and of innovative ideas.

Your company is looking to you for the best creative ideas to move the business forward and create new opportunities to replace customers who have disappeared. Luckily, the web (including the CMA site) is amuck with new business strategies, blogs and tools that can help you stretch your shrinking budget dollars. And it is easier than ever to search on Yahoo! or Google to find out what your competitors are doing. Now is the time to be researching new revenue streams, customer segments, or low cost marketing programs that will help your company survive the recession.

Having written this post, I am the first to tell you that no job is recession proof. In this climate, even the brightest and best self-promoting marketer can find themselves in the EI line. However, hard times also challenge us to re-tool our career arsenal, become even more proactive in demonstrating your relevance to the powers that be, and ultimately emerge as a smarter corporate survivor (and thriver!)

Like the big US corporations now in front of congressional committees- the more we can do to deliver and prove our ROI – the more likely we are to be seen as worthy of our employers’ continued investment.

My next post: I’ll reveal my secret stash of links to free and cheap online marketing tools for budget conscious online marketers.

Embrace the Recession And Grow

For the first time in over 12 years our economy is shrinking. That means there is a new generation of leaders at the helm of Canadian businesses who, for the very first time, are being confronted with making choices and feeling professional pains that they have never before encountered.

These leaders are going through a series of stages while dealing with the realities of operating their businesses in a weak economy. And, only those who capitalize on the opportunities at each stage will emerge stronger, professionally and personally, at the end of this economic cycle than they were entering it.

Stage One: Prepare

Business leaders, for the most part, do everything they can to keep on top of current economic realities because their day-to-day operations are dramatically affected by sudden shifts in customer purchase behaviours, cash flow and long-term investments. That’s why the first stage that leaders take, although reluctantly – is to prepare for a weakened economy. Earlier this year, I described how leaders can prepare for a soft economy by recession-proofing their business. Specifically, I outlined four steps that leaders can take to build and strengthen an infrastructure that recognizes and rewards customer retention. Since successfully retaining customers is essential in a softened economy, taking these steps strengthens any business’ foundation.

Stage Two: Accept

In the last few months, local and international indices have clearly revealed that consumers and businesses alike are indeed spending less than projected. And, once a company’s revenues are affected, leaders truly accept the onset of a softening economy. During this stage, leaders can optimize several opportunities for success, for example: (i) target recession-proof industries – i.e. those that provide essential products/services rather than luxury products/services; (ii) only target segments that are the most profitable; (iii) focus marketing messages on cost-savings and reducing inefficiencies; (iv) renegotiate vendor contracts; and (v) outsource more marketing activities.

Stage Three: Embrace

During the most recent economic downturn – known as ‘the bursting of the dotcom bubble’ – ThinData consisted of a handful of dedicated professionals. With few assets to risk, we did something that was unheard of: we actually embraced the recession. That meant taking unconventional but well-grounded actions. For example, we took the opportunity to find and hire talented people who had been displaced. At the same time, we recognized that our former competitors were not marketing aggressively. That provided a rare opportunity to build name recognition, positive associations and new relationships in a ‘marketing vacuum’.

By successfully growing stronger through these hard times, the valuable lessons we learned about how to prepare for, accept and embrace weakened economies continue to shape our innovative approach to operating and building a sound business and vibrant culture.

Spread the word - Canada's Next Top Ad Exec is back

Face the Fear.

That's the theme of the 2009 Top Ad Exec Competition - a home grown competition (organized by the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster) for Canadian business students to strut their creativity and competence in developing an experiential campaign for Volkswagon - who by the way, will be providing the winner or winners (up to two students) with VW Golfs. Pretty nice incentive.

I guess if you asked last year's finalists if presenting their proposed campaigns to an elite group of advertising executives evoked fear - the answer would be yes. Honestly though, having the opportunity to sit-in on some of the student presentations last year, what I saw was charisma, polish, and confidence - and an apparent abundance of prep-work. By competing, students have an opportunity to develop skills that will give them a career advantage: critical thinking, research, strategy, creative and innovative thinking, number crunching. And they will get a real taste and feel for the marketing and advertising professions - which we know is not well-understood by the student demographic.

Enrolling in the competition is simple (and NO fee to register). Students must be either a full-time undergrad business or commerce student, an MBA, or undergrad completing a minor in business or commerce in the 2008/2009 year. Students certified in a registered co-op or internship - as part of their degree - are also eligible.

Submission details and guidelines are straight forward.

Key deadlines:
-January 22: submissions due
-February 23: top 25 are selected
-Feb 23: next stage of submission from the top 25
-March 9: top 10 finalists are announced
-March 30 - April 1: finalists deliver their presentation to panel of judges and awards dinner follows

How can you help? Spread the word. Mentor a student through the process. Come on out to the closing ceremonies. It's programs like this that build bridges between academia and the business community - one reason CMA is proud to sponsor Canada's Next Top Ad Exec.

Red Herring Season

At the time of writing I have just left a meeting with Sandy Weill (of Citibank fame), where he told me we are entering into the deepest recession any of us has seen in many, many years. Of course, he was talking about the US. But let’s say, hypothetically, that Canada does not miss this bullet (in spite of our government’s solid, stay the course plan) and we too enter into a recession. What then?

Unemployment climbs, demand for consumer good drops, the economy shrinks, inventories shrink, profits disappear, and so on. Most importantly, though, none of this is our fault at a micro-economic level. It is all the fault of the economy; a comforting thought to many Canadian business leaders who love nothing more than to find a convenient external source to blame for whatever happens to their business (high taxes, the liberal government tax and spend policies, the free market conservative policies, the dollar, 9/11, SARS, Listeria, and so on).

Don’t blame these poor souls. They are suffering from RHD, Red Herring Disorder, a viral disease native to the Canadian Urban Regions.

RHD starts, as do all worthwhile disease, with flue like symptoms. Subsequently the patient slumps into a lumpish, self-sympathetic pose, often muttering: “But there’s nothing we can do,” over and over again. RHD victims generally cut budgets and cancel activities, mostly to avoid being responsible for anything, but also, in most cases, to reduce their workload in order to spend more time bemoaning their fate. RHD is probably caused by an airborne pathogen as it is easily transmitted from person to person (and, in an odd, metaphysical way, from organization to organization).

As RHD progresses it takes control of the autonomous nervous system, causing the patient to become increasing boring and repetitive. A compulsive need to stifle any external stimuli and repeat the “cut the budget” mantra is the reason this disease is often mistaken for an obsessive-compulsive mood disorder. Practitioners now believe this not to be the case, as RHD is often accompanied by a contradictory psycho-neurotic behavioural symptom: pathological self-preservation syndrome. The precise relationship between RHD and PSPS is not clear, but the fact that they so often occur in parallel has opened an entirely new path of study for experts in these diseases.

RHD is often incurable and, in the worst cases, ultimately results in the sufferer being separated from the organization organism at such time as the economy improves. Unfortunately for the organization organism and the world in general, this occurs far too late to be of any use.

In the US, a vaccination has been tested and shown somewhat successful. At the very first intimation of the virus, test subjects are given massive doses of courage and creativity. Early test show that the resulting hard work, positive outlook and immediate business success appear to be effective in fighting off the disease.

If not caught in time, the disease cannot be effectively treated.

Under no circumstances, should sufferers be exposed to competitors who have taken advantage of the difficult economic climate to rethink their fundamental mission and vision, and develop innovative, effective, and hard-hitting strategies.