Interview with: John Kennedy, Vice President - Corporate Marketing, IBM
The web is increasingly becoming the nucleus for developing marketing strategy, says John Kennedy, Vice President - Corporate Marketing at IBM. The Web and social media are being utilized in reaching potential clients, providing customer support, enhancing the customer experience and driving innovation through more expansive and diverse collaboration. The amount of data available, however, requires Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) to sift through masses of information to extract the tools that could add the most value to their activities. The Chairman of the marcus evans Chief Marketing Officer Summit 2010 taking place in Florida, May 23-25, 2010, Kennedy shares his thoughts on social media and the marketing strategies and activities that reap the most rewards.
What are some of the best uses of social media in marketing?
John Kennedy: Marketers across all industries are rushing to use these new tools to do their work but we should not confuse our ability to connect with clients and prospects in new ways with true transformations of how we interact with them. Our task as marketers should be to figure out how to apply these powerful technologies to help change and grow our businesses. A great example is how Best Buy is using Twitter to transform the way it delivers customer service. Social media is being used to support “socializing”
Which marketing activities or strategies reap the most benefits?
John Kennedy: We are living in a world where the volume of activity is becoming an impediment to delivering improved results. Our customers are overwhelmed with information and are selectively filtering what they pay attention to. Our challenge as marketers is to break-through and make a connection in some way. Marketing must do more than “message”. It must connect on a deeper level and express a point of view; maybe even teach something and convey a different way of looking at the world. This is the approach we have tried to take in with IBM’s Smarter Planet effort. It is an example of how we have tried to convey an agenda and a way of looking at how the world can work better versus promoting and messaging.
What are some of the issues facing CMOs at the moment and what solutions would you recommend?
John Kennedy: The challenge of competing for attention is a major one; others include the traditional challenges of demonstrating ROI, doing more with a fixed set of resources and helping business leadership identify opportunities for growth.
But another I would like to highlight is the need to continually build talent and skills given today’s changing environment. Having teams with contemporary skills is critical; but also, teams who are agile, can move fast and are willing to quickly learn on the fly and iterate becomes critical.
What long-term strategies would you recommend to CMOs?
John Kennedy: Given all of the points above, the role of a strong brand becomes more important than ever. Brands help us negotiate overwhelming choice. The best and most enduring brands are those which have been built on a timeless idea that can serve as an integrating point for a company’s portfolio and ensure wide-ranging activity actually builds equity in a bigger thought. The opportunity with digital marketing and social media is that we have more tools at our disposal to make this happen, but building equity becomes less about “management”
Contact: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-
Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com
About the Chief Marketing Officer Summit 2010
This unique forum will take place at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Florida, May 23-25, 2010. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The summit includes presentations on Web 2.0 and social media, building powerful brands and alternative marketing methods.
For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website at http://www.thecmosummit.com/
Please note that the summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.
About marcus evans Summits
marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings. For more information, please visit http://www.marcusevans.com
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