Wvu Marketing Communications Today

Due to the current global health crisis and concerns around the spread of COVID-19, events, both large and small have been canceled across the United States. Where does the industry go from here? How has event planning changed and adapted? In this podcast, Deidre West, director of special events and celebrity relations at the Children’s Health Fund, will discuss her experience navigating this new reality. ----more---- Deidre West DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EVENTS AND CELEBRITY RELATIONS FOR CHILDREN’S HEALTH FUND M.A. (New York University) Deidre West's experience in event planning includes a wide range from luncheons, dinner and conferences to high-profile events for celebrities and professional athletes, product launches, consumer brands in fashion, food and beverages industries, galas, retail stores, and a hotel grand reopening. West is a native Ohioan and has always had an interest in conceptualizing an idea and bringing it to life. At Ohio University she created a multidisciplinary Bachelor of Specializ

Social media is free right? Surely it can solve all my sales and marketing goals. Wrong! Digital Marketing in 2020 requires a strong brand messaging architecture and paid media strategy to supplement an organic social media strategy. In this podcast, we will learn how brands need to evolve their social media thinking and approach in order to stay relevant and achieve KPIs that matter. ----more---- About Susan's guest: During my 15+ year career, I’ve become accustomed to working with big brands and iconic organizations. My journey began in college athletics as a sports information director with stops at SMU, the Missouri Valley Conference, and Conference USA. While I’ve made a strong impact within college athletics, I’ve also created relationships with professional organizations in the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. My experiences are diverse when it comes to branding and advertising, with stints at boutique agencies such as Verge Pipe Media and MM2 PR, as well as working client-sid

Rex Repass, a native West Virginian, is President of Research America Inc. In this podcast, Rex will tell us about his life-long interest in the effects of media and marketing on consumer decision making – from the cars they drive to the candidates they support. He has an interesting story to share from his first market research venture in the early 1980s to now leading a Top 50 research firm in the U.S. ----more---- About Matthew's guest: Rex Repass is President of Research America Inc. The company has 250 employees in the U.S., with locations in Philadelphia, metro New York, Cincinnati, Detroit, Orlando, and Sacramento. The Research America teams have designed and led market research and consumer insights projects for some of the leading corporations in the world including Walgreens, Pfizer, Honda, Facebook, and Hilton Hotels. In addition, over the years Rex and his teams have conducted public opinion and user experience research for more than 40 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada, and the Reuters News

Crisis management expert, consultant, and author Edward Segal talks about the publication of his new book on crisis management — Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for and Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies (Nicholas Brealey). ----more---- About Susan's Guest: Edward Segal has more than 30 years' experience as a crisis management expert. He managed crisis situations as the CEO of two trade associations; advised and helped organizations survive disasters, scandals, and emergencies including the arrest and firing of corporate officers, hate crimes, and sexual harassment; and conducted crisis management and communication training for hundreds of executives and their staffs. Segal is the former marketing strategies columnist for The Wall Street Journal's StartUpJournal.com and senior media relations consultant for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. He has provided expert PR advice and counsel to more than 500 corporations and organizations. For more information, visit EdwardSegal.com.

A Crisis is sometimes defined as anything that interrupts normal business operations … something Webster says that brings about a turning point or decisive moment when difficult decisions must be made. Many if not most organizations, companies, and leaders understand the need to put a crisis plan in place before the next crisis hits, no matter how unpredictable the actual event might be.   ----more---- My next guest argues that even those entities that carefully prepare crisis plans fail spectacularly when tested because they forget about one key feature of a successful crisis response: COMMUNICATING through it. Without a Crisis Communications strategy she says, your reputation and your very viability might be in jeopardy. About Susan's guest: Aileen Pincus launched The Pincus Group after more than two decades of communications experience. Aileen worked as a local and national television reporter in Portland, Tampa, and Washington DC, before leading communications for a U.S. Senator, and then joining a

Marketing and communications during a crisis demand flexibility and adaptability. For the West Virginia University Foundation, that was never more apparent than during the height of COVID-19. The Foundation’s IMC team of 4 had to quickly put together two campaigns in less than a month to help raise emergency funding for students hurt by the pandemic. ----more---- Learn how this small staff was able to create two compelling campaigns while working remotely and amidst other job responsibilities. Find out what worked and what didn’t, and how under budget constraints, powerful messages were delivered to move donors to donate more than a half-million dollars in one day. About Susan's guest: Bill Nevin is assistant vice president for communications for the West Virginia University Foundation, the private fundraising arm of West Virginia University. In his role at the Foundation, Nevin oversees all areas of internal and external communication and marketing. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2007, he spent si

Diversity is no longer a nice to have, but a business imperative, especially for the communications industry. Now more than ever, advertising, PR and marketing firms need to be as diverse as the consumers they want to reach. In this podcast, we will explore why diversity is critical to the industry and what agencies are doing to address the challenge. ----more---- About Whitney's guest: Michele Lanza leads Global Talent Acquisition for Ketchum. She has a keen interest in innovative strategies, such as the creation of LaunchPad, Ketchum’s blind selection process for entry-level talent, that was featured in Fast Company.  Michele is passionate about deploying recruiting processes that foster diversity and inclusion because she has experienced firsthand the value it creates for teams and businesses. In addition to her role at Ketchum, Michele is the founder of Work Wider, a career and recruitment social platform for all underrepresented communities. WVU Marketing Communications Today is hosted by Whitney

Content marketing is based on research and data management, of course, but then what? Where do our Big Ideas come from? ----more---- About Cyndi's guest: Larry Stultz, Ph.D., has been on the IMC faculty since 2007. He served as department chair for the Bachelor of Arts in Advertising program at The Art Institute of Atlanta, where he taught courses in conceptual thinking and campaign development for twenty years. He also taught creative campaigns at Atlanta’s Portfolio Center. Prior to entering the teaching phase of his life, he operated design and advertising firms in New Orleans and Atlanta with clients in hospitality and tourism, commercial real estate, corporate communications, health care, and social services. He has served on the board of directors of the Atlanta Ad Club and provides ideation facilitation and consulting services to clients in the southeast. Stultz holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Visual Design from Purdue University, and he earned his Ph.D. in Educational Polic

Buyer centricity has long been the war cry for marketers and sellers alike, but the recent Global pandemic, economic crisis, and even civil unrest has proven that the reality falls desperately short of the promise. The root of the issue resides in the fact that marketing and selling, at least under ‘business as usual guidelines’, feel trite. The traditional go-to-market motions that many organizations have built come with a dependence on some degree of sleight of hand. ----more---- The promise of “results” is propped up by practices that neither understand the true needs of Buyers nor feel any ownership in achieving them. We’re living through events that have the potential to finally force true change. The only organizations surviving and in many cases thriving in the current environment are those that both had formed true relationships with their buyers and were agile enough to respond to how the market was affecting those individuals and others like them. About Mike's guest: Justin Gray Founder & C

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, every business is soul searching and wondering how to move forward with their marketing communications. Some common themes have emerged as to how businesses are trying to further humanize their brand, generate empathy from the public, and simply “do the right thing.” ----more---- In parallel, many businesses have pulled the plug, at least temporarily, on advertising programs, many of which include influencer marketing. Is this the right approach, though? Is there a hidden value of influencer marketing that most businesses have yet to grasp? In this podcast, we will learn how brands need to become re-educated on how they define digital influence and influencer marketing, why a long-term approach based on brand affinity – not mere influence – will yield better results, and why the trends that favor influencer marketing’s continued growth do not change because of the COVID-19 pandemic. About Matthew's guest: Neal Schaffer is a leading authority on helping businesses through t

Remaining Virtually Relevant: When you’re in the business of producing large scale public gatherings, how do you take everything online? On March 15 the CDC issued guidance related to large events and mass gatherings which specifically included examples like festivals, parades, concerts, and sporting events. That guidance was basically the beginning of the widespread cancellation or postponement of events around the country due to concerns around the spread of the highly infectious COVID-19 virus. ----more---- In addition to all of the economic, cultural, and psychological impact that this global pandemic is having across the world, it is no less landmark and potentially devastating for the live event industry and its related businesses. So where does that industry go next? What has been the response and the initial impact and where do we go from here? In this podcast, we will discuss how one 65-year-old nonprofit organization that produces live events and is connected to the largest attended single-day sp

After 20+ year career in communications that included positions in public relations, advertising, media, and marketing, Lisa Sands stepped into the role of publisher for Edible Cleveland magazine, a local independently-owned publication that is part of a network of roughly 80 other “edibles” across the U.S. and Canada. After one year, Lisa’s has had to analyze all aspects of the magazine’s operations and face many realities about the role media plays in our lives, how we’re using it, where we get our information, and what we are willing to pay for as media consumers and as marketers. We’ll discuss the holistic media landscape from the viewpoint of journalists and also marketers including: Is the traditional media landscape all doom and gloom? Is there still a place for print media in the marketing mix? Do we want to live in a world where everything we consume is online? If the answer is no, then where do we go from here? About Mike's guest: After 20+ year career in communications that included positions

Graduating seniors in communications and marketing are facing the daunting prospect of trying to enter the job market during the COVID-19 pandemic. This will not be an easy task. Nearly 4 million students in the US are set to graduate this year in spring 2020. With the world in crisis and uncertainty ahead, the environment continues to be dynamic and fluid. While we can’t predict what the future holds for students and graduates in the short-term, we can help prepare and equip students with information and tips for their upcoming employment journey. ----more---- About Karen's guest: Brandi Boatner Social and Influencer Communications Lead, Global Markets Brand Communications Manager, IBM Corporate Communications Brandi Boatner is an award-winning digital communications professional and prolific public speaker based in New York City. Currently, she serves as the social and influencer communications lead for Global Markets in IBM corporate communications, a newly created position. Her responsibilities incl

National Geographic was founded in 1888. When its magazine editor first introduced photographs in its monthly publication, 2 board members resigned in protest, saying photos essentially dumbed down the content. But today, National Geographic is the #1 media brand in followers on Instagram. And while magazines are shuttered almost every month, National Geographic’s print version remains on newsstands and is published worldwide in nearly 40 languages. ----more---- National Geographic has come out of its association with Rupert Murdoch and 21 st Century Fox, and now is part of Disney + and the family of ESPN and ABC News. How does this work inside the yellow border? About Cyndi's guest: Jeff Hertrick is Director, Digital Video Operations, National Geographic Partners/The Walt Disney Company. Jeff has over 30 years of award-winning video production experience, including the last 19 years at National Geographic. (2015-2019, under 21 st Century Fox, and for the past year, The Walt Disney Company) He has been

Without a doubt, the coronavirus pandemic has changed all of our worlds. But one of the hardest-hit industries is travel. US Travel Association and Oxford Economics recently reported that the US is projected to suffer a $519 billion decline in direct travel spending, which translates into $1.2 trillion in lost economic impact. But there is hope. Experts predict there will be pent-up demand for travel. It is in our nature to explore, escape and emotionally attach to our friends and family. And while travel will look different the industry will eventually bounce back. ----more---- About Michael Lynch's guest: A 2009 IMC graduate, Jama Jarrett is currently the VP and COO of the Charleston WV Convention & Visitors Bureau where she provides strategic counsel for day-to-day messaging and operational activities, including management of the financial, administrative and communication functions for the bureau. Prior to joining the CVB in 2010, Jarrett worked for former West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin as d

Advances in behavioral science have come a long way since the discipline’s inception in the late seventies. Robust studies have shown time and again that long-held theories of top-down information dissemination, particularly when scientific in nature, are not only ineffective but perhaps even counter-effective. Ensuring that communications are received as intended, and ultimately acted upon for the purpose of predicting behavioral outcomes, requires understanding how the brain processes information and its cognitive limitations. ----more---- People’s understanding of the world is shaped by their neural networks, and what behavioral scientists refer to more commonly as “mental models.”  These mental models are heavily influenced by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, how familiar the risk being reported is, whether it is natural or manmade, and whether it is voluntary. Also critical to the perception of risk is how frequently it is being communicated and who the sources of information are.

Happy Easter everyone! It’s just not Easter without PEEPS®! The PEEPS® Brand has been around since 1953 and is a must-have for the Easter basket. The yellow chick is the icon that everyone knows however, the classic pastel-colored marshmallows covered in sugar are certainly polarizing. Consumers either love them or hate them. If they love PEEPS®, don’t mess with them. If they hate PEEPS®, there is no way they would ever eat any PEEPS® product. How does a brand stay true to its heritage while evolving to appeal to a larger audience? In this podcast, we will learn how brands can grow through innovation with their core consumers while attracting new users to the franchise. ----more---- About Nathan's guest, Matthew J. Pye, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Just Born Quality Confections Matthew J. Pye is the Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Just Born Quality Confections, a 3rd generation family-owned candy company that manufactures PEEPS®, MIKE AND IKE®, HOT TAMALES® and GOLDENBE

 It’s no secret, to succeed as a business you need to build a brand. But building a brand is no easy task, and most companies don’t get it right the first time. Great brands are built on solid positioning. It’s a yin and yang; positioning is yin (rational) and branding is yang (emotional). They’re two sides of the same coin, and you need both. ----more---- A new logo or color scheme can’t define a brand. Branding expresses a company’s unique role and relevance, its position, in an authentic and differentiated way. To build a sticky and successful brand, you need to know your company’s position in the market. And to identify your position, you need to start with your Corporate DNA. In this podcast, we’ll sit down with marketing expert and best selling author, Andy Cunningham, to discuss the process of identifying your corporate DNA, establishing an authentic position and building a brand that sticks.   WVU Marketing Communications Today is hosted by Whitney Drake from West Virginia University which is a

The media landscape has increased in complexity and the ability to reach consumers in a variety of different ways. In this podcast, we will look at the different approaches that exist in the industry, the balance of art and science in these approaches and how a blend of these methods can help an advertiser get a clearer picture of how consumers are engaging with your brand. WVU Marketing Communications Today is hosted by Cyndi Greenglass from West Virginia University which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.     

In just a few weeks, the global pandemic has had immeasurable impacts on healthcare, economic and communications. Social distancing to flatten the curve of infected people needing testing and care has led to across-the-board cancellations and postponements of in-person meetings and events communicators and advocates rely on heavily. The coronavirus has also spurred wholesale remote work environments and a refresh of planned message platforms on all communications channels. ----more---- The future scope and length of the healthcare and economic crisis is uncertain, forcing us all to be flexible, patient and innovative in conducting and meeting our communications and advocacy goals. Today’s session will focus on virtual advocacy communications while incorporating key elements of integrated marketing communications to help amplify our activities.  Mike Fulton Mike Fulton directs the Washington, D.C., office of Asher Agency and teaches public affairs in the West Virginia University Reed College of Media’s