Get away from your town to all the other "Americas"

It must be the most fascinating part of running for national office to criss-cross the country meeting with Americans. We teach at IMC that you must understand that most of the customers and stakeholders relevant to your organization are not like you. If you think health care and the stock market are the only topics in the U.S. you would be mistaken. Seven hours from Chicago via highway 90 to Rockford Illinois and then highway 20 to NW Iowa; the topics and focus changes. In Sac City and Fort Dodge, in Sac County and Kossuth County the topic is weather. Not the casual issue of “should I bring my umbrella to work?” but the land, crops, jobs and future conversation. Enter a weekend breakfast spot in Fort Dodge and listen to topics that most
Americans do not consider “talking points” or even see in their newspapers (which seem to still be read in rural communities). Corn, beans, energy alternatives, leasing fees for windmills ($5000-6000 per year for 50 years or a share of the kilowatt production). A “small continental divide in Western Iowa where some the land divides NS rivers flowing west to the Missouri or east to the Mississippi give some farms ideal positioning for capturing wind on higher points. Eminent Domain exercised by the State of Iowa for the expansion of State Highway 20 from 2 lanes to 4 to Nebraska. Discussions are about the logic of the DOT (Department of Transportation) policy of planning highways through the middle of rich farmland rather than on the margins or between farms. And, debates are constant over the value of land. The stock market, hedge funds and Ponzi schemes do not seem top of mind, but rich topsoil in NW Iowa from glaciers or blown by wind from the Missouri River basin a million years ago is on their minds. Top acreage with great drainage, county and farm tiles and satellite pictures of soil depth may sell for $6000 per acre or $3300 per acre in an auction. “Cash rent” paid by renters of hundreds or thousands of acres may be $200 per acre, earning 3% on the estimated value of the land taxed at $15 per acre and managed at 5% plus repairs etc. The future is based on increasing value of the land; not income. On other topics, diversity is defined as the Hispanic population increasing from 3% to 23% in the local schools over the past 20 years. Families talk about the loss of thousands of young people moving out of the area after earning their degrees at Iowa State, Iowa, University of Illinois and other schools. The importance of bio fuels in Iowa (and Illinois) does not make President Obama a popular figure and chaos over health care for the elderly has not helped his rankings. However, Obama’s visit to a local community grade school in 2008 is still the topic of discussion. It is still America; it is just a different one than your daily conversations might reveal.

Global Brand Summit GBS in Chicago growing October 20-21

www.gbsconference.com With world-wide acknowledged branding and marketing professor Philip Kotler as keynote speaker, the Summit will be launched with the strongest possible message. Professor Kotler of the world famous Kellogg School of Management will discuss his recent work for the book "Chaotics - The Business of Managing and Marketing in the Age of Turbulence" with co-author John A. Caslione for AMACOM 2009. The bi-lateral business conference for 200 Chinese business leaders and 200 U.S. business leaders includes others key speakers such as Al Golin, founder and Chairman of Golin Harris (the MacDonald's brand reputation agency) and Michael Morley, former President of Edelman Worldwide and author of "Branding" with a highly relevant case study on the sale of the IBM brand ThinkPad to China's Lenovo. The conference continues to build around the concept of using a wide range of translators from the Kellogg and Medill School's Integrated Marketing Communications Departments (with Chinese students) to help U.S. and Chinese business leaders "strike business deals" or at least begin the relationship face-to-face. More to come.

Global Brand Summit in Chicago Oct. 20-21

My colleagues in the newly formed Integrated Marketing Communication Association are sponsoring with Peking University and a raft of China businesses a Global Brand Summit in Chicago Oct. 20-21. The program and details follow:

We have designed the Summit to host 200 Chinese executives and 200 U.S. executives and business owners. They will be coming to “do business” but also to be informed by the program content.

The test of possible speakers revealed that the Chinese wanted to hear from authors on branding and points of view of global and U.S. business.

2009 Global Brand Summit
China-U.S.
Featured Speaker: PHILIP KOTLER
Kellogg School of Management

October 20-21, 2009
Chicago

U.S. Organizers:

Co-organizers:
The China Association of National Advertisers
Journalism and Communications School, Beijing University

Contact:
Email: andrea@imcassociation.org
Phone: +1-847-465-8995
Fax: +1-847-465-9398
www.gbsconference.com

ABOUT THE SUMMIT
The 2009 Global Brand Summit (GBS) is a business and academic consortium of rapidly growing medium-size businesses, consultants and professional business educators from the U.S. and China. GBS fosters research and dissemination of knowledge on the impact of current economic trends in business. This includes brand building for organizations searching for new global partners, clients, and customers. Our most recent work has been a focus on China and the U.S.

The 2009 Global Brand Summit has invited 200 business men and women from China. This is the first time that the China Association of National Advertisers has sponsored an overseas conference. It is also a rare opportunity for U.S. business owners and executives to meet so many Chinese CEOs of both state-owned companies and smaller privately-held corporations to discuss business issues and opportunities.

For this year’s conference, the Integrated Marketing Communications Association will partner with the U.S.-China Brand Group, which has provided training programs to over 1,000 Chinese executives at Northwestern University. Past participants in U.S.-China Brand Group training seminars have commented on their experience as “the most rewarding experience in terms of providing global marketing insights and building business relationships.”

Major Chinese broadcast and print media are currently promoting this Summit. Coverage of the Summit will be broadcast via CCTV (China’s most prominent TV network), 21st Century Business Herald (newspapers) and Sina.com (one of the most significant Web sites in China).

There are two key reasons to attend and participate in this two-day summit in downtown Chicago.

1. Build relationships for future business with Chinese and U.S. business leaders in roundtable sessions.
2. Discover new ideas on global product and service branding, co-branding and partnerships from world class leaders. One of the featured speakers will be Dr. Philip Kotler of the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Brand Information
We have asked business and academic speakers with world-wide reputations to address several questions for the Summit:

• How can a brand make a mark on the global stage?
• How does a brand flourish worldwide even under a global economic downturn?
• Does your organization have a clear sense of which global stakeholders are important to maximize brand visibility?

Business Brand Relationships
If your organization has plans to enter the Chinese market, or is contemplating a strategy to test the China market, this may be your best opportunity to meet with Chinese business men and women who are decision-makers.

• Joining the Summit here in Chicago saves you time and expenses.
• The 200 Chinese executives focus on relationship building.
• The Summit will better prepare you for your business trip to China.

This unique international branding summit draws together powerful brand leaders and companies including Lenovo, Kraft, Boeing, and Motorola, as well as some prominent Chinese companies, such as Baidu, China Merchant Bank, Chery Automotive and Tsingtao Beer. These companies have adopted a global mindset to share the secrets behind their well-conceived business positioning in building international presence.

The two-day event will also introduce you and your team to other leaders of more medium-sized companies currently developing business-to-business and consumer brands. All participants can benefit from new global relationships in distribution, manufacturing and retailing. The 2009 Global Brand Summit focuses on true sharing and practical "how to" actions.







SUMMIT AGENDA
Dates: Oct. 20-21, 2009
Location: Hyatt Regency Chicago, U.S.A.
Registration fee: $859

【Oct 20, 2009 Day One】
7:00-8:30 Registration
8:30-8:50 Opening Ceremony
Hosts: Professor Clarke Caywood, Ph.D., Integrated Marketing Communications Department, Northwestern University
_____, Chair of China Association of National Advertisers
8:50-9:00 Introduction of Keynote Speaker by Sponsor or Professor Clarke Caywood, Northwestern University
9:00 – 10:00 Keynote Speaker: Philip Kotler, Ph.D., S.C. Johnson & Son Professor of Marketing,
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Topic: “Managing Your Brand in Chaotic Times” (from his book Chaotics:
The Business of Managing and Marketing in the Age of Turbulence)
10:00-11:00 First Panel Discussion (4 panelists): “High-risk Times and Brand Reinvention”
Host: Professor Philip Kotler, Northwestern University
Advertising Agency Representative: Ye Maozhong, Nike Brand Director (China)
Corporate Representative: Kraft or P&G Brand Director (U.S.)
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee/Tea Break
11:30 – 12:30 Speaker: Ma Weihua, CEO, China Merchants Bank
Topic: “Brand Value Drive: Intangible Benefits”
12:30-13:45 Lunch
13:45-14:45 Introduction by Sponsor or Host
Speaker: Robin Li, CEO, Baidu
Topic: “Challenges and Opportunities for Brand Communications in the New Media Era”
14:45-15:50 Introduction by Sponsor or Host
Speaker: Al Golin, Founder of Golin Harris or Jack Ma, CEO, Alibaba.com
Topic: “Trends in Global Business Communications”
15:50-16:10 Coffee/Tea Break
16:10-17:30 Business Roundtable/Corporate and Participant Meetings
17:30-19:30 Dinner Party with Entertainment

【Oct 21, 2009 Day 2】
9:00 – 9:45 Introduction by Sponsor or Host
Speaker: Professor Bobby Calder, Ph.D., Charles H. Kellstadt Chair, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Topic: “Globalization, Localization and Brand Reinvention”
9:45 – 10:45 Introduction by Sponsor or Host
Speaker: Yin Tongyao, CEO, Chery Automobile Co.
Keynote Speech: “Challenges for Global Brands in the New Automobile Industry”
10:45 – 11:10 Coffee/Tea Break
11:10 – 11:55 Third Panel Discussion: “Creating Media and Brand Creative Communications”
Moderator: Professor Clarke Caywood, Northwestern University
Panelists: Advertising Agency Representatives: Song Yimin, Ogilvy T.B. (China) &
DDB Needham (U.S.)
Corporate Representatives: Tsingtao Beer (China) & Harley Davidson (U.S.)
Sanjay Jha, Co-CEO, Motorola
Shigeo Okazaki, Managing Director and Executive Brand Consultant, Strategic Resource Center, Dentsu Beijing
Beck (Author of Risk Society)
(or) W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne (authors of Blue Ocean Strategy)
11:55 – 12:10 Closing Ceremony Remarks: Richard M. Daley, Mayor of Chicago
or Mark Kirk, U.S Representative
or Donald Tung(HK Trade Commissioner)
12:10 – 13:30 Lunch
13:30--15:30 Business-matching Roundtable (8 panels taking place simultaneously)
Panel 1: “Global Banking Barriers”
Panel 2: “Branding Consultant Values”
Panel 3: “Global Legal Hurdles”
Panel 4: “What about a Global Sales Force?”
Panel 5: “Trade Association Support in China”
Panel 6: “Supply Chain Efficiency”
Panel 7: “Protecting Your Brand from Crisis”
Panel 8: “Cultural Challenges to Overcome”
15:30 and after Networking
ANTICIPANTED PARTICIPANTS
• Executives and owners of medium and selected small American brands, venture capitalists, advertising agencies and legal professionals
• Executives of top large and medium-sized Chinese brands and start-ups, advertising agencies and media industry professionals
• Target number of participants: 400 in total
200 from the U.S.
200 from China
• Chinese participants’ profile shown in pie charts

For my readers who have sponsored individual residencies for the 11 week summer program at NU's IMC graduate program for over 22 years (and donated over $2.2 million based upon the sponsorship of my IMC PR students). Also for alumni to comment on the change from individual to team projects for the summers.

1.Consider Alternative models to teach from a think tank (e.g. opposition strategy research (White House), opposition research (all political campaigns) de-positioning plans (Silicone Valley)).
2.We might give the students an intensive true creative agency or creative unit experience and assignment to broaden our work in IMC.
3.We might send the teams into the SBU level for some period of time to really understand the business.
4.Perhaps some teams ought to work on a project that really challenges them: heavy communications where communications is not their strength or heavy numbers where numbers are their weakness - to bolster their education.
5. Not-for-Profit projects often give you access to higher officials and greater impact - though we used to waive fees 6. The new University President could benefit from an IMC review.
7. Students might master industry software and then offer a "shoot out" or competition at the end of summer 8. Students might work on a project and then work with J. students to use editorial research method to understand j. risks.
9. Students might work on a national competition in marketing, business, - several are available though timing is an issue.
10. Students might work with engineering students or Transportation Center students on doctoral level or technical projects needing marketing communications or communications.
11. Rather than using a four step model or one of the other strategic models; the students should concentrate on only one very, very deep facet of a project.
12. Students should operate as a skunk works mirror team for any number of agencies or company projects. Rapid work would be demanded.
13. On a number of the projects the students can be organized to develop a. IMC literature searches, b. global IMC lit. searches, c. database libraries, d. software libraries and tests, e. theory-tool inventories of the IMC program, f. more 14. Conduct transparent research that is written to be presented at academic and industry seminars by the students for greater awareness 15. Publish the work on a PDF or printed format as an exercise and follow-up to the presentation.
16. Revamp all the ideas above for publication, presentation in China or other relevant countries

Some ideas for readers to comment upon - a course at Northwestern on Business Lessons from Politics Using the 2007-2008 U.S. Presidential Campaigns:
Title: IMC Lessons from Politics and Policy – 2007-2009
Marketers and communicators are more aware than ever of the impact of IMC on the 2008 Presidential election and the continued communications by the White House (Whitehouse.gov). Some experts say the Obama campaign stands as the most outstanding strategic marketing and communications plan and program in history. What are the examples and evidence of the campaign’s success? What are the lessons from 2007 to 2009 that business leaders, not-for-profit leaders and political managers will need to know for achieving fundraising, volunteer or corporate social responsibility goals? The bar has been raised for client and professional expectations on IMC marketing plans and continuous campaigns. Parts of the dozen books already published on the campaign, along with research supporting the campaign decisions document the value of new marketing strategies. The class will work with political and policy business and political campaign experts to analyze the campaign with lessons for IMC practitioners in mind. The course will also provide insight to the role of government and business working on common issues and policies that will dominate the conversations between business and government over the next 3-8 years. The course planning committee includes a former Governor, an IMC graduate who is a political consultant, other communications professionals who work on campaigns and business accounts and the professor with several years of campaign and public office experience along with research and public commentary experience for the media.
Possible Readings
Barack, Inc.: Winning Business Lessons of the Obama Campaign by Barry Libert and Rick Faulk (Hardcover - Jan 15, 2009) Buy new: $19.99 $13.59 (84)
How Obama Won by Earl Ofari Hutchinson (Paperback - Dec 18, 2008 $13.95
Campaign Advertising and American Democracy by Michael M. Franz, Paul B. Freedman, Kenneth M. Goldstein, and Travis N. Ridout (Paperback - Nov 28, 2007)
Campaigning for Hearts and Minds: How Emotional Appeals in Political Ads Work (Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion) by Ted Brader (Paperback - Jan 1, 2006) (3)
The SAGE Handbook of Political Advertising by Dr. Lynda Lee Kaid and Christina Holtz-Bacha (Hardcover - Jun 14, 2006)
“Campaigns and Elections: Politics” campaign industry publication. E.g. “Case Study-Integrating Old and New Media June 2009.
oTheLivingRoomCandidate.com (compilation of 58 years of political broadcast advertising and web ads, Whitehouse.gov, www.barackobama.com ( organizing for America).
Other consulting sites, directories, sources from industry and the web.
Industry and academic research articles from the instructor.
Optional: Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Web2.0 Technologies to Recruit, Organize and Engage Youth by Ben Rigby and Rock the Vote (Paperback - April 25, 2008)

Suggested Topics for lectures, research topics, speakers and discussion:
Chronology of the 2007-2008 Presidential Campaign: How Presidential Political Planning Works
IMC in Campaigns: A short history of campaign communications
Controversy about political advertising and communications: First Amendment Threats and Protection
Does political communication work? How much does it cost?
Social Media Applications in the Democrat 2008 Primaries
Traditional Campaigns – Hillary Clinton
New Politics Campaign – Barack Obama
Where were the Republicans?
Is the 2008 Campaign an Aberration?
Measuring Political Campaigns – During the Campaign and Controversy
Changing strategies and tactics mid-stream based on
instant polls and analytics
Staying the course – Theory of Leadership
Political and Corporate Corruption
Lessons from Campaigns for Business
The CEO as a public figure and the public corporation
Mobilizing voter consumers (VC) old and new school
Does Negative Political Advertising and Campaigning Work? Should Business Use it?
Campaign Transparency
Self-correcting campaigns
Does political financing of business = business financing of politics?

Comments on a prestigious University expanding its degree programs in a unique and admirable way (name of the School is removed). Agencies like Edelman, Ketchum, Fleishman Hillard, may find the new degrees of interest to their HR plans.

"Other schools would benefit from this school's approach to educational planning. Their response to the strategic and applied communication education market is a credit to their insight into the demand for professional education over the past 5 years. Their initial response to create a strategic program for more experienced professionals seeking to advance in their field or develop new business communications knowledge for corporate, agency, government or not-for-profit organizations was timely as the field was growing at 9 percent per year. The School has established a recognized position in an enviable leading communication industry and professional market. They allowed the program to mature, attract students, build a reputation and attract senior clinical faculty.

As the market changed; they did not simply rest or exploit the new demand that would change the character of their strategic program. Unlike others have done in similar programs, they reanalyzed the market and with determination and decided to offer a new, advanced degree program that met the needs of the market of younger and more international students. Rather than simply muddle the program they had created for a more experienced and older market (similar to what was done in superior MBA programs) they recognized and redefined their educational mission to serve the newer applicant pool.

The extraordinary demand for an American university education from students in China and other countries in Asia was seen by the faculty and administration as a new market rather than simply more applicants to fill a program that was not suited to the Asian applicants. (I spend 20 days and more in China each year with several faculty courtesy appointments). The team also saw the demand of younger, more recent college graduates as different from the interest of the pool of applicants served by the established master’s degree. Instead of watering down their existing degree with students who can benefit from and earn a graduate degree, they realized that the knowledge and skills that needed to be “mastered” were different from the knowledge and skills of the strategic degree.

While the distinct cultural experience of international students is often of great value to a class of sometimes parochial Americans, the barriers to learning in the field of communications are often tied to the namesake of the field. As with any other professional field, the skills and knowledge needed to succeed early in a communications career are demanding and core to the grasp of the professional practice and concept building. An approach we utilize at Northwestern is to identify theories or concepts that are more universal and examples of best thinking by business and other organizational leaders. The concepts, while very helpful to articulating why a specific action may be taken, are not sufficient. In a professional field as far ranging and dependent on so many social science bodies of knowledge, statistics and mathematics; a comprehensive degree at the masters level much match concept with tactics.

For the professional students without work experience or a portfolio of written and creative work, their degree work must direct them to accomplish the concepts and practices of the field. For students with a newer acquired command of business English and less experience in the Western business environment; their education and training must emphasize a few powerful theories and even more tactical skills to demonstrate their grasp of the advanced fundamentals of the field. It would be my belief that the new generation of students would receive an education that would emphasize more application of tools and tactics but still make sure they are grounded in very carefully selected theories or concept. The ratio for the applied degree might be 30% theories and concepts matched with 60% tactics and tools directly related to the concepts taught. While all tools and tactics should be based on a concept to explain why the tactic is being used, not all theories have incumbent tactics. The other advanced degree with different objectives for a different set of masters candidates may be 70% theories and concepts (sometimes called strategies in business) and 30% knowledge and application of skills (tools and concepts).

This model gives me a strong reason to agree that two master’s degrees with different objectives can co-exist in the same school exploring the same widely defined topic – communications. The School is taking a stronger approach to the education of the next generation of business leaders who will use communications as a strategic and tactical advantage in the marketplace of ideas, products and services.

Rather than entering the market at a “lower” level (as some might interpret their actions), the educational plan, courses and faculty illustrate the intellectual and practical benefit of distinguishing between the two slightly parallel degrees and timely degrees. The degree opens the world of conceptual and applied communications to a wider range of holders of a wide range of bachelor’s degrees. The degree is a superior model in which many students can begin their careers in an increasing specialized world with advanced work.

In summary, the school’s identification and definition of a professional degree for less experienced candidates with the desire to “master” a subject is an appropriate degree at an applied level in a strong university environment. I fully expect that selected topics of the strategic communications degree will “trickle down” as new knowledge is created and tested in that degree. I expect that a number of joint opportunities will be conceived of notable guest speakers from industry and academe, possible mentoring by the older master’s students on complex projects but also tutoring by the younger students on some of the quantitative work and tactics that they share. Some form of joint field trips to advanced agencies or practices of the strategic students might be bonding. I hope that the Applied students would be considered by the strategic students who are working for their firms. Their common and overlapping education would be a great recommendation for employment and the joint interest into the Columbia model would be a productive value to share. A single joint team project at the end of their coursework might be conceived to have them work as a comprehensive team of strategists and applied experts.

The strongest possible effort must be documented and practiced to give both sets of students equal respect and equal rewards to meet their goals. The culture of the School should reflect the efforts of the faculty and administration to demonstrate that the degrees are both master’s of communications. The distinction should be goal driven and important to the students as they master elements of knowledge and skills of a wide and deep discipline.

The educational nostrum that education should prepare students for their third job or for a job that has not been created sometimes belies the value of the widely ranging baccalaureate degrees of the candidates, the rich nature of the media covering topics that might have only been found in advanced curriculum, and the life-time learning goals of students. School faculty and administrators have carefully defined a professional communications degree in two categories which should lead and define the field among their competitors but mostly to the advantage of their students. While other schools, including Northwestern, force the faculty to select from only one degree in strategic and applied business communications (Integrated Marketing Communications in the Medill School); this school can logically attract a wider range of students. The Medill IMC program was judged in the competitive analysis as a "marketing program" not a "communication" program despite the title Integrated Marketing Communications.

Finally, the idea of a dual track master’s programs in strategic and applied communications seems to be a superior model to attract a wider range of holders of the baccalaureate degree in a wider range of topics rather than those with “pre-professional” degrees. I have confidence in the faculty to carefully and continuously monitor the distance between the two degrees, the standards for admission, planned overlaps, and joint learning opportunities. This monitoring of an original new degree mix will be served by experience, testing, occasional failures and frequent faculty reviews to create true distinction between the degrees but a long term goal of finding important similarities and even dual master’s earned by very selected students over time."

Press Interview on ABC-TV Chicago Sotomayor and Burris

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sotomayor/ is a civics and serious public relations (or public affairs) lesson on the nature of candidates for nomination of any government post. I won't agree with a colleague who lavishly praised the President as "trying to be the perfect President" with his appointment of Sotomayor (a professor should be less effusive), but I credit the President with a choice he wants and the experience that may make it hard to reject unless contradictions come to light. Like Robert Bork who was rejected by the Senate on Oct. 23, 1987 (he was one of 36 Supreme Court nominations rejected since 1789); Judge Sotomayor has a long, notable record of written work and opinions developed over many career years. The New Haven Firefighter case is only the most recent controversial case that could haunt her. Most policy decision makers including business leaders have acted, spoken or written something over a long career of decision-making that may seem inconsistent 20 years later. Bork, as a young assistant law professor, wrote about ideas and research that came back to haunt him many, many years later. The process if vetting a Supreme Court Justice for a lifetime appointment, like the process of granting tenure to a university professor, is arduous, detailed, biased and not always fair. Between May 2009 and August 2009, the process is a great civics lesson for visiting international students, for the proverbial 6th grader and for voting adults who need to be reminded that this appointment is not a tabloid topic in US magazine for a week.

Senator Burris (D. IL) is on the roasting spit again. While it is always difficult to fill in the words between the recorded "umms, ahs, you know, that thing, yes, OK, then" etc. the Senator's words over the phone with the former Governor's brother will be parsed carefully. Having edited a book on mergers and acquisitions for Prentice-Hall many years ago (1992). http://www.nostuff.org/tdn/6/6item.php?item=0133740757 I know that it is very hard to make sense out of spoken speeches and panel comments. We don't speak in complete sentences or even speak with complete thoughts. Still, the Senator should find a meaningful project to keep him busy during this last year as a U.S. Senator and step aside for a open election of reform candidates. Burris is the old guard. He is "not as bad as some" but what kind of a recommendation is that for a U.S. Senator? Unlike the considered conclusion of Richard Edelman http://www.edelman.com/speak_up/blog/ that dull may be a good trait for a CEO; the press, public, pundits and others run with sharp knives that must keep public figures sharp as well. I would proffer that most CEOs of public companies are "public figures" too like Judge Sotomayor and Senator Burris. The CEO's may not like the comparison, but their desire to be green, to be diverse, use public funds, to be trusted all demand a public persona and actions.