Breakfast Briefing
Making Marcom Matter: Content, Community,
and Conversation
May 3, 2005
7:30-9:30 am PT
Santa Clara Marriott
Santa Clara, CA
Overview
New communication channels have created tremendous opportunities
to connect with clients and influencers. Yet marcom budgets are not
getting any larger. Investing in new approaches means cutting back
on something else.
Meanwhile, the larger communications challenge remains the same:
Buyers of IT services and solutions are bombarded 24/7 with the latest
and greatest pitches from vendors across the industry. Mostly they
just tune out, paying little attention to the endless emails, seminar
invitations, white papers, newsletters, and trinkets designed precisely
to capture their attention.
So what is working? Join ITSMA’s Julie Schwartz and Rob Leavitt
to discuss the latest trends and tactics. Julie and Rob will focus
especially on the three priorities for communicating services and
solutions:
Content: For all the fancy formats, content is still king. But
producing compelling content demands deep insight into markets
and clients, strong points of view, and bottom-line business orientation.
Community: In a world of overwhelming content, buyers increasingly
rely on trusted communities (formal and informal) to help wade
through the confusion. Building and participating in communities
of interest has become a primary goal for savvy communicators.
Conversation: Listening remains the most underutilized communication
skill. Buyers don’t want lectures from self-described experts;
they want conversations with reliable partners. Shifting from one-way
communications to two-way (and many-way) conversations is another
key to success.
New tools and techniques can make all of these jobs easier and more
effective. Rob and Julie will also highlight specific campaign examples
utilizing Weblogs, micro-sites, online communities and other tools
beginning to take hold in services and solutions marketing.
Special
Guest Speaker: Rob and Julie will be joined by Rachelle Spero,
vice president of Digital Influence Group, for a discussion of
new approaches to communicating with traditional and newly emerging
market influencers.
The briefing is complimentary for ITSMA members
and $95 for nonmembers.
About ITSMA
ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions.
As a membership organization, we work with the world's leading technology,
communications, and professional services firms to generate new business, strengthen
customer loyalty, and increase brand differentiation. Through research, consulting,
training, and community we provide the insight companies need to improve marketing
impact, sales performance, and business results. ITSMA is based in Lexington,
Massachusetts, and has offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, and
Japan. Learn more at www.itsma.com.
