One Speech I Won't Forget

I was moved and extremely grateful by the words my classmates shared in this speech:

2011 Innovation Award

His center mate notes:
He never limits himself to the boundaries of what has been done before. He embraces innovation more than any other student in the MBA program and challenges the thinking of others. He is willing to dedicate significant amounts of time to champion new ideas, even when others are reluctant to challenge the status quo. I admire his creativity, dedication, and tenacity.

A class mate comments:
He has been a great friend, classmate, team-member and co-worker over these past two years. He is definitely a person I know I will never forget. He truly embodies the quote: “Because The People Who Are Crazy Enough To Think They Can Change The World, Are The Ones Who Do.” He never conforms to the standards and looks beyond the school, norms and industry to find inspiration and solutions. He often comes up with crazy ideas, as some others do, but unlike others he doesn't stop there. He always has the initiative and heart to carry them through. I try to imagine where he will be in 10 years, and I just can't because where he will be and what he will be doing probably doesn't even exist yet! :)I feel fortunate to have him in my class and to have him as a friend. He inspires me every day!

Another classmate comments, I have worked with him on multiple teams and have been very impressed with his ability to think outside of the box and approach challenges in ways that others wouldn't. His dedication to finding new, innovative solutions has been demonstrated in his position on the board, and the success that he has achieved in case competitions across the country.

His nominator writes this student’s contributions have provided the Wisconsin MBA with an innovative way of capturing and documenting the many various activities within the program. This student single handedly decided he was going to promote the Wisconsin MBA and Be Out in Front. Gustavo gave prominence to all student organizations by developing informational videos of officers, created videos for candidates in elections and videotaped the MBA Art Show case as well as many other events to capture the spirit and the essence of what makes our program so unique.

The 2011 Innovation Award goes to Gustavo Leone from the Center for Brand & Product Management.

One Year in Madison, Wisconsin

Last year, I wrote about the people I met in 2009 that helped to shape my outlook. This year, I thought it was only fitting to look back at the experiences that defined 2010.

January: Ringing in 2010 in Copacabana
Forget the fireworks, the most exciting part was trying to find a cab after the fireworks.

February: My birthday dinner
Hearty conversations and lessons on patience, humility, and hope with three surprising guests.

March: 1^st place in Sony’s Marketing Case Competition
Winning is great but having a team who collectively agrees on naming our team “the Situation”...priceless.

April: 1^st place in Ingersoll Rand’s Marketing & Sales Case Competition
Launching a fighter brand in China has never been so much fun.

May: First day at MBA Summer internship No.1
What’s the best way to start your first day on the job? Try getting lost on the way to the bathroom.

June: Skydiving and Surfing
Note: Unless you are over 85, refrain from referring to your bucket list. Just do it, the time is now.

July: First day at MBA internship numero dos
Catching a redeye flight from LAX to O’hare and showing up to work three hours after landing may impact on your productivity level. Thank goodness for HR and orientation!

August: Lollapalooza
Gaga decides to indulge in crowd surfing during Semi Precious Weapons’ performance. Exhilarating yet gross...

September: Last year of business school kicks off
Halfway to re-entering the workforce. Not sure whether to rejoice or cry.

October: Moderating a panel on Retail & Branding
Whoever tells you to imagine people in their underwear when speaking in public is lying to you.

November: Dr. Junger’s Clean Program
Never, ever, go on a diet, detox, or cleanse during/around holiday season! If you decide to take on this challenge beware of volatile mood swings and the urge to attack when you see others eating cookies.

December: White Elephant Gift Exchange
Back-story: I gathered all the gifts since no one else had played this before. Lesson learned: If you want something done, do it yourself.

Would you buy these jeans?

What do you do when your consumer won’t stop talking?

This week I was responsible for contributing to a summary on a presentation on digital marketing presented by R/GA.

Here is what I wrote:

What do you do when your consumer won’t stop talking?

In the case of SC Johnson, the family owned company, renowned for being category innovators in household cleaning; the best way to reach consumers is by creating new platforms where the consumer can continue the conversation.

These new platforms exist online and according, to David Macey of R/GA, consumers integrate these platforms into their daily lives. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that digital marketing has evolved into an opportunity for brand managers and ad agencies to build digital ecosystems that will lead to multiple interactions between the consumer and brand. These interactions provide consumer packaged goods companies, like SC Johnson, a new window into their target consumers’ lives. A well integrated platform can help to drive sales, new product innovation, and build long-term brand equity.

Take for example, Glade’s Tin Design Contest. Using insight that revealed Glade’s target consumer relied heavily on peer influence, word-of-mouth, and viral touch-points, the contest was launched. The goal was to grow household penetration amongst a younger target. By partnering with Operation Smile and celebrity involvement, the contest was success.

In addition to meeting brand strategy goals, the earned media that a successful online platform can provide is also highly coveted. For one thing it’s definitely cost effective and likely to be more credible. Ask yourself, are you more likely to believe what your friend posted on Facebook or what that 30 second commercial is telling you?

However not everything in digital marketing is as peachy as it sounds. The challenges to controlling the online conversation especially when a consumer goes rogue can become a nightmare. There is also the question of sales. Exactly how much sales does digital marketing drive? What’s the sales lift? The ROI?

Obviously, the answers you will get will circle around metrics and benchmarks tied to click-through, the number of visits, submissions, fans, and everything else except sales. In order to be successful when implementing a digital marketing program, the brand manager has to be clear on his success metrics. With SC Johnson’s, Right at Home platform, the attributes that were been measured included incremental sales and driving trial. The engagement metrics to track these attributes included time on sit, newsletter reach, and unique visits. Using these metrics allowed SC Johnson to measure the effectiveness of the platform which was critical because engaged users will drive your business goals.

Notice, how the actual incremental sales remained a mystery? Perhaps, by this time next year digital marketing will have evolved to a point where the brand manager knows exactly what the ROI will be. As a matter of fact, the answer will probably be available via an I-phone application.

Lunch with Warren Buffett

I came to b-school seeking to get as far away from finance and to my surprise I got the opportunity to meet the man, the legend, the Oracle in Omaha.

Gotta love Wisconsin!

Take 3: A Walk Down the Feminine Care Aisle

This past week we got to live/walk a mile in her shoes...literally. Our class conducted an ethnographic study on how women make their purchases when it comes to feminine care. The results were shocking...(especially for those of us who don't really need to visit this aisle).

What did I learn:

In order to understand the consumer you have to walk in their shoes.
There is an old adage that says you should pay attention to the actions not the words of your loved one. Well the same applies when you are talking to a consumer. While someone may tell you how much they love your product, they may not necessarily be buying your product. In order to get at the heart of what drives their decision it is important to know how and why they are make their decisions at the aisle.

Women do not like flashy colors when it comes to their hygiene products
Remember Della? Well if that wasn’t proof that it takes more than just color to build a consumer…take a look at what’s happening in the feminine care category. Pink is out and blue is in.

Cause-marketing is an untapped opportunity
If you can find a genuine/authentic connection between your brand/product and a cause/charity chances that she will buy your brand over the other are high. We all like to make purchases where we can go home and tap ourselves on the shoulder for doing a good deed.

Take 2: Lots of Diapers

Well this past Friday, we were invited to spend the day at Kimberly-Clark....you know Scott (as in tissues, toilet paper, and towels. We had a few special guests ranging from assistant brand managers to brand champions guide us through various presentations ranging from shopper marketing to the "potty dance".

What did I take away:

1. Potty training boot camp!
I think this idea is awesome...I haven't looked into the details and don't have an immediate need but talk about "innovation".

2. Toilet paper matters.
I really don't like two ply and I am sure that if someone took your toilet paper for a week and replaced it with an impostor you would know.

3. Disney rules.
Besides Cheerios I think Disney is probably one of the only other brands that children are really exposed to from an early age.

to infinity and beyond!