Wednesday, 10/12 – OC AMA Orientation, 6 pm

Learn why 20,000 people across the country are members of the American Marketing Association.  The Orange County Chapter has great local and national benefits and this FREE event lets you find out all about them!

Click here for more info and to register

Saturday, 10/15 – ProductCamp SoCal, 8 am – 4 pm

Product marketers and managers… this is the event for you!  Over 300 people are registered for this FREE “un-conference” where the attendees call the shots and determine what topics/speakers are a part of the event sessions.

Click here to get all the details and register

Wednesday, 10/19 – OC AMA Signature Speaker Series, 5 – 8 pm

This event includes an optional career development session on prospecting for jobs, networking with OC marketers, and a Signature Speaker who will be presenting on how marketing departments and sales departments can and should successfully work together.  Pricing is $35 for OC AMA Members and $50 for non-members.

Check out the OC AMA site for more details and to register or email info@orangecountyama.org to register.

If you weren’t able to attend, here are some key points from the session with Mark:

• The business environment today has caused a change in people’s actions — more people stay put and are less likely to take risks because of economic uncertainty.

• Collaboration has increased because people have to find different and cost effective ways to solve a problem.

• The interview– What are they (HR, the person interviewing you) thinking: Am I making the good hiring decision?  I can’t afford to mess up… It wastes time and money.  Can I get this person with my budget?  How can this person help me?  How quickly can they execute results?  Is this person compatible with my team?

• A recent Gallup poll showed that only 29% of people say they are engaged in their organization.  The others are not engaged or are actively disengaged.

• By age 42, the average American will change jobs 11 times (Source: Wall Street Journal, 12/08)

• You must be responsive to change and have resiliency in order to be successful

• When it comes to you and the interview:

- You get out of it what you put into it

- Do your homework: Be prepared! Spend a minimum of 10 hours of homework for any interview that you do.  Maybe 1% will spend more than 4-5 hours

- Be realistic- this is one of many interviews you may have

• It is generally appropriate to ask the salary when they ask what you want to make.

• What NOT to do on an interview –

- Nervous habits- drumming fingers, cracking knuckles, shaking foot, clicking pen

- Be a motor mouth: This tends to say to the interviewer that you are concerned with yourself & not a team player.  Instead, be succinct!

- Have a dead fish handshake: Show confidence before and after the interview (giving a great first and last impression).

- Joke around about inappropriate things

- Ask to get a tour unless you are a final candidate

• Why people do things–

1. Save time

2. Save money

3. Make money

4. Added piece of mind or security

5. Because it feels good

Anything you talk about should link up to one of those five things!

• Focus on profit generating activities:

Reduce operating expenses

Head off rising employment risks (retention)

Upgrade your workforce

Capitalize on new opportunities

Make use of incentive compensation plans

Make the most of your training – how have you learned and applied it

Improve communication on the team

Improve peace of mind

Lastly, remember that persistence is critical!

Thanks, Mark for sharing these tips!  You can catch the next career development session with the OC AMA at its event on October 19.  More details to come, which will be on their website soon.

Jim Alessandro, the SVP of Global Strategy and Planning at The Walt Disney Company, was the main presenter with –

Brand leadership means following the consumer?

Key points from Jim’s presentation:

• It’s not what we market, but who we are marketing to: You need to understand where your customer is and how to reach them.

• Your customer is in control: Consumers are informed today, so you must be consistent with what your consumers need and want.

• Marketers often chase trends – which Jim calls ‘random acts of marketing.’

• It’s good for marketers to think: What are you here to do for people?

• A good brand knows what need it fills and avoids getting sidelined by unrelated business opportunities.  And it’s important to understand how consumers’ approach to that need changes over time.  You should constantly be asking yourself: How well do you deliver against the consumer needs?

• Some examples of companies who are adapting because of changes with their consumers:

Best Buy- investing in employee training & retention, online presence, and customer service (Their competitor, Circuit City, didn’t adapt and ended up going out of business).

Barnes & Noble – embraced electronic books with the Nook (Their competitor Borders didn’t and is now closing).

Disney – They realize that people go to have a good time with family and friends.  Everything is centered around that, even when targeting different people and families around the world.

• It is important to know what won’t change, too, with your consumers.  Know what they will always look for in your brand.

Check out the next events coming up on their website.

Click here to access the white paper on digital marketing

PCE, IABC, OC Ad Fed, OCAMA and OC PRSA – Present a great night focused on networking and mobile marketing

Tuesday, 9/20 @ Canaletto’s in Newport Beach

Get details and register here

OCAMA – Disney speaker talks Brand leadership, interview tips for career development, networking and discounted head shots from a great local photographer

Wednesday, 9/21 @ The Hotel Hanford in Costa Mesa (5-8 pm)

More info and register here

Read this article on Search Engine Land to learn more.

Read about it on the Orange County Business Journal website.

Coca-Cola is looking for an agency to find out what people are saying about them online.

Read the article on Ad Age here.

Interesting to see companies updating how they do things with new technology.  Wonder if other teams will follow this trend.

Read the story here on Mashable