Brief recaps of our monthly meetings cheerfully submitted by member Mary Maher (mmm). About Mary.

2-27-08: Michael Baum "brands" direct marketing as never out of style
Know your audience, fine-tune your offer and find the best way to send the message. The basic principles behind direct marketing apply today as they always have, Michael Baum told IABC/Madison members and guests at the February 27 lunch meeting. But, said the experienced marketing guru and Chief Operating Officer of The Guild, the power of the Internet challenges the way we apply those principles. "We are all direct marketers now," Michael noted.

He set the stage for his topic by recalling the transition major retailers like J. Crew and Lands' End made from store and print catalog sales to today's do-or-die web presence-dared or inspired by pioneers like amazon.com. The web technology that permeates our lives daily changes how businesses reach customers. It multiplies the number of outlets available to get their attention, hold it and elicit a response. It raises the stakes of marketplace survival as many here-and-gone competitors divide audience attention.

Consumer behavior in this networked world does make it easier to profile your audience down to the ground, he observed. With access to in-depth trends data, marketers can narrow the field quickly and send very direct messages. Finally, Michael suggested the Internet seriously blurs the line between brand marketing and direct marketing. Integrating image and brand recognition into every targeted marketing message is essential to competitive success.

Visit https://www.guild.com/ to learn more about Michael's company and how this direct marketer of artist-made home décor products reaches both art lovers and the artists it represents.

5-30-07: Braun spotlights basics of getting inside your communication program
Measuring the effectiveness of the communication you do-internal and external-is research well worth doing, according to IABC/Madison member Jocelyn Braun. Jocelyn, a senior account executive in the agribusiness group at Minneapolis-based communications firm Padilla Speer Beardsley, brought the expertise of her firm's research group to the IABC lunch meeting on May 30. She underscored the importance of starting any research effort with a good definition of what you need to know. Review any preliminary data available and consider how you plan to use what you learn. After outlining the basics of measurement, from audience, product and concept analysis to message testing, Jocelyn described a host of available tools for gathering quantitative data (phone, mail or online surveys) and qualitative data (one-on-one interviews, focus groups). She noted the range of tools today make it easy to add this valuable component to a communication budget without breaking the bank. Jocelyn concluded by describing projects for clients testing customer service feedback, the perceived value of a trade publication and other examples of getting inside a communication program.

Follow Jocelyn's presentation and check out her comparison of common research methods from the links below.
Click here for Jocelyn's slide show (6.2 Mb PPT).
Click here for Jocelyn's comparison (56 K DOC).

4-25-07: Silverman credits story telling as powerful business tool
Companies and organizations clever enough to use stories to improve financial performance, reduce employee turnover and build brand are on to something old made new again, according to business strategist Lori Silverman. Principal of Partners for Progress, a management consulting firm, Lori proved her point by bringing a lively story-telling style to her IABC/Madison presentation on April 25. She quoted research showing the impact stories have on building awareness in business settings-with internal and external audiences alike. Stories make us shift the way we listen, she said, they touch emotions and produce instant recognition. Lori suggested stories make ideas visual in a way that bullet points cannot do. She discussed story structure, saying it must include a debatable issue or conflict. She also used examples from her books to illustrate the concept of story telling as a strategic tool to communicate information, transform an organization. Be purposeful, deliberate, thoughtful in developing stories in the business setting, Lori concluded.

Click here to learn about Lori's books.

3-28-07: Baron says make good communication a priority for leadership
Persuade the decision makers in any organization that "communication matters" and you create change that spells success. That was the message Julie Baron sent as she talked about striving for excellence in employee communications at the March 28 IABC/Madison lunch session. Julie is a communication strategy consultant and principal of Chicago-based Communication Works. She addressed the challenge corporate communicators face as they work to influence acceptance of good internal communication as a business goal. Julie suggested gathering or doing the research necessary to back your ideas for action and follow a process calculated to deliver. From awareness of the need for better give-and-take, identify the best tools for the job and start changing behavior by closing gaps in employee communication. She suggested communication managers inside a company often serve as the eyes and ears of executives, a vantage point for guiding top execs in ways to connect well with employees. She also encouraged close collaboration between all communicators inside a company to make this effort work and thrive.

Click here to see Julie's Powerpoint presentation.

2-28-07: Gibler suggests blogs have a place in the business communication mix
How does an electronic phenom gain corporate cache? Connecting Dots principal and chapter member Paul Gibler narrated a fast-paced look at the answer when he "cut through the blog fog" at IABC/Madison's February 28 lunch gathering. Paul, an e-marketing consultant and seasoned business blogger himself, navigated through a handful of sites to demonstrate the basics, then invited the group to consider the communication potential of blogs. Once the realm of individual rants and raves, Paul noted blogs now serve as sophisticated news sites for companies and organizations. They have become a way, he said, to share ideas, build visibility, broadcast expertise. Business blogs also allow a company to shape their message to neutralize postings on detractor sites. After outlining top tips to blogging success-from fresh postings and closely monitoring comments to setting the rules of response-Paul left participants with a wealth of blogging resources.

Sample Paul's blogs at:
http://connectingdots.typepad.com/thewebchef/
http://connectingdots.typepad.com/ppt/

1-31-07: Bordeau does the math on building a strong brand
Rethink your thinking about brand. That was the word from Jeanne Bordeau to IABC members and guests at the January 31 chapter meeting. Jeanne, Sales VP with Brand Tool Box, a business consulting firm out of Minneapolis, asked the business communicators present to think beyond marketing to understand how an organization's true brand emerges. Brand is only as strong on the outside as it is on the inside, she said, emphasizing the role of organizational development in creating brand recognition-first among employees and then with customers. Jeanne described the brand math she uses to help clients visualize how the values inside a company must align with expectations of the marketplace to develop sustainable brand loyalty. Jeanne left the group with food for thought as closing questions identified the challenge of persuading people to accept "brand" to mean culture, vision and standards.

Check out member Paul Baker's blog post about our 11/29/06 meeting.

10-25-06: Armstrong suggests we communicate best from cause and purpose
Founder and creative director of Good for Business Jim Armstrong brought insights about inspired business communications to a joint lunch session of the Association for Women in Communications (AWC/Madison) and IABC Madison on October 25. Committed himself to new ways of pulling message from mission, Jim outlined his strategy of asking "why" rather than "what" when identifying the passion that drives a business or organization. Why does the business exist, he said they must ask themselves, what cause drives it to serve, compete, invent, seek visibility. Jim turned traditional thinking on its head as he talked about using the concept of "cause" to market ideas and products purposely, ethically and --in truth-- profitably.

8-30-06: Nice day for networking
IABC Madison's uncanny luck with August weather shined again on August 30 as members and guests enjoyed Networking on the Pier at the Edgewater Hotel under a perfect summer sky. As a warm-up to a new season of chapter programs, the pier event once again proved a convivial gathering of professional communicators making valuable contacts. People parted with the promise, "See you in September!" -and so we will.

Click on the thumbnails for larger photo in a new window.

6-28-06: Andy Wallman says love = $
Knupp & Watson creative director Andy Wallman entertained IABC Madison members and guests at the June 28 lunch meeting with a lively presentation on getting closer to the customer. Andy described the process his firm uses to help consumer-brands clients understand what makes their most enthusiastic customers tick. The approach is built on identifying what matters in customers' lives and finding key "touch points" that will persuade them to buy or believe. It comes down to love, Andy suggested. Craft a message that says you care and they will love you back - with loyalty that equals sales. It was a great session filled with ideas everyone felt they could apply to an array of communication challenges.