2009 Marketing & CPG Conference: Breaking Through the Clutter

For those of you who didn't know, I am a Co-Vice President of Marketing/Social for the HBS Marketing & CPG Club, and this year, I got to spearhead the collateral creation and design process for the club's annual conference. Our theme: the ever relevant idea of "breaking through the clutter." The date: November 8, 2009. The result: success!


The day began with a keynote address by Russ Klein, the president of global marketing, strategy and innovation for Burger King. I have to admit, I wasn't initially thrilled at the prospect of hearing Russ speak. The only marketing campaign that came to mind when I thought of Burger King was the "burger King" with his cheesy grin and plastic face (not one of my favorite marketing tactics, I must admit). But Russ was surprisingly compelling and he outlined some BK initiatives that I actually thought were quite creative. For example, he told us about how BK changed around the Kid's Meal to make it more healthy by cutting apple slices into the shape of french fries and serving them in a french fry container. That's a pretty original way to make eating healthier fun for kids. He also highlighted the "Whopper Freakout" campaign, which was pretty funny (it involved BK declaring that the Whopper was discontinued in one town and taping people's insane reactions), although it definitely highlighted the less-than-classy clientele that tend to support this type of establishment. Russ also threw out a few "gems of wisdom" that he says BK staff live by:

• Sometimes it's more important to be provocative than pleasant (nothing tugs like tension).
• Speed matters: fail fast, succeed fast.
• Turning your brand over to the consumer is taking control.
• Formulas are for scientists: shedding your skin frequently can be rejuvenating

Interestingly enough, Russ stepped down from his position at Burger King today: http://adage.com/article?article_id=140426.

In the afternoon, the conference featured four panels, of which I attended Innovation in the Lifecycle of a Brand and Reaching Consumers Through New Channels (the other offerings were Power of International Marketing and Connecting Meaningfully with Different Consumer Segments). Breaking up the panels was a networking lunch, in which I got to sit with our second keynote speaker, Porter Gale, who is the vice president of marketing for Virgin America airlines.

Porter was a very interesting woman to sit down with -- she really knows how to sell the Virgin America brand. It was especially enlightening for me, as I'm currently a loyal JetBlue customer, and VA considers JB to be one of their biggest competitors. I promised Porter that I would give Virgin a try, since they're launching Ft Lauderdale Intl Airport next week, but as long as they continue charging for checked bags and snacks (JetBlue gives first checked bag free and unlimited free snacks and beverages), I'm not sure my loyalty will be switching.

Some highlights from Porter's talk:

• Those who are brave may not live that long, but those who are timid don't live at all.
• Connect, don't market.
• Think like a marketer. Act like a CFO.
• Look for avenues to get the word out that don't cost money. Virgin America benefitted highly from generating PR buzz, participating in reality shows and leveraging social networks. Their marketing budget is a measly $12mm in comparison to Southwest's $200mm, but that doesn't mean you can't get good coverage.

Overall, I feel like I learned a lot at the conference. Now it's on to planning for the spring HBS Entertainment & Media Club conference. I never stop! Stay tuned for another blog post this weekend as I'll be posting tons of photos from the EKTA show that I'm participating in!