CG Execs Meet to Swap Sales & Marketing Strategies

More than 200 consumer goods executives convened this week for the 2012 Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing Summit at The Roosevelt Hotel in NYC. In its ninth year, the event continues to deliver on its legacy of providing attendees with more insight into hot topics, like effective retail partnerships, brand penetration, social and mobile marketing, and more with a thought-provoking agenda and abundant networking opportunities.

Here is a recap of the event's first-day highlights:

• Leading consumer goods manufacturers are quickly realizing the dramatic power of direct consumer connections. In the opening keynote address, Van Vandegrift, a multi-award-winning Hollywood Producer and digital marketing expert, shared insights on how major brand owners are successfully executing online campaigns to win at the shelf. “It doesn’t matter what the product is. You can have fun, you can tell stories, you can entertain — [digital marketing] takes a television path at a fraction of the cost of a TV show,” he said.
• Next up, Jeanette Carter, vice president, Integrated Marketing for Hallmark Cards Inc., revealed insights and examples of how her company uses its brand purpose to provide both the inspiration, and a filter, for investments in technology, including digital, social and mobile spaces. This approach in turn allows the Hallmark brand to create deeper and more meaningful connections with its consumers. She talked about five of Hallmark’s newest products, including recordable story books, blooming expressions, interactive story buddies, text bands and card shower organizing. “It’s not always about creating a new experience, but looking at what [the consumer] is already doing and figuring out how I can make her pause and linger in the moment,” said Carter.
• With the creation of General Mills' direct-to-consumer web site GlutenFreely.com to his credit, Dom Alcocer helped the audience understand the economic and emotional drivers of new marketing strategies. The discussion tied the constantly shifting demands from consumers to business frameworks, and utilized a proven research-based method that sheds light on how and why companies are succeeding today. “People don’t buy brands anymore; they buy into them — they buy into the people behind them,” he said.
• In a lively panel discussion, high-level executives from Church & Dwight, Coty and Precision Foods, Inc. added real-world context the findings of CGT and IDC Manufacturing Insight's annual Sales & Marketing Research Study. Topics debated included TPM, Downstream Data, Social Business, Mobility and more. Download a the full report here.

For a more in-depth review of the 2012 Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing Summit, including exclusive speaker interviews and highlights from day two of the agenda, check out the upcoming July/August digital issue of CGT.

Plus, check out the compelling agendas of CGT's two other industry events this year. We hope to see you there!

2012 Consumer Goods Growth & Innovation Forum
2012 Consumer Goods Business & Technology Leadership Conference