In “A Dumb Branding Strategy,” Seth Godin warns about choosing your company name, which plays a big part of branding strategy. Companies like Party Land and Computer World are meaningless because they don’t add value and are too generic to really stand out. Plus, if you’re not careful what you name your company and you become successful, it’s hard to prevent competitors from copying you. Lesson learned, think smart when naming your company.

Lori A. Rochino - With over 7 years of marketing communications experience, Lori has worked in a variety of industries, including finance, publishing, and fashion. She is currently a marketing specialist at an e-commerce firm and manages web content for the AMA Boston Chapter. She resides in Natick with her husband.

In “Two Social Media Camps in the Enterprise,” the blogger Shel Israel supports social media over traditional media because it’s cheap, efficient, and allows companies to connect to consumers to find out what they “really” think. When companies connect to consumers through SM, they allow a real dialog to happen rather than just one way communication with the company selling a product to the consumers and not hearing the consumers’ concerns. For the other media camp, the traditional marketers who see social media as nothing more than another marketing channel, they’re missing the boat on learning about the very people they sell products to.

Lori A. Rochino - With over 7 years of marketing communications experience, Lori has worked in a variety of industries, including finance, publishing, and fashion. She is currently a marketing specialist at an e-commerce firm and manages web content for the AMA Boston Chapter. She resides in Natick with her husband.

As I’m working on a marketing plan for a client, it strikes me how these five words can strike fear and doubt into so many executives - “How do you define yourselves?”

It is a painfully simple question, but the answer is so important.

Many hours can be spent on this question. In workshops, when I ask this question, the initial answer client’s give is often the most honest. Someone in the room inevitably blurts out the answer, and I write it down. Then someone else inevitably adds that the first definition is too limiting, and provides a different definition. Often a much broader one.

To give an example, I once worked at a very large company where the executive in charge decided how to define our business. His definition was the equivalent of defining a bakery as a “flour, water and eggs mixed together and baked for 12 minutes” business. Much easier to say, “We are a bakery.” His answer created confusion. Customers wondered what we were talking about.

Why all of the confusion? Many people, and companies, want to appear to be more than they are. They get caught up in internal thinking, strategic thinking and politics.

For lack of a clear definition, companies broaden their definition to a higher level in an attempt to cast a larger net. As with my example, this only ensures that no one will have any idea what they are speaking about.

So is this a complex question? It does need to be. Customers are looking for a simple answer. They are tired of trying to sort out what companies actually do versus what their Web site says. Give them a break - give them the simple answer. Save the complexities for internal documents.

One obvious question lies in waiting - how do you define yourself, or your business? If you are using more than ten words to define yourself, then you should do some editing. Write back to me and tell me your definition.

-Steven Halling, President

Any member wishing to have a voice in the chapter is welcome to attend our monthly board of director meetings.  If you are a current AMA member and either want to participate or have an agenda item you would like the board to consider, then please write to president@amaboston.org.

-Steven Halling, President of AMA Boston 

AMA Boston is offering the opportunity to make your mark.  To be a part of something larger than your day job and become part of the marketing community.  

The Boston Chapter is searching for a few more candidates to fill out our 08/09 board of directors, and for candidates to serve in elect positions for 09/10.   This is your chance to get involved with a growing number of top marketing professionals to shape the chapter and grow your career!   Here is the one statistic you need to know - over the past two years, 7 out of 10 chapter board members have either:

1. Seen a significant advancement in their careers.
2. Found great new opportunities for their businesses.

It’s not hard to figure out.  In this connected world of personal branding and Google searches, it looks darn good to see your name attached to a brand like AMA’s.   

Boston is one of the largest single concentration of AMA members in the country. We have it all - higher ed., market research, branding, strategy, marcom, events, and on and on. AMA Boston envelops every discipline of marketing under one organization.  Don’t miss this opportunity!  

- Steven Halling, President of AMA Boston 

Recently we asked you to help us create our new tagline, and we now have a winner!  Thanks to all for their entries and especially to Josh Mendelsohn for concisely describing our chapter with his entry - Marketing Knowledge. Local Connections.

Congrats Josh!

Tracie Hebert 
VP of Brand, AMA Boston

A few days ago, I was contacted by an experienced sports marketing professional that is relocating to Boston.  She told me that she was recently at the Mid-Atlantic Leadership Retreat being held in Baltimore. These retreats are an opportunity for several chapters within a region to come together to share ideas and best practices.

At the retreat, the conference leader promoted the AMABoston.org as the best chapter Website and referred to it as a model to be followed.  There are 78 chapters internationally.  The chapters in attendance were Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Richmond and Central Virginia.

Learning about the unofficial accolades through word-of-mouth was a great honor and although we still have a lot more we want to do with our Internet presence, my only hope is that our members are getting as much value from our site as possible. We really appreciate the efforts of everyone who continues to contribute to it’s success on a daily and weekly basis.

Even with such a complement from the international association, we are actually working right now on a redesign for the interface of our site.  Aloft Group is the agency we selected for the redesign and we are looking forward to what’s next!

In related news, Boston will enjoy the honor of hosting the 2009 Northeastern Leadership Retreat next fall.  Chapters are expected to attend from Providence, Hartford, Albany, Rochester, Montreal and Toronto.  We will welcome them to our city and hope to show them a wicked good time!

Myles Bristowe
President-elect, AMA Boston

On February 13th, Pedro Laboy, Senior Partner at Tocquigny, an Adweek Top-25 Interactive agency, and Author of Brand Nexus, gave a keynote presentation on what every marketer should know about Digital Marketing.

Pedro Laboy’s Presentation “Best Practices in Digital Marketing” is now available in the Resources section of the AMA Boston Website.

DOWNLOAD NOW!

BL Ochman - What’s Next Blog

In “Subway v Quiznos,” BL Ochman illustrates worst-case practices in which sandwich chain Quiznos sabotages top competitor Subway by promoting a YouTube video contest in which contestants portray Quiznos as superior to Subway. In this instance, Quiznos lost an opportunity to create a “best practice” - and got sued in the process - when the company chose not to focus on what they do best to create value for their customers. Would your company ever sabotage competition in order to stay on top to gain market share?

Lori A. Rochino - With over 7 years of marketing communications experience, Lori has worked in a variety of industries, including finance, publishing, and fashion. She is currently a marketing specialist at an e-commerce firm and manages web content for the AMA Boston Chapter. She resides in Natick with her husband.

Volunteer Spotlight: Vic Beck

Shortly after being unanimously nominated for a second term as Vice President of Communications for the Boston Chapter of the American Marketing Association, Vic Beck had informed the Board of Directors that he had been called into active duty as a Navy Captain (Public Affairs Officer).

His job is to be the US military’s spokesman to the 1500 Arab media outlets based out of Media City in Dubai. In his words, “It is an interesting and challenging job, but the most difficult thing by far, is the separation from my family.”

I know I speak for everyone on the Board of Directors as well as our entire body of Members, when I say, we are all very proud and grateful for the service and sacrifice Vic is giving to his country. We look forward to your safe return to Boston!

Last week Vic sent us a letter from Baghdad and has given me permission to share it with you:

150 Days – An Update from Vic Beck
In Baghdad, Iraq
January 25, 2008

So much has happened in Iraq since my last update only a couple months ago. There never is a shortage of news and information coming from Iraq however, with the decrease in violence, there are many days when we are not front page news in the U.S. (this is a good thing). Here are just a few statistics that are telling:

• From June to December 2007, the number of overall attacks have decreased roughly 60%.
• Civilian deaths are down 75% from a year ago and are now at a level not seen since the beginning of 2006.
• The number of Coalition Force losses is down substantially, though each one reminds us of the sacrifice that made progress possible in 2007.
• High profile attacks (car bombs, suicide car bombs and suicide vest attacks) are down 60% since its height in March 2007.
• With the help of local Iraqi citizens, in 2007 we more than doubled the amount of weapons caches found in all of 2006. While this has seriously degraded the enemy’s ability to conduct attacks, al-Qaeda still has the capacity to conduct horrific attacks against Iraqi citizens and Coalition Forces. 2008 will be an important year in Iraq and we’re hoping to achieve many milestones.
• We are working to transfer more provincial security control to the Iraqi Security Forces. There are 18 provinces and we have transferred provincial control for security back to the Iraqis for nine so far.

For me personally, I just finished a work marathon – 150 days straight of 17-18 hour days. I arrived in Belize yesterday for R&R. My wife and kids arrive tomorrow and we’ll be relaxing on the beach together for two weeks (and watching the Super Bowl at a beach sports bar at a reasonable hour – Iraq is eight hours ahead of Boston time). Then I’ll head back to Iraq and finish my year-long tour on April 24. More soon, but I won’t be thinking much about the war for the next two weeks.

Best,
Vic

Captain Vic Beck, US Navy
Chief of Media Operations
Multi-National Force-Iraq
Strategic Effects/Communications Division