Former editor-in-Chief of Industry Week and President/Editorial Director of ChiefExecutive Magazine, and an expert on how companies can adapt to the realities of new markets and customer expectations.

Creating Value in an Era of Uncertainty

What is the value in your business today, where will it like tomorrow, and how do you use that knowledge to achieve competitive advantage? Brandt tackles this essential business question from several complementary angles:

• Brand: What does your brand really mean?
• Customers: What do they really want?
• Innovation: How do you create value beyond your product or service?
• The future: Where is value migrating?
• Commoditization: How do you avoid pressures to commoditize your offering?

Social media maven and digital strategist to ABC News, Darabi is one of today’s most sought after authorities on the emerging media landscape.

The ROI of Social Media for Today’s Retail Brands: How to Make It Work for Your Business

In this back-to-basics speech, Soraya will show retailers how to create a social media strategy with an effective ROI of returned users, increased brand engagement, increased sales opportunities, new demographics of customers, and an overall perception of brand innovation. She will explain why it is so important to effectively leverage social media and organic marketing to increase the potential of your retail platform. Soraya will lay out her 5 pillars for success in social media. She offers tips on how to leverage emerging mediums and up-and-coming social networks to best enhance brand presence; maintain customer loyalty; reach a new generation of fans, followers, and subscribers; and increase web traffic to your brand’s web page. Audience members will learn what is most relevant in today’s digital workplace.

As the former Senior Vice President of Marketing for OfficeMax, SVP at Sears, and VP at Target, as well as President & CEO of BBDO Minneapolis, Bob brings a wealth of knowledge to the CRMC. His numerous awards include two appearances as one of the Top 100 Marketers of the Nation (AdAge) and induction into the Retail Advertising Hall of Fame.

Survival of the Fastest … and Smartest!

Customer connectivity is key to all marketing. It begins with truly understanding and appreciating who your customer is. In these challenging economic times, it seems harder and harder to get big ideas without money. However, it’s not impossible. During this session, Bob will share how smart marketing leaders inspire big companies to create big ideas.