Where’s marketing headed?

Industry experts and practitioners gather at the Kellogg School’s Marketing Leadership Summit to consider the future of marketing
3 minute read

Daniel P. Smith

A revolution is afoot in the marketing world.
 
Transformed by technology as well as new insights into buyers, markets and competition, the industry faces fundamental questions as the 21st century unfolds.

Marketing Leadership Summit
Click here to watch a video about the Kellogg Marketing Leadership Summit.
To examine this crossroads, the Kellogg School of Management hosted its first annual Marketing Leadership Summit on Sept. 15 at the James L. Allen Center.

“Kellogg has been the leading school associated with the development of marketing, which makes it a logical host for this discussion,” said Kellogg Professor Greg Carpenter, director of the Center for Market Leadership and co-organizer of the event, along with colleague Eric Leininger.

The intensive one-day session yielded insights from three distinct groups — senior Kellogg faculty, consultants and chief marketing officers — all of whom view the marketing world through a different lens. The diverse collection of professionals posed new questions, explored new directions and created new understanding of how marketing is changing.

Philip Kotler, the S.C. Johnson & Son Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School, delivered a forward-looking presentation on Marketing 3.0. Citing examples of successful marketing initiatives during the recession, Kotler emphasized that companies must build and foster deep connections with their consumers.

“Marketing people must not only think of customers and competitors, but marketing their values to employees, channel partners, the community and investors,” Kotler said. “It’s about connecting to the mind, heart and spirit.”

Kotler also reminded attendees that marketing must be a cross-enterprise activity, not merely the function of a specialized department.

“Marketing should be proactive in business,” he said.

The Marketing Leadership Summit featured a number of other presentations:

  • Egon Zehnder International consultants Dick Patton and Rory Finlay ’88 offered insights on leadership competencies that drive growth.
  • Professor Brian Sternthal, the Kraft Foods Chair in Marketing at Kellogg, discussed the impact of gender on consumer decisions, and how to translate those insights into effective marketing communications.
  • Keynote speaker and Dyson CEO Martin McCourt detailed the importance of innovation and integrating the customer’s perspective throughout a company’s ranks.
  • McKinsey & Company principals Mary Ellen Coe and Paul Magill provided a roadmap for building the marketing organization of the future.
  • A panel discussion with Friedman, Fleischer & Lowe operating partner Rick Lenny ’77, LNK Partners’ Phil Marineau ’70, Chicago Sky CEO Margaret Stender and Patton explored the move from CMO to CEO.
The summit jumpstarted many enthusiastic conversations about marketing’s ever-evolving role, observed Gary Jackson ’07, head of global business for Google Americas.

“So many of us are in the same place with the same challenges. It’s exciting to get together, talk and share,” said Jackson, one of many Kellogg alumni in attendance.

Eager to continue the dialogue on an annual basis, Carpenter announced that the Marketing Leadership Summit would return to Kellogg in October 2012.