Marketing Horizons, a series in the WVU Marketing Communications Today podcast, is forward-thinking, looking ahead, through the front windshield and beyond, into the marketing future. Marketing Legends, another series in the WVU Marketing Communications Today podcast, features marketing thinkers, innovators, practitioners and founders — legends of the marketing world — who will talk about their careers and share their wisdom with the marketers of today. Hosted by Cyndi Greenglass and Ruth Stevens, these podcast series are dedicated to looking ahead to the new ideas, technologies, tools and strategies that are emerging to help marketers navigate over the marketing horizon.
MARCOM TODAY
Marketing Communications Today is a collection of resources for marketing communications professionals filled with industry research, marketing trends, and career information about integrated marketing and data-driven communications. Learn industry insights through the Marketing Communications Today blog, podcast, as well as Integrate Online, all sponsored by the WVU Marketing Communications Online Programs.
Episodes
May 31, 2020
May 31, 2020
22 min
Remaining Virtually Relevant: When you’re in the business of producing large scale public gatherings, how do you take everything online?
On March 15 the CDC issued guidance related to large events and mass gatherings which specifically included examples like festivals, parades, concerts, and sporting events. That guidance was basically the beginning of the widespread cancellation or postponement of events around the country due to concerns around the spread of the highly infectious COVID-19 virus.
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May 15, 2020
May 15, 2020
21 min
After 20+ year career in communications that included positions in public relations, advertising, media, and marketing, Lisa Sands stepped into the role of publisher for Edible Cleveland magazine, a local independently-owned publication that is part of a network of roughly 80 other “edibles” across the U.S. and Canada. After one year, Lisa’s has had to analyze all aspects of the magazine’s operations and face many realities about the role media plays in our lives, how we’re using it, where we get our information, and what we are willing to pay for as media consumers and as marketers. We’ll discuss the holistic media landscape from the viewpoint of journalists and also marketers including:
Is the traditional media landscape all doom and gloom?
Is there still a place for print media in the marketing mix?
Do we want to live in a world where everything we consume is online? If the answer is no, then where do we go from here?
About Mike's guest:
After 20+ year career in communications that included positions in public relations, advertising, media, and marketing, Lisa Sands stepped into the role of publisher for Edible Cleveland magazine, a local independently-owned publication that is part of a network of roughly 80 other “edibles” across the U.S. and Canada.
Edible Cleveland had been a passion project and a side hustle for several years, starting when she was a marketing team leader with Whole Foods Market. During her time with Whole Foods, she discovered her interest and passion for food, particularly with regard to eating better, healthier, more sustainably, and closer to home. At the time, Lisa did not fathom that she would ever advance her part-time passion project into a full-time opportunity. Being the publisher of a magazine about local food merges her professional skill set with her personal interests. She also realized that her extensive and diverse career experience that had helped clients and their projects and brands thrive could be deployed to take Edible Cleveland into some interesting new directions at a time when print and traditional media are especially challenged, yet never more important.
Lisa graduated from the West Virginia University Integrated Marketing Communications program in 2014. Her undergraduate degree is in broadcast journalism from Kent State University.
WVU Marketing Communications Today is hosted by Michael Lynch from West Virginia University which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.
May 11, 2020
May 11, 2020
28 min
Graduating seniors in communications and marketing are facing the daunting prospect of trying to enter the job market during the COVID-19 pandemic. This will not be an easy task. Nearly 4 million students in the US are set to graduate this year in spring 2020. With the world in crisis and uncertainty ahead, the environment continues to be dynamic and fluid. While we can’t predict what the future holds for students and graduates in the short-term, we can help prepare and equip students with information and tips for their upcoming employment journey.
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May 3, 2020
May 3, 2020
27 min
National Geographic was founded in 1888. When its magazine editor first introduced photographs in its monthly publication, 2 board members resigned in protest, saying photos essentially dumbed down the content. But today, National Geographic is the #1 media brand in followers on Instagram. And while magazines are shuttered almost every month, National Geographic’s print version remains on newsstands and is published worldwide in nearly 40 languages.
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Apr 24, 2020
Apr 24, 2020
23 min
Without a doubt, the coronavirus pandemic has changed all of our worlds. But one of the hardest-hit industries is travel. US Travel Association and Oxford Economics recently reported that the US is projected to suffer a $519 billion decline in direct travel spending, which translates into $1.2 trillion in lost economic impact. But there is hope. Experts predict there will be pent-up demand for travel. It is in our nature to explore, escape and emotionally attach to our friends and family. And while travel will look different the industry will eventually bounce back.
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Apr 17, 2020
Apr 17, 2020
24 min
Advances in behavioral science have come a long way since the discipline’s inception in the late seventies. Robust studies have shown time and again that long-held theories of top-down information dissemination, particularly when scientific in nature, are not only ineffective but perhaps even counter-effective. Ensuring that communications are received as intended, and ultimately acted upon for the purpose of predicting behavioral outcomes, requires understanding how the brain processes information and its cognitive limitations.
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Apr 11, 2020
Apr 11, 2020
21 min
Happy Easter everyone! It’s just not Easter without PEEPS®! The PEEPS® Brand has been around since 1953 and is a must-have for the Easter basket. The yellow chick is the icon that everyone knows however, the classic pastel-colored marshmallows covered in sugar are certainly polarizing. Consumers either love them or hate them. If they love PEEPS®, don’t mess with them. If they hate PEEPS®, there is no way they would ever eat any PEEPS® product. How does a brand stay true to its heritage while evolving to appeal to a larger audience? In this podcast, we will learn how brands can grow through innovation with their core consumers while attracting new users to the franchise.
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Apr 5, 2020
Apr 5, 2020
16 min
It’s no secret, to succeed as a business you need to build a brand. But building a brand is no easy task, and most companies don’t get it right the first time. Great brands are built on solid positioning. It’s a yin and yang; positioning is yin (rational) and branding is yang (emotional). They’re two sides of the same coin, and you need both.
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