Marketing Monthly - October 2012

October 2012: Vol. 7, Issue 7

Marketing Monthly Department of Marketing Student Informational

On September 4, the Department of Marketing welcomed the freshman class of 2016. The Cocanougher Center hummed with a combination of seasoned upper classmen giving advice and recently arrived freshmen eager to listen. The department was well-represented by Janet Parish, Leslie Seipp, Kelli Hollinger, Steve McDaniel, Regina Gomez, Lisa Troy and Andrew Loring. During the session, freshmen were coached in the various opportunities and options available to them in the field of marketing.

Dr. Parish reviewed “The Big 3” -- the three main certificate options available to students: Sales, Retailing, and Advertising. Upper-level students in the certificate programs, as well as Marketing Study Abroad students, provided insight through stories of their experiences.

Lauren Ray, a senior business honors and marketing major talked about working toward the Retailing Certificate and specifically her

involvement in the Student Retailing Association (SRA). Ray’s involvement in SRA opened up opportunities for her to enroll in MKTG 426, the Advance Retailing Competition course. Students in MKTG 426, whose projects are evaluated by industry judges in the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund Case Study Competition, work to win scholarships and a trip to New York City to meet industry leaders and compete in the finals of the competition.

Following the speakers, students had the opportunity to learn more about SRA and the other student organizations within the Marketing Department. Representatives from Pi Sigma Epsilon (the sales organization), the American Marketing Association and the Aggie Advertising Club were ready to answer questions and inform potential new members of their organization’s goals and ways to get involved.

The evening was filled with excitement, and stories of success as first-year students learned all about the Department of Marketing.

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August Faculty Meeting Alina Sorescu and Venky Shankar received awards and thanks for their outstanding service as Associate Director and Director of the PhD Program.

Len Berry, Alina Sorescu, and Rajan Varadaran

Len Berry, Venky Shankar and Allan Chen

Field Trip September 27, 2012 Sandi Lampo (far right)’s MKTG 426 Advanced Case Competition class enjoyed a field trip to Macy’s. Their trip focused on topics around the teen and pre-teen departments. Emily Simmons, sales manager of children’s and juniors’, and Stephanie Melanson, Visual Manager, led the discussion and tour.

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Congratulations!

Congratulations to Venky Shankar--his paper has been accepted for publication in Marketing Science.

Title: Effective Marketing Science Applications: Insights from ISMS–MSI Practice Prize Finalist Papers and Projects Co-authors Gary Lilien (Penn State) and John Roberts (London Business School) Abstract: From 2003 to 2012, the ISMS Practice Prize/Award competition has documented 25 impactful projects, with associated papers appearing in the Marketing Science. This article reviews these papers and projects, examines their influence on the relevant organizations, and provides a perspective on the diffusion and impact of marketing science models within the organizations. We base our analysis on three sources of data—the articles, authors’ responses to a survey, and in-depth interviews with the authors. We draw some conclusions on how marketing science models can create more impact without losing academic rigor, while maintaining strong relevance to practice.

We find that the application and diffusion of marketing science models are not restricted to the well-known choice models, conjoint analysis,

Congratulations to Mark Defanti ’06 Mark received tenure at Providence College last year. Mark also presented his dissertationrelated article (co-authored with Paul Busch) titled "Image-related corporate name changes" at a conference in Tokyo before it was published in the Journal of Brand Management.

mapping, and promotional analysis—there are very effective applications across a wide range of managerial problems using an array of marketing science techniques. There is no one successful approach and, while some factors are correlated with impactful marketing science models, there are a number of pathways by which a project can add value to its client organization. Simpler, easier-to-use models that offer robust and improved results can have stronger impact than academically sophisticated models. Organizational buy-in is critical and can be achieved through high-level champions, in-house presentations and dialogs, doing pilot assignments, involving multi department personnel, and speaking the same language as the influential executives. And we find that intermediaries often, but not always, play a key role in the transportability and diffusion of models across organizations.

While these applications are impressive and reflect profitable academic-partnerships, changes in the knowledge base and reward systems for academics, intermediaries and practitioners are required for marketing science approaches to realize their potential impact on a much larger scale than the highly selective sample that we have been able to analyze.

Len Berry was recently notified that his article, “A Roadmap for Improving Healthcare Service Quality,” Journal of Healthcare Management, Nov./Dec. 2011, has been selected to appear in the forthcoming 2013 “Best of Articles” special issue of IHF’s World Hospitals and Health Services. His co-authors on the article are Denise Kennedy and Richard Caselli of Mayo Clinic Arizona.

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Chen on Panel at Baylor

Allan Chen presented and participated in a panel discussion, with Jeff Inman of the University of Pittsburgh, at Baylor University’s Tool Time. Above, Allan interacts with Chris Pullig, marketing department chair at Baylor, Truell Hyde, Baylor’s Vice Provost for Research, and Ann Mirabito ‘08, assistant professor of marketing at Baylor.

MS MKTG Grad Talks Data Analytics!

Meagan Patrick ‘10 spoke to Ram Janakiraman’s MKTG 625, MKTG 635 and MKTG 489 classes on data analytics in business consulting. She talked about her experiences analyzing data and creating customer segmentation models for a project that she completed for the City of Houston.

Meagan is a Consultant with Alvarez & Marsal Business Consulting. She earned a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in Marketing and Business Honors as well as a Masters degree in Marketing from Texas A&M University. Meagan completed internships at LyondellBasell and Alvarez and Marsal Business Consulting while pursuing her studies.

Meagan Patrick ‘10

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MKTG 670 Executive Panel From left: Lauren Engebreston, Kathy Leonard, David Paradis, and Tasha Proske

MKTG 670-The Best Advice I Ever Got September 11, 2012 Panel Members: Lauren Engebretson ’07 - Product Marketing Manager, Hewlett-Packard Kathy Leonard - President, Freeman+Leonard David Paradis '90- Global Business Director, Tyco Flow Control Tasha Proske '03 - Operations Manager, Alvarez and Marsal Students received in depth advice from four corporate mentors on how to succeed in the job search and further their careers.

The panel discussion began with each of the four speakers giving a brief background and a description of their past and current positions. Despite their different professional trajectories, they obviously share a passion for their careers.

The panel members each spoke in depth about advice they had been given or discovered throughout their careers.

Following are the key topics they discussed:  Resumé – the “most important document” of your college career  Interviewing – ask intelligent questions and build a portfolio  Networking – build lasting relationships  Distinguish yourself – consider yourself a brand and be unique  Insert yourself – stand out, be confident, and do not think you are imposing  Position yourself – join industry trade organizations, meet people, use your connections  “Every interaction counts” – no interaction is too small to have an impact on others  Learn and understand yourself so that you may better manage your career  Be present and do not be distracted by technology  Be authentic in serving others, maintain your humility  Be competitive with yourself

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Center for Retailing Studies Guest Speakers H-E-B Director Speaks in MKTG 321 September 12 Jody Hall, Director of Global Sourcing at H-E-B, discussed the different H-E-B store formats--Central Market, H-E-B Plus, Mi Tienda, and Joe V’s Smart Shops-- and how each is merchandised to best meet the needs of the neighborhoods in which they are located.

He described how he and his 15 member global sourcing team travel around the world seeking new products. However, special emphasis is placed on buying products from Texas producers. Jody told students that he has his dream job--he gets paid to travel, eat, and shop. He encouraged students to seek careers they can pursue with passion.

Larry Gresham, MKTG 321 professor, and Jody Hall

Jody Hall fields questions from students after class

Sewell Recruiting Manager September 19, 2012

Jerad Romo

Jerad Romo - Recruiting Manager at Sewell Automotive Companies, Dallas, Texas, spoke to MKTG 321 Honors and MKTG 440 students.

Romo talked about Sewell’s vision of great service and how Sewell stays competitive by exceeding customer’s expectations. He discussed career opportunities at Sewell with the students and gave them some valuable career search advice: 1) find a company that shares your values; 2) find a company with a history of winning; and, 3) locate a mentor in a senior position who cares about your career progress.

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CRS News & Updates Guest Speaker Rich White, Unit Director of the H-E-B Bryan Store spoke to students in Mary Zimmer’s MKTG 322 and MKTG 325 classes.

Mr. White started by telling a little about the woman who started H-E-B and the company’s history of catering to the consumer’s wants and needs. He moved right along to the fun part of the presentation-- the H-E-B Own Brand vs.

Name Brand Taste Tests.

Students sampled saltines, corn chips, and vanilla wafers. In all cases, the preference for name brand vs. own brand was about equal. Then came the Dr. Pepper vs. Dr. B showdown. Four Dr. Pepper fans were selected to blind taste test the two soft drinks. Three out of four identified the Dr. Pepper correctly, but they all seemed to agree that for $2 less, they would probably buy the Dr. B. Students had a good time evaluating the products for themselves. Students in the last class of the day were invited to take the leftover products home and they were really happy about that!

Food safety first!

HEB’s Rich White and Mary Zimmer

Students tasting and comparing products

The Dr. Pepper vs. Dr. B showdown

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