Influencers

How will the role of the Corporate Communications team - and its partners - evolve in the near future? In the last 24 months of repeated disruptions, distortions and discontinuities in the business world, the role of Corporate Communications has been elevated to a critical position in the company ecosystem. Speed, calmness, accountability, flexibility, and resilience are required skills as strategic and tactical stories are carefully managed across all stakeholder groups in what can only be described as 'turbulent times.' Join us for a wide-ranging discussion drawing on the data from The Conference Board's recent research and the front-line, practical experience of Edelman's leading Corporate Affairs practice. We will explore these topics and deliver informed insights on how the future of the Corporate Communications team – and its partners – is likely to evolve.

How to Tell a Coherent and Authentic Sustainability Story In this podcast, Alex Heath, Managing Director and US Head of Social Impact & Sustainability at Edelman, talks with Denise Dahlhoff, Senior Researcher, Consumer Research, about the growing expectations for companies by various stakeholders—from customers to investors to employees and beyond—to address sustainability and what that implies for telling a coherent, authentic sustainability story to different audiences. Tune in to hear about the following topics: What do corporate sustainability and social impact entail? How do employees and consumers think about sustainability? Does corporate purpose make employees more productive? How to tell a coherent sustainability story, including challenges and goals yet to be achieved, to different stakeholders?

In this episode of “Influencers,” Peter McGraw, a marketing professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and an expert on emotions and behavioral economics, talks with Denise Dahlhoff, Senior Researcher at The Conference Board, about his latest research on an underexplored topic: singles. Listen to this episode to learn about: The economic importance of singles and their demographic diversity Marketing to singles, including examples and underleveraged potential Different psychographic segments of singles, including eternal singles and hopeful romantics Opportunities for employers to better target singles

Listen to our Influencers Podcast as Mike Moran, a Senior Fellow of the M&C Center and the Chief Product Officer of SoloSegment, an AI powered martech company that predicts which content should show on your website, uses his real intelligence garnered from 30 years in the space to illuminate what you need to know about the Artificial side of intelligence.

How does the use of financial services vary across Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White (Non-Hispanic) consumers in the US, and how can companies address existing services gaps? And how do multicultural consumers use restaurants, travel, personal services, education, and other services to express their ethnic origins, and what this all means for companies as US demographics are changing?    Listen to this conversation by Ivan Pollard, Leader of the Marketing & Communications Center, with Dana Peterson, Chief Economist, and Denise Dahlhoff, Senior Researcher, about The Conference Board’s latest findings from its multicultural research series in collaboration with General Mills.

The Conference Board's timely annual survey of C-Suite Executives is out and it provides fascinating insights for marketers and communicators. What are C-Suite executives focusing on and how will it help marketers navigate what lies ahead with more certainty? Join Ivan Pollard, Leader of The Conference Board Marketing and Communications Center, and Denise Dahlhoff, Senior Researcher as they unveil the data from this year’s C-Suite Outlook through the lens of Marketing & Communications.

Ever since the mass adoption of all things digital, the job of a Chief Marketing Officer has become increasingly complex, changeable, and challenging. In 2008, Professor Christine Moorman at the Fuqua School of Business, launched “The CMO Survey” to quantify these challenges and understand how CMOs around the world were feeling about them. To discover the good news from the latest CMO Survey, join Christine and Ivan Pollard, leader of the Marketing and Communications Center at The Conference Board, as they discuss the new results and what lies ahead for marketers.

How is a company’s true value measured?  And why is there such a discrepancy in corporate valuations between Wall Street, Main Street, employees and investors? In this informative discussion, Tim Koller, Partner and Core Leader of the Corporate Finance Practice at McKinsey & Company and co-author of the book, Valuation, helps us solve these apparent contradictions with our Marketing Institute Leader, JP Kuehlwein – and also offers his own expert guidance on how to properly assess a corporation’s value.

How does one craft the right name for a brand or business? Should one evolve and extend it over time? David Placek, Founder and President of Lexicon, boasts over 30 years’ experience in the naming business. His agency has developed some of the most famous brand names, such as Dasani, Impossible Burger, Swiffer, and Febreze. In this fascinating conversation, The Conference Board Marketing Institute Leader, JP Kuehlwein, discusses with David how the right name can be used to tell the product’s story, and how it relates to other important branding elements like design, visual identity, and communications.

How might COVID-19 impact where, what and why we buy - even long after it’s gone? JP Kuehlwein, The Conference Board Marketing Institute leader, speaks with Paco Underhill, Founder & CEO at Envirosell, as well as a guru when it comes to the shopping environment and its impact on our behaviors, to discuss this question. Join this conversation as Paco explains some of the instincts we all have as shoppers to help us understand how retailing might change – or not – in the near future. How do people interact with the shopping environment and the product proposition? And what can we learn from that as we try to predict what will happen next?

The swift spread of COVID-19 has dealt a significant blow to the retail sector. During these troubling times, many business leaders are wondering which brands will fail, which will survive, and which may even thrive due to the current health crisis. Join JP Kuehlwein, Marketing Institute Leader at The Conference Board, for a fascinating discussion with investment banker and co-founder of Triangle Partners LLC, Richard Kestenbaum, about the impact COVID-19 has had on retail. Discover the different ways various sectors within retail are being impacted, where non-essential retailers should consider investing their money, why essential grocers and manufacturers are seeming to struggle with their supply chains, and how the pandemic has accelerated the evolution of retail away from traditional brick and mortar stores.

Alison Cayne is busy in normal times: The mom of five has founded a cooking school, café, events space and packaged food brand in addition to writing books, hosting podcasts and otherwise sharing her insights, energy and excellent cooking. But these times of crisis bring her exceptional, ethical, entrepreneurial leadership and strategic thinking and acting to light even more.  Alison shares how she is tackling the challenge as a boss, business partner, borrower, supplier… and her insights can serve as inspiration to business and brand builders large and small. Take a listen.

You want to let people know you care and provide relevant offerings without coming across as profiteering. You also don’t want to bore consumers with worn-out platitudes. So, what is a brand to do and say?  Join JP Kuehlwein, Marketing Institute Leader, as he speaks with Dan Fietsam, an award-winning creative and copywriter. Dan has experience developing advertising in the context of crisis. During this discussion, JP and Dan will review how organizations are continuing to advertise their brand against the backdrop of this pandemic and what might be the most appropriate ways to communicate now and going forward.

Today, we find ourselves in one of the most disruptive periods in modern history. Public discussion about ESG has taken the backseat to surviving and getting through the COVID-19 pandemic. Part two of this podcast further explores how corporate communications can support your company’s ESG initiatives, and how to use ESG to guide your company through the COVID-19 crisis response. Host: Craig Carroll, Communications Institute Leader, The Conference Board Guests: Kelly Semrau, former Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Communication and Sustainability, at SC Johnson and Senior Fellow with the Marketing and Communications Center at The Conference Board Devry Boughner Vorwerk, former Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, CEO of DevryBV Sustainable Strategies, former CCO  and Global Corporate Affairs, Cargil, and Senior Fellow with the Marketing and Communications Center at The Conference Board Jessica Adelman, former Group Vice President of Corporate Affairs for The Kroger Co. and Senio

Join us for the first in this mini-series which focuses on what brands and their leaders should say and do (or not) in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.  In this episode, JP Kuehlwein, Marketing Institute Leader at The Conference Board, interviews Martin Karaffa, Associate Partner at Hofstede Insights. Martin has spent over 25 years in the global advertising industry working with brands such as Diageo Daimler Benz, Citi Financial, Johnson & Johnson, Kit Kat, Kellogg, Listerine and … yes, Purell! In this discussion, JP and Marty will discuss what brand owners should focus on as they decide what to do and talk about to their customers while they are both dealing with the pandemic. They will also talk about how different cultures, organizations and personalities behave differently in times of crisis, and how that impacts their relationships to brands and customers.

Today, we find ourselves in one of the most disruptive periods in modern history. Public discussion about ESG has taken the backseat to surviving and getting through the COVID-19 pandemic. This podcast explores how corporate communications can support your company’s ESG initiatives, and how to use ESG to guide your company through the COVID-19 crisis response. Host: Craig Carroll, Communications Institute Leader, The Conference Board Guests: Kelly Semrau, former Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Communication and Sustainability, at SC Johnson and Senior Fellow with the Marketing and Communications Center at The Conference Board Devry Boughner Vorwerk, former Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, CEO of DevryBV Sustainable Strategies, former CCO  and Global Corporate Affairs, Cargil, and Senior Fellow with the Marketing and Communications Center at The Conference Board Jessica Adelman, former Group Vice President of Corporate Affairs for The Kroger Co. and Senior Fellow with the Ma

Should the Chief Marketing Officer issue public messages about what the organization is doing in terms of public health and safety? Craig Carroll, Communications Institute Leader at The Conference Board, chats with a team of experts, with a view from three perspectives: marketing, communications, and corporate social responsibility. Host: Craig Carroll, Communications Institute Leader, The Conference Board Colin McConnell, former Chief Brand Officer with Prudential Steve Dowling, former Vice President, Communications, Apple, and former Silicon Valley Bureau Chief for CNBC Kelly Semrau, former Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Communication and Sustainability, SC Johnson

Join JP Kuehlwein, The Conference Board’s Marketing Institute Leader as he discusses the role of sound in brand building with Michael Boumendil, a pioneer in audio branding and the Founder and President and Chief Creative Officer of SixiemeSon, the world’s leading audio branding agency since 1995.

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues, communications leaders face the growing challenge of supporting the safety of staff, the reputation of the company, and the viability of operations. At the same time, the risks of missteps are significantly compounded by social media activism, misinformation and the critical gaze of international observers. Craig Carroll, Communications Institute Leader at The Conference Board, chats with Lisa Davis, Senior Counselor, The Walker Marchant Group, former Corporate Vice President for Communications and Worldwide Executive Team member at Northrop Grumman, and Steve Dowling, former VP of Communications for Apple and former Silicon Valley bureau chief for CNBC. They will discuss insights and recommendations that will be helpful as you formulate, implement and manage your crisis communications response strategy. Some of the questions they will address: How should companies be thinking about their communication efforts? What exactly are some of the things that companies need to be

So often we here that we need to think out of the box. However, a great start for change and transformation is to think INSIDE the box. In this short and engaging podcast you will see several actionable boxes for your leadership journey. This podcast is based on Lars Sudmann’s TEDx talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/lars_sudmann_great_leaders_transform_organizations_by_thinking_inside_the_box.