Past Program Archives

The Business Marketing Association (BMA) is an 80-yr. old, not-for-profit international organization serving the professional and career development needs of business-to-business marketers. For over 80 years, BMA/NJ has been the premier association for promoting the business-to-business advertising community throughout the State of New Jersey. The organization provides and promotes an environment within which b-to-b marketers and communicators can function most effectively. The following are a years worth of events and programs that the New Jersey Chapter presented to professionals from the corporate, agency and support service sides of the marketing communications.

The Normal Way vs. the Effective Way: Getting Noticed in a Short Attention Span World
Getting the attention of potential customers or the business media is no easy task — especially if you’re taking the same yawn-inducing approach they’ve seen countless times before. Author and PR guerrilla Peter Shankman demonstrates how being the shepherd instead of the sheep can be a lot more fun — and much more effective at communicating your message. Come gain insightful, actionable ideas for standing out from the crowd, and driving more business than you could ever imagine along the way.

About the Speaker: As CEO of marketing and PR strategy firm The Geek Factory, Peter Shankman consults with companies worldwide, including American Express, New Frontier Media, and OpSec Security. Shankman, author of Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts and Why Your Company Needs Them, serves as marketing pundit for Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” and speaks frequently at marketing conferences around the globe. He is also an avid runner, an amateur boxer, and a “B” licensed skydiver specializing in freeflying.

Is There a Method to Your Madness? Injecting Strategy and Success into Your Business’ Marketing Plan
We all know that every business — whether an individual company or a part of a larger organization — should have a marketing plan. But in the craziness of day-to-day business, who has the time? You do! Our speaker – John Bassler of Know/Go NPD –  will show you why a strong marketing plan is essential...and why a little bit of analysis and forethought will go a long way to save you headaches down the line.

About the Speaker: John Bassler, Ph.D., launched Know/Go NPD with partner Jim Kindley in May 2006. Through assessments, workshops, and consulting, Know/Go helps its clients improve their odds of new-product success. Previously, Bassler was the director of the graduate marketing research program at the University of Texas, Arlington. He’s been an instructor at Dartmouth, Yale, and North Texas State University, and worked as a statistical and marketing research consultant for two decades.

Leveraging Your Web Site and Social Media Tools to Beat the Pants Off Your Competition
Marketing guru Aaron Kahlow shared his best practices in emerging marketing areas – including Usability, Search Marketing, Social Media, and Analytics – to help maximize return on campaigns and give you the knowledge to become the star of your company’s marketing organization.

About the Speaker: Aaron Kahlow serves as Managing Partner of BusinessOnLine, a complete Website services company located in San Diego , CA. Having delivered over 170 seminars nationwide and frequently quoted in such publications as Industry Week, BtoBOnline, and BusinessWeek, Aaron is a recognized authority on the subjects of Web Site Usability, Search Engine Optimization, Web Analytics and overall Web Strategy.

The Edu-Marketing Revolution: Marketing with White Papers and Other Free Content Offers
In the Internet era, useful content has replaced sales hype as the most effective marketing tool — and the best way to generate large volumes of qualified leads is to offer valuable free content as an incentive to respond to e-mail campaigns, direct mail, and other lead-generation promotions. Copywriter Bob Bly helped us learn why generating inquiries and sales by educating the market instead of "selling" them works so well.

About the Speaker: McGraw-Hill calls Bob Bly “America’s top copywriter.” A freelance copywriter with more than 25 years experience, Bob has written copy for over 100 companies including PSE&G, BOC Gases, Medical Economics, and IBM. He is the author of more than 70 books including The Copywriter’s Handbook (Henry Holt), cited as a “mini-classic of direct marketing” by the Direct Marketing Club of New York.

Crisis Management - Proper PR Strategy and Communication to Use During a Crisis Situation
From terrorist threats, to legal battles, to theft, a crisis situation can strike your business at any time. Preparation is key. How your company responds to the media during first 24 to 48 hours is critical. Whether dealing with a brief business interruption or a worst-case scenario, the extent of preparation could determine the future of your business, its assets and reputation.

About the Speaker: Barbara Spector Yeninas — As CEO of BSY Associates, Barbara Yeninas leads the company’s strategic direction and oversees all public relations programs. Ms. Yeninas, who began her career as an award-winning journalist, uses her extensive media experience to place clients in the right place with the right message.

Turn Your Workforce Into a “Brandforce” - How to Engage Employees in Corporate Branding Efforts
Communications and branding expert Patt Cottingham discussed the growth of individualism and how organizations can nurture employees through branding. Creating a brandforce keeps employees engaged and retains talent.

About the Speaker: Patt Cottingham — In 1998, Patt left the advertising industry to develop a company, offering what she calls “genuine imprints,” to communicate what is unique, distinct or different about a person, product or service. Through this work, she began to see a gap in engaging and connecting grand messages to the employee marketplace. Workforce to Brandforce’s purpose is to bring insight and information to organizations in all areas of brand communications.

When Sales and Marketing Meet and Increase Revenue 25% or More Along the Way
Leading sales consultant Andy Gole and marketing specialist Rosemarie Monaco gave tips on improving the synergies between marketing and sales and solving these age-old questions: Does marketing really understand sales, and are we asking sales the right questions? Do marketing and sales work together, or in separate universes? Does your sales force understand why and how to use the marketing tools provided? Is your sales team making the "right" sales, or just making sales?

Leveraging BMA’s Resources for Better Business
Ever wish you had your own personal SWAT team of marketing gurus to help you overcome business challenges? Join the Business Marketing Association (BMA-NJ) for an innovative, interactive program meant to give you a jump start on the fall business season. This was an opportunity to gain fresh ideas and practical strategies, along with a Rolodex of colleagues who can assist you achieve your business goals. Special guest BMA International Chairman John Favalo presented BMA-NJ with a special Chapter Excellence Award.

About the Speaker: Joe Truncale is President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Printing Leadership (NAPL). Well versed in customer recruitment and retention, strategic planning, marketing, communications, staff training, and development, Mr. Truncale is a faculty member for NAPL’s Leadership & Organizational Development course at Northwestern University.

Learn to Love Your List
The single most important part of any direct marketing program is your prospect list. List building, maintenance and analysis are the “boring” parts. They can also make or break your program. Whether you’re using direct mail, telemarketing or email, NOTHING – no matter how well conceived – will work if it’s sent to the wrong target group. Attendees of this session learned how to increase the effectiveness of their direct marketing programs, better use data to understand current buyers and reach a receptive new pool of prospects.

About the Speaker: Frank Conway brings nearly two decades of sales and marketing experience to his role as a strategic group account manager for infoUSA/Donnelly Marketing. As account exec at DialAmerica Marketing, he launched the first large-scale telemarketing program for AT&T Wireless Services in 1996, and was named to the AT&T Wireless Services Presidents Circle of Excellence for Wireless Sales Growth three times. Conway joined Donnelley Marketing’s Strategic Marketing Group in 2005.

The Power of Personal Communication: Getting Your Message Across in a “Short Attention Span” World
As B2B marketers, we’re adept at getting effective sales messages out to customers and prospects. But what about personal communication skills – whether we’re pitching an idea one-on-one, supervising a team, or making a formal presentation to a packed house? Effective communication is the key to engaging, persuading, and influencing people to action – regardless of the size of your audience or the content of your message.

About the Speaker: Michael Landrum, Creative Coaching, coaches top executives and professionals to achieve high-impact presentations and solid rapport with audiences. Terry Viney, The Plus Factor, has three decades of worldwide sales and marketing experience. Moderator Richard Magid, SoundBoard, has been on an entrepreneurial journey for the last 26 years.

Web Innovations: The Latest Trends in Marketing to Ever-Evolving Customers.
To say that the Internet is constantly changing and has forever altered the way people do business has become a cliché. This program showed how, even with more than 4 billion web pages on the Internet, you can increase your on-line marketing effectiveness by more clearly understanding the customers behind the clicks.

About the Speaker: Larry Bailin, Single Throw Inc., shared his insights on a new and rapidly growing breed of connected customer and attracting and retaining customers through Internet Marketing. Ilise Benun, marketing-mentor.com, shared her insights on websites that work.

B2B Print Advertising: Would Yours Survive the "Makeover Maven"?
Tom Collins, the "Makeover Maven" from DIRECT magazine, presents his views — sometimes controversial, but always thought-provoking - on what makes an effective print ad. With much of today's advertising serving as a gateway to drive web traffic, too many marketers fail to take full advantage of the chance to also drive sales. Using his famous "Before" and "After" makeovers, Tom demonstrated how using 10 proven response principles can dramatically improve your own ads.

Is MarComm Dead?
Consultant Jeff Herrington says that marketing communications is dead and that mar/comm as a job function will disappear. Instead of creating mar/comm materials, the role will be to help others in the company create materials.

About the Speakers: BMA’s executive director, Rick Kean, and copywriter Bob Bly are currently interviewed dozens of MarComm professionals to get their reactions and opinions about whether MarComm is dead or healthy and presented their findings in what was a highly interesting and thought provoking event!

Increasing the Bang for Your Marketing Buck
How can the latest digital technology boost your marketing ROI? From black & white personalization to completely customized four-color direct mail, we discovered how new variable data and imaging technologies that make it easy to produce highly targeted, high-response communication vehicles.

About the Speakers: Two industry veterans, Dennis Lacognata and Mike Messemer, provided the inside scoop on not only how the technology works, but how you can successfully put it to work for your company or clients. All who attended left with immediate, actionable ideas for adding variable data printing to our marketing mix.

Brainstorming Your Way to Greatness
A panel of BMA/NJ Impact Award winners, moderated by multi-Impact winner Marc E. Green, CBC, Marketing Communications Manager for National Starch and Chemical Company, shared their secrets for successful brainstorming: identifying the right message, generating new ideas, and triggering imaginative solutions.

Improving Your Trade Show & Event Marketing
Business marketers invest millions in trade show exhibits and corporate events. But most marketers are at a loss to demonstrate the value they receive for their investment. Ruth P. Stevens, president of eMarketing Strategy, showed us how to develop a surefire plan that delivers results every time.

About the Speaker: Named one of 2002’s Most Influential People in Business Marketing by Crain’s BtoB magazine, Ruth P. Stevens consults on customer acquisition and retention. She has held senior marketing positions at companies such as Time Warner, Ziff-Davis, and IBM, and is past chair of the Business-to-Business Council of the DMA. The author of The DMA Lead Generation Handbook, Stevens holds an MBA from Columbia University.

Spam: What Legitimate Marketers Need to Know
Jane Tabachnick of Jane Tabachnick eMarketing offered practical tips for keeping your messages out of the spam filters and complying with CAN-SPAM regulations. We discovered why your responsibility to your subscribers and protecting your brand name extends beyond your own marketing initiatives and to that of your strategic or channel partners. Topics included:

• Spam terms you need to know
• Understanding the different types of filters
• Opt in vs. double opt in
• Legislation overview and compliance: safeguarding your brand
• Is your email service provider helping to get your message through?
• Tips for keeping your own inbox spam-free

About the Speaker: Jane Tabachnick works with companies to build their online brands through the creation or revitalization of web sites as well as online marketing campaigns. An email virtuoso, she has helped a range of clients — from Fortune 500s to small and medium businesses — go digital. She has produced technology conferences for women entrepreneurs for AWED, AT&T and McGraw Hill. She is the author of Plain Jane’s Promotional Planner, and the recipient of a Galaxy Award.

The BMA-NJ Fall Kick-Off Meeting – Wine Tasting
Australian wines have become more popular in the U.S. and sales have boomed. Is it the taste? Or have Australian wines been more effectively promoted? Ms. Jan Stuebing, Trade Director of the Australian Wine Bureau’s New York City office, gave her opinion on the subject - and we tasted four different Australian wines to form our own opinion.