The BCAMA Marketer Of The Year: Ipsos-Reid

fall 2001
The BCAMA Marketer Of The Year: Ipsos-Reid
VANCOUVER, B.C.
0039426297
MAI L
POSTE
How did a company with no ad budget… grow its
business, get a 10% response on its direct marketing
campaigns and become a household name
locally and globally?
PLUS> FEATURE ARTICLES: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE MARKET TAKES A DOWNTURN? • CAREER CORNER
To the families, friends and colleagues of those who have lost loved
ones in the tragic events on September 11, 2001, the BC Chapter of the American
Marketing Association extends our deepest sympathies. We honour and offer
our gratitude to all the heroes working tirelessly in the recovery and relief efforts.
marketline fall 2001 3
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Editor Donna Burton
[email protected]
Your BCAMA Team for 2001/2002
Production, Layout Wasserman & Partners Advertising
and Design [email protected]
BCAMA 2001/2002 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President Maureen Rutherford
604.687.5891 ext. 239
Past President Tammy Towill
604.839.0402
President-Elect Theresa Mackay
604.641.2623
Vice President Sue Semeniw
604.351.6614
Treasurer Susan Stuart
604.687.5891 ext. 228
Web Site Sheri Wisnowski
604.264.4024
Vision 2002 Susan Archibald
604.269.501
Special Events Diana Mulvey
604.646.6380
Sponsorship Sue Semeniw
604.351.6614
Member Services Mary Milovac
604.716.7357
Evening Seminars Dean Flemming
604.925.5105
A number of years ago, I joined the BCAMA as a Professional Member. It didn’t
take me long to realize that being a member of the BCAMA would provide
some phenomenal networking and personal growth opportunities. I attended a
few events and began to realize that if I really wanted to get the most from my
membership, I would need to get very involved with the BCAMA.
I eventually met someone who was on the BCAMA Board and at the time I met
her, she happened to be recruiting volunteers for her committee. When asked if
I’d like to volunteer, I said “absolutely”, thinking this person would never actually
call me. Needless to say, she did call and before I knew it, I was on the BCAMA’s
Public Affairs Committee. I was later recruited to the Board and now, more than
8 years later, I find myself at the helm of this
amazing, volunteer-driven organization.
The BCAMA Board of Directors is made up
of a group of volunteers who commit a
significant amount of time and energy to
develop and implement a line-up of events
to educate and entertain our members and
the marketing community at large. I am
honoured to be associated with such a dedicated and hard-working group of
professionals. I would like to extend my thanks to their companies, peers and
families for supporting them in their volunteer roles.
Breakfast Seminars Janet Anderson
604.681.2772
Collegiate Relations Lisa Graff
604.684.4237
Maureen Rutherford, BCAMA President
Volunteer Relations Erin Robinson
604.641.1968
Marketing Katherine Emberley
Communications 604.834.4227
Creative Services/ Katherine Anderson
Production 604.684.1111 ext. 217
Editor Marketline Donna Burton
604.430.9585
BCAMA Event
VISION 2002
Wednesday, May 8, 2002
8:00am – 5:00pm
Westin Bayshore Resort
& Marina
Vancouver BC
Mark it in your calendar today!
INSIDE
Cover Story > BCAMA Marketer of the Year: Ipsos-Reid
5
Career Corner > Hear What Industry Professionals Have To Say
11
Feature > What do you do when the market takes a downward turn?
13
Clearly Canadian (Private) > Lori Patrick, President
14
Pivotal Corporation (Public) > Brian Mitchinson, Director of
Marketing Communications
15
BC Hydro & Power Authority (Crown) > Shawn Thomas, Sr. VP Marketing,
Communications, Public Affairs
16
marketline fall 2001
4 marketline fall 2001
Q.
Q.
Q.
Angus
Reid?
Angus
Reid?
IpsosReid?
A.
A.
IpsosReid!
BCAMA
Marketer of
theYear!
www.ipsos-reid.com
www.ipsos-reid.com
www.ipsos-reid.com
Contact Steve Mossop
Senior Vice President & Managing Director
Western Business Unit
(604) 257-3200
[email protected]
Our name may have
changed, but we remain
Canada’s leading
market research and
public opinion company.
We would like to take
this opportunity to thank
all of our clients and suppliers
for helping us achieve
this exciting milestone.
www.bcama.com
marketer of the year • marketline 5
IPSOS-REID WINS BCAMA MARKETER OF THE YEAR
By Steve Mossop, Senior Vice President, Managing Director
Western Business Unit, Ipsos-Reid
You still might be scratching your head over how
Ipsos-Reid, a marketing research company, was
selected as the winner of the 2001 BCAMA Marketer
of the Year Award. In fact, this marks the first year
in the BCAMA’s twenty-one-year history that this
recognition has been granted to a company that is
in the Business-to-Business (B2B) sector, and to a
company that did not have a particular advertising
campaign or significant advertising budget as part
of its submission.
Talk to those in the marketing profession about the
stereotypical image of a marketing researcher, and
you conjure up the image of a backroom, detailoriented number cruncher — someone who can’t
see the forest through the trees. Right? Wait. Not at
Ipsos-Reid. Let me help you dispel the preconceived
notions you might have about a research company
winning this award by explaining a little bit about
our company and the reasons why we won.
When we first stumbled across the notion of applying
for this award, I realized that our success as a company
is not based upon a systematic, formulated approach
to our business found in an inch-thick marketing plan.
Rather, our success is based on a CEO-driven set of
deep-rooted, underlying values along with a very
unique corporate culture that permeates nearly every
aspect of life at Ipsos-Reid. Values such as
entrepreneurialism, innovation, a ‘people-centered’
rather than a ‘process-centered’ approach, a go-to
mentality, and a somewhat unstructured if not
unconventional way of doing business all play a big
role in our corporate mindset. It is this corporate
culture that has helped
develop our competitive edge
over other research suppliers. We are not
your typical (read: boring) research company. We do
things differently. Our strong emphasis on marketing our
brand differentiates us from the rest. It has often been
said internally that we consider ourselves marketers first,
researchers second.
Throughout our submission for 2001 Marketer of the
Year, one of our key themes is differentiation. This is
the one common variable that transcends the language
of marketers. It’s the fundamental cornerstone of
marketing success. It’s what it all comes back to. And
it’s what helped us win this award.
Our History
Since our start in Winnipeg over twenty years ago,
Angus Reid surrounded himself with a community
of intelligent and inquisitive individuals who took a
personal interest in people and their behaviour.
Since then, we have grown into a company that
has conducted research in 80 countries and in 40
languages, and serves about 2,000 clients
worldwide from 12 North American offices. This
past year marked a significant milestone in our
history. In October 2000, the company became a
member of the Paris-based Ipsos, which ranks
among the top ten research companies in the world.
Our Strategy
Our ultimate goal in our marketing plan is to increase
sales in core and non-core sectors through public
relations and media, customer relationship marketing,
marketline fall 2001
6 marketline fall 2001
direct marketing, and the introduction and promotion of innovative research
products. Since our name change to Ipsos-Reid, this strategy has been supplemented
with the daunting challenge of transferring the significant brand equity of the Angus
Reid Group over to Ipsos-Reid. Each of these objectives was then followed up with
a simple, but effective tactical plan.
Our Media Strategy
In many respects, we built the Angus Reid and the Ipsos-Reid brand through media
relations with almost no consumer advertising. We use the media to build awareness
of our brand, position us as knowledgeable experts in strategic industry sectors and
provide value-add to our clients by generating publicity for them. This was particularly
important this year, as we introduced the Ipsos-Reid brand nation-wide.
But more than just creating a ‘buzz’, media relations supports our call centres by
keeping our name in the public’s eye. Our own polling shows we have 85% brand
recognition in Canada, which is a huge strategic asset at a time when the market
research industry in general is suffering from ‘polling fatigue’.
More significant is the instant credibility that the Ipsos-Reid name carries in the
boardrooms of corporations, governments and non-profit sectors. Almost weekly,
I hear of clients coming to us because of our brand name recognition.
The value of our media strategy is significant. A recent, independent audit of our
news coverage estimated the equivalent yearly advertising value at $75 million
(based on 1,700 articles referencing or featuring Ipsos-Reid or Angus Reid and 251
broadcast stories).
Our CRM/Direct Marketing Strategy
As you know the CRM buzzword has become a
significant part of a marketer’s lexicon. However, few
companies, especially marketing research companies,
have found ways to implement CRM programs in a
meaningful way.
At Ipsos-Reid, a significant investment was made in
2000 to support our direct marketing efforts when we
purchased Entice! A CRM program from Multi-active
Software in Vancouver. Besides customizing the
database to our own needs, the initial phase included
importing existing miscellaneous ‘Christmas Card’ lists
(a total of some 8,000 contacts) and hiring full time
staff to double the number of qualified B2B leads.
From there, various direct marketing campaigns were
executed to support product sales and provide lead
generation. Each campaign, followed a four-pronged
approach:
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marketer of the year • marketline 7
•
Identifying the Right Target Audience in our
Database: Mining contacts according to criteria
such as title, type of customer, sectors, size, etc.
was key in identifying the proper prospects.
•
Developing the Call-to-Action: Wherever possible,
our campaigns drove traffic to a specifically
designed web page so that additional support
material could be downloaded and tracked for
measurement purposes.
•
The Sales Follow-up: Following mail-outs, our
sales group would begin follow-up calls to
evaluate need in the marketplace and/or followup with prospects hitting our web site.
•
Sustained contact through E-REID: A final
component to our direct marketing efforts
involves a monthly, opt-in, e-newsletter featuring
various products, newly released survey data
and company-related news.
Our Product Mix
Nearly all research companies base their business
on selling custom research, and like law or
accounting firms, measure their success by numbers
of billable hours. We are unique in our industry, in
that our syndicated products are an important
aspect of our product mix, not only from a sales
perspective, but also from a branding/positioning
perspective and a media-relations angle. These
products help to provide industry expertise, add
insights and value to our custom work, and provide
a vehicle for press releases.
There are a total of 25 syndicated studies that we
produce. From our global The Face of the Web
study, World Monitor, Tempo, Angus Reid Report,
Canadian Business Travel Study, Farmers & The
Internet, BC Reid Report, or our Canadian
Inter@ctive Reid Report (to name just a few), each
of these studies takes an in-depth look at issues
within a particular sector. We invested heavily in
the past two years to increase the publication
quality of our syndicated reports. By utilizing
industry standard software, along with the hiring
of an in-house creative team, each report was redesigned as a quality, magazine-style publication.
Results, Results, Results
The strategy that has been outlined in the preceding
sections has been responsible for phenomenal
sales and profitability growth in our company over
the past number of years. Our company has
maintained a steady organic growth of
approximately 25% a year over the past five years
– with even higher growth in BC.
B C A M A M O Y A P P L I C AT I O N T I P S
Having been through the application process twice now (Ipsos-Reid was
a runner-up last year), there are a number of key suggestions we have for
companies wishing to apply for the BCAMA Marketer of the Year Award:
1. Make sure you have a compelling story. Look at what it is that differentiates
you from others in your sector. We decided early in the process to focus on
our core competitive advantages and build our story around this.
2. Assemble a small, core team to put the application together. At IpsosReid, the team consisted of two key people, who solicited the input
from about 10 to12 other individuals (from accounting, marketing, the
executive level as well as our regional practice leaders). A larger team
only bogs down the process, and exponentially increases the number
of hours required.
3. Make the application visually appealing. As a professional services
company, we know that presentation is often as important as the content
itself. Spend the time and effort ensuring your application reflects the
image you want your organization to be remembered for.
4. Include the extras. We included covering letters (from the CEO and
the Vancouver managing director), a fold-out display board with actual
examples of our DM campaigns, example copies of our products
(publications/reports), and a box of miscellaneous promotional items (golf
balls, letter openers, coffee mugs, etc., most of which were part of past
direct marketing campaigns).
5. Partner with an agency. In our case, it was Vision Critical, an Ipsos-Reid
spin-off company that specializes in e-business, web development, and
virtual reality. They put together an interactive CD-ROM as part of the
application, as well as our corporate video for the presentation the night
of the BCAMA MOY Award Event on October 3, 2001.
6. Focus on submitting a winning application, and no less. Putting together
a mediocre application is not worth your time and effort. Aim to win! And
good luck!
For information about the BCAMA MOY Award Process, visit www.bcama.com
marketline fall 2001
8 marketline fall 2001
This growth has been fuelled by increased sales
here in BC, across Canada, in the US and global
operations. This performance is exceptional,
considering the industry average for North America
is between 8% and 10% growth per annum.
This strategy has paid off in other, less tangible
ways as well:
• In excess of 30 direct marketing campaigns have
been executed, each achieving their breakeven
point as well as uncovering a significant number of
custom research opportunities.
• Successful rollout of Entice! culminated in 60
company-wide users, each contributing valuable
customer relationship data.
• Our database of leads and prospects has more
than doubled, to nearly 21,000 new leads
and prospects situated in the US and global
marketplaces.
• Over the course of 2000/2001, approximately
10,000 outbound pieces of mail resulted in an
average 10% response rate (as measured by our
call to action).
• E-REID, our opt-in, e-newsletter has grown from
zero subscribers in August 2000 to 2,150 people
at last count, of which 40% are a result of passalong readership.
• Our web site receives approximately 27,000
unique visitors per month, of which 10,000 go to
our media section — the most heavily visited
part of our web site by far.
• In total, we have received 139,000 unique
visitors to our web site up until May of this year,
an increase of 43% over the same time period
last year (97,000).
• Between January and June this year, we have
issued 105 news releases, compared with 146
releases for all of 2000, which is on track for a
55% increase this year.
• We have the lowest employee turnover rate in
the market research industry in North America
(15% compared with 30%).
• An extensive suite of new corporate collateral
materials was designed to reflect our name
change. Letterhead, presentations, reports,
proposals, and brochure templates were created
to stay in family with the Ipsos brand.
www.bcama.com
Our Local Presence
We are not just a global player with an office in
the Vancouver market. We have a significant local
presence here as well. The Western Business Unit
(WBU—Vancouver and Calgary) has consistently
been one of the most successful divisions in the
company, measured by profitability and growth
over a five-year period. Our sales in 2000 were up
26% over 1999, following two years of 40%
growth. So far this year, our sales are about 10%
higher than the year before, despite the challenging
business environment in BC.
The BC office maintains a significant lead over its
nearest competitor (being over twice the size of
the next largest research company), and currently
we have an estimated 40% share of research
spending in the BC market.
The success of the Western Business Unit is
centered around the core strategic vision for
our company overall, layered in with a locally
developed strategy. This includes focussing on
high growth sectors, building strong account
teams, and building strategic alliances in the
local marketplace.
Conclusion
As you can see, we aren’t your typical boring
research company. We are always trying to
challenge the norms of our industry. Again, it
comes back to values. The values that have driven
us to constantly examine the way we are doing
things and to identify ways that they can be
improved — values that have driven us to find
points of differentiation from our competitors.
marketline 9
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Barrister’s Solicitors
Patent & Trade Mark Agents
ADVERTISING, MARKETING
& COMPETITION LAW
Pre-clearance of advertising copy, contest and promotion clearance, pricing, discounts and related marketing practices legal advice, trademark and copyright clearance and registration.
We also provide legal services in the areas of merchandising, litigation, securities, licensing and technology law as well as all areas of
corporate, business and labour law.
Robert B Mackay*
Tel: (604) 682-3761 • Fax (604) 682-1291
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John G. Leckie
Tel: (604) 443-7603 • Fax (604) 683-3558
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Vancouver, BC V7X 1J1
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MONTREAL • OTTAWA • TORONTO • HAMILTON • WATERLOO REGION • CALGARY • VANCOUVER • MOSCOW
marketline fall 2001
10 marketline fall 2001
global expertise, local focus
www.bcama.com
career corner • marketline 11
CAREER CORNER
George Scott
Company Name
Vancouver Savings Credit
Union (VanCity)
Diana Ross
C a n a d i a n B ro a d c a s t i n g
Corporation
Kim Gordon
University of
British Columbia
Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and
Marketing. In addition to the marketing function,
I am also responsible for VanCity’s corporate
planning, public affairs, communications and
our corporate social responsibility strategy.
Communications Officer (Television). I work
with the Communications department on a
variety of community outreach activities and
events, helping to plan and implement them.
I also do some media relations, including writing
media releases and coordinating interviews to
promote programs and events.
Associate Director, High Performance and
Interuniversity Sport: I oversee all activities
related to the UBC Thunderbird athletic
program, including supervision of all coaching,
medical and administrative staff, budget
administration, marketing, communications
and promotions.
After university, I landed a job as a research
analyst at Credit Union Central of BC. We
provided marketing research services to BC
credit unions on a fee-for-service basis and
VanCity was one of our larger clients. It was an
easy transition for me to VanCity five years later
to take up a newly created position in their
marketing department.
I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography
but felt I needed more hands-on skills so I took
the Marketing Management program at BCIT
and graduated with the Communications option.
I then worked at a small business development
company, doing a variety of marketing and
public relations consulting for clients.
After completing a Phys. Ed. Degree, a fouryear stint as a member of Canada’s National
Rowing Team, and having two children, I took
a part-time job as a travel coordinator with
UBC Athletics. Through a gradual evolutionary
process, I became assistant intercollegiate
coordinator and ultimately Associate Director.
Never keep bad news a secret.
Volunteer! One person or event always leads
to another, and you will end up with a wealth
of contacts and varied experience. It’s a great
way to try out different roles to see if they really
are of interest to you.
Do what you love and stay at a job only as long
as you are learning something new.
What was or is
your biggest
career challenge?
Fighting the marketing stereotype that your
contribution is often undervalued. Marketers
have to know the business better than anyone
else does in order to succeed, but this is
not always seen or appreciated in an
operationally focused organization. You
have to be prepared to constantly struggle
to get your message out.
My biggest challenge at the moment is choosing
exactly what career path to take. There are so
many options that it’s tough to know what area
to focus on. I realize that you just have to keep
moving towards a goal with the understanding
that, if it doesn’t turn out to be what you had
wanted, you can move in a slightly different
direction later on.
The biggest challenge was, and still is, managing
change in the financially challenged world of
amateur sports. On the marketing front, the
biggest challenges have been keeping the
public, students and media interested at a time
when the region was being increasingly exposed
to professional sport.
Most: I enjoy feeling like I’m part of a national
institution, something that I’ve grown up with.
Most: Working in an energetic atmosphere
uniquely created by students.
What do you like
the most and the least
about your job?
The things I really like include the opportunity
to affect change and see the results of your
efforts, learning, the people and, in VanCity’s
case, the working environment and the
knowledge that you are working for a company
that takes its social purpose seriously. Dislikes?
There are simply not enough hours in the
day to accomplish everything in the way you
would like.
Least: There is a lot of administrative work to
take care of!
Least: The time it takes to effect change within
and among large universities.
What advice would you
give someone thinking
of entering your
line of work?
Number one is you will provide value to the
company if you really know the customer and
the market, to the extent that you become the
“go to” person for insight on customer behaviour,
market characteristics, etc. Second, maintaining
professional ethical behaviour lays the
groundwork for trust and productive
interpersonal relationships. Third, make your
boss' life easier.
Explore. I’ve had the opportunity to job shadow
some of my colleagues and that has been well
worth it. There’s a lot to learn here and I plan
to take full advantage of that!
I think that the first question anyone working
at a university has to ask themselves is do I have
a genuine concern for students? If the answer
is yes, then get involved as early as possible
and don’t be afraid to volunteer your time in
exchange for valuable experience and contacts.
Based on what I see, senior marketing roles in
Vancouver are in the area of $85,000 – $115,000.
The range is about $32,000 – $45,000 for an
entry-level Communications Officer’s position.
It’s a good stepping-stone to other marketing
and public relations positions.
Depending on education and responsibilities,
an experienced sport administrator with a wide
range of skills could range from $60,000 to
$100,000.
Title with brief job
description
Route to present job?
Best advice that
impacted
your career?
Salary Range
Expectations
marketline fall 2001
12 marketline fall 2001
In Memorium – Mark Montizambert 1961 – 2001
By Dave Montizambert, Sylvianne St.Onge
“In the face of great adversity the optimist will see a
challenge, the pessimist will see failure.”
– Winston Churchill
Mark Montizambert died on Sunday August 19, 2001 barely
Montizambert Photography was created by Mark when he was
three weeks after his fortieth birthday of a massive heart attack.
about twenty. There was no business plan, just a vision of the
He was out with friends, mountain biking on Grouse, doing
future. To be the best, to own his own studio, to work with cre-
what he loved, being out in nature and challenging himself.
ative people who dared to do more. These he accomplished
When Mark’s wife, Karen, died two years ago of cancer, Mark
with award winning commercial advertising photography.
was devastated. But he began to turn himself around and
Mark’s partner and brother, Dave, will continue Mark’s
started to become excited again about moving forward. This
photography legacy. The Montizambert Photography Studio,
challenge, this change excited him – there would be a new
Dave, and his partner, Sylvianne, are on a new adventure, a
beginning for him and his then one-year-old daughter, Elise.
path that dares them to create a future that they had not con-
At Mark’s wake, we were overwhelmed with the presence of
sidered before. Mark would have wished for them to be here,
colleagues, clients, and the support from this very strong
present, moving forward and excited about the future.
advertising/marketing community. A community that was
There is a trust fund that has been established for Elise. Should
shocked and stunned by Mark’s death. His gift to us may have
you wish to make a contribution, please address to:
been for all of us to be present, to find balance between family
“In trust for Elise Montizambert” at Montizambert Photography
and profession, and to continually challenge ourselves to
Inc., 245 Alexander Street, Vancouver BC V6A 1C2 Canada.
change, to dare, to continue...
t. 604.687.7770 f. 604.687.7663 www.montizambert.com
Vision 2001 — Lucky Winner
Congratulations to Juliet Lai of Telus who was the lucky winner of the return trip for two to New York on Cathay Pacific.
Juliet's name was drawn randomly from the BCAMA Vision 2001 evaluation survey respondents.
Developed and managed by Ipsos-Reid, the evaluation survey provides invaluable information to the Vision Steering
Committee in terms of feedback from conference attendees. This year, with the added incentive of a return trip to
New York, generously donated by Cathay Pacific, the response rate was over 50%.
Thank you to all that responded and provided valuable information to next year's Vision Steering Committee. See you
at the VISION 2002 Conference on Wednesday, May 8, 2002 at the Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina in Vancouver.
www.bcama.com
feature articles • marketline 13
ECONOMY TAKES DOWNWARD TURN –
WHAT DO YOU DO?
In the spring of 2001, The Vancouver Board of Trade rated Business Confidence at 6.50
out of 10, the highest value recorded since the survey began in the spring of 1999.
As we approach winter 2001, this figure has sagged to 4.74. With little optimism in the
economy, how do BC marketing professionals move forward from here?
Let’s turn to industry leaders from private, public and crown organizations and ask them
to share their insight as to what they do when the economy takes a downward turn.
C l e a r l y C r e a t i v e (Private)
Lori Patrick, President
P i v o t a l C o r p o r a t i o n (Public)
Brian Mitchinson, Director of Marketing Communications
B C H y d r o & P o w e r A u t h o r i t y (Crown)
Shawn Thomas, Sr. VP Marketing, Communications
and Public Affairs
marketline fall 2001
14 marketline fall 2001
By Lori Patrick, President, Clearly Creative
What do you do when the economy takes a downward turn?
A Private Company Perspective
As an owner of a private advertising and creative firm, my
experience with a downturn in the economy is like a “kick in
the butt”. It’s something that shakes things up and forces us
to “move our cheese” or to “look for new cheese”.1
In a market slowdown, some doors close causing revenue
to decline. It’s that simple. And no industry is immune —
from manufacturing to service-based companies to
government bodies. We are all forced to consider new
strategies and take new risks that re-ignite the economy
and get it moving again.
Today, as a relatively young agency in Vancouver, we target
small to medium size businesses (SMB). With corporations
reducing expenditures or putting plans on hold, and
provincial and federal governments going through major
changes, larger agencies and creative firms, who rely on
these budgets, are now targeting some of the same small to
mid-size companies that we do.
When the competition gets tougher in a downward market,
we get creative. There are a number of key strategies that
we employ that help us with our approach to rising above
fluctuations in the market.
Human Resources: We continue to build better relationships
internally. We try to communicate more openly with our
staff, making them feel more appreciated and secure. I have
often taken it for granted that every person thinks the same
way I do. "Our staff can handle it. Everyone is a risk taker.
They can bear the stress." This is not the case. We are
learning to pay closer attention to how our staff are doing
and try to keep them in the loop so they feel confident and
supported. It takes years to build a loyal team. Downsizing is
demoralizing and is considered a last resort. If a company is
operating as efficiently as it can with the best possible
resources and keeps this mandate regardless of the market,
then key staff will stick it out during rough times, and it is
important that we try our best to do the same.
Networking: We increase our networking opportunities. We
focus more on doing what we should be doing all the time
— getting out there and being visible, whether that be the
company, our human resources or our brand of services.
1
“Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson. A great book for anyone looking for a quick
lesson in addressing change and new opportunities.
www.bcama.com
New Markets: For the past two years, we have been targeting
new markets. With innovations in technology, the advertising
and marketing industry has seen huge advances in the ability
to work across borders and continents. Today, with the ease
of file transfer and online presentation, companies can remain
efficient by setting up low overhead satellite services and
planning orientated offices and access their marketing or
creative expertise from a central head office. These
possibilities have opened up market opportunities to
agencies and corporations by being able to compete globally.
It’s a Win Win – one way to help counter a local downturn in
the market and experience growth at the same time.
Marketing Initiatives: We make sure our own marketing
initiatives are at their peak. How many times have we heard
recently, "Our sales are down and my boss is sensing that
the economy is about to slow more so my marketing budget
has been cut." Reducing marketing initiatives such as lead
generation through advertising means losing position in the
market. With less exposure, customers are less likely to
remember you and less motivated to buy, and sales
inevitably decrease. It is critical to analyze your total
marketing strategy and how it relates to the overall sales
performance of your organization. Where are your leads
coming from? Is your sales team following up? Are your
customers being treated with respect? Are you really losing
sales because of a downturn in the economy?
Co-Marketing Initiatives: We look for more opportunities for
co-marketing ventures with other organizations. Building
strength together helps ride out the storm.
Bottom Line: We monitor expenses and shave where we can
in anticipation of slower times. Running the company
efficiently by watching expenditures during good times and
bad needs to be supported by all staff. Delivery of this
message is very important. Everyone needs to take
ownership in finding areas to save some money. Collectively,
we really can make a difference.
Self-fulfilling Prophecy: Making the downward trend of the
economy the main focus of our conversations just adds
more fuel to the fire. We get involved in talking about this
issue, which makes it a much larger issue, which then evokes
more fear in people, stops them from spending,
perpetuates the situation and therefore, prolongs a
downturn in the economy. The market will always fluctuate.
But businesses can continue to develop to new levels of
growth, even during a downward market. Stay positive.
feature articles • marketline 15
By Brian Mitchinson, Director of Marketing Communications,
Pivotal Corporation
What do you do when the economy takes a downward turn?
A Public Corporation Perspective
There are common steps a public company undertakes as it
develops a mature business model and gains market share.
This staircase of growth leads to a series of changes and
challenges, especially during a downward economy.
The traditional approach to gaining market share in an
upward economy is to hire more people and spend more
dollars on marketing to increase brand initiatives and lead
generation. In a downward market, the trend is to spend
less and cut costs, which often is a recipe for disaster as it
leaves a company ill-equipped to generate the demand and
sales needed to accelerate a company out of a downturn. In
order to succeed, companies need to maintain their current
levels of marketing expenditures to ensure they have the
resources to attack their current marketing challenges.
Maturing Spending Model
As a company increases its market share, it reduces the
percentage spent on marketing because of the company’s
maturing business model. This reduction is independent of
the fluctuations in the economy. The only justification for
decreasing marketing dollars is in accordance with the phase
your company is in as reflected in your business model.
Critical to understanding the phases of marketing new
products, R&D departments, particularly of technology
companies in the past few years, have produced new products
for the market place, which lead to a hyper marketing phase.
Many new companies in the high tech industry spent fifty to a
hundred percent of their revenues giving flight to new
products and brands. With increased market share and a much
larger revenue pool, decreasing what is spent on marketing
from fifty percent to thirty-five percent, for example, does not
mean that the actual dollars spent on marketing decrease. Or
that the positioning of your brand that resulted from a hyper
marketing phase will disappear. It does mean that your
business model allows you to now shift focus and adapt your
marketing strategies to a less hyper marketing phase,
regardless of whether the market is up or down.
Capturing Market Share
For many companies, this year has been erratic and at times
unpredictable. And at times like these, with more economic
uncertainty in the forecast, leadership is put to its biggest
test. It is critical to analyze your business model and ensure
that your team is solid with the best possible resources.
Through strong leadership and an unwavering focus on
growing your customer, partner, employee and solution
assets, you will weather this period of economic uncertainty.
companies in the playoffs for this
technology market space. And we are seeing this number
continue to shrink dramatically. As companies perform poorly
on the revenue side and leave the market, there are
opportunities to compete for an existing customer base.
Customers do not want to be left out in the cold and need a
company that is strong enough to offer them the best
resources available — a team that has made it to the playoffs.
In a weakened market, it is unlikely that you will change your
marketing mix, but you may want to rethink the types of
activities you employ. For example, about a year ago it was
very common to see high tech companies spending huge
dollars on very high end, sexy projects, such as flash-based
presentations, multi-media videos, and expensive ad
campaigns as a way to get their name out there. A year
later, these types of projects have decreased and, in some
cases, almost disappeared. What we see now is a lot less
sexy. More traditional activities like cost-effective lead
generation and upselling to an already established customer
base are by far more effective areas to target marketing
dollars. In tough times, you need to focus on meeting your
customer’s needs so that your competitors don’t try to. As a
result, companies, especially in a sagging economic climate,
need marketing solutions that promote improved productivity
and efficiency – solutions with strong bottom line impact on
revenues and costs.
The high tech industry is still growing rapidly, causing rapid
change in individual companies. This change is most apparent
in the messages that are delivered to the market. Not long
ago, everything was internet-based. Explosive opportunities
abounded through this medium and there was great pressure
for businesses to get onboard. The swing now is to a more
business-orientated focus to help companies develop avenues
to grow out of the current market downturn. As a matter of
course, companies are fervent on controlling costs and
monitoring expenses. Companies are working smarter,
especially where their marketing dollars are concerned.
The greatest test of a company’s economic maturity in tough
economic times lies in not compromising the future growth
of the company for short-term economic gain. Businesses
know that they need to approach marketing seriously and
sensibly in order to demonstrate strong growth and
profitability by balancing the need to operate efficiently,
while continuing to grow value propositions for their
customers.
The challenges of fiscal year 2001 have been many, but they
have deepened a more collective resolve to stay close to
what drives the market and customer value — solutions that
meet business needs, rapidly and cost effectively.
Three years ago, there were many start-up companies
burgeoning in the market place. The number of competitors
in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) space
alone was close to a thousand. There are now about thirty
marketline fall 2001
16 marketline fall 2001
key part of being a sustainable energy company. Conservation
reduces the need for additional power, which reduces the
social and environmental impacts of creating electricity.
Encouraging decreased consumption not only defers
expenditures for new acquisitions, but also provides our
organization with export-oriented market opportunities.
By Shawn Thomas, Sr. VP Marketing, Communications
and Public Affairs, BC Hydro & Power Authority
What do you do when the economy takes a downward turn?
A Crown Utility Perspective
The electric utility industry in North America is experiencing
tremendous change. Facing increasing complexities, this
regulated, infrastructure-based industry is becoming more
competitive in response to customers’ rising energy needs.
There is a call for more market access, new technology, and
there is the desire for competitors to enter the marketplace.
Many jurisdictions are just now beginning to understand
deregulation and are developing various models to create a
new marketplace for customers.
The North American utility system is made up of three
essential components: generation, transmission, and
distribution to the end customer. The inter-connected
nature of the transmission grid across North America
allows for an easy flow of electricity between the various
industry players, allowing excess transmission capacity to
be sold on the market. This is the context in which BC
Hydro has to operate and market to its customers. A
provincial crown corporation serving over 1.5 million
customers with nearly 6,000 employees, BC Hydro is one
of the largest electric utilities in the country and one of the
most multifaceted organizations in British Columbia.
As a rate-based, regulated monopoly, we are unique not
only in the types of products and services we market, but
also in the way we market these products and services. We
face different challenges than our private or public
counterparts as we move through different economic cycles.
The Impact of Market Swings
Since the BC Utilities Commission determines our rates, we
are indirectly impacted by swings in the economy. We are
more directly affected by operational costs and changing
market conditions. In the Pacific Northwest, the past three
years have seen a shift from low prices, adequate supply
and managed demand to high prices, supply constraints
and demand challenges. With these changing market
conditions, we redirected our marketing focus from
revenue-generating non-commodity products and services,
to providing demand-side management or energy
efficiency solutions.
Our Power Smart program is our most prominent energy
saving initiative and brand, and promoting conservation is a
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Marketing Initiatives vs. Economic Conditions
BC Hydro’s marketing initiatives follow a three-pronged
approach that reflects three customer groups:
1. Residential customers: encompass 1,397,926 accounts
and produced revenues of $892 million in fiscal 2001.
2. Large industrial customers: encompass 104 accounts and
produced revenues of $524 million in fiscal 2001
3. Light industrial and commercial customers: encompass
178,928 accounts and produced revenues of $866 million
in fiscal 2001.
While the tactics and executions of our marketing efforts
may be unique to each customer segment, the overall
objectives and messages remain consistent. No matter what
the economic conditions our marketing objectives include:
• helping customers efficiently consume electricity
• educating the public about electricity safety,
• garnering public support and consent to operate our
facilities and mitigate their impact
• communicating our community involvement and corporate
citizenship efforts
During economic downturns, it is important for us to help
our customers become as efficient as possible. We encourage
our customers to use less energy as this leads to increased
customer competitiveness and domestic competitive
advantage, and facilitates economic investment from within
our own province and from other markets.
Economic cycles have a tremendous direct impact on our
customer base, particularly the smaller commercial operations.
At BC Hydro, 97.8% of all our business customers are
small to medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are much more
volatile and susceptible to changing economic conditions
than their larger counterparts. As a result, SME owners are
preoccupied with efficiency and cost cutting measures.
During economic downtimes we focus on delivering
solutions that drive down consumption and create
customer efficiencies. For example, as part of our Power
Smart program, we are currently developing an online
audit for commercial buildings to identify potential energy
savings. Our new e-points program for commercial
customers rewards participants for reduced consumption.
These marketing efforts will help customers implement
energy-saving initiatives.
Industrial customers represent a big portion of our
revenues on a per customer basis, so in times of economic
marketline 17
downturn, we work to make them as efficient as possible.
Our new industrial Power Smart rate encourages them to
embark on energy-efficient upgrades.
For our residential customers, we launched a new, threeyear Power Smart campaign called the Home Energy
Learning Program (H.E.L.P.). This program is designed to
provide BC Hydro residential customers with information,
education and incentives to help them save energy and
money at home.
Delivering the Right Product
at the Right Time
In today’s world of technical innovation, information excess,
and economic turbulence, our marketing goal, is simple: to
deliver the right product to the right customer at the right
time. Customers are looking more and
more for suppliers who can demonstrate
a greater breadth of knowledge about their
industry and specific business. Customers want well
thought-out, customized, and comprehensive solutions
to their business or home energy needs.
Ultimately, by keeping our focus on our core business and
addressing customer expectations from the most basic
needs of product quality, reliability and trustworthiness to
the highest needs of strategic problem solving – in any
economic cycle – will breed success.
marketline fall 2001
18 marketline fall 2001
H e a d s u p Vo l u n t e e r s !
We now have a central contact
point for all volunteer interests.
Introducing Erin Robinson, our
Director of Volunteer Relations
— a new position created with
the volunteer in mind. Volunteers
are the lifelines of the BCAMA,
making things happen. Get
involved with the BCAMA, learn
what it's all about, and meet
some great people.
If you are interested in
volunteering, please contact
Erin at [email protected].
Also, keep your eyes on our
web site for many exciting
changes on the volunteer front.
Look for postings of our
volunteer requirements, along
with many other fantastic
suggestions of how you can get
involved. Thank you everyone
for your continued energy and
enthusiasm. We look forward to
hearing from you soon.
A Big Thanks
Volunteers of the BCAMA provide their talent, energy
and time to ensure our organization is the best it can be.
Jodi Fichtner is just one of the exceptional people working hard to make
the BCAMA an outstanding organization. A long-time volunteer, Jodi took
part in resurrecting the collegiate chapter at Capilano College serving as
Communications Director and is now an active member of the BCAMA web
development committee. This is Jodi’s third year with the committee. Her
credentials are equally impressive — Bachelor of Business Administration,
Marketing Diploma, and the UBC Internet Marketing Certificate. She is
currently working with Industrial-Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company in
their marketing group.
The BCAMA is honoured to have highly respected and recognized volunteers
such as Jodi Fichtner on our board and committees.
Thank you Jodi.
B C A M A H o n o u r s To p S t u d e n t
Each year the BCAMA has the privilege of honouring one outstanding
marketing student with a $1,000 scholarship. This year’s winner, Pokin
Yeung, is well on her way to branding herself as one of BC’s up and
coming marketers.
Pokin’s resume boasts of numerous prestigious marketing awards and
invaluable practical experience gained through her co-op terms at SFU.
She is also an active member of the SFU Student Marketing Association,
acting most recently as VP Communications. We congratulate Pokin and
wish her the best of luck as she continues to pursue a career in marketing.
For more information or to apply for the BCAMA 2002 Scholarship, please
contact Lisa Graff, Collegiate Relations Director at [email protected].
BCAMA Collegiate Members Capture Inter national Recognition
The BCAMA Collegiate Chapter members continue to make a difference by investing their time and energy to bring marketing
education and networking opportunities to their campuses. Not only are their efforts appreciated locally, but they have also
garnered international recognition for their outstanding marketing acumen.
Most recently, the American Marketing Association (AMA), honoured our SFU Student Marketing Association (SMA) with the
prestigious Collegiate Chapter of the Year award at the 22nd annual AMA Collegiate Conference last year in New Orleans.
The 38 SFU Business student members beat out 400 universities across Canada and the United States to be the first ever
Canadian chapter to win the title.
The Collegiate Relations committee hopes to continue to bring success to our chapters this year by focusing on uniting the
collegiate members more closely with our professional BCAMA members. We plan to increase long-term interest and
participation in the BCAMA by providing more volunteer and networking opportunities for students to gain valuable exposure
with industry leaders.
At the next BCAMA event, invite a student to sit, network and learn with you. These keen marketing minds are the future of
the BCAMA, possibly even the next industry gurus.
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marketline 19
BCAMA Membership Has Its Privileges
The American Marketing Association is
an international professional society for
members of the marketing community.
Founded over 50 years ago, the AMA
provides an educational and social forum
for marketers and is open to anyone
involved in the marketing industry. The
local BC Chapter has over 500 industry
professionals and 100 students. Our
international membership is quite
staggering with over 45,000 members.
The British Columbia Chapter of the
American Marketing Association
(BCAMA) is one of the most highly
regarded chapters of any in North
America based on our success in
membership, programming and financial
results. The BC Chapter won the
prestigious international “Chapter of the
Year Award” in 1995, 1996, and “Chapter
Excellence” in 1997.
The BCAMA provides its members with
various avenues to tap into marketing
expertise at local, national and
international levels.
Membership at BCAMA affords you free
subscriptions to Marketline and Marketing
News and exceptional networking
opportunities. Join us at www.bcama.com
to learn more about the benefits
membership provides.
Marketline is published quarterly
by the BC Chapter of the American
Marketing Association.
Marketline welcomes input from all BCAMA
members. If you have any suggestions,
ideas or contributions, send your emails to
Marketline Editor Donna Burton at
[email protected] or call 604.430.9585.
To advertise or sponsor Marketline, contact
Vice President & Director of Sponsorship
Sue Semeniw at [email protected]
or call 604.351.6614.
To become more involved in the BCAMA,
contact Director of Volunteer Relations
Erin Robinson at [email protected]
or call 604-641-1968.
To become a member of the BCAMA,
contact Director of Membership
Mary Milovac at [email protected] or call 604.641.1968.
BCAMA Calendar of Events
Thursday, November 22, 2001
Rethink Communications Inc.
Speaker: Chris Staples,
Creative Director and Founder
Topic: “How To Be A Great Client”
Location: Four Seasons Hotel,
791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Breakfast and Registration: 7:00AM – 7:45AM
Seminar: 7:45AM – 9:00AM
Tuesday, March 5, 2002
Rocky Mountaineer Rail Tours
Speakers: Graham Gilley, VP Marketing and
Terry O’Donovan, VP Communications
Topic: “A Marketing Perspective”
Location: Four Seasons Hotel,
791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Reception and Registration: 5:30PM – 6:30PM
Seminar: 6:30PM – 8:00PM
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
Pacific Newspaper Group, A Division of Southam
Publications, A Canwest Company
Speaker: Dennis Skulsky, President & Publisher
Topic: “The Evolving Role of Media”
Location: Four Seasons Hotel,
791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Reception and Registration: 5:30PM – 6:30PM
Seminar: 6:30PM – 8:00PM
Thursday, April 11, 2002
Breakfast Seminar - TBD
Thursday, February 7, 2002
POLLARA Inc. and the Professional Marketing
Research Society
Speaker: Michael Rodenburgh, VP Client Services
Topic: “Look Before You Leap: Understanding
Marketing Research And What It Can Do
For You”
Location: Four Seasons Hotel,
791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Breakfast and Registration: 7:00AM – 7:45AM
Seminar: 7:45AM – 9:00AM
To register for any of these events, visit us at
www.bcama.com.
Wednesday, May 8, 2002
Vision 2002 Conference - TBD
June 2002
BCAMA AGM Wrap Up Party - TBD
To register for a BCAMA event or to obtain
information regarding upcoming events,
call the BCAMA Office at 604.683.7718
or visit us at www.bcama.com.
Opinions expressed are not necessarily
endorsed by the BCAMA, its officers or staff.
Contact us at anytime at:
The BCAMA Office
PO Box 3019, 349 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 3X5
Telephone: 604.683.7718
Fax: 604.683.7547
Email: [email protected]
www.bcama.com
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If you or your organization is looking to fill marketing, advertising, communications or public relations
positions, this is your opportunity to be seen by our members, representing BC’s top industry
professionals. Visit us at www.bcama.com today for more information.
Printed on Luna Matte 80lb Book
Paper
Copyright 2001 by the B C Chapter of the
American Marketing Association.
Printed in Canada.
marketline fall 2001
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