Qorvis Communications

Diplomacy (n.) the conduct by government officials of negotiations and other relations between nations.

By definition, the work of diplomacy has always been wrapped in the inherent ability to communicate. The impending national U.S. elections serve as the perfect example of the importance encased in a candidate’s capacity to relate – not only with fellow lawmakers and politicos, but also with the American public.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, NC.  During my week at the DNC, I interfaced, mixed and mingled with some of the most well-known movers and shakers of the political world. 

This was my first on the ground experience at a political nominating convention.  I learned very quickly about three critical rules of the road:

When Amazon launched its new version of Kindle Fire and I was impressed with CEO Jeff Bezos' candor - "We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices," he said with refreshing honesty.  The Kindle’s low price and thin profit margin is underwritten by the fact you cannot get Amazon’s launch icon off the main screen.  With the device, Bezos is betting that you are more likely to buy something because Amazon’s storefront is integrated into your infotain

We were fortunate enough to host Amy Drill from Coca-Cola at Qorvis headquarters on Wednesday night. Amy is an expert on how consumers interact with Coca-Cola’s brand and products.

Her presentation covered how Coca-Cola markets to different generations through mobile devices. It provided real-world examples of Coca-Cola’s strategy to target Teens, Millennials and Gen-X Moms.

Q1 2012 Trends in Marketing Management

I spent the entire first quarter meeting with various MarComm executives to understand how their plans for 2012 had evolved since their September planning sessions. The bottom line that I took away is that marketing is getting serious again.