A marketing forum in June will offer companies practical strategies for navigating this complex business environment. Sponsored by the American Home Furnishings Alliance, the June 17-19 meeting at the Myrtle Beach Marriott at Grande Dunes is titled, “Fast-Moving Consumers, Shifting Strategies: Rules for Marketing in a Down Economy.” It is open to all industry executives who are accountable for marketing investments.
“Tough times make effective marketing initiatives imperative. Yet, within our industry, marketing is commonly viewed as a discretionary expense,” notes Jackie Hirschhaut, AHFA’s vice president of public relations and marketing. “Some companies are making wholesale cuts, while others are investing in key areas in order to emerge stronger when consumer spending rebounds.”
Speakers for the June 17-19 meeting will help attendees optimize marketing dollars. “This is no time to do things the way they’ve always been done,” says Hirschhaut. “This program will help executives explore new strategies and develop pragmatic tactics for giving their products and brands a competitive advantage when the economy, and consumer spending, recovers.” Presentations include:
- Navigating the Economic Crisis. This national consumer research report from DYG Inc. will be presented by DYG Senior Associate, Jane Turner, and followed by a group exercise in which Turner will help attendees interpret and apply the social trend data to claim a meaningful and profitable place in today’s market.
- Efficiency is the New Green. In its continuing effort to help companies traverse the rocky terrain of “green” marketing, AHFA has invited Suzanne Shelton of the Shelton Group to share her insights on shifting consumer perceptions of “sustainability” and sustainable product choices. The Shelton Group conducts four proprietary consumer opinion studies annually, all designed to track consumer perceptions of energy efficiency and sustainability. One of those studies was recently referenced in a USA Today story on what has become known as “the Snackwell Effect.” According to this “Snackwell Effect,” just as dieters sometimes binge low-calorie cookies, people who buy energy-efficient items for their homes sometimes sabotage their efforts to conserve energy by using the appliances more heavily.
- Home Entertainment and Home Office Trends. The Consumer Electronics Association is the most comprehensive source of sales data, forecasts, consumer research and historical trends for the consumer electronics industry. Steve Kidera, CEA’s communications coordinator, will bring news on emerging product trends and changing technology that will impact furniture design.
- What Consumers Want Next in a Home. Kelly Kegans, assistant deputy editor of Better Homes & Gardens, will share consumer insights about home renovations and decorating derived from the magazine’s recent national online survey. The study revealed that today’s buyer is looking for a home that is “right-sized, organized and economized.”
- Channeling the Power of Social Media. Is your company ready to enter the world of global, word-of-mouth marketing? A world in which social media, digital marketing and new technologies build brands and influence consumers? Rohit Bhargava, a digital strategy expert and a founding member of the 360 Digital Influence team at Ogilvy Public Relations, will serve as guide into this new world. He is the author of “Personality Not Included,” a manual for using personality to reinvent your marketing, and he publishes the Influential Marketing blog (rohitbhargava.typepad.com), ranked among the top 50 marketing blogs in the world.
- Marketing to Boomer Women. Providing a voice for the opinions, experiences and perspectives on all things “boomer,” the Boomer Blog is another product of revolutionary, 21st century marketing. This leading-edge, marketing-to-boomer initiative was launched by Eileen Marcus, senior vice president and senior partner of Fleishman-Hillard. Her blog offers white papers, case histories, book excerpts and a daily digest of “boomer news you can use,” all of which she will condense into a lively presentation for furniture marketing executives attending the June meeting.
Completing the agenda are a session on search engine optimization led by Mike Bernstein, president of manufacturer services for FurnitureDealer.net, and a marketing case study. Renee Loper of aspenhome will discuss the company’s cause marketing effort with the City of Hope.
Registration is $900 ($700 for AHFA member companies) and includes dinner June 17, breakfast and lunch on June 18 and breakfast June 19. The program opens with a PR Workshop from 1-5 p.m. June 17. Sessions continue from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 18 and from 8 a.m. to noon on June 19. An optional “Retail Safari” is slated from 1-5 p.m. June 19. The cost is $125 and includes lunch and dinner. An online registration form is available at www.ahfa.us under the EVENTS tab.
Hotel reservations should be made directly with the Marriott at Grande Dunes by May 24 to receive a discounted group rate. Call 800/228-9290 for reservations.
The American Home Furnishings Alliance – located in High Point, N.C., and Washington, D.C. – is the largest association of home furnishings companies in the world and represents more than 240 leading furniture manufacturers and distributors, as well as nearly 200 suppliers to the furniture industry worldwide.