AT&T's CMO Cathy Coughlin Talks Innovation, And How The Brand Is Evolving

CMOs are often viewed as???and feel under the gun to be???change agents within their organizations. Yet that mantle is a tough one to wear when the brand at hand has a storied history. Preserving that history, that brand equity, while simultaneously evolving the brand, becomes an elusive goal. That challenge was explored at the latest ...

I like the title of this year’s conference: Innovate or Die. I’m a gerontologist, and you know — frankly — that’s what we think about every day. Things like human mortality and how to innovate around it.

Defining brand advocacy and examining the ways to create it were the focal points of our latest Forbes CMO Salon, ?The CMO As Advocate-In-Chief,? held in and moderated by Forbes Chief Officer . Marketing leaders such as Al Saltiel, CMO of Navistar; Dave Schneider, VP global marketing at Apollo Global; Larry Wegner, director of global ...

How do you define brand engagement, and what is the CMO?s role in fostering that? Those were questions answered at the latest Forbes CMO Salon, ?The Most Engaging CMO: What are the fundamentals of creating rich interactions and passionate engagement with consumers?? held recently at Forbes headquarters in . Marketing chiefs including Shauna Brook, VP ...

Guest blog post by Simon Szykman, Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of CommerceYou missed it! The Department of Commerce's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) hosted its inaugural Innovating Security Conference to increase knowledge and awareness of various initiatives, exchange information and ideas, and engage in discussions on ways to further protect and strengthen the security posture of the department’s information systems. Facing security threats that are evolving and growing in sophistication, while at the same time anticipating a constrained outlook for the future due to budget pressures, it is imperative for organizations across the department to pursue improvements in both efficiency and effectiveness by examining operations, collaborating on common objectives, improving information sharing, and identifying opportunities to leverage one another’s independent activities. The two-day conference is one means of moving toward a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness by emphasizing internal collaborations and open dialogue. The conference included participation and invited speakers from Commerce, as well as from other federal agencies and the private sector, in order to leverage their best practices, lessons learned and knowledge in areas related to information system security. In addition to keynote and panel sessions, service offerings of Commerce internal service providers as well as industry vendors were highlighted during the event.

Guest blog post by Dr. Rebecca Blank, Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce.I just returned from the White House Business Council American Economic Competitiveness Forum on Manufacturing where I had an opportunity to hear from a group of American manufacturers—representing businesses of all sizes from across the country—about how the Obama Administration can continue to support them as they build things here and sell them everywhere. As we have seen in recent months, manufacturing is one of the bright spots for our economy. Over the past 2 ½ years, more than half-a-million manufacturing jobs have been created in the U.S. – the strongest job growth in that sector since the 1990s.  In fact, just last month, an additional 25,000 new manufacturing jobs were added.In terms of production, manufacturing output is up 20 percent since 2009, and increased again in July. One manufacturing sector that has been consistently strong is the motor vehicles and parts industry, which has added 165,000 jobs since June 2009— a sector that might not even exist in the US today if not for the assistance this Administration gave to the U.S. auto industry in 2009.This matters because we know that manufacturing jobs are good jobs that pay more than average and provide greater benefits. They strengthen economic security for middle class families.There is a powerful link between America’s ability to make things and America’s ability to innovate, compete, and create good jobs. We have come to realize that you can’t separate innovation and production—they have to sit near each other.  Manufacturers perform 70 percent of all private sector R&D, investing in and producing technological advances that accounted for 90 percent of U.S. patents.  Economic research indicates that innovation – in new products or new processes – was central to three-quarters of the nation’s economic growth since World War II and it is not an accident that the manufacturing sectors where America is most competitive are all advanced manufacturing, where new technologies, new products or new production processes are central to the success of specific firms.

VideoLast week I met with Target Corp.'s new executive VP and CMO, Jeff Jones, in a Brooklyn Target store. He discussed his goals for the retail brand, the expertise he brings to the role, and Target's point of difference, defined in its brand promise, as he called it, "Expect More, [...]

This afternoon, Commerce Secretary Bryson delivered keynote remarks at the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) 2012 Annual Members conference, where he discussed the importance of the steel industry and the Administration’s efforts to support U.S. manufacturers. As the Secretary said, this Administration understands the importance of supporting U.S. manufacturers. When President Obama came into office, the United States was at risk of losing over 1 million auto industry jobs. The ripple effect on the supply chain would have been devastating, potentially eroding the U.S. manufacturing base and driving the economy from a deep recession into depression. Instead, due to the President’s leadership, the auto industry survived and is now thriving, adding more than 200,000 jobs over the last two-and-a-half years. There is an inextricable link between America’s ability to produce and America’s ability to innovate, compete and create jobs. Manufacturing is responsible for 70 percent of U.S. private sector R&D, 90 percent of patents, and 60 percent of our exports. In addition, the Commerce Department released a report just last week showing that manufacturing workers earn pay and benefits about 17 percent higher than other workers.