BrandSmart 2010: From WOM to Lady Gaga

What do WOM marketing, low-budget, community-based marketing, keeping an eye on the future, and Lady Gaga have in common?

All will be highlights of Thursday’s BrandSmart 2010 thought-provoking sessions and discussions. Click here for the full agenda.

Word of mouth (WOM) marketing, and the control brand marketers gained over it, will garner attention through Dave Kissel, partner at Zocalo Group, and his presentation “Word of Mouth Marketing: The Most Powerful Form of Influence Is Now The Newest Way to Build Brands.” Sharon Feigon, CEO of I-GO Car Sharing will spotlight how her company was able to build awareness and grow a diverse membership base with a relatively small budget – a topic all marketers can take something away from, given organizations’ general budget tightening over the last 18-24 months.

Following lunch, FedEx Services Vice President Len Hostette will deliver the afternoon keynote. Len will draw on his experience at FedEx to demonstrate how the company has remained relevant by focusing on the future – more specifically, focusing on what is important to the company’s next generation of customers and employees.

And Lady Gaga? She will be discussed by Jon Pollock, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Polaroid. Earlier this year, Polaroid announced a partnership with Lady Gaga for the entertainer to serve as creative director for a specialty line of the company’s imaging products. How is the partnership between a 70-year-old brand and a 20-something British pop superstar going? Join us at BrandSmart to find out more.

The day will also feature even more relevant topics in the areas of innovation, engagement strategies, and social media.

See you there!

(These topics are great, but don’t forget about the awards – brand marketer’s version of the red carpet! During lunch, peers will be honored in the categories of consumer, business-to-business, non-profit, new product launch, small budget, and pure digital.)