Chief Marketing Officer Conference 2011

Summary
This report from the CMO Conference in New York is based on the presentation of Arun Sinha, former CMO of Zurich Financial Services. He describes how Zurich reorganised its many insurance brands under a single identity and renewed its customer focus via its Zurich HelpPoint initiative. The process began with a global research project which revealed people's mistrust of and distaste for insurance companies. The HelpPoint positioning countered this, presenting Zurich as an insurer that would care for and support its customers when it mattered. The rollout of the program, spanning 60,000 employees in 170 countries, began in September 2008, with a new global platform in place by 2010. To track the progress of HelpPoint, Zurich established a common global measurement of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Summary
Tom O'Toole, SVP/COO of Mileage Plus Holdings at United Continental Holdings, discussed loyalty programs at the New York CMO Conference in 2011. Mileage Plus is the largest travel loyalty program in the world and O' Toole explained that loyalty programs have expanded to beyond simply rewarding customers for their use of a product or service to include oversight of data analytics, targeted marketing, customer channels, deals/offers, new mobile offerings, burgeoning social commerce, and a variety of payment systems. Practical imperatives that drive such CRM programs include robust analytics, segmentation and targeting, multi-channel platforms, evolving consumer-value proposition, IT enablement and enterprise approach.

Summary
After leaving the ecommerce world in the 90s, Levi Strauss & Co, the clothing retail company most associated with jeans, returned to the channel in 2006. Larry Ruff, Levi's chief strategy officer, spoke at the North American CMO conference in New York in 2011 about the change in strategy. Digital interactive opportunities had been critical drivers in the company's conversion from a decentralized, regionally run structure to a globally managed model. In order to drive participation, the company now puts a premium on navigation and people, as well as product. This has also led to new creative built around storytelling, and social networking. Ruff details how new technology has altered Levi's business and organisational models in the areas of leadership, retail partners, empowerment of digital teams, and how they connect with consumers.