I just returned from keynoting the eighth annual Texas MBA Women in Business Leadership Conference held in Austin last week.  It was such a great event - attended by McCombs women, alumni, and friends.  Preparing for the speech gave me a chance to reflect on my career as a woman in business, and it was fascinating to share stories along with the other panelists and speakers.  

The logo for the conference inspired me to reflect on the symbolism that shoes have for women.  And not just any shoes, but elegant and sleek almost-too-high heels.  The ability of shoes like these to instantly communicate to women is undeniable.  You know you're one of us, it says.  An irresistible invitation to connect with other like-minded women.  This is elemental targeted marketing.

I became friends for life with Ann Sulkowski Marsh when she and I were at Kellogg together.  Even today, I remember how her shoes inspired and accelerated my own love of them.  She shopped at Jacobson's in Michigan, and her shoes were beautiful.  I yearned for the budget to own shoes like Ann.
 
The day I got an email from Nordstrom, pairing my favorite clothing brand - Eileen Fisher - with my favorite shoe brand - Stuart Weitzman - was such an interesting day for me.  As a customer, I was thrilled.  As a marketer, I was intrigued.  Did they really understand my purchasing behavior and put that program together?  Or do these brands have an affinity for each other, and they just guessed?  Or a happy accident?  It hasn't happened again, and my disappointing conclusion is that my shopping behavior was not the trigger.  But it gave me hope.
 
I marvel at the missed opportunities to put two and two together in a meaningful way for customers.  How often our favorite brands and companies market to us as if they have no clue about what we buy or how we behave.  My highest levels of exasperation come when my bank spends the money to send me an invitation to use online banking services.  Could it be that hard for them to check and see that I have been a power online banking user for years?
 
McCombs reputation continues to grow as a marketing center and I have to say I was impressed with what I saw.  In this tough economy, campus recruiting is not business as usual, yet several of these talented women were weighing offers from Dell, P&G, General Mills, Dr. Pepper, Essilor and Frito-Lay. 

Special thanks to Kristin Hibner for inviting me to speak, and thanks to Lauren Burton, Andrea Shortell, Marcy Copeland, Caroline Ewing, Lindsay Duran and Melissa Sprinkle for their tireless efforts in putting together an inspirational conference.  Thanks also to Professor Vijay Mahajan, for meeting me for coffee and engaging in a lively conversation about CMOs, and also delighting me with his "intuition" about female CMOs and the special qualities they bring to organizations. 

http://blogs.mccombs.utexas.edu/alumni-news/2009/02/23/alison-heiser-former-cmo-of-banta-and-kimberly-clark-addresses-wblc-%e2%80%9cthere-are-no-rules%e2%80%9d/#more-2219