I’ve just read a very interesting series of blog posts by Allen Mitchell, where he talks about how marketers have made a BIG error – a misperception – that pervades everything marketers do. And OMG he doesn’t hold back on marketing’s traditional belief systems.

But, what is this whopping great big marketing error?

Image from Ralph Buckley

Well, it’s our industry’s belief that marketing is a ‘stimulus-response’ activity where marketers send out various types of stimuli to consumers, whose attitudes and behaviours are then changed, to elicit certain desired responses. I think I have to agree.

Because on this, Allen thinks marketing is suffering from a bad case of schizophrenia.

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According to the Australian Marketing Institute’s latest Directors Report and Annual Accounts, it made a net operating loss of $176,072 for the year ending 30^th June 2009 compared to a surplus of $92,340 in the previous year.

It details an operating loss built on the back of a net increase in membership of 2.8%, a 15.7% net increase in Certified Practising Marketer’s (CPM) and a 9% increase in function revenue. The loss means that the Institutes cash reserve has now been reduced by nearly a third.

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According to Jack Neff, a report due out next week from Forrester will recommend changing the name “brand manager” to “brand advocate,” and fundamentally change marketing organisations in response to the onset of the digital age.

Putting the onus on marketers to change their organisations structures to cope with an increasingly complex world of media fragmentation and rising retailer and consumer power.

Read more of Jack’s article…

I now don’t feel alone. It looks like the people from the New Institute are joining the conversation about seeing the city of Newcastle as a brand with a public forum at Merewether’s Souths Leagues Club. I believe the forum starts at 7pm, Tuesday 13th October.

Imagine seeing Newcastle as a prosperous and successful city…

Imagine Newcastle as a city that supports thriving manufacturing, service, defence and education sectors, boasting the finest art galleries, theatres and sporting arena’s.

Imagine a city that is, after Sydney, the most popular tourism destination in Australia.

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This week the Australian Marketing Institute announced the 11 successful NSW councillors to represent their fellow NSW AMI members.

It is a shame that there isn’t any representives from NSW’s second largest city or the Hunter AMI Group.

Here are the NSW councillors for 2009/10:

• President: Paul Nicolaou AFAMI CPM
• Deputy president: to be advised
• Christopher Mooney AFAMI CPM (state director to National Board)
• Nicholas Ridis FAMI CPM
• Sean Grant AFAMI CPM
• Louise Nock AFAMI CPM
• Frank Cohen AFAMI CPM
• William Scully-Power AMAMI
• Alan Sarkissian FAMI CPM
• Martyn Riddle AMAMI CPM
• MaryJane Aviles AMAMI CPM
• Michael Locke AFAMI CPM

Community, sharing, conversation, experimentation, engagement and collaboration have a couple of things in common. One is social media and the other is the ‘Age of Conversation’ series of marketing books.

Spurred on by the authors of The Age of Conversation and the follow-up edition, The Age of Conversation 2: Why Don’t They Get It, Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton chief instigators have put a call out for 300 authors to join them in a NEW collaborative book – Age of Conversation 3.

Normal rules apply. One topic, author’s release, 400 word article and all proceeds donated to charity.

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