After an interesting performance art display by....Red Man Group? American Marketing Association CEO, Dennis Dunlap officially opened the Mplanet 2006 event this morning by saying, "This is not your father's AMA."

Dennis said the planning for Mplanet began over two years ago. The AMA asked their membership what they wanted in this next-generation event. What AMA members wanted was smaller groups and the ability to interact with thought leaders and industry experts. The speaker's roster for Mplanet 2006 is a result of listening to their members. There will be thought leaders and experts, but mixed in will be concrete takeaways that members will be able to immediately integrate in to their efforts.

Dennis said the marketing world has been rocked by seismic changes. He reviewed some of the shifts that have occurred:

- Empowered Consumers
- New Media Ubiquity
- Advanced Fragmentation
- Channel Power
- Mass Customization
- More Commoditization
- Globalization
- Profitable Growth Quest

One of the goals of Mplanet is to help attendees deal with these issues and prepare for the future of marketing. From the social media perspective Dennis said, "To some extent, marketers no longer own their brand, the customers do."

We are at an interesting point in marketing Things started with the Production Era, i.e. you could just produce a good product and get sales. This evolved into the Sales Era, i.e. an effective marketing and sales campaign could garner results. Today we're in the Marketing Customer Era, i.e. knowing what the customer wants/needs and marketing directly to them.

Half of Fortune 100 companies now have a CMO. This brings increased expectations of marketing. This is great for the industry, but with this increased emphasis the importance of metrics and ROI are more crucial than ever.

Dennis then outlined some basic strategies that can lead marketers forward in this new age.

Start a fire, then carry the torch
The CMO should in some ways be the Chief Innovation Officer. Marketing should lead innovation.

Wear the customer's shoes, create a path for them
The marketing department should know the most about customers. You must deliver what the customers. How do you know what they want? Research, know your customers!

Measure with precision and prove your mettle
CEOs expect marketing measurement. The credibility of marketing hinges on addressing measurement.

Run a sprint AND a marathon
This is an inescapable reality. Public companies are always looking short term, i.e. the end of the quarter, but also the long-term needs. Marketers must master this dual agenda.

Know who you are and create who you want to be

Dennis feels this is the most important strategy. The external world is changing faster than companies are internally. Coordination with IT and HR is very important to marketers.

Most companies claim to be customer-driven, but when you look at them they are usually organized about the bottom line, channels, etc. Marketing must lead the charge to make this change to a customer-driven model.