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Marketing Monthly CRS Director Cheryl Bridges Receives

2012 Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching

April 2012: Vol. 7, Issue 3

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Manjit Yadav, Bill Pride, Clarissa Means, Kelly Haws, Allan Chen, Steve McDaniel (in back), Cheryl Bridges, Rajan Varadarajan, Kelli Hollinger, and Regina Gomez (and more) gathered to celebrate Cheryl’s Award.

As is traditional, Cheryl was notified by Dean Jerry Strawser, in the midst of teaching a class, that she had been selected to receive the 2012 TAMU Association of Former Students Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching. At the Mays Business School, involving the students in the celebration of their teachers having been selected for prestigious honors and awards is a long-standing tradition. Having grown up in College Station, and having attended K-12 at schools on the TAMU campus, Cheryl was delighted to learn that she had been selected to

receive this high honor, reserved for the best among the best teachers at Texas A&M University. Having chosen a career path in retailing, and serving as Director of the Center for Retailing Studies since 2006, Cheryl’s love of teaching and retailing have combined to make her an outstanding instructor and mentor for our marketing and retailing students.

Dr. Rajan Varadarajan, Head of the Department of Marketing, notes: “Cheryl enjoys a reputation as an outstanding teacher who upholds high academic standards, is demanding of

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Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching

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(cont.) her students, demonstrates a high level of commitment, dedication and passion for excellence in teaching, and is remarkably effective in motivating the students to be eager and committed learners. She employs a wide array of pedagogical tools that she employs to enhance the students’ learning experience.”

Dr. Stephen McDaniel, Professor of Marketing and Director of the M.S Program in Marketing remarks: “Cheryl Bridges is the consummate educator. Blessed with a high level of intelligence and with twenty-five years of industry experience, Cheryl is absolutely wonderful in the classroom and as a resource for students. She has a strong inner drive for

learning and for transmitting that knowledge to others. …Her students also appreciate her caring nature and the extra time she spends with them. … She always has time for students and takes advantage of every opportunity to teach. I have been impressed with the learning opportunities she provides for students. Cheryl works tirelessly to bring in senior-level retailing executives to speak, not only in her classes, but also the classes of other professors.”

Kelli Hollinger, Associate Director of CRS, remarks: “You’d be amazed at the number of students in touch with Cheryl years after graduation, still seeking her advice.”

MS Marketing News: Six Degrees, a MS MKTG student-run marketing agency, developed a marketing campaign to promote the 2012 Honda Civic Coupe to their school to increase awareness of and purchase consideration for the Civic Coupe, while positioning Honda as a cutting-edge, cool brand.

To celebrate the school’s move to the SEC and

the New Aggie Road Trip Tradition, Six Degrees threw the school’s first SEC tailgate featuring the Honda Civic Coupe on campus March 27.

The campaign is part of the Honda Civic Coupe Marketing Competition, a program designed to give students a unique, real-world business experience

by asking them to design and implement an integrated marketing communications plan. “Working on this project has exposed me to several areas of marketing in which I did not have prior experience. I am learning vital skills in the areas of event planning, advertising, and social media,” said Maria Sommer, Agency Coordinator for Six Degrees.

Each of the 20 schools across the country participating in the Honda Civic Coupe Marketing Competition are competing against one another for the opportunity to present their ideas to Honda executives at the term’s conclusion.

MS-Marketing students Rusty Sugg, Jamie Jahns, Jarred Kelley, Heather Robinson, Avanti Upponi, Lindsey Wells, Larisa Kovalenko, and Maria Sommer

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Charles Futrell Featured in Aggieland 2011

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Treating others as you would like to be treated, also known as the Golden Rule, is a philosophy that helps maintain personal and professional relationships. For Dr. Charles Futrell, however, that philosophy is more than a type of glue that keeps people together. It’s a way of life. Futrell began his teaching career as a marketing professor at Texas A&M on the University’s 100th birthday. He had taught at Texas A&M at Corpus Christi, but wanted to get to a larger school. As an added incentive, his father was a former student, and he felt like the institution had much to offer.

“I applied for the job and they hired me,” Futrell said. “It was God bringing me here.”

Futrell was not always a man of faith. “Before my conversion, I disliked anybody of

faith,” Futrell said. However, in a moment of great financial stress, his outlook changed drastically.

“On Christmas Eve I had to get out of the house,” Futrell said. “I knew of a particular church that was having a service, and I just

needed to get out.” After the service, Futrell dedicated his life to God.

Futrell said he enjoys seeing students maintaining their Christian faith, especially at Breakaway, a popular on-campus ministry.

“I’m a big believer in Breakaway,” Futrell said. “It’s proof that the Holy Spirit is really on this campus.”

In the classroom, Futrell teaches his students about the Golden Rule and its importance in the business world.

“Almost all cultures teach some version of the Golden Rule,” Futrell said.

Conscious of the diversity at Texas A&M, Futrell gives his students multiple cultural explanations of this rule, emphasizing the value of honoring it in the business world. Treating others with the respect that you would personally like to receive is a widely accepted practice.

“Telling others about the Golden Rule is what God wants me to do, so that’s what keeps me going,” Futrell said. “He’s done so much for me, so it’s the least I could do for him.”

THE GOLDEN RULE Charles Futrell, a professor of marketing, teaches business ethics and faith-based marketing in the classroom and as his life philosophy. Story by Shelby Olive Photo by Doug Klembara

The following article was published in Texas A&M’s yearbook, Aggieland 2011: true to each other.

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Seventh Annual Marketing Research Camp Agenda

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Friday, April 13, 2012 7:15 – 8:00 am Continental Breakfast (Atrium, Cox Hall) 8:00 – 8:15 am Welcome Remarks (Wehner, 190)

Jerry Strawser, Dean and KPMG Chair in Accounting, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University Rajan Varadarajan, Head of Department, Distinguished Professor of Marketing, and Ford Chair in Marketing and E-Commerce, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University Venky Shankar, Marketing PhD Program Director and Professor and Coleman Chair in Marketing, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University

8:15 – 9:30 am Gerard Tellis, Neely Chair of American Enterprise and Professor of

Marketing, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California Does Chatter Really Matter? The Validity and Usefulness of Online Generated

Data 9:30 – 9:45 am Coffee Break (Atrium, Cox Hall) 9:45 – 11:00 am K. Sudhir, James L. Frank '32 Professor of Private Enterprise Management

and Professor of Marketing, School of Management, Yale University Does Reducing Spatial Differentiation Increase Product Differentiation? The

Effects of Zoning on Retail Entry and Format Variety 11:00 – 11:15 am Coffee Break (Atrium, Cox Hall) 11:15 – 12:30 pm Rebecca Hamilton, Associate Professor of Marketing, Smith School of

Business, University of Maryland When Dividing Prices Multiplies Customer Expectations 12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch (Cocanougher Center, 183) 1:30 – 2:45 pm Yan Liu, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Mays Business School, Texas A&M

University A Structural Model of Consumers’ Learning of Channel Quality: The Role of

Product Returns 2:45 – 2:50 pm Wrap-up and Concluding Remarks by Venky Shankar

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Marketing Student Garners Swimming Medals

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Alyssa Conner shows her medals (mettle?)

Dr. Busch’s student assistant, marketing senior Alyssa Conner, has been racking up some impressive wins of late. Alyssa’s TAMU swimming career highlights and accomplishments include: • Team Captain for the 2011-2012 season • Won the Elite 88 Award at last year’s NCAA

Championships (2011). The Elite 88 award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA championships.

• At the 2012 Big 12 Championships held this past February, she was 2nd in the 400 Individual Medley, 6th in the 500 freestyle, and 8th in the 1650 freestyle.

• Was an Academic All-American all four years as a member of the Texas A&M Women’s Swimming & Diving Team.

• She has also qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in the 400 Individual Medley and the 200 backstroke. Trials will be held this summer in Omaha, Nebraska from June 25-July 2.

Steve McDaniel has been selected as the recipient of the 2012 Bush Excellence Award for Faculty in International Teaching.

Since 2006, Steve has been serving as the Lead Faculty Member for MKTG 402/IBUS 402 (Marketing Study Abroad) and MKTG 403/IBUS 403 (International Market Entry Strategies) and he became Director for the Study Abroad Program of the Department of Marketing in 2007. Both of these courses are offered each year during the summer term. During the six years that Steve has led these courses, close to 500 students have benefited from enrolling in each of them.

The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation event at which Steve will be honored and presented with the award is scheduled for April 18, 2012. Congratulations to Steve on his selection for this richly deserved honor and recognition.

Steve McDaniel

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more Career Fair photos next page

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Texas A&M Collegiate Sales Contest March 2 & 3, 2012

The Collegiate Sales Contest, which took place in early March, continues to get bigger and better every time it’s held. The event, which ran like clockwork, started off with a banquet on Friday and finished with a luncheon on Saturday. What happened in between was a whole lot of hard work, intense networking, excitement, and fun. Most of the students came out as winners –either in the competition or from all the productive networking.

A couple of months before the competition, students are given a mini-case with information about the company, product, and customer. (Go to http://salescontest.tamu.edu/resources.html for more info.) About two weeks prior to the competition, AT&T comes in and holds an evening session where students can ask technical questions about the product to help them prepare.

Keynote speaker was Keith Hill, Area VP of Reynolds and Reynolds. Keith told the story of his sales career—his jobs, training, and the work, fun and excitement involved. Students often do not realize what a great entry point sales is to a

company. Sales people have to talk to just about every department in order to ascertain when their products will be manufactured, ready, available and shipped out the door. Salespeople gain familiarity with all aspects of the business and at the same time build relationships with people in various departments which helps them make a transition to another job, if and when they are ready.

Participating companies seemed super thrilled with the event. The carefully planned “Golden Networking Opportunity,” with sponsor tent/tables allowed companies and students to network throughout the competition.

The kick-off Celebration Banquet on Friday night (which overflowed into the atrium outside the Cocanougher Center) was sponsored by Reynolds and Reynolds. The AT&T sponsored Saturday breakfast and Coffee Break Presentation by AT&T’s Jay Brown and John Ferrel was “really good” and “just right.”

AT&T’s John Ferrell , Neil Kennedy, and Jay Brown stand with the top winners: 1. Rachel Downey - Industrial Distribution 2. Kelsey McKey - Marketing (in 335 this semester) 3. Allyson Janes - Marketing (in 335 this semester) 4. Chas Campbell-Agriculture (in Kerry Litzenberg’s AGEC sales course last semester). Go to http://salescontest.tamu.edu/index.html and scroll to the bottom of the page to see these outstanding students in their final competition performances—they’re great!

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From prizes totaling $10,750, 16 of these students received $250. The top four students received $3000, 2000, 1000, and $750. Sixteen company’s reps networked with the competitors—making every student a potential winner!

Happy contestants!

(cont.) The Winner’s Luncheon on Saturday was sponsored by Smith and Associates (the world’s largest distributor of electronic parts). Smith hired Kerry Litzenberg’s student Saad Azeem after the sales contest last year. The Smith folks report that Azeem was among their top salespeople in the past quarter. They like him and want to hire

more Aggies. Azeem reports that he is their #10 salesperson out of 260 after only ten months with the company!

There has been a flurry of activity between sponsor companies and students since the competition.

…the crowd overflowed into the hallway. The videoscreen in the background was set up to view the keynote speaker.

Sales Contest

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Center for Retailing Studies

Spring Break in New York City

Aggies visit The Letterman Show

New York City Market Tour

Reaching the gate with just five minutes to spare before the cockpit doors closed, sixteen Aggies, interested in retailing careers, departed Houston’s busy Bush International Airport for spring break in New York City. The annual Market Tour, organized by the Center for Retailing Studies, introduces students to work, play and culture in the retailing world headquarters --NYC. It is one of the Center’s longest running, experiential education programs for students. Our students had company tours of Bergdorf Goodman, The Doneger Group, FAO Schwartz , and Recats USA. On average, one-third of all the students who go on this trip end up beginning careers in New York City.

Student Reflections Leadership Lessons… Macey Cangelose

Our group had the privilege of meeting with Redcats USA, an online and catalog retailer for men’s and women’s apparel, home living, sports and outdoor products. Naheed Adil, Director of Marketing, warmly welcomed us, giving a great first impression for the company in a city not overtly known for hospitality. She stressed that to be successful at Redcats and in retailing, you need a strong understanding of finance, the workings of profit & loss, and how large organizations manage their business. It’s important to find the gaps in the market, be innovative, and devise strategies that drive sales. An unshakeable work ethic is essential.

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News & Updates

New York City Market Tour (cont.) Adil continued by saying, “It is your responsibility to be curious, explore, and ask questions. Stay Connected! Always know what is going on within and around your company. Be nosey about competitors, constantly evaluating their price points and new products.” It’s a rapidly evolving market, and I left knowing much more about ecommerce strategies and overall business success. Big smiles, toys and retail-tainment… Lindsey Lell

A very enthusiastic toy soldier greeted us when we arrived at FAO Schwartz at 8 AM on Tuesday morning. What differentiates FAO Schwartz from other stores is the quality and experience that it provides to customers of all ages. Guests can customize their own Muppets, baby dolls, train sets and even doll houses styled after their own homes.

My favorite part of the tour was playing on “The Big Piano,” made famous in the movie Big. It did not matter that we were wearing business suits,

everyone enjoyed the spontaneous toy-tapping to

favorite tunes. Let’s just say everyone had a “Big” smile on their faces.

After the tour, Jane Baczynski, Manager, Campus Recruiting & University Relations discussed different career opportunities. Toys R Us acquired FAO in 2009; its portfolio includes other brands like Babies R Us, eToys.com, and others. Aggies have interned with Toys R Us in Dallas stores--Ridhi Lankhani ‘11 just joined the marketing team at the company’s Wayne, New Jersey headquarters. Ridhi has already been promoted, so we all know the amazing career potential with Toys R Us, and now with FAO. On culture…. Phillip Chu

Stepping off the plane and meandering around the airport was only the start of what I knew would be a life-changing experience for our group. Riding in a cab, I was filled with wonder at the layout of the buildings, the gleaming city lights and the amount of people out and about at midnight.

Our hotel was filled with people from around the world. One Russian lady video chatted with family back home, while a Norwegian tourist discussed the day’s vacation plans.

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Company visit with Doneger Group: Luis Salinas , Kimberley Frey, Allie Miller, Courtney Frey, Stacy Howard, Bianca Stewart, Doug Arvanites-Merchandise Manager Menswear , Elizabeth Lettieri-Trend Services Manager, Lindsay Lell, Jennifer Price, Samantha Cobb, Phillip Chu

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Everything in NYC seems to be hurried—New Yorkers eat, walk, and talk more swiftly. We Texans had to learn to adapt quickly to get all our sightseeing in. Something else that we noticed was how people dressed—completely different from home, where comfort comes before style and not vice-versa. In NYC everyone dressed very well with more body fitting clothing, matching patterns, and something unique to each person. This amazed us and we were inspired to dress accordingly!

My group was lucky to visit Little Italy and Chinatown. We were blown away by how true to its culture Chinatown appeared—full of Chinese people, food, attire, and products. We were fascinated by the market vendors who filled boxes of ice with fish on display for purchase. It wasn’t the most pleasant smelling experience, but it was quite an experience--most of us had never seen anything like it!

In Little Italy we saw signs in Italian, delicious smelling pastas, and great looking pizzas. Unfortunately, we had just eaten and weren’t hungry.

Three days was not enough to experience all of what NYC has to offer. With so much diversity and culture there, you can almost imagine that you’re in a different country. This was a great experience for our group. We all gained a newfound knowledge and experience of the Big Apple and have come away being a little more cultured than we were before we left.

Bicycling in The Big Apple: Courtney Frey, Stacy Howard, Kimberley Frey, Lindsay Lell

Hanging around in NYC: Luis Salinas and Philip Chu

News & Updates

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Executive Professor Profile: Dave Mannon, Altria

“Can a tobacco company be responsible?” That was the question posed by Dave Mannon, Sales Director for Altria, in a lively discussion on business ethics. Altria, the manufacturer of Phillip Morris brands like Marlboro, dominates almost half of the U.S. cigarette market share. To operate profitably, they already face major challenges including heavy FDA regulation, the harmful nature of their product and legal barriers to sell to minors. In 1999, Businessweek dubbed it the “Most Reviled Company in America.”

Against a public lynching about the dangers of smoking and intense litigation, CEO Michael Szymanczyk shifted strategy from “total non-compromise with antismoking forces to accommodation.” In fact, the company took leadership in its own regulation. A commitment to ethics and social responsibility came from the CEO office first, and became an integral part of Altria’s culture.

Since 2011, Altria has invested over $1 billion on youth smoking-prevention campaigns. Their website offers parents easy information to talk to kids about smoking. The company sponsors the “We Card” program, training almost 300,000 retailers to spot fake IDs and prevent underage tobacco sales. In 2012, Fortune Magazine recognized Altria as the 4th most admired company for social responsibility. Their goal is to offer a safe, regulated product that satisfies adult consumer desire for tobacco and wine products.

Allie Miller, a sophomore said, “I came into the Altria presentation with a narrow-minded outlook on the tobacco industry. I left with an enlightened perspective on how a strong commitment to ethical behavior-- in a negatively looked upon industry-- can be beneficial to the consumer, community, and the company.”

The Container Store – Mona Williams – Women Making a Difference in Retail Scholarship

In an exciting tribute to a trailblazer in the retailing industry, The Container Store has endowed a scholarship in the memory of Mona Williams, beloved colleague and gifted merchant who died of a sudden illness in November 2011.

"We know Mona's spirit and legacy will live with us forever, as she made an indelible mark on our business, our brand, the retail industry and all of us who worked with her over the past 30 years," said Sharon Tindell, The Container Store chief merchandising officer in a letter to TCS vendors and employees.

Over her 30-year tenure with The Container Store, Williams held various positions throughout the company including visual sales, inventory control, assistant buyer, buyer and senior merchandise director. She assumed her role as vice president of buying in July of 2005.

"In this role, she ensured that The Container Store's product mix was well-edited, differentiated, leading edge and focused on our core expertise of storage and organization," said Tindell.

To honor her memory, the scholarship will be awarded to a young shining star who will follow in Williams’ footsteps, and make an impact on the retail industry.

News & Updates

Academy Sports sent Shelley Batten, Dianne Tiffan, and Kelly Alfaro to speak to the MKTG 425 Retail Merchandising class on 3/20. Academy is CRS’ newest sponsor.

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News & Updates

Advisors’ Corner

Leslie has been busy preparing for summer and fall pre-registration, which begins on April 12th. She has been meeting with students and disseminating information for summer and fall course offerings.

Executive Professor Profile: Rachel Bishop, Walgreens

If you think you know your neighborhood Walgreens, be ready for the 111 year old company to surprise you. Rachel Bishop, Divisional VP of Merchandising and Strategic Planning and Analysis, says its new strategy emphasizes delivering memorable shopping experiences that increase store visits to current locations and engage customers in fresh ways.

Throughout the 1990s, the Deerfield, IL-based chain grew from 2,000 to 8,000 stores. At the peak of this real estate adventure, a new Walgreens opened every sixteen hours. Today, 80% of the American population lives within five miles of a store. This positions Walgreens to be America’s first choice for health and daily living.

However, the company stumbled when too many door-fronts threatened to cannibalize their own sales. With a Walgreens on every prime Main Street corner, further growth through real estate seemed bleak. The fast-expansion, cookie-cutter formats also failed when entering new markets, like New York City.

Bishop says the company has moved away

from its predictable, history-based approach to doing business to highly analytical decision making. No longer would each store be an independent business unit; Walgreens would integrate its promotional campaigns at the corporate level. This holistic view ensured that an end-cap display on diabetes awareness would not sit adjacent to a tantalizing promotion for sugary, chocolate Easter candy.

The Walgreens of 2012 offers unique and unexpected surprises for customers: sushi, gourmet cheese, fresh foods, premier beauty lines, $10 manicures, and a “connection corner” for photo sharing. Perhaps the crown jewel of an experience-centric Walgreens is the flagship store at State and Randolph streets in Chicago. The 27,350-sqaure-foot store’s updated layout moves the pharmacist to the center of the store, improving customer’s access to health advice. As the nation’s largest pharmacy chain, Walgreens is well positioned to be a major player in the national health care overhaul.

Rachel Bishop lectured to Paul Busch’s ‘Advertising and Creative Marketing Communi-cations’ (MKTG 347) classes on March 21.

Mona Sinha recently joined Goizueta

Business School (Emory University) as Post Doctoral Research

Fellow .

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BUSN 302 "The Business of College Sports"

Cheryl Bridges served as a guest coach for the Texas A&M women’s basketball game against Texas Tech. She

says it was a fabulous experience, particularly hearing the coaches speak to the players in the locker room prior to the

game. Sitting right behind the team, hearing the coaches speak to the players during the game, was also great. “But,

best of all,” she said,” we beat TexasTech!”

The BUSN 302 program is a unique opportunity for undergraduate business majors to work with Dr. Nancy Simpson and other faculty mentors to develop a course based on their own unique interest. MKTG student Roland Larino, with guidance from faculty mentor Lisa Troy, developed a course on the business of college sports. He wrote the syllabus, scheduled all the guest speakers and assumed the role of instructor. Some other topics in BUSN 302 include Microsoft Excel, Non Profits, and the oil industry.

Larino’s guest speakers included Dave South and Penny King. Dave South, known to most as "The Voice of the Aggies," spoke to the BUSN 302 "Business of College Sports" class on March 2nd to share his insights into radio broadcasting in college sports and to give his advice on how students can succeed in whatever career path they choose. Having called Aggie Football, Men's Basketball, and Baseball games since 1985, Mr. South shared his many experiences through the years calling games in the Southwest Conference and Big 12. He also shared his expectations as we enter the Southeastern Conference. He answered student questions using personal anecdotes whenever possible, which everyone enjoyed.

Penny King is the Deputy Director of Athletics and the representative for Director Bill Byrne's staff on the Southeastern Conference transition team. Ms. King spoke about the move to the SEC and how it impacts A&M's current sports, traditions, facilities, brand, and student athletes. She also answered many student questions on the renovation of Kyle Field and debunked some of the myths surrounding plans for the renovation.

Bailey Strohmeyer, Dave South, and Roland Larino

Penny King

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Guest Speakers

Professor Michael Smith presented a customized guide to

the West Campus Library resources for the students in

Consumer Behavior (MKTG 322). Student teams use these

resources to research information on a selected target segment as

well as the firms positioning their brands to this segment. Smith’s

presentation was very informative and helpful.

Careers in Advertising and PR Panel Day Paul Busch presented his popular

annual Career Panel Day in early March for his ‘Advertising and Creative Marketing Communications’ (MKTG 347) classes.

Six professionals from advertising firms showed up full of advice and ready to answer lots of questions from the students.

Careers in Advertising & PR Panelists • Erica Martinez, Slingshot, LLC., • Lindsay London, Slingshot, LLC. • Mallory Schatte, TM Advertising • Mike Albrecht, Love Advertising • Michael Nortman, The Richards Group • Haley McBride, The Integer Group

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Think Pink Baby Shower!

Marketing Advisor Leslie Seipp and husband Adam were very pleased with the baby shower they received in anticipation of the imminent arrival of their new daughter. Says Leslie, “I couldn’t be in a better department or work environment than here, in terms of support as an advisor, instructor, and mother.”

Above left, is the amazing baby shower tricycle constructed of diaper wheels, bib seat, hair bow hubcaps, a bottle headlight, sock handlebars… At right, Leslie opens the first gift.

We want to include your news items in the next issue. Please submit them to Laurie Marshall at lmarshall@mays.tamu.edu,