Garfield Group Visits Wharton

Posted by Larry Garfield on 13 May 2010 | 0 Comments

Tags: digital media, web 2.0

In the fall of last year, Larry Garfield '82 and Matt Curtis '09 were invited to speak at MUSE-a-thon, the American Marketing Association collegiate chapter at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Something must have clicked with the students, because a month later Garfield Group was invited back to another Wharton conference - this time the Wharton Undergraduate Marketing Conference (WUMC).

Our topic: "Disruption in the Force" - a discussion of the way traditional vehicles like television, newspapers and magazines have begun to give way to Web 2.0 and social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.What role do these new tools play in the marketing, advertising and public relations universe? As control over messaging and timing passes from the Empire to the people of the Republic, how are companies and agencies responding? What's the right balance to find new harmony within the universe?

Speaking to a range of students from Wharton and other business schools along the East Coast, Larry described his 28-year career working at large advertising agencies like Young & Rubicam New York, and the dramatic changes he has witnessed in marketing, advertising, and branding while running Garfield Group since 1990. Matt described how he looks at marketing communications as a recent graduate, with a focus on digital marketing.

We got a great discussion going-and pointed out that the way current students are immersed in the world of digital media and Web 2.0 gives them some competitive advantages when entering the workforce, even in a recession.

We also introduced students to The Lab -- an online community where Technology, Life Sciences and B2B marketers can share advice, insights and their own experiences in creating successful marketing programs. Members of this community, called "Lab Partners," have the ability to learn, explore and discover how their peers are experimenting in new areas such as social media as business environment makes the transition from traditional to digital marketing. Everyone received a copy of our "Periodic Table of Marketing Elements' poster. Click here to request your free copy.