Sergio Zyman

Customer confidence is in the tank; cost cutting is in vogue; geo-political uncertainties remain; non-traditional competitors are proliferating; unemployment is rising; housing and personal wealth are at generational lows; greater than $100 a barrel oil is here to stay….it’s no wonder consumers “are on the sidelines”. Are consumers really on the sidelines or do they just need better reasons to buy you? Sergio will detail how economic times like these are golden opportunities for strategic marketers. He will outline proven models/approaches that require marketers to change their mindset from “inside out” (selling what you make) to “outside in” (make what you can sell); from aspirational goal setting to aspirational planning; from capturing share to capturing potential; from being positioned by others to controlling the dialogue. And why it’s the restless and discontent that are the first to benefit.

Changes in external factors are driving new challenges for the private equity industry, forcing it to move beyond transactional thinking and embrace transformational and value-creating investment opportunities. With deal flow on the decline and liquidity/credit challenges, there is a need to evolve the approach. Quite simply, PE firms must go beyond managing the business (operations, supply chain, efficiency) to running (driving acceptability, affordability and availability) and growing the business (creating demand and new sources of growth). Sergio will help audiences understand how, by focusing on the consumer and not only the financials, with transformational vs. transactional growth, PEs can improve the profitability of the portfolio of companies.

Many companies rely too heavily on innovation to solve their problems. When a brand gets old or tired, the impulse is to scrap it and start over with something fresh. But more often than not, innovation simply doesn’t work. Sergio knows this firsthand – he was the chief marketing officer at The Coca-Cola Company during the disastrous launch of New Coke. So what’s the alternative? Sergio preaches the power of renovation - recapturing the essence of your existing brands, products, and core competencies and doing more of the things that made you great in the first place. Too many managers are so obsessed with innovation that they launch products that no one will buy. Premoistened toilet paper or smokeless cigarettes, anyone? Sergio delivers the solutions managers need to revitalize their strategies to improve growth, and he challenges conventional business wisdom to help companies make smarter, profitable decisions.

Everyone knows that Hispanics make up a large, growing, and increasingly wealthy demographic, but very few companies are getting it right when trying to market to them. It’s not about sombreros, mariachi bands and Chihuahuas – or what is commonly known as Hispanic marketing. It’s about Marketing to Hispanics – a deeper and more meaningful way to reach this market which entails understanding Hispanics’ needs, motivations and purchase drivers, and then creating strategies and solutions that meet these needs. The companies that get it will benefit significantly. The ones that don’t will miss a tremendous opportunity. Sergio, a Mexico City native, will show audiences how to better understand this important market and provide best practices for successfully creating breakthrough strategies. He will provide strategic and executional guidance to successfully penetrate the Hispanic market to build true brand loyalty for long-term profitable growth.