2004: JULY PROGRAM

Ralston 260TRENDOLOGY
The study of keeping up - and getting ahead

Trends affect more than hemlines and haircuts. From what to eat to how to stay informed, trends affect the spending habits, behaviors and media usage of consumers and businesses the world over.

Peter Levitan is a builder of businesses, brands, technologies and new advertising environments.

Prior to joining RalstonGroup, Peter served as the President and CEO of ActiveBuddy, an instant messaging technology company whose clients included Intel, AOL-Time Warner, Frito Lay and Capitol Records. During the 1990s, he was an industry leader in World Wide Web publishing. He developed and launched the award-winning New Jersey Online where he held the position of President & CEO. The Columbia Journalism Review recognized New Jersey Online's editorial excellence as being one of the "Top Ten News Sites" in 1997. In 1999, the Newspaper Association of America named Peter its "New Media Pioneer". Among his Web development clients are such well-known brands as Nabisco, VISA and Microsoft.

For 16 years, Peter managed Fortune 500 advertising accounts at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide. He held a variety of positions including European Director in London, General Manager of the Minneapolis office, and Senior Vice President in New York. His clients included Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, Sara Lee and Northwest Airlines.

Trendology is Ralston360's analysis of the trends that are affecting your business, your customers and your customers' customers right now. It's the study of what's hot and what's not - how to be the in-thing today and tomorrow.

Trendology 1

Trends come and go. So do businesses - if they don't keep up. Subway rakes in the parmesan-encrusted dough while the world's original Super Sizer scrapes by on downsized profits. Teen pop-tart Britney Spears goes from bombshell to bombing sales in less than a year.

Is it bad luck? Bad boyfriend? Bad breath? No. It's the fast food and music industry's inability to rapidly respond to trends toward healthy eating and downloading (rather than buying) music, inaction that's turning consumers - and profits - away from some of the world's most powerful brands.

Trendology II

Spam bashing. Viral marketing. The pop-up police. The World Wide Web is becoming a wild wacky place. Sales are up. Advertising's up. Usage is up. Yes, the Internet is back (not that it ever really went away) and with it, a host of new trends that are changing the way companies market and consumers respond. Businesses that respond with smart e-marketing techniques reap the rewards of a loyal - and lucrative - client base. Those that don't risk getting canned like today's often-bashed Spam.

50/50 Drawing!

Bring some extra dollars with you. You could win enough to buy lunch for you and your guest.

Wednesday, July 21 • 12-1:30PM • Clarion Hotel

Admission
• $11.00 Members & Guests
• $20.00 Non-Members

RSVP
Contact Laura Smith
by Monday, July 19
Call 949-2175, or
yakimaadfed@hotmail.com
Top of Page