News

NRA's Marketing Executive Group conference to focus on better branding

April 16, 2014

The National Restaurant Association's Marketing Executives Group will host its annual spring conference, May 14-16, at the Westin Michigan Avenue in Chicago just prior to the start of the annual Restaurant Show.

The cost to attend MEG, which includes all meeting materials, meals and breaks, is $495 per person for NRA members and $995 for non-members.

This year's event, themed "Shoot for the Summit: Take Your Brand to the Top in 2014," will include two full days of workshops, symposiums and networking opportunities with industry influencers and branding and social media experts, according to a news release.

The event kicks off May 14 with an opening reception from 6-8 p.m. On May 15, Jonah Berger, a James G. Campbell Associate Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School of Business at The University of Pennsylvania, will give the opening keynote address on "Crafting Contagious Ideas."

Additional speakers during the two-day conference include:

• Jenifer Anhorn, vice president/brand director for Periscope, who will discuss Social Strategy: Putting Content First.
• Building a Brand With a Hammer and a Nail is what Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries and author of Visual Hammer, will discuss.
• Denny's CEO John Miller will discuss Share Our Strength: Leaving a Mark on the Restaurant Industry.
• Chris Sullivan, the founder and former CEO of Outback Steakhouses Inc., and current director of Bloomin' Brands, will share "A New Reality: Integrate Technology and Make More Money."
• Robbie Blinkoff-principal anthropologist and managing partner of Context-Based Research Group, will discuss consumer behavior and provide answers for "why" people/consumers behave the way they do.
• Who's Afraid of Big Data? will be discussed by Mike Lukianoff, CEO and founder of Czar Metrics.
• Gerry Fernandez, founder and president of Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance, along with Shawne M. Howell, owner of Marketing Strategies, will share how to Grow Your Business and Brand with the Multicultural Market.
• BJ Emerson, CEO and head story hunter with Buzzadelic, will talk about "What Does the Future Look Like for Social Marketers?"
• And, closing out MEG's 2014 Spring Conference will be a discussion on Buzzed About Brands.