Three areas make up the core of today’s new business strategy, in Marian’s mind: Learning, Now and the Five C’s. Learning includes treating the agency/business as its own most precious client (while nurturing true clients), knowing that both paid time off and workaholics are enemies of greatness, making training the corporate caffeine, and understanding Twitterville and causes as place for silent selling. Part of Now includes her Now acronym: YWC (Yes, We Can), because anything is possible. And the Five C’s? Constant communications, cross-channel merchandising, collaboration, corrections and conversational currency. Hear more to understand her bottom line: “Because good enough is not good at all.”
Social media and a return to local community are putting retail stores in a strange but exciting place. What’s needed now is an intelligent approach to retail that is supremely mindful of the customer, maybe even to a greater extent than a store’s product. The rise of consumer social consciousness, the increasing importance of real-time communications, the blurring of public spaces and the spread of social media into all aspects of life are wrenching much-needed change and innovation into retail. Eight trends include mobile retail, augmented reality, the Zara effect, politics and sector blurring.
In August 2010, Marian experienced what she calls a phenomenon. That’s not a small statement, coming from someone who has spent two decades navigating hairpin turns in the world of advertising and, more recently, PR. As the leader of Wyclef Jean’s media and PR team during his month long bid for the presidency of Haiti—and who shepherded the campaign’s 11 billion total media impressions—she learned a few things. Among them: Never underestimate the media feeding frenzy; details are everything when working with the media; strategy and preparedness are important in any kind of campaign, but so are proactive thinking and course correcting; and honesty is the only policy.
In spring 2007, Marian was diagnosed with a brain tumor called a meningioma. A frequent-flying top ad executive at the time, she was also keeping up a full schedule of media appearances and international speaking engagements. Surgery followed, along with a successful recovery, but not without bumps in the road—and life changes, including a career switch to PR and a realignment of her philanthropic priorities. Marian’s experience also changed her approach to creativity, making her more analytical and open to collaboration at work. It led her to re-examine the concept of braininess in today’s world. And it made her ponder technology addictions, the information onslaught, multitasking—all au courant subjects that affect everyone, not just brain tumor patients.
Knowing what the future holds isn't just a great party trick; it has many implications for companies, brands, and their consumers, especially in an economy in which every dollar (and follower) counts. In today's "always on" culture of information overload, Marian Salzman's trendspotting acuity has only become more honed, and necessary, for making sense of it all. Her provocative, bespoke presentations showcase her extreme knowledge of all things topical and ability to relate intimately to anyone – propelling audiences to not only enhance their business or themselves but also watch for smart trends as they engage in their own world.
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Marian Salzman is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as New Attitudes, Hours, Tools & Tactics, The Future of Retailing, Lessons from Hurricane Wyclef, Headstrong: How a Brain Tumor Made Me Stronger, Smarter & Saner and Future Trends. The estimated speaking fee range to book Marian Salzman for your event is available upon request. Marian Salzman generally travels from and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Randi Zuckerberg, Soraya Darabi, Dyana Valentine, Lynne Lancaster and Kathy Ireland. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Marian Salzman for an upcoming live or virtual event.
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