Earlier this month, executives of the WashingtonExec MARCOM Committee gathered at an evening roundtable to discuss “new trends in traditional messaging”.
The event featured guest speaker Chris O’Connell, Appian Corporation’s vice president of federal sales, who discussed the need for companies to innovate technologically in order to maintain relevance and competitiveness in an ever evolving public sector marketplace. O’Connell shared his advice on how to remain influential in the industry, win new business and deliver the right message and values to federal customers and CIOs.
“Today’s federal CIOs are focused on cost savings, cost control and service to the mission while leveraging current IT investments,” said O’Connell. “That means your message to and dialogue with customers must align with your company’s core strengths.”
O’Connell shared his 2014 list of what’s in and what’s out when it comes to creating meaningful dialogue with customers and prospects in the federal IT space. This includes:
IN OUT
Layered Portfolio ERP
Agile Waterfall
Customer Service IT Modernization
Platform Delivery Custom Development
Driving Innovation Status Quo O&M
O’Connell concluded with his view on what is most critical to “maintaining relevance”. “Federal IT companies should address and overhaul problems that are holding them back from reaching their full potential,” he said. “They need to platform for the future if they want to succeed in the marketplace now and in the future”.
Chief Communications Officer Sheila Blackwell of Decision Sciences International Corporation moderated the roundtable discussion. “As a Communications and Marketing professional, Chris’ observations and messaging recommendations are immediately actionable,” said Blackwell. “The proverbial list of what’s IN/OUT was particularly useful while also entertaining.”
Mark Kirkman, Director of Marketing Programs at Appian sponsored the roundtable.
The 2014 WashingtonExec MARCOM Committee Leaders are Sheila Blackwell (Decision Sciences), Alan Hill (Serco, Inc.) and Eileen Cassidy Rivera (Harris Corporation).
Previous meeting topics for the WashingtonExec MARCOM Committee have included Digital Communications: From Strategy to Execution, Sequestration: Messaging and Strategy, Content Generation, Employee Engagement/Internal Communications, Government Relations, Demystifying Going Digital and The Strategic Relationship Between MARCOM/Communications Professionals and the Company CFO: Is it a Money Thing?.
