Wednesday, November 18, 2015The Emerging Role of the Chief Perception Officer: Lessons from the Pursuit of the Perfect Beer
For decades, Professor Clemons has been a pioneer in the ways that information changes the strategy of firms and the behavior of individual consumers. He has worked with individuals as diverse as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the President of Lever Brothers, on problems as diverse as the impact of social networks on the stability of Middle Eastern regimes to the potential of eCommerce to transform detergent marketing. Yeah, we know the answers now. But we didn’t know when he was asked to do the work. And, yeah, whether by luck or some sort of strange pattern recognition, he guessed right for his clients.
Professor Clemons will discuss his current favorite research topic, which is the marketing of products so good that they sell themselves without advertising. We will focus on craft brewing and barbecue. This is perhaps the most dangerous work he has ever done, causing him to gain 30 pounds and add 120 points to his cholesterol count. We will discuss the use of the work in a range of other industries, like restaurants and hotels. We will discuss the emerging role of the corporate Chief Perception Officer. Even though many firms no longer rely on advertising, they do need to manage their reputations, which requires monitoring online reviews, responding, managing bogus and damaging reviews, and coordinating the internal operations of the firm to achieve the best possible external reputation.
Although the work was done in the old OPIM Department, he promises to leave the mathematics back at Wharton.
And, with the cooperation of the venue, we will do our best to increase your weight and your cholesterol count as well.
DATE: Wednesday, November 18th 2015
Members: £20/pp
Members' Guest: £20/pp
Professor Clemons has been working with computers since 1966 and has been exploring the relationships between information and strategy since 1984. He has been at Wharton since 1976 and has help positions at Penn, the Harvard Business School, Cornell University School of Industrial Engineer and Operations Research, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Indian School of Business, and Peking University Law School. He has an S.B. from MIT and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University. He has worked with senior executives at the London and New York Stock Exchanges, at Capital One and AT&T Universal Bank, Lever Brothers, and Rosenbluth Travel, as well as the Joint Chiefs and small start ups.
Additional material on Prof Clemons research:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-k-clemons/post_2164_b_888842.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-k-clemons/the-department-of-justice_b_851079.html
