The government-marketing arena is highly dynamic, and requires the most innovative approaches for influencing a very sophisticated buyer. As such, developing the right messages, determining the appropriate channels, and understanding the buyer’s needs can all be very challenging.
With its upcoming GAIN 2016 Conference, Government Marketing University (GMarkU) is leading the way by arming marketers with the right tools for success. The L&R Communications team recently had the pleasure of speaking with Stephanie Geiger, Vice President of Operations at Government Marketing University, about her organization, as well as everything there is to gain at GAIN 2016.
L&R: Before we talk about GAIN 2016, tell us a little bit about Government Marketing University.
Geiger: Government Marketing University is an innovative learning platform that applies a collaborative, community-based approach toward knowledge sharing and skills development in the field of public sector marketing. The University offers training, research, certifications, mentoring, awards and community resources.
It’s all in one place, enabling our students to learn, exchange ideas and accelerate their marketing success. For more information on GMarkU and to stay up to date on all its happenings, please visit our website here.
L&R: Tell us about GAIN 2016 and why it will be such a special event.
Geiger: We’re excited to be hosting our first annual government marketing conference, designed as a collaborative, community-based event for anyone that markets or sells to the government.
It’s meant to provide opportunities for attendees to learn and network with their peers, GMarkU’s Professors and Ambassadors (former Federal CIOs) while sharing best practices.
We scheduled the September event to help marketers jumpstart their planning for the next government fiscal year.
L&R: Tell us about some of the panels and presentations at GAIN 2016.
Geiger: The agenda is packed full of interactive workshops to help attendees better connect with government customers, engage their sales teams and achieve measurable ROI. For example, Katell Thielemann, Research Director at Gartner, will be discussing her recent report titled, “New U.S. Federal Marketing Battleground Calls for New Tactics.”
We also have a series of workshops on how best to market and communicate to federal systems integrators, public affairs officers, technical advisory panel members and other key government personas. All of our workshops have been designed to enable our marketers with the most actionable content possible.
L&R: With marketing innovations moving so quickly these days, how does GAIN 2016 and Government Marketing University help marketers stay current on marketing trends?
Geiger: We’re bringing together the entire public sector community, including GMarkU Ambassadors, a group of former federal executives, as well as seasoned government marketers, sales leaders, the media and the vendor community who are all willing to share their experience and expertise at the conference.
L&R: What does the future hold for Government Marketing University?
Geiger: We have so many exciting things coming up for 2017 and look forward to delivering them to our government marketers.
We are in the midst of developing our online training courses, and look forward to delivering those to the Government Marketing community in early 2017.
These courses will be on-demand, keep our marketers armed with the content they need to continue their professional development and allow key skillset differentiators to demonstrate their value to leadership within their organization and also to potential employers.
I can’t share too many details as I don’t want to spoil the big launch at GAIN 2016 -- but I can say that we will also have professional development groups coming soon. Be sure to join us at GAIN 2016 to hear more about them.
L&R: Anything else to add?
Geiger: I joined the Government Marketing University team because I recognize how important delivering something of this caliber is to the Government Marketing community.
I really wish Government Marketing University was around when I first started my career. I’ve struggled to find training and professional development opportunities that align specifically with my targeted industry. I found myself starving for content and networking that would better enable me to be successful in my career. GMarkU is filling that void for our community and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.
We would like to thank Stephanie for speaking with us! As a bronze sponsor of GAIN 2016 with our StoryTech Consulting partner, L&R Communications looks forward to a productive and exciting GAIN 2016. Click here to register for the conference.