February 2019 Session Recap: Importance of Marketing and Branding

This post was written by team “Rock United,” made up of LDA 2018-19 participants: Stephen Cardwell, Foremost Media; Kate Crist, United Way Blackhawk Region; Bobbie Ennocenti, First Community Credit Union; John Kaminski, School District of Beloit; Jodine Saunders, City of Beloit; and Lamikka James, Comprehensive Family Services, Inc.

ANGI Energy Systems

A full day at ANGI Energy Systems

The February Leadership Development Academy meeting took place on Feb. 8, 2019 at ANGI Energy Systems in Janesville. Founded in 1983, ANGI Energy Systems designs and manufactures systems for compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle fueling and tube trailer transport in applications around the world.

ANGI is LDA’s platinum sponsor this year and we were welcomed by some of their employees who gave us a tour of their production facility and sponsored our lunch.

Hearing from the experts

The morning started off with a welcome from Eric Kuznacic, President of Why the Fuss? Technical Solutions (WTF). He developed a company that offers an array of website and internet services including web design, website hosting and more. Eric discussed branding vs. marketing and how both are important to make a memorable impression on consumers so they purchase your products or services.

Tim Storm, Co-Founder and Entrepreneur in Residence of RockTek Workspace and former owner and founder of FatWallet.com, continued educating our LDA class on branding and marketing. Tim discussed branding is who you are: your strategy, your culture, your logo and how that determines the perception a consumer has when they hear of or think of your company name, service or product. Tim’s information will be valuable as we decide how to market and fundraise for our LDA community service projects.

Engaging an audience as a public speaker

Deb Blazer

In preparation for the March LDA class in which we will be giving speeches, Debra Blazer, Certified World Class Speaking Coach, presented ways to open a presentation, ways to close a presentation, storytelling formulas, and tips on how to keep your audience engaged.

As we present our own speeches for the class in the March session, Debra’s tips will surely be helpful.

Strategy sessions for collaborative projects

To close out the day, each LDA group had the opportunity to collaborate with a local marketing professional. We were able to ask questions and learn more about how our own marketing and fundraising strategies could be tweaked to ensure a successful community service project.

To showcase where we are at so far with our projects, each group did a presentation on what their marketing plan consists of and we received helpful feedback from the other marketing professionals and groups of how to move forward.