The fifth meeting of Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) will be convened March 30-April 1, 2012 in Washington, D.C. at the George Washington University.  Building on the successful model of the Clinton Global Initiative, CGI U brings together approximately 1,000 students from all over the world, along with nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and celebrities engaged in efforts to create positive change.

The CGI U meetings consist of working sessions, skill sessions, and large plenary sessions, where participants can learn about innovative approaches to solving global issues.  Chelsea Clinton and Jon Stewart will be among the speakers.  Today is the last day for students to apply.  Apply now: http://bit.ly/CGIUapply

By the way, if you cannot attend, you will be able to view and share session webcasts from the CGI U 2012 by visiting: http://www.cgiu.org.  Follow CGI U on Twitter at @CGIU and @ClintonGlobal or on Facebook at Facebook.com/CGIUniversity
for meeting news and highlights. The event hashtag is #CGIU.

This form of ‘piggybacking’ may help them rotate inventory, but will it create brand salience for their product?  I doubt it.  It would be interesting to know what they really hope to accomplish here.

Derrick Daye describes ‘brand salience’ as the “degree to which your brand is thought about or noticed when a customer is in a buying situation” – it is what brands come to mind when consumers are in a purchase situation.  There is a lot more this store would have to do to create the perception of their generic alternative as on par with the strong brand in order for me to seek it out the next time I’m in their store. 

As Martin Lundstrom reminds us in his book buy*ology, “Every one of us ascribes greater value to things we perceive – rationally or not – to be in some way special.”  For me, this store’s marketing effort only reinforced the image of their product as a lower priced alternative – but not an alternative of equal quality or value.  Ah the mysterious workings of our minds!

Every sector has its race for the top.  Toyota came close to claiming the #1 spot in the auto industry before its 2010 recalls.  Mobile providers like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint constantly jockey for position.  So many examples come to mind.  What can we learn from these high profile brand wars?

This morning Advertising Age ran an article that offers a few important lessons from the fast food industry’s most notorious rivalry: the #2 spot in the burger wars.  In the article, Maureen Morrison takes a look at how Wendy’s positioned itself to move past Burger King for the spot behind category leader McDonalds.  I recommend the whole article, but here are the important takeaways:

• Understand your core brand and who it targets
• Even good products need updating
• Improve the customer experience
• Be opportunistic

Improving your position in the marketplace doesn’t happen by accident.  Understanding your brand, your market and your customer are essential if you hope to create competitive advantage.  Think about these while you enjoy your burger at lunchtime!

Make sure to take a look at Thom Forbes Media Post article this morning about Kodak’s imminent filing for bankruptcy protection.   What lessons can we learn from the slow demise of an iconic company?

Wall Street Journal columnist John Bussey asks: “Was it a failure of imagination? Was it entrenched convictions and provincial thinking? Was it one restructuring too far?” All of the above, he concludes.

Robin Crow, in his book Evolve or Die, suggests whether you are a large company or small business owner there are seven principles that will help you meet current and future challenges:

• Exceed expectations
• Gets things done
• 100% accountability
• Commit to continual improvement
• Boundless optimism
• Environmental responsibility
• Make a difference

Sounds simple, I know.  These principles would obviously have to be translated into action steps appropriate for your company or organization.  But the basic point he makes, and the one that Kodak’s current situation prompts us to take notice of, is those that adapt the fastest are the ones that succeed the most.

It’s almost the New Year and, like many bloggers, I find myself taking time to look back on 2011 before looking ahead to 2012.  To help you prepare for the year ahead, let me offer a quick list of books, blogs and articles that came across my desk this past year that are worth review:

1. I’d humbly offer one of my own blog posts to start the list.  Life is but a dream offered inspiration from a children’s song.
2. Walter Isaacson’s book about Apple co-founder, chairman and CEO Steve Jobs.
3. Inc.’s It’s Cheaper to Keep ‘Em article by Karl Stark and Bill Stewart on customer retention.
4. Fast Company’s 30 Second MBA offers some really great advice “from the trenches”.  Take a look at Great Inspirations.
5. Even if you don’t work for a bank or credit union, any marketer can learn from the insights offered by Jeffry Pilcher’s The Financial Brand.
6. Chris Brogan’s Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation and Earn Trust.
7. Inc.’s Top 5 Most Common Networking Mistakes article by Jeff Haden.
8. Onward - How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz.
9. Ron Shevlin’s Snarketing 2.0 – A Humorous Look at the World of Marketing in the Age of Social Media.
10. Inc.’s 10 Zen Ways to Nail Your Next Presentation article by Eric Schurenberg.
11. And last, but not least, a few days before Christmas I was gifted a copy of RelationShift – Revolutionary Fundraising by Michael Bassoff and Steve Chandler.  The concepts offered have application far beyond fundraising.

I wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

This year as a way to express gratitude to my clients I have chosen something other than the classic corporate holiday or year-end gift.  (Who really needs another Harry & David gift basket?)  I have, instead made a gift in their honor through Kiva.org.  Perhaps you will join me in making a gift to help fund a microloan to Ernesto, a young Peruvian farmer in the city of Ollantaytambo.

Kiva.org is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty.  Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

Ernesto was born in the city of Urubamba and lives in the community of Pachar, he is 23 years old, single and has no children.  Ernesto works in the construction of houses and other projects, he also sells small animals like cuyes and chickens. It’s been a few years since he started this business and he does well thanks to the effort he puts in his work.  Ernesto needs the loan to buy more small animals.

Kiva works with microfinance institutions on five continents to provide loans to people, like Ernesto, that do not have access to traditional banking systems.  I recommend them as you consider your holiday and year-end giving.

I couldn’t let this story go by without comment.

This morning I happened upon a report in the Zanesville Times Recorder that, for the first time in years, a nativity scene has been moved back to the grounds of Ohio’s Muskingum County Courthouse.  You can read the entire article here.

Anticipating some public backlash, County Commissioner Jim Porter is reported to have said: “I’m sure there will be in some form. But you know, the baby Jesus is what Christmas is all about…So I’m ready to fight that battle, because it’s not moving. My only problem is, we’re missing a wise man and we’ll have to do something about that.”

The article goes on to say that placing the nativity at the courthouse was prompted by a call from State Rep. Brian Hill, who is also a former county commissioner.  Hill reportedly supports the idea “because the nativity is a good symbol of what this country was founded on, and that’s Christianity.”

I guess Zanesville, OH really is missing a wise man.

A wise man (or woman) might remind the county commissioners that the United States was not founded on Christianity, per se.  While many founders were Christian, there was a plurality of faiths and non-faiths in the country which led to the founding principle of freedom of religion and the value of religious tolerance.  To this day freedom of religion is a constitutionally guaranteed right provided in the religion clauses of the First Amendment.

George Washington once wrote “Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause; and I was not without hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy of the present age would have put an effectual stop to contentions of this kind.”  A wise man (or woman) today might want to caution all involved in the controversy over the placement of the nativity scene that an expression of religious tolerance and respect to the diversity of religious beliefs should be the hallmark of the debate.

Some online accused the teen, Jonah Mowry, of being a “fraud,” saying that he had created the video as a way to get publicity. ABC News confirmed that he was the son of a music instructor technician at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, CA and the story shared was very real.  ABC News also reported that the teen’s mother has said her son has been “uplifted” by support online.

Teens have increasingly taken to social media like youtube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. to reveal their struggles with bullying.  Many reports cite that teen bullying has reached epidemic proportions.  Perhaps it is time for educators and all local, state and federal lawmakers to pay attention to videos like Jonah’s.  If you agree, please forward this blog post to your representatives and school officials.

Today is World AIDS Day.  Let’s see if we can flex a little social media muscle today with these three easy steps: 

1. On your cell phone, text “change” to 80077 to make a $10 donation to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and ask your network of friends to do the same.  It’s fast, easy and makes a huge difference.
2. Post the link to this open letter to President Barack Obama and the World AIDS Day panelists (including President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, California Rep. Barbara Lee, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Bono and Alicia Keys) on your blog or send it to your elected officials  http://huff.to/sogW6F
3. Post this quote from Hillary Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, or whatever social media platform you use: “The goal of an AIDS-free generation may be ambitious, but it is possible.”

World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to help raise awareness and unite in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  Thank you for doing your part.

Yesterday Chicago and dignitaries from around the country including First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden gathered to bid farewell to Margaret Corbett “Maggie” Daley – Chicago’s former first lady.  I had the opportunity to meet her years ago at a Golden Apple Foundation event.  Her tireless support for children, the arts, was truly inspiring.  I thought of that evening as I listened to Chris Matthew’s tribute to her on last evening’s Hardball in his “Let Me Finish” segment:

Let me finish tonight with a very good person.

Maggie Daley, the First Lady of Chicago for 22 years, was a beloved figure in this city. I attended her funeral earlier today at Old St. Patrick’s, a warm church as beautiful in its human feel as in the fine splendor of its architecture.

The spirit in the church this morning was human love, the love of a woman for those around her, in this a circle that widened beyond her grateful family to a grateful city.  Maggie Daley has been the heart of Chicago; I kept hearing today and knew it was coming.

Why?  Because every once in a while you may be fortunate enough to meet a person who radiates the humor, good sense and positive feelings that light up the world around her.  I’m not talking “Maria” in the Sound of Music or “Mary Richards” in the old TV show, which we all loved.  I’m talking about the real thing. 

I’m glad I was able to come out here this morning, not just because the wife of Mayor Daley was like him big on education, a leader in after-school programs, and keeping a downtown parish alive.  It made me feel very good about Chicago, my church, and the mankind, in this case woman-kind.

Maggie Daley remains with us as a lasting, enduring lively proof that humans, at least this one, are capable of being truly gracious to one another. 

Amen Chris!  You echoed what so many of us feel about Chicago’s former First Lady.  Therese Rowley said in her tribute that Maggie Daley ”read people’s hearts and motives faster than some people recite their names. There was no one who was left outside her grace.”  The Chicago Tribune’s video tribute also speaks to her grace and humility.

May we all learn from her amazing example.  Thank you Mrs. Daley.