Page 22 - Marketing Times v1

● Another local marketing powerhouse, Britten Studios, supplied the warm welcome waiting at VP’s main entrance. The major brands represented at this year’s event included Hillshire Brands, Foster Farms, Smithfield Farmland, French’s, Barilla, High Liner Foods, Smucker’s, and Branding Iron.
Focus on Foodservice
A TRAVERSE CITY-BASED MARKETING
National foodservice brands work allenges at Village
on marketing chIF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME.”
NOT NECESSARILY, SAYS VILLAGE PRESS,
COMPANY. They decided to ip the commonly heard Field of Dreams mantra years ago by asking their foodservice clients what they need VP to build. Every August in Traverse City, participants at the Annual Client Focus Group work together with VP to create go-to- market innovations, and solve their industry’s marketing-related problems. Work and play are balanced over two days to keep everyone at their most creative – and to ensure clients can enjoy the best of summer in northern Michigan.
Why is the event so successful? “The Annual Client Focus Group allows us to stay focused
on what’s most important to our clients and consistently exceed their expectations, year-after- year. We use their brainstorming to create an annual Innovation Plan, and we deliver solutions faster and less expensively than if they have to
● Andy Lepere, VP’s IT director, discusses potential project options with Lisa Oakley of Barilla USA.
● Each company receives a limited number of votes for their favorite projects written on posters lining the room. To mark votes, clients put stickers next to the projects they want to see built; more stickers mean more
weight is placed on a project.
22 Traverse City Marketing Times • Fall 2014
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