She’s the “founding mother” of Cause-Related Marketing, a pioneer in marketing communications for thousands of national brands, and I am lucky enough to have her on Dialogue’s Advisory Board. Welcome Carol. (insert virtual hug here).
I met Carol at my second job out of college and worked for her company for three terrific years. I learned a bit about CRM, how to build a brand, how to brainstorm great ideas for clients, and how to have fun while doing it.
Carol’s got this energy that’s downright contagious. As a hustling young account executive, I put in my hours. But they were never more than Carol. She was always there before I arrived, and burning the midnight oil after I left.
As hard as I worked, I wanted more. I’d do anything for Carol. The day I left Cone (we PR people tend to hop around a bit) I remember feeling a tinge of regret – “did I make the right decision? “should I have stayed with her and her company?”
Now almost ten years later, I don’t have any regrets, because well, I get to work for/with her again. I’m thrilled and honored to have Carol on board. Here’s a brief look at her incredible background.
Carol Cone, CEO, Cone, Inc
Carol is nationally recognized for her work in the Cause Branding® and strategic philanthropy arenas. As the Chairman of Cone, Inc., she has embraced a steadfast commitment to building substantive and sustainable partnerships between companies and social issues for more than 25 years. Cone has pioneered vibrant new alliances for private/public partnerships to create signature programs for a host of Fortune 500 companies, including the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, ConAgra Foods’ Feeding Children Better, PNC Grow Up Great, the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women program, Reebok’s Human Rights Awards, Rockport’s Fitness Walking, and the Gillette Prostate Cancer Challenge, among others. Overall, Cone’s signature cause programs have raised more than $1.2 billion for various social causes. Today, Cone, Inc. is acknowledged as the nation’s leading Cause Branding consultancy.
Since her student days at Brandeis University during the turbulent and socially conscious Vietnam era, Cone’s career has been ignited with a keen passion for social justice. Intuitively grasping the benefits of authentic links between companies and social issues, Cone, Inc. helps companies and nonprofit organizations integrate values and social issues into brand equity and organizational identity to gain significant bottom-line impacts. Cause Branding, a term trademarked by the firm, creates dimensionality for the brand that cannot be easily replicated, vibrancy within the organization that builds pride and loyalty, and a bond with consumers and communities that leads to trust and long-term commitment.
Carol is also considered one of the nation’s experts in the field and is often solicited by the national media, including USA TODAY, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, BusinessWeek and the Harvard Business Review.
Cone’s recognitions include (this is a truncated list because the list is WAY too long)
The 25 Most Powerful Professionals in the Communications Industry – PRWeek 2007
One of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Public Relations, PRWeek
Entrepreneur of the Year, Arthur Young/Venture Magazine
Carol was a contributing writer to the Big Moo, a collaboration of 33 of the world’s smartest business thinkers and their best ideas on how to be remarkable, edited by renown author Seth Godin. The book made the Wall Street Journal bestseller list within two weeks of its release. Cone was also a contributing writer/editor to Cause Marketing for Nonprofits by Jocelyne Daw. Carol was selected by the prestigious Cannes Lions International Marketing Awards to be one of two US judges in their inaugural year of adding an entire public relations division to the competition. She was also selected to be a chairperson for the 2009 Jay Chiat Awards in the Social Strategy Category.
She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with a B.S. in Fine Arts, and Boston University with a Masters in Communications. In 1991, Cone completed the Owner/President Management Program at the Harvard Business School. Carol is a Board Member of Net Impact, a global organization of students and professionals using business to improve the world. She also serves on the Business Advisory Council of Simmons School of Management and is a board advisor to the International Social Media Association and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.
Hometown: Weston, Mass and Wellington, Florida
Favorite Book/Recommended Reading: Built to Last by Jim Collins
How I Relax: Ride horses, cuddle cats, prune trees, rollerblade and arrange flowers
Words to Live by/ Words of wisdom: Be courageous, remember it takes 9 no’s before you get a yes
To be a good leader, manager or entrepreneur, it’s always good to surround yourself with people that are smarter than you. Along this line of thought, I asked myself- “who’s smart” “who’s an entrepreneur who’s been in the trenches”, and “who is a friend (and neighbor) who I can turn to for advice from time to time” That person is Stephen Dimarco
I first met Stephen about 5 years ago here on the North Shore. After sitting around his firepit, enjoying some of his homemade BBQ, and listening to him wax poetic about marketing strategy, I figured I should stick close to this one.
Here is someone who’s a marketer, a business strategy guy, who just so happens to be Chief Marketing Officer at Compete. If you are one of the few people who haven’t yet heard Compete’s story, or what they do, take a peak at their website.
I’m thrilled to have Stephen on the Advisory Board for Dialogue, and looking forward to learning more.
Here’s a quick look at his background.
Stephen DiMarco, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Compete
Stephen has more than 15 years of marketing and client management experience. With Compete, he has management oversight of Compete’s award-winning consumer services and emerging vertical markets. Stephen also oversees marketing of Compete’s intelligence and targeting services to fortune 500 companies. Previously, Mr. DiMarco was a co-founder of the Internet strategy consulting firm ZEFER and directed business development and marketing initiatives for News Corporation, where he negotiated multi-million dollar distribution agreements for the company’s cable programming subsidiaries. Prior to News Corporation, Mr. DiMarco managed the creation of consumer campaigns for Comedy Central, a joint venture between Time Warner and Viacom.
Stephen holds a BS from Georgetown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
I’m very pleased to have a friend and mentor join the Dialogue Advisory Board. Please welcome Court Chilton from Court Chilton & Associates.
Court’s company specializes in helping people-intensive businesses boost productivity. His company, very simply, helps delivers business results through people.
That’s a bit of what I do here at Dialogue. Social Media delivers business results through people as well, just through different channels. So, when I met with Court a few months ago, I managed to convince him of that same message, and to join the Board.
I think (I hope!) it was an easy answer for Court. We’ve been family friends for years, and I look forward to turning a personal relationship into a mutually beneficial professional relationship for both of us.
So, thank you Court, and welcome to Dialogue.
Court Chilton, Court Chilton and Associates
Court has helped large organizations produce business results from learning, coaching, and enterprise-wide change efforts for the last 20 years. His clients have included GE Capital; KPMG; Goldman Sachs; Deloitte; Fidelity; Genzyme; Shire Pharmaceutical; TJX, Home Depot, Clifford Chance; Orrick; and McDermott, Will & Emery.
Court has worked internationally on a wide variety of business-building initiatives: creating “branded client experiences;” relationship management and service improvement; sales training and leadership development; executive education and coaching; implementing Six Sigma; practice management, and re-engineering the learning function. In the course of these initiatives, he has also developed computer simulations, on-line 360 feedback, and in-process e-learning. He is an effective facilitator and coach for senior management teams.
Prior to working as an independent consultant, Court was a senior vice president of The Forum Corporation, based in New York and Boston. In the course of 14 years at Forum, he was responsible for the firm’s core leadership, teaming, and total quality offerings. He also managed the $20M+ mid-Atlantic region for the firm and several strategic client relationships.
Court donates part of his time coaching MBA candidates at Northeastern University and consulting to educational institutions such as Cambridge College (higher education for those who have been denied or lacked access to it) and Mitchell College (a 4 year private college with a special expertise in helping kids with learning disabilities). He also collaborates with the District Management Council, an organization devoted to transferring for-profit management practices to public school systems.
Court received a B.A., magna cum laude with High Honors from Middlebury College in 1978, and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School in 1986. Between college and graduate school he worked in book and magazine publishing in a variety of marketing roles. He lives outside Boston with his family. He has served on his town’s Finance Committee and currently serves on the town’s School Committee.
Hometown: Grew up in Wilmington, DE, Greenwich, CT, and Atlanta GA with stops overseas (Argentina and Switzerland). Currently live in Weston, MA.
My Favorite Book/Recommend Reading: Mountains Beyond Mountains, Three Cups of Tea, anything about people making change happen in alien environments
How I Relax: Playing racket sports, running, cycling, watching my daughters play soccer, basketball, and lacrosse
Words to Live by/Words of Wisdom: Guts are rewarded–go for it!
