GMA IAR - August 2009

The Hershey Company won the 2009 CPG Award for Innovation and Creativity with its special nationwide launch of the new Hershey’s Bliss product. Associate Member Council (AMC) Chairman Greg Smith (KPMG’s global lead partner for Walmart) presented the award at the Signature Session at 1:45 today at the GMA Executive Conference in Colorado Springs.

Accepting the award for Hershey was the company’s Global Chief Marketing Officer Michele Buck.

A record number of entries was submitted this year, according to Smith, who also served on the selection committee. The AMC sponsors the annual awards.

Hershey’s product launch used a girlfriend-to-girlfriend theme that celebrates life’s everyday bliss and integrated social media, word-of-mouth buzz and traditional media.

The results were much better than anticipated. The Bliss program reached more than 152 million consumers and created 150 brand advocates nationwide with word-of-mouth advertising reaching an additional 9.8 million consumers. The success has led Hershey to explore using social media and word-of-mouth tactics in other product launches.

Former CEO (now executive chairman of the board) of SUPERVALU Jeff Noddle and former CEO (now chairman) of Rich Inc. Bob Rich received GMA’s cherished Hall of Achievement Awards last night at the opening session of GMA’s Executive Conference in Colorado Springs.

The conference continues though Tuesday. GMA Vice Chairman Rick Wolford (chairman, president and CEO of DelMonte Foods) presented the awards.

Noddle has worked his entire career in the grocery business. He joined SUPERVALU in 1976 and rose through the ranks until 2000, when he was named CEO. Noddle served in numerous leadership capacities in the industry, including FMI chairman in 2006-7 and a member of the FMI Sustainability Task Force. His many honors include FMI’s Herbert Hoover Award and the Anti-Defamation League’s National Leadership Award.

Rich became president and CEO of the family firm in 1978, taking the company international and expanding its revenue growth by 261 percent. The former chairman of the Uniform Code Council and former chairman of GMA from 1999 to 2001, Rich was the longest-serving member of the board of directors in GMA history. He chairs the nationwide capital campaign for $1.25 billion dollars on behalf of the Cleveland Clinic. He has written three books – one of which is being made into a movie.

GMA is sponsoring a special one-day forum entitled “The Sustainable Advantage” Oct. 5 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Dallas.

CPG executives in environmental sustainability, marketing, supply chain, operations, sales and other areas are expected to attend the session that focuses on the cost savings and bottom-line growth offered today by going green.

The event will be capped by a reception co-sponsored with the Retail Industry Leader Association’s Environmental Sustainability and Compliance Conference, which is holding its conference at the same site, the Embassy Suites Dallas-Frisco Hotel. GMA has negotiated a special member rate for its conference attendees if they wish to stay on for the RILA’s conference, scheduled Oct. 5 - 7.

Sign up by Sept. 11 and receive significant savings on your registration fees for GMA’s annual Merchandising Sales and Marketing Conference (MSM), to be held this year Nov. 2-4 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.

Sam’s Club’s Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer Linda Hefner headlines the conference. Before her current position, Hefner was executive vice president and general manager for the home business unit for Walmart Stores Inc. U.S. Hefner has also served as executive vice president for global strategy and business development for Kraft Foods Inc. and has held leadership roles at Sara Lee Corporation. The MBA-graduate of Harvard also has consulting experience with Ernst & Young.

Others in a stellar lineup of speakers include Terry Nannie, senior director of marketing at Walmart Stores Inc., and Bob Livingston, CPG veteran and business author.

Companies interested in sponsorship opportunities connected to the always well-received conference are urged to contact Jonathan Downey at 202.395.2945 or jdowney@gmaonline.org.

This year’s conference – which attracts senior-level marketing, sales and merchandising executives from across the industry – explores avenues manufacturers and retailers can use to survive the longest and deepest recession in 70 years and emerge stronger. The conference theme is “Resilience and Relevance: Winning Strategies for a New Economy.”

The Retail Ready (RRP) Subcommittee of the Industry Affairs Council’s met earlier this month at Georgia Pacific headquarters in Atlanta to discuss recent global marketplace activities around retail ready packaging. The issue was raised at the April meetings of the Industry Affairs Council and the Trading Partner Alliance meetings.

At the Atlanta meeting, the subcommittee heard reports on the work on shelf-ready packaging by the Food and Consumer Packaged Group of Canada, and Accenture presented the Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) work in Europe. The group also developed a plan that includes a set of trading partner working principals and a communications plan to bring more collaboration to the issue. Walmart was invited to the IAC and the TPA meetings occurring at the GMA Executive Conference to present its global plans on RRP.

“RRP is a unique collaboration opportunity for both manufacturers and retailers that can lead to economic gains for both trading partners if common approaches are developed” said GMA Senior Vice President for Industry Affairs Stephen Sibert.

This month GMA announced a new initiative to strengthen collaboration between CPG manufacturers and colleagues in the packaging machinery industry. GMA Upstream will focus on attaining new levels of manufacturing and engineering excellence within both sectors, according to GMA Vice President for Membership and Meeting Services Patrick Brookover.

The program will be launched at the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute’s PACK EXPO in Las Vegas Oct. 5-7.

Planned for the initiative are Solutions Center: small-group, collaborative and customized problem-solving meetings; Learning Center: peer networking, share groups and conferences in face-to-face and virtual models; Food Safety Center: expand the support of current GMA initiatives.

The implementation of the GS1 DataBar code for coupons – originally scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2010 – has been deferred for one more year.

GMA announced the delay after it collected information through the Joint Industry Coupon Committee (JICC) revealing that retailers did not have the necessary equipment or POS software in place at this time.

GMA Vice President Steve Sibert noted that, despite the delay, the JICC urges retailers to proceed with GS1DateBar implementation as soon as possible – not to wait for the 2011 date. “Early adoption will ensure a smooth transition, allowing the manufacturer and retailer to serve our consumers better,” he said.

The JICC includes representatives from GMA, Food Marketing Institute, National Grocers Association, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, plus individuals from manufacturers and retailers who oversee coupon programs.

Because Bivona touches many classes of trade, he is actively involved with various trade associations. He believes that being affiliated with a trade association is not enough. Being fully “engaged and giving back are necessities if you expect to gain a return on your investment.” Bivona has taken on various chair positions on several boards:

· FMI: Vice Chair, Associate Member Advisory Council; Chair, Meetings and Conference Committee

Bivona started his career with Mobil Oil and had various responsibilities starting as a marketing executive, then a national account executive and finally a marketing manager. After Mobil Oil, Bivona joined Coca Cola/New York as director of their convenience and specialty accounts in New England. He was given the opportunity to get involved in the publishing industry and took a position with Time Inc. Bivona has held various positions – regional account manager, national account manager, vice president of national accounts and, currently, vice president of customer development. Bivona has been the recipient of various awards during his career: Mobil Oil Salesman of the Year, Coca Cola New York Salesman Award, nominated twice for Time Inc’s President’s Award, Vendor of the Year from one of Time’s largest airport customers and Meredith’s Publishing Company Publisher Excellence Award.

Bivona was raised 45 minutes north of New York City in Port Chester, New York. Moving becomes part of one’s career, and Bivona has had stays in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida and now resides in Stratford, CT.

The thrill of adventure seems to run in Bivona’s blood, he flew six aerial combat dog fights in California and jumped with The Golden Knights, the U.S. Army Parachute Team, and was a crew member for a sailboat racing team in Florida, New York and Connecticut. He also had played in the MLB Legends Camp with the St. Louis Cardinals. In college, Bivona played Division 2 Tennis at Mercy College. When time permits, he tries to find a few hours a week of strategic thinking playing golf. He also sits on the boards of baseball’s Major League Development and Evaluation, Mercy College School of Business, Rudy (The Notre Dame Rudy) Sports Drink Company. A member of Delta Mu Delta, an association for business executives, he is married to Laura and has three children – Jaime, Janine and Joe.

Degree in business administration, Mercy College. Plans to start working on his masters in organizational leadership in January.

“They say life sometimes comes full circle. My first job was at a supermarket, working as a bagger as well as in the deli and produce departments. Little did I know then that my career would lead me back to my roots.

· “My first job taught me to be tough and be a fighter. Mobil Oil trained its employees for eight months throughout the country. Mobil’s intent was not only to teach its strategy and brands but to see if you could stick it out. Their expectations were extremely high: excel, work hard or go home. One learned to find a way to survive. Education plays a very big role in my career. Warren Buffet is quoted as saying: ‘Investing in one-self pays off 10 fold.’ Stimulating intellectual growth of an individual leads to innovation that is vital when surviving in a competitive environment. Passion is the intensity we feel when we enjoy the activities that deeply interest us. Passion tends to be catchy, since it fills an organization with energy and enables us to perform at our peak. I have learned in both my personal and professional journeys that integrity and respecting the values of individuals you associate and work with helps build an atmosphere of collaboration. Maintaining high expectations of oneself and the people you work with also helps to drive and deliver the goals and objectives on which we are all measured. It’s important to remember that surrounding yourself with great support systems – from your administrative assistant, proactive supervisors to all the many people who work with you – is vital if you expect to achieve the goals that drive shareholder equity. The most important thing of all is having a wife and family that support me and help bring everything together.”