Registration is now open for the for the BRITE '11 conference taking place at Columbia University on March 2-3, 2011, hosted by the Center on Global Brand Leadership.

Now in it's 4th year, the BRITE conference brings together big thinkers from business, technology, media, and marketing to discuss how today's big ideas and cultural trends are reshaping the ways that organizations build and sustain great brands.

Register now with a special preview price and save 50% off the full price ticket! (Only available through December 31, 2010.)

Speakers already confirmed include:

Antonio Lucio, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Visa Inc.
Russell Weiner, Chief Marketing Officer, Domino's Pizza
Colin Mitchell, Worldwide Planning Director, Ogilvy & Mather
Sheena Iyengar, Prof., Columbia Business School; author, The Art of Choosing
Jim Gregory, CEO, CoreBrand
Steve Rubel, Senior Vice President, Edelman Digital
Abbey Klaasen, Executive Editor, Advertising Age
Josh Millrod, Sr. Digital Strategist (on Nike, ESPN & Old Spice), Wieden+Kennedy
Luke Williams, Fellow at Frog Design; author, Disrupt
Marissa Evans, Founder/CEO, GoTryItOn
Bill Chasen, Co-founder/CEO, Stickybits
Bernd Schmitt, Prof., Columbia Business School; author, Big Think Strategy
David Rogers, BRITE host; author, The Network Is Your Customer

Visit the BRITE '11 conference page for more information about BRITE '11.

BRITE '11 sponsors:

Contact us if you are interested in becoming a BRITE '11 sponsor.

When Facebook launched its "Places" tool, it dramatically expanded the reach of a new mobile technology trend that already had a lot of buzz: location-based "check-ins."

As smart phone adoption and mobile social networking continue to grow, businesses must look at how to best leverage the greater connections available between physical places and information.

As a two-part series of posts, David Rogers examines the following opportunities that check-in services will provide for brands and marketers:

• Leveraging the sharing of location with friends, and, more importantly, with businesses.
• Moving from offering discounts to building relationships with your customers.
• Using check-in services as the new, brick & mortar loyalty card.
• Challenges for the future: privacy, consumer motivation, targeting and creative innovation.

Read more and comment.

If you are an international traveler, you have likely seen HSBC's advertisements in one of the 45 international airports where it is running its current billboard campaign. 

What makes this global campaign truly distinctive is HSBC's implementation of a "glocalized" strategy--keeping a consistent execution across multiple countries, while maintaining a local flavor in its message at each airport.

In her recent post, Melissa Renteria, CBS '12, examines how HSBC is building its global brand not only through advertising, but also by delivering on its promise of being "the world's local bank" through its customer service execution and specialized product and service offerings.

Global brands that find value in appealing to local customers can certainly learn a lesson from this glocalized execution.

Read more and comment.