Episode 5: Marketing Best Practices for State and Local Government

Welcome to Market Chat! – “Bringing Clarity to the Clutter in Government Marketing” with hot topics, best practices, exciting guests and innovative ideas.

Market Chat! is an ongoing series that provides an open and collaborative interaction between government and industry to ensure that listeners walk away empowered with greater knowledge on how to better market to their targeted federal, state and local audiences.

In this episode of Market Chat!, we will talk with three public sector marketers who have unlocked the secrets of successfully marketing to state and local governments.

Today’s program will cover:

• State and local government buying practices and trends: How do state and local markets operate differently than the federal market and how should marketers address those distinctions?
• Engagement best practices: What works and doesn’t work when it comes to engaging state and local procurement and IT officials?
• Events: What are the best events to attend for reaching state and local decision-makers?
• Research: What are effective ways to research and pursue state and local procurement opportunities?
• Messaging: What should marketers be mindful of when communicating their companies’ value propositions to state and local audiences?

Market Chat! Guest Panelists

Karen Borosky, Senior Field Marketing Manager, State and Local Government and Education, NetApp

Karen Borosky is the Senior Field Marketing Manager covering state and local government and education (SLED) for NetApp. In this role she leads marketing strategy, content development, demand generation and thought leadership for NetApp’s SLED sales and engineering team. Prior to her current role, Karen was the Federal and then SLED Channel Marketing Manager overseeing the enablement, engagement and joint marketing planning with NetApp’s key channel partners.  Karen had responsibility managing over one million+ dollars in MDF budget and executed multiple channel events and partner summits. Prior to joining NetApp, Karen worked at GTSI (Now Unicom Government Inc.) for seven years in marketing communications.  Karen was instrumental in launching GTSI’s virtualization and cloud computing solution marketing and spearheaded the long-running Technology Leadership Series.  Karen has over 15+ years’ experience in marketing, 12 of those specifically in information technology and public sector.  Karen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast communications from Arizona State University. She currently lives in the DC Metro area with her husband and dog, Bogart. Karen is an avid animal lover, traveler and supporter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) and has participated in multiple triathlons and century rides with Team in Training to benefit LLS and find a cure for blood cancers.

James Baker, Public Sector Marketing Strategist

James J. Baker is a noted speaker, author, marketing consultant and strategist on the public sector technology marketplace. Baker has spent his career in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area as well as Northern California consulting for technology companies that sell to government. Baker has consulted for many technology companies, from Fortune 500’s to small businesses, such as: Cisco, Gigamon, Proofpoint, Dimension Data, Microsoft, Adobe, Unify, Hewlett Packard, vmWare, CA Technologies, Salesforce, Unisys, Avaya, Intel, Akamai, Palo Alto Networks, and Electric Lightwave. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Baker currently resides in Northern California with his wife and two sons. Baker is very active in his local community supporting food banks as well as serving as a chaplain in Sacramento Juvenile Justice System.

Stephanie Broyles, Senior Director, Global Government Marketing, FireEye

Stephanie Broyles is a seasoned, highly effective, and innovative marketing leader with extensive Government and Enterprise experience. She has an outstanding track record of building teams, setting strategic and tactical direction to drive mission performance, establishing a winning culture and creating new and disruptive market opportunities. Stephanie has over 23 years of hi-technology marketing, business development and sales experience and 10 years experience in the area of Cyber Security. Currently, Stephanie is serving as Senior Director, Global Government Marketing at FireEye. In this role, she is leading a team of dedicated government cyber security professionals that develop and deliver innovative security programs, solutions and services for federal, state, local government and education clients. Prior to her work at FireEye, Stephanie was Principal at DC Metro Consulting where she managed various consulting projects and held various leadership roles.  Additionally, she has held senior positions at CA Technologies, Commvault, BMC Software, and Siemens.  Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo and has completed/achieved additional higher degree professional course work and industry certifications.

Market Chat! Co-hosts

Lou Anne Brossman, Founder and President, Government Marketing University

Lou Anne Brossman is founder and president of Government Marketing University. She has over 30 years of public sector government marketing leadership experience gained while working for some of the leading companies in the market (Juniper Networks, immixGroup, EMC ). Her roots are in the manufacture world which enables her to better understand and relate to the corporate issues her federal marketing customers are facing. She is a sought out speaker on Government Marketing Best Practices and is well recognized and respected for her ability to drive Thought Leadership campaigns on relevant federal, state and local government policies and mandates. Lou Anne has served on numerous boards including immixGroup and Trezza Media and was a founding member of the Women’s Center Executive Council.   Lou Anne was honored with the Heroines in Technology award presented by Women In Technology and she was the recipient of the ACT IAC Dedication to Making a Difference award.

Lou Anne started Virtual Marketing in 2008 after realizing there was a need for experienced hands-on “virtual” government marketing experts who could provide an economical way for companies to have winning government marketing programs.  She most recently launched Government Marketing University, an innovative learning platform that applies a collaborative, community-based approach toward knowledge sharing and skills development in the field of public sector marketing. Government Marketing University will offer training, research, certifications, mentoring, and community resources all in one place. For more information about Government Marketing University, visit www.governmentmarketinguniversity.com.

Steve Watkins, Chief Content Officer, Government Marketing University

Steve Watkins is the Chief Content Officer at Government Marketing University, an innovative learning platform that applies a collaborative, community-based approach toward knowledge sharing and skills development in the field of public sector marketing.

He launched Watkins Communications in 2015, providing a variety of tailored communications and consulting services to clients in the federal marketplace and offering expertise in all varieties of content platforms, including live events, webcasts, white papers, video, social media, bylined articles, blogs, and issue briefs.

Prior to launching Watkins Communications, Steve served 15 years as the editor of Federal Times, a leading media brand serving the federal management community, Congress and contractors. Under Steve’s leadership, Federal Times won more than three dozen national and regional peer-reviewed awards for journalism excellence in the categories of investigative reporting, news analysis and government coverage. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at events focused on federal management and technology. As editor, Steve transformed the Federal Times editorial brand from a legacy subscription-based publication into a modern business-to-business model focused on the federal management community. Steve repositioned Federal Times to become a robust digital brand with an emphasis on federal modernization and a platform for thought leadership on federal management issues. During Steve’s tenure, Federal Times consistently ranked No. 1 or No. 2 nationally as the “Top Federal Publication Read” by Market Connections Inc., which began conducting federal market research studies in 2011.

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