Episode 7: How to successfully market to government during a CR

This content is provided by Government Marketing University.

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.

Every year, October predictably brings autumn leaves, playoff baseball, and, yes, a new CR. Continuing Resolutions — the stopgap funding bills that keep government running until Congress passes an annual appropriations — play havoc on government budgets and planning. So what does a government marketer need to know?

In this episode of Market Chat!, we will hear  from three former federal executives about how CRs impact the government procurement cycle — and your government marketing campaigns.  Hear important insights into how marketers can better plan and execute their messaging campaigns when budgets are tight and future funding is uncertain.

• When did CR become the “new norm” and how does it impact the federal IT community?
• What can government contractors expect to see under the new CR that will take effect on Oct. 1?
• How can government marketers improve the success of their marketing campaigns during a CR?
• How can government contractors leverage Federal End-of-Year (EOY) Sweeps when moving towards a CR.

In addition, this Market Chat edition will discuss how to ensure your marketing campaigns are hitting the mark for Citizen’s Services.  During a one-on-one interview with Martha Dorris, Founder at Dorris Consulting International and Former Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, GSA we will hear the new buzz words and how government is actively using new technologies for their mission of Citizen Experience.

Market Chat! Guest Panelists

Karen Britton, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, e-Management

GMarkU Ambassador and Former Special Assistant to the President, Chief Information Officer, Executive Office of the President

Ms. Karen Britton is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. She holds a Master of Science Degree in Management from Florida Institute of Technology.  She is a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College and is a certified Program Management Professional.

Ms. Britton began her professional career with the Submarine Maintenance Engineering Procurement and Planning (SUBMEPP) at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as a General Engineer.  In 1990 Ms. Britton joined the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Headquarters, Submarine Directorate where she served as project engineer for SSN688 Class submarines. In May of 1998, Ms. Britton was selected as the Assistant Acquisition Program Manager in the USS VIRGINIA Class Program Office.  Early the following year Ms. Britton served as the Team Submarine Congressional Manager responsible for all public affairs and media inquiries.

In 2000, Ms. Britton was promoted to the position of Deputy CIO for IT Capital Planning. Ms. Britton then served as the Deputy Command Information Officer for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) where she was responsible for managing Command-wide Information Technology planning, policy, and budget. Ms. Britton departed the Department of Navy in 2007 for an opportunity in the private sector and was selected for a Program Management position where she provided support to the Department of Energy for implementing capital planning and developing an enterprise architecture plan.

In July 2009, Ms. Britton joined the Office of Administration, Executive Office of the President as the Deputy Chief Information Officer. Subsequently, Ms. Britton received her Commission as Special Assistant to the President, Chief Information Officer. During her tenure at White House, Ms. Britton spearheaded cloud computing strategy, agile software development methodologies, and open-source approaches to deliver the President’s message to the American people in a variety of innovative ways. Ms. Britton directly supported the President’s vision of cybersecurity protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of unclassified information systems.

In her current role at e-Management, Ms. Britton assumes a broad range of responsibilities including the company’s expansion into the Department of Defense (DoD), federal civilian and intelligence agencies. In addition, Ms. Britton is responsible for developing strategic commercial corporate relationships.

Ms. Britton is a graduate of Excellence in Government Fellows Program. She is also a recipient of the Partnership for Public Service Leadership in Action; the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award; and the National Women of Color in Technology Award.

Martha Dorris, Founder, Dorris Consulting International

GMarkU Ambassador and Former Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, GSA

Martha Dorris recently retired from the federal government after almost 34 years at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).  She worked primarily in the areas of information technology acquisition, digital service delivery and citizen or customer experience.  Martha championed the adoption of new technologies such as cloud, social media and mobile to deliver citizen services to the public.  She provided many products, services and contracts to agencies to help them deliver better citizen services.  These included the DigitalGov products at GSA in alignment with the Digital Government Strategy to deliver government services anytime, anywhere on any device.

Martha implemented a customer experience program in her office in GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies (now the Technology Transformation Service), to include creating a Government CX index for the agency and citizen facing programs, learning sessions, performance measurement and government-wide networks.  In addition, she brought a customer focus during her short time in GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service.

Martha continued her passion for customer experience after retirement by launching Dorris Consulting International where she helps government and the private sector to implement customer experience programs.  Martha has been recognized for her work in government and continues to strive to improve the citizen’s experience.

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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