NINTH CONFERENCE...BIG SUCCESS!!
But we think that we had an especially good one, as usual. Approximately fifty people attended. There were twenty-nine scheduled competitive presentations, one four-person panel and three invited speakers. By starting early in the morning and running sessions until late in the afternoon, we were able to confine all of this activity within this single track. This meant that everyone could hear every paper and discussion could occur freely among all participants.
In addition to the marketing history program, a memorial for Kathleen and Lilly Rassuli was conducted by Father Dick Preston of the St. Johns Students Parish at Michigan State.
Accommodations, most sessions, and most meals were provided at Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center but we did essay forth to two other venues. The Friday afternoon session was conducted at the School of Packaging. Besides presentations on the history and development of packaging education (and probably a new insight for most attendees,) the group had an opportunity to view the extensive testing equipment in the school's laboratories.
After that event, we traveled to the Dinosaur Hall of the University Museum for dinner. Wine sipping, designed to help ease the rigors of pursuing historical truth were held Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and hopefully contributed to the meeting's relaxed air. Robert Lusch, the retiring editor of the Journal of Marketing and forthcoming president of the American Marketing Association was the keynote speaker Thursday night. Pamela Laird, author of Advertising Progress of the University of Colorado @ Denver spoke on Saturday and Dave Stivers, archivist of the National Biscuit Company discussed Uneeda Biscuit package history in honor of its 100th anniversary. Donald Dixon of the Free University of the Netherlands received the Stanley C. Hollander prize for best conference paper. While David Bussiere of Queens University was the winner of the David Monieson prize for the best student paper. Conference co-chairs were Kathy Rassuli (during the early pending stages), Terrence Nevett, Stan Hollander and Diana Twede. Diana was responsible for local arrangements with assistance from Bob LaMoreaux who is the Packaging School's liaison with Kellogg Center. The Conference was sponsored by the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management and the School of Packaging at Michigan State University, the Academy of Marketing Science, and the Journal of Macromarketing.
Industry sponsorship came from the Packaging Education Forum and the Institute of Packaging Professionals. A proceedings volume is being prepared, we will include all full papers presented at the Conference, abstracts of working papers and other relevant material. Peggy Cunningham and David Bussiere of Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, will be the co-editors. Abstracts of the full papers are also scheduled to appear in the Journal of Macromarketing. Further information about proceedings prices and availability will be released as soon as possible. The Tenth Conference is scheduled for some date in April or May 2001 at the J.W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising and Marketing History, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. D.G. Brian Jones of the University of Prince Edward Island and Ellen Gartrell, Director of the Hartman Center are the co-chairs. See related story.
Stan Hollander made a somewhat premature announcement of his retirement from Conference leadership to mark his 80th birthday sometime in summer 1999. (Maybe that's why it was such a jolly meeting.) Brian Jones is willing to take over the leadership, advisory council has been reorganized, and plans for formal organization are under consideration. Stan will remain with the Journal of Macromarketing and RIM for the time being. See related story.
NEW ACRONYM
In this acronymic world, where everything from Wall Street high flyers to political and social causes to academic institutions are designated by sets of initials, the marketing history conferences without a set of initials, almost seem a little shabby, a little bit undressed in public. Now the lack has been rectified. The Ninth Conference, completed at Michigan State University in May 1999, adopted the designation CHARM, (Conference on Historical Analysis and Research in Marketing). The designation CHARM is easily remembered, it was thoroughly test marketed on a selected group of bright, talented, knowledgeable, experienced marketing experts to whit the conference advisory counsel members who had just completed their mayonnaise sandwich lunches. The term reflects the personable personalities of marketing historians; it also reflects the absolute fascination that marketing history poses for all of us. Here's hoping you will all come to the charming Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in Spring of 2001 to be a charmer at Marketing History's CHARM tenth.
