The Annual Conference has traditionally been the core activity of EMAC. The 2004 conference to be hosted by the Marketing Department of the University of Murcia continues to uphold the Academy’s goal to promote and facilitate intensive debate and exchange of knowledge, ideas and insights arising from academic research in all the major fields of marketing.

However, besides our traditional conference event this year, I am pleased to draw readers’ attention to two joint events that are being planned for 2004 and 2005. One is a special event which is being organised in conjunction with the European Society for Opinion and Market Research, ESOMAR, representing the world association of market research professionals. The other is a joint symposium with our sister association, the Australian-New Zealand Academy of Marketing (ANZMAC) to be held in conjunction with the main EMAC 2005 Conference.

Research in Marketing - where science meets practice: A joint conference in partnership with ESOMAR, 10-12 October 2004, Warsaw

The joint EMAC-ESOMAR Conference, entitled “Marketing - where science meets practice” will be held at The Westin Hotel, Warsaw, Poland. The foundation idea for the joint conference builds on EMAC’s mission to facilitate the exchange of state-of-the-art knowledge and research results and that of ESOMAR to promote the use of opinion and market research for improving decision making in business and society worldwide.

The joint conference seeks to bring together professional marketers, practitioners and academics alike to establish an exchange on new thinking for methods, techniques and their application, to widen perspectives on marketing practice and to ensure business relevance. Participants from both the practitioner and academic spheres within and outside Europe will contribute to intensive discussions of a broad range of marketing topics including: managing brands in global markets, the impacts of social, cultural and economic change, new product development models and understanding consumers.

The prospects of bridging the gap between marketing scientists and practitioners are appealing for individuals involved or interested in advancing marketing theory and research of relevance to practice, on the one hand, and those keen to apply marketing theory and research for business improvement on the other. For EMAC members, this event is consistent with one of the academy’s aims, which is to serve as the core of a communication network for disseminating information and promoting international exchange in the field of marketing.

Full details of the event can be obtained at: http://www.esomar.org/index.php?a=3&p=1161

Alternatively, for further information, please contact the EMAC-ESOMAR conference programme manager Victoria Steven, e-mail: v.steven@esomar.org

Innovation in Marketing: Implications for Theory, Techniques and Measurements: a joint EMAC-ANZMAC symposium, 27 May 2005, Milan

Following a successful event in Perth, December 2002, EMAC and ANZMAC join forces to co-organise a one-day symposium which be held in conjunction with the EMAC 2005 Conference, to be hosted by Bocconi University, Milan. The symposium will be co-chaired by myself, representing EMAC, and Mark Gabbott, from ANZMAC.

Globalization, rapidly changing technologies, the diffusion of the internet, socio-political upheavals and demographic movements are challenging the ‘old ways’ of doing business and how marketing traditionally adds value for customers in the market place. In response, smart marketers seek new ways to determine, develop and deliver value-driven innovations to satisfy market demands in ever more competitive market places. By implication, Marketing academics have to continually update their knowledge base, challenging old thinking and advancing new theories to promote better understanding and explanations of contemporary marketing phenomena.

It is against this background that we set the theme for the 2005 joint research symposium of EMAC and ANZMAC: “Innovation in Marketing: Implications for Theory, Techniques and Measurements”. Discussions will centre on state-of-the-art understanding of Marketing theory and paradigms; innovative developments and advances in marketing research, research methods and analyses; and latest developments in marketing metrics and measurements.

The objective of the symposium is to provide a forum for stimulating awareness of new marketing knowledge, methodologies and metrics advanced by the latest research in marketing. A second but no less important objective is to foster research networking and interaction between members of EMAC (European Marketing Academy) and the sister academy ANZMAC (Australia and New Zealand Marketing Academy), and to encourage scholars and researchers from the Asia Pacific region who join these networks to promote new ideas and insights arising from their own research.

The Call for Expressions of Interest will be disseminated at the Murcia 2004 Conference. In addition, for full details of the event, visit the EMAC web site: http://www.emac-online.org

Alternatively, for further information, please contact either myself (v.w.y.wong@aston.ac.uk) or Mark Gabbott (mark.gabbott@buseco.monash.edu.au).