Cameron’s Will Leadoff Speaker at Rice Marketing Symposium

Cameron VP of marketing and strategy Edward E. Will was the first of a heavy-hitting lineup of speakers who addressed a crowd of nearly 300 business school students and industry professionals in attendance at the 2012 Rice Marketing Symposium on Friday.

Will, a graduate of Harvard Business School and a key member of Cameron's executive team since 1998, shared with the audience his company's transition from executing marketing initiatives by individual business units to an enterprise-wide brand. Will pointed to the award-winning “Discover Cameron” interactive campaign, a collaboration between Cameron’s marketing team and Axiom, Cameron’s agency of record since 2005, as the latest example of a unified marketing message across Cameron's multiple business units.

He identified quality and customer satisfaction as priorities in strengthening Cameron's position in the marketplace. He also addressed the potential role of social media in B2B marketing, but cautioned that it may be a deliberate process at best. “Oil and gas companies are conservative and don't like change. Don't expect things to happen quickly,” Will said.

Following Will at the Rice podium were Drew Helmey, associate channel manager at General Mills; Layla Baughn and Sarah Litton, brand managers at Coca-Cola; Sara Ofner, associate brand manager at Coca-Cola; Vikki Dunn and John Biggs, chief marketing officers at GE Oil & Gas; and Sameer Bandhu, global leader of pricing and strategy at GE Power & Water.