Irv Lustig, Candidate
INFORMS Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Outreach
Summary
I am a candidate for the INFORMS Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Outreach. Voting will occur in August, 2023. I will use this page to describe my ideas that I hope to bring forward if I am elected. Below is the vision statement that will appear on the ballot.
Vision Statement
I am honored to be nominated for the position of INFORMS Vice President for Marketing, Communications and Outreach. If elected, I will lead the effort for INFORMS to realize its strategic goal of “Champion our profession and our brand.”
I believe that I am uniquely qualified to help INFORMS achieve this goal. From 1997 to 2001, I was part of the marketing organization at ILOG. From that experience, I learned how to define products that resonate with an addressable market. I am knowledgeable about how effective promotional strategies driven by consistent messaging and positioning can drive increased revenue and market penetration. For one year, I was ILOG’s Optimization Evangelist, which included formal media training and multiple interviews with a variety of publications. From 2003 to 2005, I contributed my marketing experience to a committee led by INFORMS President Tom Cook that positioned our profession as “The Discipline of Applying Advanced Analytical Methods to Make Better Decisions.” This led to the definition of “Operations Research” as the “Science of Better,” creation of a website describing the profession and a second website providing materials to INFORMS members to help them in promoting the profession, and making the INFORMS Edelman Award a focus of our marketing efforts. This resulted in creating the Edelman Gala that is held annually as part of the INFORMS Business Analytics Conference. To achieve the new INFORMS strategic goal of promoting our profession, I plan to leverage the lessons learned back then to create a multiyear promotional strategy that will make the outside world more aware of the improved profits, efficiencies, and even lives saved brought about by the work done every day by INFORMS members.
If elected, I will collaborate with fellow board members and the INFORMS staff on the following activities, some of which are already underway:
Determine the distinctive competencies of INFORMS as a professional organization, as compared to other organizations. What makes INFORMS different from organizations such as the Institute for Industrial Engineers (ISIE), American Statistical Association (ASA), American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), Decision Sciences Institute (DSI), and other similar organizations?
Determine the member value proposition, especially for people in industry. What products and services can INFORMS offer to industry professionals that will make joining INFORMS worthwhile?
Decide on a label that describes what our members do. It could be Operations Research, Analytics, Data Science, AI, or something else. Be consistent in using this label in all communication activities.
Educate the members to use consistent language in describing the field.
Propose a significant multiyear budget for promoting the profession, leveraging advertising agencies and public relations firms, with achievable and measurable metrics demonstrating the effectiveness of these efforts.
Determine promotional strategies that are appropriate for promoting INFORMS as a professional society versus promoting the profession.
I am confident that a well-executed and appropriately funded marketing strategy consisting of properly aligned activities can lead to increased enrollments in our academic programs, more jobs for people with our unique skill sets, and an increase in INFORMS membership. These efforts will then contribute to the other strategic goals of INFORMS.
Many people ask why I am always seen wearing a hat at INFORMS conferences. Since 1991, “the guy with the white hat” has been part of my personal brand. It sets me apart and makes me memorable. If elected, I will use my marketing skills to create an effective brand for INFORMS and our profession. I hope to receive your support as we work together to increase the visibility of our profession as your next Vice President for Marketing, Communications and Outreach.