For the second straight year, the Think For A Change Blog is proud to serve as a Media Partner for the 2009 Annual International Conference of the Product Development and Management Association!!!

It's no secret that times are tough right now.  Keeping a pulse in your organization is your number one priority.  But what are you going to do when the tough times start to ebb?  How are you going to separate yourself from your competition?  What if you had a head start?  Well, as you have learned from this blog, and the release of The Innovation Manager's Desk Reference, one of the first steps you should take is to breathe some life into your idea/innovation management program and start moving great ideas from concept to reality via a robust new product/service development pipeline.

Need a little help?  Need a place to gather best/next practices?  Need a fresh perspective?  What about the 2009 PDMA Annual International Conference? 

I know...you have some questions...

WHAT ARE THE BASICS?:

October 31 - November 4, 2009
The Disneyland Hotel
1150 Magic Way
Anaheim, California, USA, 92802

2009 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
The Research Forum                          October 31  -  November 1
Skills Building Workshop Day            November 2
Conference Days 1 & 2                        November 3 - 4

<<CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE BROCHURE>>


WHAT ARE THE KEY BENEFITS OF ATTENDING?:

• Examples from REAL companies who solved today's New Product Development issues, and DIRECT access to the people who did it
• Unpublished and unrivaled NEXT GENERATION practices for New Product Development
• See how SMALL, MEDIUM, and LARGE companies are thriving in New Product Development
• Network with a variety of FUNCTIONAL GROUPS who drive New Product Development
• An opportunity to get a BROAD range of expertise, including basics for individuals just getting started in New Product Development as well as BEST PRACTICES AND BEYOND for those with more experience

WHAT ARE THIS YEAR'S MAIN CONFERENCE "TRACKS?":

"NPD DNA" ~ An examination of what you have and what you need to enhance New Product Development best practices will be showcased to include people, teams and culture, process, tools and techniques for success, financial metrics, and business case analysis.

"Turbo Charging for Commercial Success" ~ will focus on identifying opportunities and approaches to transforming those opportunities from idea to action better, faster and cheaper. Topics will include innovating in tough times, identifying customer inspired white spaces, integrative innovation across industry lines and fostering breakthrough innovation.

"Got Blog? The Next Generation" ~ will focus on future trends and the next generation of potential new best practices in the areas of customer research and marketing, social media and web 2.0 technologies, commercialization, portfolio management, and non-product innovation that enable product innovation to thrive.


WHERE CAN I NETWORK WITH PEOPLE ATTENDING THE CONFERENCE BEFORE I EVEN GET THERE?

You're in luck!  We've established multiple locations in the social networking world for you to plug-in and get connected with conference updates, have your questions answered, link you to hot topics in the innovation/npd space and allow you to network with attendees, presenters and even keynoters!  Just follow these links to get started:

• PDMA International Conference LinkedIn Group
• Innovation Management LinkedIn Group
• PDMA Conference Facebook Group
• PDMA Conference Google Group
• Follow the PDMA Conference on Twitter

WHAT IF I WANT TO REVIEW THE DAILY PRESENTATION AGENDAS, SPEAKER PROFILES, SPONSORS AND EXHIBITORS?:

Just head to the main PDMA Annual International Conference web site for more information!


LIKE YOU SAID, TIME'S ARE TOUGH...WHAT IF I NEED SOME HELP PAYING FOR MY CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEES?:

I've even got you covered there...use the special Media Partner discount code (MP09IC) during registration to save 20% off of your main conference fees!!!


READY TO REGISTER?  Just click REGISTER FOR 2009 PDMA ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE and don't forget to use your 20% Discount Code - MP09IC!!!