Controversial Business Speaker Billed in Canton

North Carolina Consultant R. Sam Bowers to Inaugurate Innis Maggiore Power of i Leadership Series

CANTON, Ohio (September 25, 2003) - R. Sam Bowers, a business consultant with controversial ideas about succeeding in the new economy, will present his views in an address at the Kent Stark Business and Conference Center on Tuesday, October 7.

Bowers, president of the Sales Service Institute in Charlotte, N.C., will be the first speaker in Innis Maggiore Group's "Power of i Leadership Series," a lecture program sponsored by the Canton-based advertising and public relations firm.

Bowers is widely known for his assertion that CEOs need to manage differently in today's economy because the advantage has shifted from the seller to the buyer. Long-standing customer relationships, value-added service offerings and warranties mean less and less in an internet-driven economy, where buyers increasingly encourage proven suppliers to compete with each other on price, Bowers contends.

He also points out that change will be constant, making it difficult for CEOs to succeed by sticking to proven formulas.

"This is not our father's business model," Bowers says. "In fact, it's not even our business model. In the new economy, we grow and prosper not by perfecting the known, but by imperfectly seizing the unknown."

Bowers has addressed thousands of CEOs, trade associations and corporate conventions. He helps entrepreneurial companies determine their long-term positioning and develop their sales and marketing programs. A former president and COO for Norrell Corp., an employment services company, Bowers has also been a salesman and training manager in the computer industry as well as an associate professor of economics.

Dick Maggiore, president of Innis Maggiore Group, said the Canton firm expects about 90 business executives from the region to attend the program at Kent Stark's Timken Great Hall.

"We believe the macro changes Sam Bowers talks about will eventually affect every product and every business," Maggiore says. "You may not like all that he has to say, but I promise you will not stop thinking about it."

Innis Maggiore Group is an advertising and public relations firm with nearly 60 associates at offices in Canton and Youngstown, Ohio. The company quadrupled in size between 1997 and 2002, and is projecting 2003 capitalized billings of more than $30 million. In May 2003, Advertising Age ranked Innis Maggiore the fastest-growing agency in Ohio. Key clients include Aultman Health Foundation, Brewster Dairy, Liquid Control Corp., Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Microsoft Corp., NancyLopezGolf, NEOUCOM, Nickles Bakery, Parker Hannifin, Progressive Foam Technologies, Rainbow Rentals, Republic Engineered Products, Smithers-Oasis Co. and Square Two Golf. Innis Maggiore is a member of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Direct Marketing Association, the National Investor Relations Institute and the Public Relations Society of America.