UNC Pembroke will continue to stoke the fires of the entrepreneurial talent and spirit of the region with a Guerrilla Marketing Entrepreneurship Summit on Feb. 25 at the University Center Annex.

UNCP’s newest Entrepreneurship Summit is sponsored by the Thomas Family Center for Entrepreneurship and the School of Business. Jim Thomas, CEO of Thomas Property Group, and namesake of the Center, will welcome guests.

“Guerrilla” marketing strategies rely on unconventional, low cost, creative techniques that allow small companies to get more bang from their marketing investments, said Carmen Calabrese, director of the Thomas Family Center for Entrepreneurship.

“Plotting a guerrilla marketing strategy enables a business venture to cost effectively build a competitive edge,” Calabrese said. “A small business has a competitive edge when customers perceive that the company and its products or services are superior to those of its competitors.

“The right marketing strategy is a key determinant of how successful a business can be,” he said.

The best way to gain a competitive advantage is to create value by giving customers what they really want and cannot get elsewhere, Calabrese continued.

Successful businesses use the special advantages they have to build a competitive edge over their larger rivals by delivering 1) closer contact with customers, 2) personal attention, 3) a focus on service and 4) organizational and managerial flexibility.

Entrepreneurial businesses rely on 11 guerrilla marketing strategies to develop a competitive edge by: niche-picking; entertailing; branding; emphasizing uniqueness; connecting with customers; focusing on customers’ needs; emphasizing quality; paying attention to convenience; concentrating on innovation; dedicating themselves to service; and emphasizing speed.

Learn more about these new marketing concepts and strategies at the Entrepreneurship Summit. Sessions include: positioning and branding; pricing and product development; promotional advertising; and government contracting for entrepreneurs. Presenters include:

— Nick Arena, executive director of COMtech, will give an overview of guerrilla marketing.

— John Parnell, the William Belk Distinguished Professor of Business at UNCP, will speak on positioning and branding.

— Bob Moore of Robeson Community College will discuss pricing and product development.

— Ted Hollingsworth of Line Design Graphics of Greensboro will consider promotional advertising and public relations.

— Tom Aberant of UNC Wilmington’s Small Business and Technology Development Center will wrap up with a session on government contracting.

There is no cost for the daylong summit. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and sessions at 9 a.m.

For more information or to make a reservation by Friday, contact Kathy McCoin at (910) 521-6214 or e-mail her at kathy.mccoin@uncp.edu. To register online, go to: www.uncp.edu/tfce/news/2010/summit_registration_form%20(3).pdf/.