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Speakers

Featured Keynotes

Don Peppers

Author, Return on Customer
CEO, Peppers & Rogers Group (bio)Don Peppers, Return on Customer

Bob Garfield

Bob Garfield
Advertising Age Columnist and Co-Host, NPR's On The Media (bio)Bob Garfield, And Now A Few Words From Me

Fred Reichheld

Author, The Ultimate Question
Partner, Bain & Co. (bio)Fred Reichheld, Loyalty Rules

Scott Ginsberg

Author, The Power of Approachability
"That Guy with the Nametag" (bio)
Scott Ginsberg, The Power of Approachability

Noted Authors

Amazing Experts


Douglas Atkin, Author, The Culting of Brands

Douglas Atkin is author of the book "The Culting of Brands: When Customers Become True Believers" and a partner and chief strategic officer for Merkley+Partners. Believing that a convert is the best form of brand advocate, he researched converts to cults, religions, military organizations, brands, and many other 'devotion' organizations to find the secret to passionate word of mouth. Atkin began his career at the Procter & Gamble cult. He switched to advertising in Europe and then the U.S. He helped launch that now-famous cult brand, jetBlue. <back to top>

Dave Balter, Author, Grapevine and Founder & President, BzzAgent

Dave Balter is the Founder and President of BzzAgent, a Word of Mouth marketing and measurement agency located in Boston. Dave has over 10 years experience in marketing, previously founding and running two promotional marketing agencies, the most recent being sold in October 2001. He has also spent a number of years working for a variety of corporations, including Kessler Financial Services, where he managed direct marketing and affinity program implementations for Fortune 1000 clients, and Webb & Co., where he analyzed circulations and fulfillment operations, and performed statistical modeling for consumer catalogs. Dave was named to the "40 under 40" by the Advertising Specialty Institute in 2001, and "Top 7 individuals changing the face of beauty" by Women's Wear Daily in 2004. Dave holds a provisional patent in the process and systems of Word of Mouth marketing and research. He is a founding member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), co-chair of WOMMA's Ethics Council, and a frequent speaker to corporations and universities on the subject of Word of Mouth and non-traditional media. He holds a B.A. in Psychology from Skidmore College. <back to top>

David Binkowski, Director of Online Outreach, Hass MS&L

David Binkowski is the Director of Online Outreach at Hass MS&L and is a member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). He combines his 8 years of entrepreneurial vision and Web experience with his clients' goals to create strategic online PR and marketing initiatives. His client list includes GM, P&G, as well as companies that do not have two-letter abbreviations. <back to top>

Pete Blackshaw, Chief Marketing Officer, Intelliseek

Pete Blackshaw is a recognized expert in interactive marketing, word of mouth, and consumer understanding. He presently serves as Chief Marketing and Client Satisfaction Officer of Intelliseek, a Cincinnati company specializing in measuring and analyzing online "buzz," or Consumer Generated Media (CGM) - in blogs, message boards, and direct consumer feedback to companies. Intelliseek's blog portal, Blogpulse.com, monitors over 3.5 million blogs every day, and serves as a showcase of Intelliseek's advanced text mining capability. Intelliseek was recently named to Inc 500's list of "Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies." Pete is one of the founders of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, one of the fastest growing industry groups in advertising and marketing circles, and he presently authors a bi-weekly column on JupiterMedia's "ClickZ" network. <back to top>

Jonah Bloom, Executive Editor, Advertising Age

Jonah Bloom is the Executive Editor for Advertising Age, the world’s leading marketing and media publication. He oversees the day-to-day editorial operations of the weekly publication, which reaches more than 300,000 readers, as well as helping to manage AdAge.com and Madison + Vine. He joined Advertising Age in September 2002 from PRWeek magazine. He helped to launch PRWeek in 1998 as news editor and went on to become editor-in-chief. He also has considerable experience reporting on the media industry in Europe. His other roles have included being magazines editor on journalist’s weekly Press Gazette, a news reporter on VNU’s Accountancy Age and a reporter on weekly print and packaging journal PrintWeek. In 2004, he edited the Harper Collins’ book Top Companies in Marketing & Media. His stories have been published in several national dailies in the UK including The Financial Times and The Guardian.
<back to top>

John C. Bloomstrom, Executive Vice President, Director of Influencer Marketing, Northlich

John joined Northlich in 1986, serving a variety of clients representing consumer products, financial services, and healthcare. With ten years of client-side experience as marketing director for Ambulatory Medical Care and sales promotion manager for Huffy Bicycles, he contributes keen insight and a deep understanding of marketing from a client's perspective. He encourages a disciplined approach to developing influencer marketing programs to make sure clients identify the most vocal and viral advocates for their brands. John has been a featured speaker at Word of Mouth Marketing Association conferences and other national marketing and branding events. <back to top>

Laurie Blum, Sr. Digital Manager, Best Buy

As Best Buy's senior digital manager, Laurie Blum guides the digital advertising strategy for North America's No. 1 specialty retailer of consumer electronics, home-office products, entertainment software, major appliances, and related services. She drives the development of emerging advertising capabilities and sets the company's digital strategy. Blum joined Best Buy as a member of its e-commerce team in February 2000. She began her career at Gateway and was a member of the 11-person team that launched www.gateway.com in 1995. She also led Gateway's Europe, Middle East, and Africa online advertising efforts. Blum has a bachelor's degree from University of South Dakota. <back to top>

Dan Buczaczer, Vice President & Director, Reverb

Dan Buczaczer leads word-of-mouth brand communications agency Reverb, a division of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG). Uncovering opportunities, partners, and tactics of the word-of-mouth spectrum to create campaigns that spark effective brand communication, Reverb builds and develops brand advocate programs for Kellogg, Sara Lee, and Best Buy, among others. Before joining SMG, Buczaczer was manager of advertising at Taco Bell. His team developed the “talking Chihuahua” campaign, which helped reverse company sales decline and won a Grand Effie for advertising effectiveness. <back to top>

Kevin Burke, Founder & President, lucid marketing

Kevin Burke founded lucid marketing in 1998 to lead brand marketers in strategizing and implementing marketing programs that build successful relationships with their customers. He's helped consumer brands build millions of lasting relationships with their customers by putting the customer's needs and emotions first. Today, as the company's president, Kevin directs lucid's service and marketing solutions to build relationships, relevance, and trust with Mothers for the worlds' premier brands. lucid is a marketing and media services company specializing in connecting with Moms. <back to top>

Idil Cakim, Director of Knowledge Development, Burson-Marsteller

In her position as Director in the Knowledge Management Group, Idil Cakim specializes in interactive marketing and custom research. She manages Burson-Marsteller's Internet related proprietary studies, including the e-fluentials.

Ms. Cakim is the author of numerous industry briefs and articles on online entertainment, transitioning offline companies online, targeting valuable customers on the Net and e-commerce. During her tenure at Cyber Dialogue, Ms. Cakim has also been a public speaker on issues regarding ethnic minorities' use of the Internet, e-CRM and digital music. She has been widely quoted in trade journals and newspapers such as the Industry Standard, Inter@ctive, CNet news, CBS Market Watch, Min's New Media Report, San Jose Mercury News, Chicago Sun Times, NY Post, and the New York Times.

Ms. Cakim holds an M.A. in Communication from the Annenberg School at University of Pennsylvania where she concentrated on cross-cultural communication and media intervention campaigns, and a B.A. in Sociology from Bryn Mawr College. She is a member of National Association of Minorities in Communication.<back to top>

Walter Carl, Assistant Professor, Northeastern University

Dr. Walter Carl researches how firms facilitate and measure word-of-mouth communication among their users/consumers. He has authored numerous book chapters and journal articles including a recent manuscript entitled “What’s All The Buzz About? Everyday Communication and the Relational Basis of Word-of-Mouth and Buzz Marketing Practices” (to appear in Management Communication Quarterly, Volume 19, 2006). Dr. Carl is an active member on the WOMMA Advisory Board and Research & Metrics Council. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and his master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. <back to top>

Jonathan Carson, President and Chief Executive Officer, BuzzMetrics

Jonathan Carson is an expert on important online trends and has a history of Internet business accomplishments. He is President and CEO of BuzzMetrics, which he co-founded and grew from a two-person startup to a market leader. Jonathan also is a co-founder and director of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) and is a frequent speaker on advertising and media issues to educational, industry, and government groups—including Harvard Business School, Carnegie Mellon, The Conference Board, the ARF, ESOMAR, the Pentagon, and CENTCOM. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR, among others. <back to top>

Maggie Colby, Group Manager, Corporate Marketing Excellence, Intuit

Maggie Colby brings best practices in marketing to Intuit. With a special focus on social technologies, she works with marketers across the company to learn about and implement new programs and tools into their marketing activities. Prior to joining Intuit, Colby was a principal of Colby Marketing Group, a product marketing consulting practice specializing in market development and strategic product marketing for companies seeking to develop new businesses or grow in new market segments. Before founding Colby Marketing Group, Colby was a marketer at Apple Computer. <back to top>

Dan Cooke, Manager, Interactive Marketing, Whirlpool

For the past nine years, Dan Cooke has helped align Whirlpool Corporation's goals with the needs of customers worldwide. Currently, Dan is responsible for interactive marketing, CRM strategy, and digital solutions. Earlier, he established Whirlpool's business-to-consumer practice as a founding member of the e-Business Group, and he has provided leadership in the areas of Global Logistics and Customer Support for the KitchenAid brand. Dan's passion for the customer guides he and his team as they embrace innovation as a means to grow consumer loyalty and brand advocacy. He is a frequent speaker at industry events, and he has received numerous awards recognizing the effectiveness of recent campaigns. <back to top>

Sean Davis, Marketing Development Manager, Tiger Beer USA

Sean Davis is the Market Development Manager of Tiger Beer USA, the North American brand division of Asia Pacific Breweries Limited (a Singapore listed company). Based in New York, Davis joined Tiger Beer USA in 2003 and brings with him more than eight years of on-target experience to the operation. Under Davis’ charge, Tiger Beer USA has steadily grown in overall sales and distribution, and also implemented remarkable Word of Mouth marketing programs for select markets in the United States. One such program was the successful Chili Crab Festival (NY) held in Brooklyn, NY, in August 2004, which attracted more than 5000 attendees, top national media and resulted in massive amount of chatter on web sites and in conversations around the US.

A native son of Dublin, Ireland, Davis developed his acuteness for strategic marketing and customer service working in a highly customer focused, chain retail environment in Ireland for more than 10 years. An accomplished business man and marketer, Davis was the owner of the popular Water Street Bar & Restaurant in Brooklyn. Davis has a long history with successful Word of Mouth programs having played a vital role to the success and popularity of Red Bull in New York City and the entire East Coast. <back to top>

Yvonne DiVita, Author, Dickless Marketing: Smart Marketing to Women Online and President & Founder, WMEBooks.com

Yvonne DiVita is the author of Dick*less Marketing: Smart Marketing to Women Online a look at how to get Jane to buy at your website, for herself and even for her brother, Dick!

Yvonne is the president and founder of WMEBooks.com, a division of Windsor Media Enterprises, LLC. WME Books is an Author Services company specializing in “Authors Helping Authors”— write, produce, print, and market books using Print-on-Demand technology. The company maintains a blog on writing and publishing at: http://windsormedia.blogs.com/aha . Yvonne maintains a separate blog at http://windsormedia.blogs.com/lipsticking with a focus on Smart Marketing to Women Online. Yvonne is a frequent public speaker and writer, and was asked to contribute to a blog for ThirdAge.com in August 2005. She was privileged to work with Jeremy Wright in 2005 as the Technical Editor of his forthcoming book, Blog Marketing, published by McGraw-Hill. Yvonne is the President of the Rochester Professional Consultants Network, VP of Sponsorship at RAMA (the Rochester chapter of the American Marketing Association) and is a member of NAWBO (Nat’l Assoc. of Women Business Owners), NAFE (Nat. Assoc. of Female Executives) as well as RWN (Rochester Women’s Network.) <back to top>

Bryan Eisenberg, Author, Call to Action & Chief Persuasion Officer, Future Now, Inc.

As one of the co-founders and CPO (Chief Persuasion Officer) of Future Now, Inc., Bryan has been helping companies realize that to maximize results, it's essential to incorporate expert persuasion techniques into Web site design, email marketing, development, and implementation. He is the publisher of Future Now's award-winning newsletter GrokDotCom, author of ClickZ's column "ROI Marketing," and has been a featured speaker at several industry events. Bryan is also an inventor of Persuasion Architecture (patent pending). Bryan is a co-author of the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling Call to Action, Persuasive Online Copywriting, and The Marketer's Common Sense Guide to E-Metrics. His next book Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? is due in June 2006. <back to top>

Tom Eiland, Partner, Conkling, Fiskum & McCormick

Tom Eiland is a charter WOMMA member and a partner at Conkling Fiskum & McCormick, a public affairs, communications, and research firm headquartered in Portland, Oregon. He heads CFM's research and word-of-mouth practices. For the past 15 years, Tom has conducted research for major corporations, associations, and government agencies. During the past year, he has worked on word-of-mouth efforts in consumer products, public affairs, and public broadcasting. Tom has a BA from the University of Alabama Huntsville, has studied international political science and economics at Georgetown University, and has an MBA from George Washington University.<back to top>

Jim Elliott, Creative Director and Copy Writer, Cole & Weber/Red Cell

Jim is a creative director and copywriter with Cole & Weber/Red Cell Advertising in Seattle, Washington. By way of Mullen Advertising in Wenham, Massachusetts. By way of the Portfolio Center in Atlanta. By way of a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Pennsylvania. By way of a brief period of mischief and mayhem at a New England boarding school. By way of a hillbilly upbringing in the sticks of North Carolina. By way of the womb.
Jim’s work has been recognized by British D&AD, Clio Awards, Communication Arts, the One Show, Art Directors Club of New York, Graphis, Lürzer’s International Archive, National Addy Awards, the Radio-Mercury Awards and the WMA Web Awards.
Jim’s most recent foray into the world of word-of-mouth marketing came in the form of a fully integrated campaign produced by Cole & Weber/Red Cell for the nearly forgotten Northwest icon, Rainier Beer (now owned by the Pabst Brewing Co.) <back to top>

Dave Evans, Vice President, Social Media, HearThis.com

“If we couldn’t interrupt you, how would we reach you?” That’s the question that Dave starts with as a communications consultant focused on word-of-mouth and consumer-generated media. Dave co-founded Digital Voodoo, an online marketing consultancy, in 1994 to provide strategic marketing services for clients wanting to tap the power of connected social networks through word-of-mouth and consumer-generated media. In addition Dave worked with GSD&M as a Strategy Director for integrated communications, with Progressive Insurance Company as a Product Manager and a Systems Analyst for the Voyager deep space exploration program with Jet Propulsion Laboratories/NASA. Dave serves on the Advisory Board with AD:TECH and the Measurement and Metrics Council with WOMMA. <back to top>

David Fletcher, Director of MEC MediaLab, Mediaedge:cia UK

David Fletcher has worked in media for more than 20 years across all media channels, disciplines, and almost all client categories. For the past 7 years, he has been UK head of MEC MediaLab—the research division of Mediaedge:cia. His 'Where's Debbie?' study into word of mouth is widely seen as a landmark study in helping understand the accessible nature of word of mouth for marketers. <back to top>

Laurent Florés, Chief Executive Officer, CRMMetrix

Laurent Florès is CEO of CRMMetrix, a leading customer listening company. Laurent founded CRMMetrix by leveraging more than 15 years of experience measuring and building brands offline and online around the world. The company is based in New York, Paris, and Bombay and counts Fortune 500 companies such as Kraft, Coca Cola, P&G, L’Oréal, and IBM as clients, working in areas such as Relationship Marketing, Innovation, and Word of Mouth measurement. Laurent regularly publishes, speaks, and teaches internationally at conferences such ARF, AMA, ESOMAR, MSI, and WOMMA. He sits on the board of ESOMAR, the worldwide leading marketing research professionals association. <back to top>

Bob Garfield, Columnist, Advertising Age and Co-Host, NPR's "On The Media"

Bob Garfield is a columnist, critic, essayist, pundit, international lecturer and inveterate broadcaster. In print, Garfield's "Ad Review" TV-commercial criticism feature of Advertising Age has made him among the more pitifully groveled-before figures in trade-magazine history.

He has been a columnist for USA Today and contributing editor for Civilization and the Washington Post Magazine. He has also written for The New York Times, Playboy, Sports Illustrated and many other publications. A collection of his work, titled Waking Up Screaming from the American Dream, was published by Scribner in 1997.

In broadcast, before becoming co-host of “On The Media”, he was a longtime commentator/ correspondent for NPR's “All Things Considered”. On television, he is the advertising analyst for ABC News. Previously, he has been an analyst or correspondent for CBS News, CNBC, PBS and the defunct Financial News Network. He also created and produced "KnowItAll!," a retro-60s quiz show which four networks rejected, but which is still available, call any time, operators are standing by. <back to top>

Scott Ginsberg, CEO, Front Porch Productions and Author, The Power of Approachability

Scott Ginsberg  is the only person in the world who wears a nametag 24-7-365 (since November 2, 2000) to encourage people to become friendlier and more approachable. While only 25 years old, Scott is the author of two books, including HELLO, my name is Scott and The Power of Approachability; a professional speaker, and a regular columnist for several publications.

Scott speaks to thousands of people around the world each year. His programs help businesses and organizations maximize approachability and become unforgettable communicators—one conversation at a time. He is the owner of Front Porch Productions and lives in St. Louis, MO. <back to top>

Jackie Huba, Author, Creating Customer Evangelists

Jackie Huba is the co-author of "Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force." Her book has been called the "new mantra for entrepreneurial success" by the New York Times and "an absorbing read" by Harvard Business School. Jackie and her co-author, Ben McConnell, have been quoted in the Financial Times, Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Fast Company, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Boston Herald, Inc. magazine, and others on how customer advocacy has become the new currency in today's advertising saturated world. Ben and Jackie have evangelized audiences at Disney, Microsoft, Whirlpool, Cisco, and small/medium businesses around the country on how to make customers volunteer members of the sales force. She is also a co-author of The Wall Street Journal best-seller "The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable." <back to top>

Ed Keller, Author, The Influentials & Former CEO, NOP World

Ed Keller, consultant, author, and speaker, is widely recognized as an authority on consumer trends and forces driving consumer market behavior in the US and around the world. Prior to establishing his own consultancy in 2005, Keller served as the CEO of RoperASW, one of the world’s most prominent market research firms, and of NOP World Consumer, the consumer sector of Roper’s parent company.

Keller's book, The Influentials, co-authored with Jon Berry, established him as a leading authority on word of mouth marketing. The Influentials was selected as one of five finalists for the 2004 Berry-AMA Book Prize for Best Book in Marketing, an honor that recognizes books whose innovative ideas have had significant impact on marketing and related fields.

An active leader in the marketing research community, Keller serves as President of the Market Research Council (2005-06) and is a Director of the Advertising Research Foundation and Chairman of its Research Advisory Committee. Keller is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he also earned an MA in Communications from Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication. <back to top>

Mark Kingdon, CEO, Organic, Inc.

Mark Kingdon joined Organic, Inc. as CEO in 2001 and has led the company to its current position as an industry leader. Prior to Organic, Mark worked for Idealab and provided strategic guidance to emerging companies. Earlier, he was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he led the America's retail and distribution practice, managed the PWC & Lybrand merger, and led of the e-business practice globally. Mark is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and serves as a Webby judge. Mark received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BA in Economics from UCLA. <back to top>

Eleanor Leger, Sr. Consulting Director, Creative Good, Inc.

Eleanor Leger has more than 20 years experience as a management consultant and senior executive in the financial services and software industries. Most recently she led the development of a new customer-focused management discipline at Intuit.

She has also been at the forefront of Internet developments in the insurance industry as Corporate VP of Strategy for Alexander & Alexander Services, as VP/GM of CNA's Legal Professional Liability programs where she built the world's first Website for commercial insurance, and later as Chief Product Officer of EmployeeMatters (acquired by Intuit in 2000).

Prior to her industry experience, Eleanor was a consultant with Bain & Company and a Principal with Mercer Management Consulting. She holds a BA cum laude in Economics from Harvard and an MBA with distinction from the Wharton School.<back to top>

Brian McRoberts, Senior Manager, AOL

Brian McRoberts is the Senior Manager for AOL's research team focused on brand metrics, advertising research and pricing research. Brian has more than 12 years of experience developing and managing research teams on a broad range of topics including: advertising research, customer satisfaction, and brand performance. Brian holds a Master of Marketing Research from SIUE, an M.A. in International Business from Webster University and is pursuing coursework towards an MBA from Georgetown University. <back to top>

Scott Meldrum, President & Founder, HypeCouncil

As president and founder of HypeCouncil, Scott Meldrum oversees the development and implementation of online advertising and publicity campaigns for clients in the entertainment and retail industries. Using marketing strategies which have become the industry standard, he delivers online advertising and publicity campaigns on behalf of brands such as Electronic Arts, Shell Oil, Toyota, Disney, RadioShack, Best Buy and ABC Television.

Meldrum founded HypeCouncil in 1999 following the success of marketing his own music CD’s online. During the company’s formative years, Meldrum worked with established artists like Jennifer Lopez, as well helping relative unknowns, such as Papa Roach and Avril Lavigne, reach star status. Capitalizing on his experience in marketing music, Meldrum expanded the operation to include online advertising and PR programs for the television, film and video gaming industries. In the six years since founding HypeCoucil, Meldrum has gone from being an indie-rock artist to a well-respected figure in the online marketing community, often called upon for lectures and presentations around the world. <back to top>

Joe Mele, Group Director, Avenue A | Razorfish

Joe Mele is a Group Director for Avenue A | Razorfish, the largest independent interactive agency. Currently, Joe directs the client accounts for Best Buy and InfoSpace. Since joining Avenue A | Razorfish in 1999, he has provided marketing strategy and insights for MSN/Microsoft, Xbox, Disney Interactive, eBay, and Northwest Airlines. Prior to his career in marketing, Joe was a teacher and professional singer. He holds a BA from the University of Washington, a Master's Degree from Seattle University, and is an MBA candidate at the University of Washington. <back to top>

Virginia Miracle, Word of Mouth Marketing Manager, Dell

Since February 2005, Virginia Miracle has served as Dell Inc.'s first marketing communications manager focused on word of mouth activities. Her efforts include the WOM-led introduction of the Dell DJ Ditty (TM) music player in September 2005 via branded entertainment websites www.dellditty.com and www.ADitty4You.com. After beginning her career in enterprise software, Miracle joined Dell's Corporate Strategy group in 2002 and also served on the brand side of Dell's Electronics & Accessories business before the dive into WOM. Ms. Miracle holds a B.A. in English from Princeton University and resides in Austin, TX. <back to top>

John Moore, Marketing Medic, Brand Autopsy

For the past decade, John Moore has made his mark in the marketing world by creating, championing, and implementing marketing ideas and branding ideals for Whole Foods Market and Starbucks Coffee. Today, through his Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice, John shares business and marketing advice with small- to midsize companies aspiring to become the next Whole Foods or Starbucks. John is also the author of the Brand Autopsy blog and the author of TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE, a business management book from Dearborn Trade (fall 2006 publication date). <back to top>

Ann Moravick, President and CEO. Rowland Communications Worldwide

Ann Moravick, president and CEO of Rowland Communications Worldwide, is a communications counselor with 25 years of experience in marketing and public relations. Prior to joining Rowland in 2004, Moravick was a member of the Office of the Chairman of Manning, Selvage & Lee (MS&L), one of the world’s top public relations agencies. Moravick spent 18 years with MS&L and held a number of key posts at the agency including Managing Director of the firm’s London office and Managing Director of the firm’s Global Health Care practice.

Moravick has counseled clients on diverse communications challenges including international global strategy, organizational and product positioning, brand marketing, issues and crisis management and corporate philanthropy. Her clients at MS&L included manufacturers, associations and industry organizations including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Coopers & Lybrand (Price Waterhouse Coopers), GE Capital, Eli Lilly & Company, Novartis, Philips, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Hoffman La Roche and sanofi-aventis.

Moravick began her career at Burson-Marsteller public relations in the 1980s where she worked in the business-to-business and crisis management units. Her clients at Burson included CBS News, IBM, Owens-Corning Fiberglas, and Six Flags Great Adventure. Moravick has a degree in communications and English from Fordham University. <back to top>

Nate Mordo, Manager, Online Marketing, Ubisoft

As Online Marketing Manager at Ubisoft, Nate is responsible for building buzz online for Ubisoft’s games, including through message boards, blogs, and other “viral” approaches. By leveraging the rapid nature of Web-based communication and the dynamic nature of online communities, Nate and the team he is a part of are responsible for not only creating innovative marketing campaigns, but constantly evolving the techniques and approaches used. Prior to Ubisoft, Nate spent several years at the beleaguered music-swapping startup, Napster. As a Product Manager, Nate worked on a number of key community features such as music recommendations, and a reputation system. After Napster, Nate spent a brief period of time at the comparison shopping portal Epinions, helping with their online presence and tending to their community. <back to top>

Rick Murray, Edelman Diversified Services, Edelman

Rick leads Edelman Diversified Services, a portfolio of the agency’s award winning branding, design, media production and brand experiences businesses. He’s also leading the firm’s word of mouth marketing initiatives, which include programs to identify and activate brand influencers, co-creating personalized campaigns with individual brand users, and helping clients understand and operate within the rules of the blogosphere.

His principal areas of expertise include: brand identity, positioning and strategy; integrated marketing communications; and non-traditional marketing in both traditional and emerging media channels. Today, he provides strategic and creative counsel to many of Edelman’s US-based accounts. He also serves as the agency’s client relationship manager to both Con Agra Foods and Unilever’s Axe Brand.

Prior to joining Edelman, he served as executive vice president of Golin/Harris International, and worldwide managing director of its CrossMedia division, an integrated marketing communications business he founded in 1996. At G/H, his acquisitions of Creative Event Marketing and Ovation Studios broadened the group’s geographic scope and enabled CrossMedia to credibly service larger opportunities with Nortel Networks, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon, TimeWarner and Samsung.

Rick ensured that Edelman was a founding member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, and currently serves as co-chair of its ethics committee. He holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Vermont. <back to top>

Jim Nail, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Cymfony

Jim Nail is the Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer of Cymfony Inc., an award winning market intelligence and media analysis company. Jim has an extensive background in integrated marketing through his 22-year career that spans online marketing, market research, brand advertising and direct marketing. Prior to joining Cymfony, Jim was an analyst at Forrester for eight years, leading their coverage of how marketing strategies and tactics must adapt to technology-driven changes in consumer media consumption habits. His research addressed best practices in integrated marketing with a focus on how online media can augment the impact of television, print and other traditional marketing tools. Prior to Forrester, Jim helped launch Web advertising network AdSmart, where he served as director of marketing. He spent 15 years planning and managing integrated marketing campaigns at leading advertising agencies including Ogilvy & Mather Direct, Draft Worldwide, Bates USA and Hill Holliday. Jim is a frequent participant in marketing conferences and executive forums including the Forrester Consumer and Executive Strategy Forums, AD:Tech, ANA Marketing Accountability Conference, and New Media Council and has been published and quoted extensively in top-tier media. <back to top>

Drew Neisser, President & CEO, Renegade Marketing Group

Like the handsaw in Renegade's logo, Drew has a distinctive knack for cutting through, especially the baloney that pervades the marketing industry. After 15 years of working at big agencies including JWT and Chiat/Day, Drew co-founded Renegade with funding from Dentsu in 1996. Since then, Drew has helped grow Renegade into a leading non-traditional marketing agency for such clients as Panasonic, HSBC, DoubleClick, TV Guide, and Avaya while winning just about every award imaginable. Ranked among both the Top 100 Promotion and Interactive agencies, Renegade reflects Drew's passion for solving old-fashioned marketing problems with idea-driven cross-disciplined brand experiences. <back to top>

David Neupert, CEO, M80 Services, Inc.

Dave Neupert is the founder of M80 Services, Inc., and acting CEO. M80 specializes in developing online publicity, promotions, and grassroots marketing campaigns for top entertainment properties and consumer brands. M80 identifies, empowers, and activates word-of-mouth marketing among online influencers and opinion leaders. Dave oversees the company's financial operations and provides the vision for the strategic direction of the company. M80 has developed and implemented marketing campaigns for more than 150 top entertainment and consumer brands, including Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Comedy Central, BBC America, The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, Honda, Napa Auto Parts, Cingular Wireless, Fox Broadcasting, and Fox Home Entertainment. <back to top>

Steven Nicks, Founding Partner, The Phelon Group

Steven is a founding partner of The Phelon Group and leads the firm's operations and service delivery. With 17 years of proven experience in strategy, marketing, and large-scale enterprise implementations, Steven brings a strong consulting background and a unique blend of innovation and strategic thinking, coupled with the ability to understand technology from both a business and technical perspective. Steven honed his consulting expertise at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young, and also served in senior marketing management and operations for eAssist Global Solutions and 3M Europe. <back to top>

Herbert James Ong, Founder and CEO, Genuosity.

As founder and CEO of Genuosity, a leader in word of mouth marketing software solutions, Herbert Ong is known for his expertise in harnessing the power of the customer channel and the automation of word of mouth marketing. An executive with 17 years experience in the technology industry, Herbert has experience in executive management, partnerships, business operations, strategic marketing, product development, and pre-sales gained from working at IBM Global Services, Philips Electronics, Medibuy, and Cerner Corporation. Herbert Ong has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of British Columbia and a Masters in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University. <back to top>

Thomas B. Pahl, Assistant Director for Advertising Practices, Federal Trade Commission

Thomas B. Pahl is an Assistant Director for Advertising Practices in the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission.  In the past, Tom has served as an attorney advisor for two FTC Commissioners as well as a Counsel for the United States Senate Judiciary Committee.  He received his B.A. summa cum laude in economics from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and his J.D. cum laude from the Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois. <back to top>

Bruce Palmer, Director of Admission and Marketing, National Outdoor Leadership School

During Palmer's tenure, NOLS enrollment has gone from 2,500 students to this year's record enrollment of 10,500. With 85,000 NOLS graduates worldwide the NOLS brand is one of the most respected in the outdoor industry. NOLS is a non-profit school, and as a result Palmer has had the opportunity to be involved with every aspect of the school's marketing effort in more than just a supervisory way. Catalog, word of mouth marketing, research, media relations, partnerships, book publishing, events-in every aspect, Palmer has had hands-on experience.

Since 1965 NOLS has been introducing young people to the outdoors and adventure. With 80% of NOLS students under the age of 25 Palmer as had the opportunity to develop an innovative marketing mix that speaks to kids as well as their parents. A "remarkable" organization, NOLS does no paid advertising or direct mail.

Palmer is a frequent speaker, including presentations on topics such as crisis communications and marketing to youth at the Adventure Travel World Summit, Wilderness Risk Managers Conference, the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education Conference and the Western Regional Outdoor Leadership Conference. Palmer also is a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Utah and other colleges on topics such as marketing outdoor education and organizational mission, purpose and values. <back to top>

Don Peppers, CEO, Peppers & Rogers Group

Recognized for over a decade as one of the leading authorities on customer-focused relationship management strategies for business, Don Peppers is an acclaimed author and a founding partner of Peppers & Rogers Group, the world's premier customer-centered management consulting firm. In August 2003, Peppers & Rogers Group joined Carlson Marketing Group to provide clients with world-class customer strategy, flawlessly executed, for bottom-line impact. The goal of the combined companies is to offer "one to one, end to end."

Don's expertise and clear, concise way of thinking places him in high demand as both a speaker and a management advisor with Fortune 500 executives and entrepreneurs seeking to identify their most valuable customers, increase customer satisfaction, and improve ROC. He is a popular voice among editors and the media, both online and in print, and is the co-author, with Martha Rogers, Ph.D., of a series of international best sellers that have collectively sold over a million copies in 15 languages.

Peppers' and Rogers' most innovative strategic thinking is embodied in their newest book, Return On Customer (or ROC), released in June 2005. This breakthrough business publication advances the concepts and tenets of business valuation to the next evolutionary stage, documenting the customer base as a revenue-producing asset for businesses, capable of driving a company's long-term economic worth.

Prior to marketing and advertising, Don worked as an economist in the oil business and as the director of accounting for a regional airline. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and a Master's Degree in public affairs from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School. <back to top>

Geoff Ramsey, CEO, eMarketer

Geoff Ramsey is one of the Internet industry’s digital marketing visionaries. As CEO and co-founder of New York-based eMarketer, Geoff is on the cutting edge of new research statistics and trends covering every aspect of e-business and online marketing. He’s also a dynamic and highly entertaining speaker who gives business leaders fresh perspective and critical data they need to successfully execute in today’s rapidly evolving e-business landscape. Geoff’s name frequently appears in Internet business and trade media. Geoff spent the first 17 years of his career in advertising, working at New York advertising agencies, including TBWA, NW Ayer & Partners, and Ogilvy & Mather. <back to top>

Paul M. Rand, Partner, Global Chief Development and Innovation Officer, Ketchum

In his role, Paul is responsible for Ketchum's global growth initiative and the creation and implementation of products and services to help clients communicate more effectively. Paul also serves as the senior leader for several Ketchum clients. Paul has led or co-led the development of four industry recognized services: ChannelEdge (a sales channel communications program), Influencer Relationship Management (an influencer identification and marketing program), Women 25-54 (a service line focused on marketing to women), and Ketchum Personalized Media (delivering services in blogs, podcasts, Search Engine Optimization, and mobile marketing).

Paul has 20 years of strategic communications experience, with expertise in corporate, industry analyst, financial, crisis, employee, business-to-business, media, and marketing communications. As the founder and CEO of Corporate Technology Communications (CTC), Paul led CTC into becoming the Midwest's largest independent corporate and technology communications firm and among the most respected in the nation. Ketchum acquired CTC in June 2001.

For 10 years, Paul served as an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and has been featured and/or quoted on business and communications issues in media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, National Public Radio, The Chicago Tribune, PRWeek, AdWeek, Advertising Age, and numerous other outlets.<back to top>

Fred Reichheld, Author, "Loyalty Rules" and "The Ultimate Question",
Founder, Bain & Company Loyalty Practice

Mr. Reichheld is the founder of Bain & Company’s Loyalty Practice which helps clients achieve superior results through improvements in customer, employee, partner, and investor loyalty. His pioneering work has quantified the linkage between loyalty, profits, and growth.

In the June, 2003 edition of Consulting Magazine, Mr. Reichheld was included on the list of the world’s top 25 consultants. According to The New York Times,” [He] put loyalty economics on the map.” The Economist refers to him as the “high priest” of loyalty.” He is the author of three books and eight Harvard Business Review articles on the subject. 

Mr. Reichheld joined Bain in 1977 and was elected to the partnership in 1982. In addition to founding and leading the Loyalty Practice, he served the firm in a variety of roles including membership on its Worldwide Management, Nominating, and Compensation Committees. In January 1999, he was elected by the firm to become the first Bain Fellow - a half-time position that enables him to focus primarily on research and writing.

In Fred Reichheld's new book THE ULTIMATE QUESTION: For Opening the Door to Good Profits and True Growth, he reveals new evidence that customer referrals proved the true driver of profitable growth. By measuring a firm’s Net Promoter® Score this basic truth will become apparent to an increasing audience of corporate executives and investors. They will finally recognize the powerful bottom-line impact of WOM.

In his original bestseller, The Loyalty Effect, Reichheld developed the economic framework that underpins much of today’s analysis of customer loyalty and lifetime value. This work has become the foundation for justifying and evaluating investments to improve customer loyalty (ranging from customer acquisition campaigns to CRM software).

In his new book, Reichheld reveals another breakthrough by clarifying the micro-economics of Word-Of Mouth. With this new framework, firms can begin to invest the appropriate level of resources in building positive word-of-mouth and referrals. Like its predecessors, The Ultimate Question is written to convince Chief-Financial Officers as well as CEOs and Chief Marketing Officers. Now, investing in word-of mouth can become more than simply an act of faith, it can be justified with the same financial tools as other strategic initiatives. Now, WOM can be subjected to the same rational measurement and analysis that enables accountability and delivers bottom line results. <back to top>

Steve Rubel, Senior Vice President, Micro Persuasion, CooperKatz & Company

Steve Rubel is a senior marketing strategist and one of the top 100 bloggers in the world, according to Technorati. He currently serves as Senior Vice President at CooperKatz & Company, a mid-size PR firm in midtown New York City.

Rubel heads up the agency's Micro Persuasion practice, which helps clients launch conversational marketing programs that include blogs, podcasts and RSS feeds. He also evangelizes the use of these and other new technologies on his well-read Micro Persuasion weblog.

Widely viewed as an expert on conversational marketing, Rubel is often sought out as a speaker and appears frequently in the press. He has been named to several prestigious lists, including: Media Magazine's Media 100, the AlwaysOn/Technorati Open Media 100 and the CNET News.com Blog 100. <back to top>

Zane Safrit, Chief Executive Officer, Conference Calls Unlimited

Customers deserve a great experience; and so do your employees. Their levels of evangelism for any company's brand go hand-in-hand. Recognizing this, Conference Calls Unlimited's CEO, Zane Safrit redirected their marketing and advertising budgets entirely toward creating evangelists, customers, AND employees. A year later, the company reported profits increased more than 200% and revenues grew by 5%. Revenue growth of this factor is significant in an industry where averages are falling by more than 30%. Most recently, the company reported record revenues for the company. The goal at Conference Calls Unlimited is to remain focused on creating a rewarding, satisfying and WOW-ing company for customers and themselves. <back to top>

Jen Scott, Senior Account Executive, Maxwell PR Studio

An award-winning, creative public relations talent, Jen Scott leads PR and consumer promotion efforts for Kettle Foods, Gold Toe brand socks, and other national consumer accounts at Maxwell PR Studio out of the creative hub of Portland, OR. Previously, she was a member of Seattle-based Cole & Weber United's public relations team where she managed integrated marketing campaigns for a variety of consumer and food and beverage clients, including Rainier beer, Tree Top, and Tillamook cheese. Jen was named the 2003 Public Relations Society of America-Portland Metro Chapter's Young Professional of the Year. <back to top>

Andy Sernovitz, Chief Executive Officer, Word of Mouth Marketing Association

Andy Sernovitz, a ten-year veteran of the interactive marketing business, is the co-founder and CEO of WOMMA, the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry. Previously, he was the founder and CEO of GasPedal, a strategy consulting firm which helped traditional companies use the Internet to increase profitability. He was also a Visiting Scholar at the Wharton School of Business, where he taught Internet Entrepreneurship, and is Founder and President Emeritus of the Association for Interactive Marketing (AIM), the world's largest association of Internet companies. Andy specializes in building relationships with high-power industry players. In 1993, he began pulling the Internet industry together under AIM, which grew to represent more Internet companies than any other organization. At AIM, Andy led early Internet policy efforts on privacy, spam, and taxation. In 1999 he sold AIM to the Direct Marketing Association, where he led their efforts to help traditional marketers effectively use new technologies. Andy holds degrees in Marketing from the Wharton School of Business and in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. <back to top>

Erika Simms, Principal, Conkling, Fiskum & McCormick

Erika Simms has provided public relations counsel to a wide range of consumer product and service companies including Tillamook Cheese, Starbucks Coffee Company, Dr. Martens, Ocean Spray, Nike, and Morton's Steakhouse.

Before joining Conkling Fiskum & McCormick, Erika ran the public relations department of a Portland advertising and public relations agency and managed numerous consumer, corporate, and technology accounts at KVO, a Fleishman-Hillard company, providing clients with marketing communications counsel, event management, grassroots outreach, media relations, and media training. While at KVO, Erika spent time in Fleishman-Hillard's London office, working on accounts in the U.K. including Pampers, Lands End, and Iams pet food.

Erika has won several industry awards for her work with various consumer clients, and holds a bachelor of arts degree in communication with an emphasis in public relations from Washington State University.<back to top>

Virgil Simons, Founder & President, The Prostate Net

Virgil Simons is the Founder & President of The Prostate Net, a patient education and advocacy organization. Using the experiences gained in surviving prostate cancer, Virgil has built an international organization that uses a matrix of informational techniques (Web site, 800#, email and personal team counselors, public forums, newsletters and community disease interventions) to address disease risk awareness and early disease interdiction.

The organization’s mission remains to provide credible and actionable information, using a synergistic blend of renowned cancer clinicians and researchers, cancer survivors and corporate supporters, that will enable patients, their families and health professionals to partner in making the appropriate choices to assure the best chance for cure and retention of their desired quality of life.

Virgil is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Clinical Oncologists, Minorities in Cancer Research and serves on the Integration Panel for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for prostate cancer. Additionally, he has served as a consultant for Abbott Laboratories and Aventis Oncology as well as developing joint patient and professional education programs with Sanofi-Synthelabo (now Sanofi-Aventis), Celgene Corp., Dendreon Corp., Purdue Pharma and other pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Prior to his involvement in healthcare, he had an extensive career in the textile, financial services, international trade and retail markets as a senior executive and/or entrepreneur. Additionally, he has been a Lecturer in Marketing at Louisiana Tech University, The Fashion Institute of Technology, LaGuardia Community College as well as being a Member of the Board of Advisors for Texas Womens University.<back to top>

Joshua Sinel, CEO, Kaava

A new media veteran, Mr. Sinel co-founded Kaava (then BBI Systems) in 1996 after serving as Executive Producer for PoliticsNow, a joint production of Times-Mirror, ABC-Disney, and The Washington Post-the first real-time, online political news center. Prior to launching PoliticsNow, Mr. Sinel served as a lead producer for the then-forming WarnerBros.com. Still earlier, he was an original member of the team that developed and launched Hearst's HomeArts.com, the first-ever venture to take offline magazine publications to the then-new medium of the Internet.<back to top>

Samantha Skey, Senior VP of Strategic Marketing, Alloy Media & Marketing

As Senior VP of Strategic Marketing for Alloy Media and Marketing, a division of Alloy, Inc., Samantha Skey built and now manages the company's cross platform advertising and marketing programs. The “youth surround” model for which Alloy is noted, delivers cross platform marketing programs built for the way kids consume media today, employing touch points in schools, on campuses, and in home, to multiple Fortune 500 companies.

Prior to Alloy, Ms. Skey held a variety of sales and marketing management positions at CNET, Interactive Imaginations and most recently at Disney Online. She is on the advisory board of YouthNoise, Save the Children’s teen chapter, Bronx Academy of Letters, and is involved in multiple youth-related cause marketing efforts.

Samantha holds a BA in Comparative Literature from Hamilton College.<back to top>

Gary F. Spangler, E-Business Manager, DuPont

Gary Spangler has worked for the DuPont Company for the past 25 years. He holds a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering Technology and an MBA from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Gary's career with DuPont has been extremely varied, including management positions in Sales and Marketing, Customer Service, Supply Chain, and Plant Operations. Gary was an early adopter in DuPont for introducing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for account management and in developing a Web site for one of DuPont's businesses in the late 1990s. This work positioned Gary in 2000 for his current role as global E-Business Manager for one of five technology platforms in DuPont. During the past 6 years, Gary's scope of work has continued to expand.

In addition to leading his platform in e-business initiatives (including both B2C and B2B), Gary is considered a thought leader in DuPont for search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, word of mouth marketing, and lead management. Gary has led or participated in several corporate-level efforts, including the development of guidelines and governance for handling e-mail across the enterprise, use of insights from online conversations to develop marketing initiatives, and integration of an enterprise-wide CRM solution. Gary is often asked to speak to business groups in DuPont regarding the role of the Internet for marketing.

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Gary Stein, Director of Client Services, BuzzMetrics

Gary Stein leads the new BuzzMetrics San Francisco office as the firm's Director of Client Services. Most recently, Stein served as a Senior Analyst for online advertising and marketing for Jupiter Research. While at Jupiter, he focused on the Consumer Packaged Goods industry. as well as advertising formats, rich-media, media purchasing tactics, marketing strategies, and consumer behavior online.

Prior to Jupiter Research, Stein worked as the Senior Strategist at Red Sky, an interactive marketing and advertising agency, where his clients included Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Company, Lands' End, and Nike. Before Red Sky, he worked at Poppe Tyson, one of the first traditional agencies to truly embrace interactive media. Stein started his career at Mactivity, Inc., a firm focused on tradeshows and publications targeting the then-emerging interactive services market. At Mactivity, he co-wrote a book on Web publishing and developed one of the first conferences for Web developers.

Stein holds a B.A. in English and M.A. in American Literature from California State University at Chico, and currently lives in San Francisco. <back to top>

Greg Stielstra, Author, PyroMarketing and Vice President of Marketing, Christian Trade Books, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Greg Stielstra is the author of PyroMarketing: The Four Step Strategy to Ignite Customer Evangelists and Keep Them For Life (HarperBusiness, September 2005).  An innovative marketer, author, speaker and consultant, he was the marketing director for numerous best-selling books including The Purpose Driven Life, the best-selling hardcover book in history.  He now works as Vice President of Marketing for Christian Trade Books at Thomas Nelson Publishers. Greg has his from Central Michigan University and an MM from The Aquinas School of Graduate Management.  He lives with his wife and children in Franklin, TN.<back to top>

Kerry Stranman, Partner, Chief Strategist, MotiveQuest

Kerry Stranman is the Chief Strategist at MotiveQuest, a strategic consultancy and online research firm. Kerry considers herself a "Humanist Planner," having a particular aptitude for navigating universal human truths in the context of contemporary culture to build meaning for brands. At MotiveQuest, Kerry is applying this planning approach to the field of online anthropology, utilizing her experience in textual analysis to gain insight into online consumer conversations in newsgroups, message boards, and blogs. Prior to joining MotiveQuest, Kerry was a Vice President, Strategic Planning Director at Leo Burnett .<back to top>

Jamie Tedford, SVP, Media and Marketing Innovation, Arnold Worldwide

Since joining Arnold Worldwide's Brand Promotions unit in 2001, Jamie has focused his attention on leveraging non-traditional marketing strategies to develop brand building promotional marketing campaigns for clients such as Puma, Monster.com, VW, Truth, Southern Comfort, and Radio Shack. He has also leveraged his extensive youth marketing experience to help launch Arnold's youth marketing practice area, known as Project Y.

Recognized as an experiential marketing leader, word-of-mouth marketing pioneer and youth marketing specialist, Jamie has spoken at numerous industry conferences such as The Word Of Mouth Marketing Association Summit and IIR's annual "Capturing the Growing College Market " event. His team has enjoyed industry acclaim, winning the PMA's Gold Reggie in 2002 for the Truth Infect Tour. ABP has also won Reggie and Effie Awards for two campaigns last year: The VW/Apple iPod "Pods Unite" campaign and VW/W Hotels "Get Behind the Wheel" promotion.

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Patrick Thoburn, Co-Founder, Matchstick

Patrick Thoburn is Co-Founder of Matchstick, a word of mouth marketing agency. Matchstick designs and executes word of mouth marketing programs for clients including adidas, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, and others. Matchstick has won awards internationally including a Media Innovation Award, the Diageo Smirnoff Double Eagle Award, and the Chrysler Jeep International Marketing Council Best Practice. Prior to founding Matchstick with Matthew Stradiotto, Patrick was Director of Research at Toronto-based Youth Culture. He is a lawyer by training and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1998. Patrick has been quoted in media outlets including CBC Television, CTV, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, National Post, Marketing Magazine, Strategy Magazine, and more. He was named one of Canada’s most influential marketers on Marketing Magazine’s 2005 Power 100 List.<back to top>

Bob Troia, Founder and President, Affinitive

Bob is a passionate guy. As founder and president of Affinitive, he is using his passion to help "democratize" brands. Bob brings more than a decade of experience in marrying technology and marketing to create innovative ways for consumers and brands to share their zeal for each other-brands such as Cingular, Gillette, Ubisoft, Universal Pictures, and Virgin Mobile.

Previously, Bob was the co-founder of Olive, an award-winning strategic branding firm that was ranked among the top 100 U.S. interactive agencies. Bob sits on several WOMMA councils and was a speaker at the inaugural WOMMA summit. A graduate of Penn State University, Bob holds a bachelor of science degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

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Todd Tweedy, CEO, Boldmouth.com

Todd Tweedy is no stranger to the worlds of word of mouth and, marketing. In fact, he's help organizations grow from fewer than 10,000 customers to over 1 million by using word of mouth marketing principles. Todd's client experience includes major brands like AOL, Rolex, Philip Morris, Netscape, The Motley Fool, and Chef's Choice among others.

His company - Boldmouth.com - is breaking new ground in online advertising by introducing customer-focused approaches to retention and new customer acquisition. Todd is the author of the Neighboring marketing model published by Internet.com that's designed to facilitate word of mouth across online communities using instant messaging. His blog on word of mouth is www.WordSpreadsQuickly.com.<back to top>

Peter Waldheim, Senior Strategist, Word of Mouth Marketing Association

Peter Waldheim has been “spreading the word” for more than three decades, employing the internet, direct marketing, and social networks to frame messages, build coalitions, and market ideas to the American public. Beginning during the civil rights era, he has served as a consultant to more than 80 nonprofit organizations (American Red Cross, UN Assoc. of the United States, etc.); as well as a variety of political candidates and organizations, including twenty United States senators. In the corporate world, he has served as the CEO for the Association for Interactive Media, where he worked with top executives from such respected companies as Microsoft, IBM, Intel, NBC, DreamWorks, Time Warner, Disney, and others. A Washington, DC-based consultant, Waldheim serves as Senior Strategist for WOMMA. <back to top>

Laurie Weisberg, SVP, Informative, Inc.

With more than 15 years experience, Laurie Weisberg has managed world-class technology and service engagements for market leading companies. Most recently as SVP of Informative, Laurie has managed Voice-of-the-Customer engagements for many Fortune 50 and privately held global organizations including Bose, Citibank, GlaxoSmithKline, LEGO, Masterfoods, Mercedes, LEGO, Pfizer, and Procter & Gamble.

Laurie is a proven thought leader in developing brand advocacy programs for her clients that leverage the most innovative technologies including Informative's patented Adaptive Conversation Technology. Lending this expertise to companies worldwide, her clients have been able to successfully launch new products, gain entry into new markets, introduce new insight collection tools throughout their organization, and build and strengthen relationships with brand loyalists who act as ongoing advisors to the organization. Under her stewardship, Informative has developed new behavioral and attitudinal profiling solutions that enable organizations to profitably build customer loyalty and brand advocacy-increasing positive word of mouth and delivering measurable business results.

Prior to Informative, Laurie has held senior positions at various cutting-edge technology and consulting firms such as Tivoli, CrossWorlds, and Recipio.

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Gregory E. Wester, Vice President, In-Call Ad Network, VoodooVox

Gregory Wester serves as Vice President, In-Call Ad Network for VoodooVox. The In-Call Network is the first and only nationwide Interactive Voice Response advertising network. The In-Call Ad Network offers advertisers media, contesting, and word-of-mouth campaign capabilities targeted to the millions of ‘tweens and teens that call radio station listener lines and MTV’s Total Request Live. Prior to VoodooVox, Gregory was founder and President of Soapbox Marketing, a word of mouth consultancy that helped brands strategize, design, launch, and measure best-practice digital word of mouth campaigns. Its design methodology focuses on understanding and tapping the subconscious motivations that drive person-to-person word of mouth. Soapbox’s clients have included: Coca-Cola, TiVo, Bacardi Mixers, GetConnected, AAA, Club Med, and AOL. Gregory has sat on the Direct Marketing Association’s net.marketing steering committee, is an active participant in WOMMA, and was one of three drafters of WOMMA’s Measurement document. <back to top>

Terri Whitesel, President and Founder, Interpret-Her

Terri Whitesel is the President and Founder of Interpret-HerTM. She and her team of female savvy specialists help clients increase their share of the Women's Market in industries as diverse as custom luxury bedding, women's integrated healthcare, and specialty retail.

Before founding Interpret-Her, she served as a Senior Account Director for a national healthcare advertising agency, as Director of Marketing, Sales, and new Product Development for a division of Paramount and as SVP of Interactive Services for J. Walter Thompson Specialized Communications. Her list of clients served include Humana Corporation, HCA, Mr. Sinai, Microsoft, Federal Express, CSI, Dell, Maritz Travel, Steak N' Shake, American Airlines, and a host of other global corporations. <back to top>

Paul Williams, Co-Founder and CEO, iKarma

Paul Williams is the co-founder and CEO of iKarma Inc., a reputation management service that lets anyone capture their WOM and put it to work. Prior to founding iKarma, Paul served as marketing director for a mid-sized investment banking firm. Paul has been profiled by Registered Rep Magazine, which called him a "Technological Marketing Guru," and by Worth Magazine, which called him a "Modern day J. Edgar Hoover" for his innovative database marketing work. As scary as that may sound, Paul's iKarma profile at http://Paul.iKarma.com shows people he's really a good guy who gets great WOM. <back to top>

Ted Wright, Partner, Liquid Intelligence

Ted Wright is a founding partner of Liquid Intelligence, an influencer marketing company agency specializing in word of mouth programs for the beverage industry. Liquid Intelligence's expertise in the beverage industry has allowed the company to help such diverse clients as Pabst Blue Ribbon, Zuidam Gin, Brown Foreman, OGO Water, Tiger Beer, and The Coca Cola Company increase sales and expand market share. An alumnus of Booz Allen & Hamilton, prior to helping to found Liquid Intelligence Ted had 15 years experience helping to expand market share for a variety of beverage clients. Ted is an honors graduate of the University of Chicago's MBA program and is Liquid Intelligence's resident guru on strategy, positioning, and marketing campaigns designed to help the client create "great stories that sell volume." <back to top>


 

 

 


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