Speakers
WOMMA events always feature the best and brightest minds in the business. These are the true experts who have mastered word of mouth and all are eager to share their wisdom and expertise with you.
Please return to this page regularly for updated speakers and bios.
- Ryan Berger, Executive Creative Director, Buzz Marketing, Euro RSCG New York
- David Binkowski, VP, Word of Mouth, Hass MS&L
- Steve Bryant, President, Seattle, Publicis Consultants | PR
- Larry Burns, President & CEO, StartSampling
- Jan Carroll, Retail Brand Manager – TABASCO® Brand Products, McIlhenny Company
- Jim Clune, Chief Communications Officer, National CASA
- Gary Colen, President/Founder, AMP Agency
- Anil Dash, VP of Evangelism, Six Apart
- Jory Des Jardins, Co-Founder and President of Business Development & Alliances, BlogHer
- Kim Dewbre, Account Director, TracyLocke Dallas
- Brandon Evans, Managing Director, RepNation Media
- Suzanne Fanning, Sr. Manager of Public Relations, Fiskars Craft
- Brad Fay, Chief Operating Officer, The Keller Fay Group
- Pinny Gniwisch, Founder/EVP Marketing, Ice.com
- Larisa Hall, VP, Marketing, TheFind.com
- Bill Hanekamp, CEO, The Well Advertising
- Chip Heath, Professor, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
- Dan Heimbrock, President/CEO, HyperDrive Interactive
- Steve Hershberger, Principal, ComBlu
- Mark Hillman, Creative Director, Resource Interactive
- David Jacobs, Principal, Apperceptive
- Stephen Jones, Executive Vice President, GolinHarris
- Darrell Jursa, Founder/President, Liquid Intelligence
- Perrin Kaplan, VP, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Nintendo of America
- Rob Key, Founder/CEO, Converseon
- Nick Longo, Founder, CoffeeCup Software and Ideas & Marketing Consultant, Have Gun Will Travel
- Robin Luymes, Manager, Public Relations, Quixtar
- Owen Mack, Co-Founder/Lead Strategist, coBRANDiT
- Stefanie Manning, Associate Publisher/Marketing, O, The Oprah Magazine & O at Home
- Virginia Miracle, Director, Word of Mouth Marketing, Brains on Fire
- Christine Morrison, Manager, TurboTax Inner Circle, Intuit
- William Mosher, Founder/Director, Echopinion!
- Art Muldoon, SVP, Client Services, BzzAgent
- Rick Murray, President, me2revolution, Edelman
- Jim Nail, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, Cymfony
- David Rabjohns, Founder, MotiveQuest
- Stuart Sheldon, Director - Brand Activation, Coca-Cola North America
- Laura Shuler, Chief Strategy Officer/President, US, Jack Morton Worldwide
- Neal Stewart, Director of Marketing, Flying Dog Brewery
- Chad Stoller, Executive Director, Emgerging Platforms, Organic
- Bill Thompson, SVP, Sales & Marketing, Informative
- Bob Troia, Founder/President, Affinitive
- David Weinberger, Author, The Cluetrain Manifesto and Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder
- Ted Wright, Founder, Fizz
Ryan Berger, Executive Creative Director, Buzz Marketing, Euro RSCG New York
When Euro RSCG won the Polaroid business, Ryan's task was to buzz the brand by linking it to the absolute latest in pop culture. Turns out the hottest rap group at the time was OutKast and that their number one single, "Hey Ya," happened to feature the lyric, "Shake it like a Polaroid picture." But how to get in touch with the group? The answer was right there in Ryan's Blackberry, of course. The owner of a retail sporting goods store in Atlanta had contacted Ryan about an item, and the two of them had ended up shooting the breeze about music. Three guesses who knew OutKast's manager. A few days later, Ryan was in touch with the group, and the rest is pop culture history. Thanks to OutKast, Polaroid was in celebrity hands everywhere, from Saturday Night Live to the NBA All Star Game to the Grammys.
A pop culture icon was born. And so was a career in buzz marketing.
For winning one of the top non-traditional campaigns for Polaroid in 2005, Ryan was featured on the cover of 25 Twenty Something's to Watch in Ad Age. The Polaroid and Outkast partnership was valued at $40 million. Euro RSCG spent $75,000 on the deal. No money ever changed hands throughout the partnership; instead Ryan organized events and programming and media coverage in exchange for the cameras and film.
Since that time, Ryan's career has been one big idea into the next, soon running the Buzz Group at Euro RSCG. Whether is was taking Lean Cuisine to Sundance to partner with Fred Segal for the first ever food delivery program in Park City to launch their Spa Cuisine, or bringing to life Jaguar's "Gorgeous" campaign with the first 'G' New Year's Ball at the red-hot Setai in Miami, Ryan has brought an edge and a sexiness to Euro RSCG and its clients.
Working closely with the creative department, Ryan's work has been tied to the communications of the brand resulting in consistent messaging across all mediums. Ryan tends to work across all of the Euro RSCG clients to make sure the right people are buzzing about the brand, whether that is through product placement, event/influencer marketing, or any other non-traditional vehicle that creates word of mouth that will benefit the Euro RSCG clients best.
David Binkowski, VP, Word of Mouth, Hass MS&L
David Binkowski is the Vice President of Word of Mouth 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
Steve Bryant, President, Seattle, Publicis Consultants | PR
Steve Bryant is president of the Seattle office of Publicis Consultants | PR, where he leads the agency's creative process. The winner of more then 100 communications industry awards, he developed the agency's holistic communications platform, and heads its Nutrition Marketing Research Institute. He has headed the agency's work for CASA for six years -- everything from PR to PSAs -- with remarkable results that now span into word-of-mouth marketing.
Larry Burns, President & CEO, StartSampling
Since assuming the role of President and CEO of StartSampling in 1999, Burns has built the company from an online sampling pioneer to a digital marketing services powerhouse that regularly connects more than 200 brands with millions of interested and engaged consumers across the StartSampling network.
Burns brings more than two decades of research and packaged goods experience to his role at StartSampling. He was previously Executive Vice President of Product Management at Information Resources, Inc., a Chicago-based information services firm. While at IRI, Larry had responsibility for managing and overseeing the InfoScan™ brand, the premier market share-tracking product at the time. Before IRI, Larry worked as a marketing research professional for several major consumer product companies, including Heinz USA, Cadbury Beverages, Pepperidge Farm and General Foods. He began his career in the trenches of the marketing research industry, with junior analyst positions and an early job as a telephone and mall interviewer.
Burns earned his B.S. in chemistry from Alfred University. He lives in Wheaton, Ill. with his wife and four children.
Jan Carroll, Retail Brand Manager – TABASCO® Brand Products, McIlhenny Company
Jan has been with McIlhenny Company for almost 10 years. She began her experience with McIlhenny Company as an Assistant Brand Manager traveling the NASCAR circuit with Team TABASCO® Racing and implementing consumer promotions. Talk about trial by fire! In addition to consumer promotions and sweepstakes, her responsibilities included working on event sponsorships, corporate hospitality and in-store point-of-sale.
Jan's most recent accomplishments include completing a Super Bowl Commercial for Original TABASCO® Pepper Sauce as well as a commercial for McIlhenny Company’s newest sauce, TABASCO® Chipotle Pepper Sauce. Previous to this, she worked on the TABASCO® “Label” print campaign which was showcased in national magazines such as, People, In Style, ESPN, Rolling Stone and the like. This campaign won several awards including a Bronze Lion at Cannes.
After joining the Company in mid 1997 as an Assistant Brand Manager, Jan was soon promoted to Retail Brand Manager and worked on all projects relating to the consumer marketing of TABASCO® Brand Products. One of her most notable responsibilities was the launch of TABASCO® Chipotle Pepper Sauce. After a successful two-year launch, Chipotle Sauce can boast the second highest volume in the TABASCO® Family of Flavors, second only to Original TABASCO® Sauce. Some of her other projects include planning and executing advertising campaigns, consumer promotions, developing new packaging, researching new product development and, most importantly, shaping the strategy and objectives for TABASCO® Brand.
Jan received her B.A. in Communications from Loyola University – New Orleans and lives in Metairie with her husband and daughter.
Jim Clune, Chief Communications Officer, National CASA
Jim Clune is the Chief Communications Officer with the National CASA Association and is responsible for all public outreach efforts dedicated to increasing national awareness of the CASA cause. Jim’s background includes more than 25 years in national brand marketing and advertising. In addition to his eight years producing national award winning marketing campaigns for CASA, Jim’s professional career includes management level involvement in more than 30 different consumer brands, including Pizza Hut, Starbucks Coffee and Bank of America.
Gary Colen, President/Founder, AMP Agency
As President and Founder of AMP Agency, Gary Colen guides the strategic development of all sales and marketing initiatives. Under Gary’s guidance, AMP has established the reputation for exceptional work in developing and executing unique and memorable creative solutions for a wide range of clients. His novel approach and energetic personality resonates with clients and motivates them to recognize the potential of true brand connections.
Gary Colen is a leading expert in the field of full service marketing and promotions. His success in developing “Big Ideas” and consistent drive to develop true brand connections for his clients has resulted in longstanding partnerships with such high profile clients as Simon Properties, Verizon Wireless and Maybelline.
Gary’s lively entrepreneurial spirit led him to found AMP Agency, formerly Triple Dot Communications and its consumer research division, Y-Access. The Agency quickly gained a reputation for creativity and stellar execution and was acquired by Alloy in 2000. Prior to, Gary held positions in advertising and public relations, with senior roles at Clark & Co, Collegiate Advantage and Cone, Inc.
He is a well respected leader in the agency community, is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, and serves as a judge for the Webby’s, the premier award program for Websites, Interactive Advertising and Online Film & Video.
Gary balances his dedication to the Agency and its clients with his devotion to his family and his philanthropic efforts for the Triangle Down Syndrome Network. The TSDN is an organization that helps people with Down syndrome by providing education, financial assistance and a variety of other services. Gary holds a BS in Mass Communications from Boston University.
Anil Dash, VP of Evangelism, Six Apart
Anil Dash is Vice President of Evangelism for Six Apart, Ltd. Dash is a recognized expert on the weblog medium and on the blogging industry, having appeared on television, radio and print in addition to having founded one of the earliest and most popular weblogs on the Internet. In addition, Dash has given presentations around the world speaking about the future of the weblog medium, the relationship between blogs and journalism, and business blogging.
Prior to joining Six Apart as its first employee, Dash worked in online communications and technology development for the publishing and music industries, both as an independent consultant and most recently for the Village Voice. Dash currently resides in New Yorker with his favorite dog, cat, and human.
Jory Des Jardins, Co-Founder and President of Business Development & Alliances, BlogHer
Jory Des Jardins is Co-Founder and President of Business Development & Alliances of BlogHer, LLC, an organization that creates opportunities for women bloggers to pursue exposure, education, economic empowerment, and community. She writes on women’s business issues, marketing, blogging, and entrepreneurship for Fast Company Experts Blog, BlogHer, and her personal blog, Pause. She sits on the advisory boards for Pluck’s blog syndication service BlogBurst, RSS newsletter service Feedblitz, and a stealth social media company in the women’s health and wellness space.
Kim Dewbre, Account Director, TracyLocke Dallas
Kim has been with DDB for 7 years. During that time, she has worked on American Airlines, Nokia, JCPenney and Essilor of America. Her current accounts include TABASCO Brand Pepper Sauce and Omni Hotels. Other account experience includes Pizza Hut and Texas Instruments.
Kim's most recent accomplishments include completing a Super Bowl Commercial for the TABASCO Brand. Previous to this, TABASCO debut the “Label” Campaign in national magazines. This campaign won several awards including a Bronze Lion in Cannes. In 2002, her work on the “Talking Eyes” spot for Crizal Anti-reflective coating (Essilor of America) won a silver Effie. She has been instrumental in successfully launching a new product, Chipotle Pepper Sauce, for the TABASCO Brand. In three years this product is the second most purchased flavor in the TABASCO Family of Flavors.
Kim jumped into the Agency life in 1992. She began as an Account Coordinator on the Texas Instruments account. Since then, Kim has been on a number of accounts including Quick-Serve and Casual-Dining restaurants, retail, airline, high-tech, package goods and health care.
Kim received her B.A. in Communication from Texas A&M-College Station and lives in Dallas with her dog Fargo.
Brandon Evans, Managing Director, RepNation Media
Brandon Evans is a passionate, creative and professional marketer who thrives on creating unique, innovative solutions and implementing them with flawless execution.
As the managing director of RepNation, Brandon overseas all RepNation operations and lends his market savvy and creativity to create cutting-edge campaigns for its clients. And he knows that no idea is ever too “out there” for a successful RepNation campaign.
Before joining RepNation, Brandon was the senior director of brand engagement at Mr. Youth, the premier marketing agency for America’s 14-24 year old demographic. At Mr. Youth, Brandon and his team developed industry-leading infrastructure, technology and results that helped the agency become the leaders in brand ambassador networks. This success helped to inspire the development of RepNation, a new agency focused on word-of-mouth and ambassador marketing for all age groups and company sizes.
Before signing on at Mr. Youth, Brandon launched his own fashion line, THREADCOUNTzzz, the world’s first line of high-thread-count sleepwear. Although he began with no seed money, Brandon grew the company to nearly $1million in sales, largely via word-of-mouth, before selling it less than 2 years after inception. THREADCOUNTzzz has been carried at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and hundreds of other stores nationwide, garnering media and consumer attention along the way.
Brandon is a trained strategist and began his career at Sapient as a consultant to several Fortune 100 clients, helping them to lay out their digital and mobile business and brand strategies. Brandon also spent several years as a brand manager at SKYY Spirits, creating innovative marketing programs that often drew on non-traditional marketing channels. At SKYY, Brandon launched several new products and learned to stretch every marketing dollar to its fullest to create high-impact, integrated marketing programs that delivered results no matter what the budget.
Brandon holds a bachelor’s degree from the Red McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas. Hook ‘em Horns!
Suzanne Fanning, Sr. Manager of Public Relations, Fiskars Craft
Suzanne has spearheaded many changes for her global corporation since taking over public relations two years ago. Through developing relationships with editors and producers, she earned Fiskars craft products placement in excess of $5 million in 2006, including frequent mentions on the Martha Stewart show, DIY and HGTV. She herself has appeared on PBS and QVC, and she does a craft segment on the local CBS news and morning show. She even presented at the Daytime Emmy Creative Arts Awards last year. With the goal of connecting with consumers on a more personal level, she and her team started a 24-hour web crafting show called FiskarsTV. and worked to make the website a place of inspiration and sharing. Returning visitors are currently up 105%. Most recently, she has been working with Brains on Fire to develop a Word of Mouth Marketing campaign for Fiskars, which has already exceeded every goal set. Her many successful efforts won her the CEO’s Excellence Award in 2005 and the President’s Award in 2006. Prior to joining the Fiskars team, Suzanne’s public relations assignments included work for the NC House Representative, a NY-based Fortune 500 company, and several businesses and non-profit organizations. Suzanne has a masters degree in Public Relations from Rowan University.
Brad Fay, Chief Operating Officer, The Keller Fay Group
Brad Fay is the Chief Operating Officer of the Keller Fay Group, a company he founded with partner Ed Keller in January 2006. The Keller Fay Group brings best-in-class research techniques and strategy consulting to the fast growing field of world of word of mouth marketing. The firm’s signature product, TalkTrack™, provides continuous monitoring of the brands and companies being talked about in everyday consumer conversations. Clients of TalkTrack™ use the service to develop marketing strategy and to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing and advertising campaigns.
Brad previously served as managing director at RoperASW and NOP World, where he supervised a variety of business units, including Roper Public Affairs, Starch Communications, Financial Services, Technology, Media and Omnibus Services. During his tenure at Roper and NOP World, Brad launched numerous market and opinion research products and methods, including the Fortune/Roper Reputation Index™; Green Gauge™; Cone/Roper Cause Branding Report™; Newsflow™ and PharmaNewsflow™. He also led the effort to introduce new "return on investment" tools into the Starch Ad Readership methodology.
In 2005, Brad led the R&D effort for development of "Category Influentialism" for NOP World, co-led the company's word of mouth marketing initiative and served as member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association's Research & Metrics Council.
Quoted on NBC Nightly News and in publications including The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Advertising Age, PR Week and PR News, Brad was formerly editor of Roper's Public Pulse newsletter and a columnist in AMA's Market Research magazine. His articles have appeared in publications including Public Perspectives and Pharmaceutical Executive, and in papers at industry conferences for the Advertising Research Foundation, Word of Mouth Marketing Association and American Association of Public Opinion Research. Brad is a member of the Communications Council of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, and he lectures about survey research at the Rutgerís University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
Pinny Gniwisch, Founder/EVP Marketing, Ice.com
Pinny Gniwisch started his adult life in Rabbinical College of Canada and graduated from Sydney University with a masters in Jewish law. Always appreciating a challenge, in 1995 he moved into his family jewelry business and spearheaded sales in the United States by securing business engagements with leading retailers such as Macys and Sears.
In 1999 he went on to found ice.com where he has taken the reins of marketing and been responsible for developing strategic alliances with a variety of distinguished Internet companies. Since its inception, ice.com has risen in the ranks of successful online retailers, quickly reaching into the top 200 most profitable online retailers. Ice.com has grown over the past year by a solid 45%. And this year, 70% in the first quarter alone by focusing on creative ways to drive online traffic and sales. Names like Yahoo, AOL, MSN, MyPoints, Modern Bride -- to name a few -- have all entered into agreements with ice.com because of their belief in the product line and knowledge of the jewelry business, as well as Pinny's track record of successful endeavors.
Pinny has consulted for such distinguished companies as Best Buy, Target and Victoria Secret on cutting edge internet marketing and merchandising. He has spoken for shop.org, etail, internet retailer and other major Internet industry events on vital online retailing topics ranging from search marketing, email marketing, personas, affiliate marketing, fraud, site design, blogs and customer retention.
He has also been quoted in Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Redherring, New York Times, ClickZ, Internet Retailer, Forrester, Gartner group and many other trusted quality publications, and is currently working on a book entitled "Being Present", a guidebook on "need to know" issues regarding all aspects of Internet related marketing
A fun loving, athletic person Pinny was inspired to use his extensive experience and education to become a dedicated chaplain in the Boy Scouts of America. He has traveled to annual scouting Jamborees to help promote a meaningful and memorable experience that instills lasting values and the traditions of Scouting in America. Displaying not only tireless efforts for Jewish Scouts, Pinny is also an inspiration to scouts of a multitude of religious denominations, who turn to him time and again for guidance and counsel.
Larisa Hall, VP, Marketing, TheFind.com
With a background in online and offline marketing, sales and business development, Larisa Hall has over 10 years of experience building brands and guiding top-tier companies. Her efforts have driven notable growth in retail, media and technology companies that have ranged from pre-funded start-ups to large, global corporations.
Hall now lends her expertise to TheFind.com, which she joined in March 2006 as Vice President of Marketing. She came to TheFind.com from Buy.com, where as Vice President of Marketing she had significant impact on the company’s profitability, strategy and growth. Hall led the strategy and execution of Buy.com’s offline and online marketing campaigns that resulted in record annual operating results for 2005.
Prior to leading Buy.com’s marketing division, Hall launched Buy.com’s first-ever advertising sales division from 1999, and subsequently created the company’s advertising sales operations group in 2000. Before that, she held both online and offline sales positions at AltaVisa Search and International Data Group (IDG). Hall has also consulted for several Internet start-ups.
Hall holds a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Bill Hanekamp, CEO, The Well Advertising
For more than 15 years, Bill has been an Internet marketing consultant, conference speaker, seminar leader, and author. He has developed online strategies and creative for Sony Electronics, Philip Morris, American Express, Gore-Tex, as well as nearly 100 middle-market businesses in a wide range of B2B and B2C industries.
Bill’s unique expertise comes from his in-depth understanding of advertising and marketing and a comprehensive grasp of technology. In a world where the CMO and CIO don’t often get along, Bill is able to bridge the communication gap to produce strategically sound, creative ideas that work in the real world. His articles appear monthly in magazines like Direct, B2B Marketing, and OMMA. You can find his articles, speaking engagements, and commentary at www.microsite.com.
Bill is co-founder and CEO of The Well Advertising, an innovative marketing firm that focuses on emerging media strategies and techniques.
Chip Heath, Professor, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Chip Heath is the co-author (along with his brother, Dan) of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (Random House, January 2007). Chip’s research at Stanford examines why “naturally sticky” ideas-- ranging from urban legends to Chicken Soup for the Soul stories to business strategy myths—survive in the social marketplace of ideas. He has also explored whether people can use the principles of these “naturally sticky” ideas to make their own messages more effective.
A few years back Chip designed a course, now a popular elective at Stanford, that asked whether people could use the principles of naturally sticky ideas to design messages that would be more effective. That course, How to Make Ideas Stick, has now been taught to hundreds of students including managers, teachers, nonprofit leaders, doctors, journalists, venture capitalists, product designers, and film producers.
Chip’s research has appeared in dozens of scientific journals in psychology, management, and economics. He has taught courses on Organizational Behavior, Negotiation, Strategy, International Strategy, and Social Entrepreneurship.
Dan Heimbrock, President/CEO, HyperDrive Interactive
Dan founded HyperDrive Interactive on January 1st, 2001 – the first day of the 21st Century. He set out to bring his nearly 25 years of marketing and branding experience to a new breed of agency committed to real results, 1-to-1 communications, and mastery of the digital world. The agency provides full-service interactive marketing solutions to clients in the Consumer Packaged Goods, Healthcare, Durable Goods, Military/Government, and Online Commerce sectors.
From 1996 to 2000, he was Director of Worldwide Marketing for O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt, the world’s largest maker of armored passenger vehicles. In this capacity, Dan developed a marketing planning system and brand strategy, which resulted in revenue growth from $12 million to well over $150 million in under 5 years.
Prior to O’Gara, Dan served as Vice President, Account Director and various other AE and research positions at advertising agencies and Burke Marketing Research working with brands such as Campbell Soup, Scott Paper, Frigidaire, Tappan, Purina, Tide, McCormick Spices, Kimberly-Clark, McNeil Labs, among others.
Steve Hershberger, Principal, ComBlu
Steve Hershberger is a founding partner of ComBlu a specialty agency focused on delivering, managing and measuring community marketing programs. ComBlu’s primary focus is on advocacy based programs.
Hershberger’s experience with loyalty and advocacy programs extends back to the mid-1990’s when he headed a software firm that worked with Apple Computer on several products that actively leveraged brand loyalty, customer advocacy and word of mouth. Through this work, he formed a consulting division focused on using the web to deliver tools to better empower consumers, deepen their relationship with the brand and give the brand a new venue to collect preference and use data.
In 2000, Hershberger sold his business to a national consulting firm, after which he left to join fellow tech entrepreneur Jeff Alholm in successfully acquiring a medical device product line from Medtronic and worked to raise the capital necessary to re-launch the business. Today, Symbios Medical is a leader in pain management solutions.
In 2003, Hershberger launched ComBlu as a reincarnation of the work he had done in the mid to late 1990’s. ComBlu is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Hershberger is a trustee for Indiana University’s Graduate School of Business Entrepreneurship Scholarship and is also an active committee and board member for several tech and healthcare early stage companies, as well as, not for profit groups including WOMMA.
Hershberger is married with two children and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Mark Hillman, Creative Director, Resource Interactive
An expert on traditional and digital advertising strategies, Mark Hillman serves as the associate creative director at Resource Interactive, leading the development and advancement of Resource’s online marketing & advertising discipline to create digital marketing campaigns including banners, email, search, viral and mobile technologies for clients such as Head & Shoulders, Reebok, Scotts, Aussie, Kohler, Wal-Mart, Shaw Flooring, Crutchfield, Herbal Essences, and Infusium 23.
Mark’s 15 + years of advertising experience includes television, radio and print marketing campaigns, working with a vast array of clients such as Conde Nast, Sony, Nationwide Insurance and the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets.
Mark was a judge in the Web Marketing Association’s 2007 Internet Advertising Competition, and his work has been recognized by some of the advertising industry’s most prestigious award shows and publications including the Clios, D&AD, HOW, Radio Mercury, Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, Print, London Internationals, and the ADDYs. Mark was most recently a speaker at OMMA on social networking and his work with the Herbal Essences DumpCupid campaign.
David Jacobs, Principal, Apperceptive
David served as the Director of Technology and Distribution at MediaRights, growing the web site from ten thousand visits a month to millions a year. Creative Commons acclaimed David as a “Featured Commoner,” for MediaRights’ production of the the 2004 “Media That Matters Film Festival,” which won the South By Southwest award for Best website by a non-profit. As a consultant David has worked extensively with Nokia, Six Apart and iVillage.
Stephen Jones, Executive Vice President, GolinHarris
Stephen Jones is an Executive Vice President with GolinHarris based in Los Angeles. He oversees the Nintendo of America account, GolinHarris’ largest client globally. Having served in senior management positions with agencies such as Ketchum, Ogilvy and Burson-Marsteller, Stephen has a wealth of consumer and technology experience in the areas of corporate reputation, brand strategy, product launches, and media and analyst relations.
He is a new media expert who has previously worked with established brands such as Apple, Sun Microsystems and Philips, as well as a range of start-up companies. Stephen holds a bachelor of arts degree from UCLA and a masters in communication from Stanford University.
Darrell Jursa, Founder/President, Liquid Intelligence
Darrell Jursa is the Founder and President of Liquid Intelligence, an Influencer/word of mouth marketing firm based in Chicago. Liquid Intelligence uses a variety of creative techniques (tactics) to encourage communication within communities beneficial to the consumer and brand. Notably, the company was responsible for the comeback of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, increasing their volume over 200% in 30 months through the use of viral, evangelist, grassroots, influencer and seeding tactics. Darrell is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Beverage World, Beverage Spectrum and Market Watch regarding alcohol and non-alcoholic beverage marketing.
Perrin Kaplan, VP, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Nintendo of America
Perrin Kaplan is Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Affairs for Nintendo of America in Redmond, Washington. She oversees public relations, government affairs, investor relations and internal communications for the Western Hemisphere and plays a key role in global coordination. She is a leader in the company's top marketing team and has been with Nintendo since 1992.
Perrin previously worked in public affairs for both the public and private sectors and was a reporter/editor for KING Broadcasting, Seattle's NBC affiliate. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in communications and political science from the University of Washington.
Rob Key, Founder/CEO, Converseon
Rob is Founder and CEO of Converseon, a leading full service social media communications agency that helps clients “join the conversation” to manage brand and meet business goals. Converseon has garnered a reputation for innovative programming with services ranging from affiliate driven word-of-mouth marketing, enterprise-generated media strategies, search marketing and search engine optimization, social media optimization, Search Engine Reputation Management (SERMA), its proprietary Conversation Mining service, blog and social network development, and more, to help provide clients with an “end-to-end” social media strategy. Clients include Palm, Hilton Hotels, Dow Chemical, Mikasa, the Smithsonian Network, among others.
Converseon’s work has been profiled in such venues as PR Week, Mediapost, The Financial Times, JupiterResearch, Forrester as well as The Conference Board, New Communications Forum and Search Engine Strategies.
Prior to Converseon, Rob was head of the “Innovations Group” at a division of Young & Rubicam and member of the WPP.com board (then headed by Esther Dyson). He has more than 10 years experience in digital marketing and communications working with some of the world’s leading brands. He speaks frequently at a range of industry events, including WOMMA, Ad:Tech, Igniting Buzz, Syndicate Conference, among others.
Rob can be reached at rkey@converseon.com.
Nick Longo, Founder, CoffeeCup Software and Ideas & Marketing Consultant, Have Gun Will Travel
Nick is the Founder and CEO of CoffeeCup Software. CoffeeCup started in a real coffee house he owned in 1994 and by intuition about the Web it became one of first 25 Internet Cafe's in the world. Nick was a webmaster and coffee house owner who was then unfulfilled by what software was available to create websites. He started to create software while running the coffee house in 1996 so every person in the world could create a website or make what they had even better.
With over 10 years in the Web Design Software business he has helped develop the Web as people see it and use it today. CoffeeCup Software users number over 15,000,000 people worldwide now and Nicks insight and ability to connect with them on a fundamental personal level is renown in software and marketing. He is also the author of the book My Website is Better than Yours - Learning Web Design from the Inside Out, and numerous articles on marketing and business Zen. Nick was awarded a Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Endicott College in May of 2002 for his Technological and Social contributions to the Internet.
Nick believes software is about feelings and is something people hold to and actually feel. It is very personal and changes lives every day; which fundamentally changes who we are as a society.
Robin Luymes, Manager, Public Relations, Quixtar
Robin Luymes is Manager of Public Relations and Editorial for Quixtar Inc., the leading Health & Beauty online retailer and online business opportunity company. Robin's also a leader in the Public Relations industry as former President of the West Michigan chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. Robin can talk about the Quixtar business, Health & Beauty products, e-commerce, and Public Relations. Also important to Robin is his family (wife & four children), his faith, and his community.
Owen Mack, Co-Founder/Lead Strategist, coBRANDiT
Owen Mack is co-founder/strategic chief of coBRANDiT, a social media and marketing consultancy specializing in web video for online communities and opt-in environments. The coBRANDiT story includes brand hi-jacking, market research, viral video, and the launching of
the world’s fi rst open-source ad agency. Recent projects include video production for treehugger, fashion.psfk, ihaveanidea, and WOMMA, as well as production and consulting work for PUMA Running.
Owen’s marketing interest originated with his involvement (starting at age 11) in the family retail business. This formative experience taught him early on the value of customer-centric thinking and the importance of presenting information honestly and authentically. Studies at Washington University in St. Louis fused his interest in vernacular design and marketing. His annoyance with conventional advertising led in 2002 to an epiphany: advertising ought to be about real people
in real places discussing real product. He teamed up with partner Jesse Buckley and got to work producing unauthorized documentary “ads” for Schlitz beer and PUMA which received national attention.
Most recently Owen has been applying his knowledge of the web video space to new delivery systems including YouTube brand channels, Google video AdSense programs, post-roll content, videoblogs and other opt-in formats as well as consulting on video sharing tools in brand communities. He has been featured in various publications including Inc. magazine and Dentsu-ho (the Japanese AdAge), spoken at the New Communications Forum and PodCamp Boston, and been recognized as a Social Media Innovator at the BlogOn 2005 conference.
Owen lives in Boston, Mass. where he can be found riding bicycles made of spare parts and building plywood sculptures painted aqua blue.
Stefanie Manning, Associate Publisher/Marketing, O, The Oprah Magazine & O at Home
In her role at O, Stefanie Manning is responsible for the marketing and promotion strategy for the Oprah-branded magazines, including the development of key selling propositions, marketing platforms and integrated marketing programs to increase and support advertising revenue. Stefanie joined the magazine upon its launch in 2000 and has been an integral part of the management team that led the magazine to its quick and continued success.
She is passionate about representing a brand that means so much to it’s readers and enjoys leveraging the magazine’s “emotional connection” to help advertisers meet their marketing objectives.
Stefanie began her career at New York Magazine and moved on to hold various marketing positions at SELF Magazine and Newsweek. She spent some time on the agency side, leading a sales promotion account team at Wunderman and returned to magazines to lead the branding strategy at Businessweek before joining O.
Stefanie graduated from Ohio University in 1989 with a BS in Communications. She lives in Mahwah, New Jersey with her husband and four daughters.
Virginia Miracle, Director, Word of Mouth Marketing, Brains on Fire
Virginia recently returned to her southern roots by joining Brains on Fire in Greenville, SC. Until early May 2006, she worked at Fortune 50 powerhouse Dell, Inc., in Austin, Texas, as their first marketing communications manager focused on word of mouth activities and later as the head of online advertising for the consumer and small business segments. Miracle's projects at Dell include the word of mouth-led introduction of the Dell DJ Ditty music player in September 2005 via branded entertainment including www.ADitty4You.com. After beginning her career in enterprise software, she 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 also holds a B.A. in English from Princeton University. Virginia (or VeeDub to her friends) is believed to be the first person to hold a word of mouth title in a Fortune 50 company. At Brains on Fire, she is the Director of Word of Mouth Marketing and is joining forces with Geno Church, the Word of Mouth Inspiration Officer, to develop a variety of identity focused WOM efforts from concept to completion.
Christine Morrison, Manager, TurboTax Inner Circle, Intuit
Christine Morrison is the Manager of the TurboTax Inner Circle. Described in “The Ultimate Question” by Fred Reichheld, the Inner Circle is group of customers focused on improving the entire end-to-end TurboTax experience. Besides acting as a testing ground for product and marketing efforts, Intuit focuses on the Inner Circle as a way to learn how to take customers from detractors all the way to becoming our most active evangelists.
Christine is passionate about co-creating with customers, customer engagement, and creating a world-class end-to-end experience. Her life before Intuit included four years as a web developer and an even longer stretch as a Senior Education Specialist at SeaWorld.
William Mosher, Founder/Director, Echopinion!
William Mosher is Founder and Director of Echopinion, a New York word of mouth marketing and research firm specializing in the use of consumers to launch new products and services. Mr. Mosher has 20 years of marketing experience and started his career in advertising creating
print/ad materials for companies such as The American Dairy Association, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Crouse-Hinds, Carrier Corporation, Eureka Tents, Pass and Seymour, Welch Allyn and others. In 1996 his interest quickly turned to the Internet and Bill left a secure career in advertising to hold a position as Senior Strategist for Internet development firm Rway Communications where he has successfully combined the use of the Internet with sound marketing strategies.
Today, Bill and Echopinion hold the distinction of being the first paying member of WOMMA and he played a role in creating the organization’s first ethics document that established a stance against deceptive and stealth marketing. He has given several interviews and keynotes on the topic of word of mouth marketing across the country. He has won many awards, most notably the Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award (DSMA) from the Sales and Marketing Executives (SME). The recipients are cited for excellence in the Sales and Marketing Profession.
Art Muldoon, SVP, Client Services, BzzAgent
Art Muldoon is SVP, Client Services of BzzAgent Inc., one of the advertising industry’s most recognized word-of-mouth marketing and media firms.
Art is a seasoned veteran in the online advertising and new media space. His 18-year career includes online business development, interactive advertising and emerging media assignments leveraging his skills in corporate strategy, general management and marketing.
Prior to joining BzzAgent, Art spent three and a half years as Vice President, General Manger of Avenue A | Razorfish, where his clients included Starwood Hotels, Verizon, AstraZeneca, Polo, Capital One and Victoria’s Secret. During his tenure, Avenue A | Razorfish was recognized by AdWeek and AdAge as the top interactive agency for revenue and client results.
Prior to this, Art launched two digital stock photo and video licensing businesses for Corbis in Seattle, and spent nearly four years as a corporate strategy consultant in the entertainment, media and communications practice with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Los Angeles. Art began his career in investment banking at Lehman Brothers.
Art is a graduate of Trinity College (CT) and the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
Rick Murray, President, me2revolution, Edelman
Rick Murray was promoted to head up the me2revolution in April 2006. This new, global group is Edelman’s media lab, and exclusively dedicated to identifying, testing, incubating and championing new forms of communications that get people talking across new platforms and channels. In this new role, he will continue to serve as client relationship manager on Unilever’s AXE brand marketing business.
Prior to taking the helm of me2, Rick directed the Edelman’s various creative business units (design, production, interactive services and brand experiences), while also spearheading the development of its word of mouth marketing offering. His principal areas of expertise include: brand identity, positioning and strategy; integrated marketing communications; and non-traditional marketing in both traditional and emerging channels. Today, he provides strategic and creative counsel to many of Edelman’s accounts including Microsoft, Nissan, Johnson & Johnson and Burger King.
Before joining Edelman in 2001, 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. Prior to joining G/H, Rick was chief operating officer for Motivation Media, an experiential marketing company that focused on helping clients align employees and channel partners with their respective brand and business objectives. Its clientele included Citibank, Amoco, Ameritech, Allstate Insurance and Federated Stores. He has also served as the president of The Promotion Network, a leading sales promotion agency, and as vice president, marketing for Pepsi-Cola’s $1B Canadian business, where he directed that market’s response to new Coke and led his team to soft drink category leadership.
Rick ensured that Edelman was a founding member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, and co-chaired its ethics committee during WOMMA’s first year. He holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Vermont. An endurance cyclist and aspiring chef, he and his wife Lea live in Northfield, Illinois with their three daughters.
Jim Nail, Chief Marketing & 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.
David Rabjohns, Founder, MotiveQuest
David is founder of MotiveQuest, a marketing consultancy specializing in helping manage the marketing and business implications of online consumer dialog.
Their unique "Online Anthropology" approach focuses on digging deeper than mere buzz measurement to create models of consumer emotion and loyalty. The eclectic group of world class strategists at MotiveQuest claim to live their Motto "Fearlessly Seeking The Reason's Why?"
MotiveQuest has worked in a wide range of industries with clients including Citibank, DuPont HP, Mini and Motorola.
Prior to starting MotiveQuest in 2003 David was EVP, Brand Strategy Director at Leo Burnett Chicago. David has also worked in marketing and strategy positions at IBM (UK), PepsiCo (Aus), Saatchi & Saatchi (UK) and McConnaughy (US).
Stuart Sheldon, Director - Brand Activation, Coca-Cola North America
Stuart Sheldon, Director - Brand Activation for Coca-Cola North America, leads a team of marketing professionals responsible for national integrated marketing program development. Examples include the Olympics, NCAA March Madness, American Idol, Holiday (Sundblom Santa) and My Coke Rewards. He also currently leads word-of-mouth marketing efforts at CCNA.
Prior to his current role, Stuart spent four years as a senior brand manager, first on
Mello Yello and then Coca-Cola.
Stuart joined Coca-Cola North America in 1999 after eight years of marketing consulting work. As a consultant, Stuart’s client portfolio included work with Coca-Cola in nine different countries on four continents, with a focus on associative marketing. Other client industries include consumer electronics, white goods, financial services, apparel and footwear and confections.
Stuart and Karen, his wife, live in metropolitan Atlanta with their three sons. When not chasing the boys, Stuart plays water polo and volunteers with several local not-for-profit organizations.
Stuart graduated from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. He grew up in Wichita, Kansas.
Laura Shuler, Chief Strategy Officer/President, US, Jack Morton Worldwide
As Chief Strategy Officer and President, US, Laura Shuler is responsible for continuing to evolve and enhance the agency’s value to its clients as a strategic marketing partner, and for driving the growth of its US operations.
Laura assumed the leadership of Jack Morton’s global strategy and planning capabilities in 2006 to extend the agency’s position as an experiential marketing thought leader and give clients enhanced offerings in platform development, audience insight and marketing accountability.
A member of Jack Morton’s Executive Team since 1996, Laura has played a leading role in growing the agency’s brand, its core offerings and its relationships with key clients. In addition to her role as Chief Strategy Officer and her leadership of the US operations, she has held senior management positions overseeing the agency’s New York office and its Eastern operations as well as its strategic development and US brand marketing.
Laura has been a passionate spokesperson for Jack Morton's evolution as an agency and the growing value of experiential and event marketing. She speaks regularly to business and industry audiences.
Laura received a BA in Communications from the University of Delaware. She lives in Rye, New York with her husband and their four children.
Neal Stewart, Director of Marketing, Flying Dog Brewery
Neal Stewart’s marketing career includes both agency and client side experience in a variety industries including retail, non-profit and consumer package goods.
From 2000–2006, Neal worked at Pabst Brewing Company as the Brand Manager and eventually, Marketing Director for the Pabst Blue Ribbon brand. At Pabst, Neal’s marketing strategy focused on initiating word of mouth and loyalty with influential consumers by supporting grass-roots and subculture events. As a result, PBR volume increased for the first time in 25 years and has continued to grow for the past five years. Neal also managed several other brands within the Pabst portfolio, including Rainier which was recognized for several advertising and marketing industry awards for its “RainierVision” campaign.
For the past year, Neal Stewart has worked as the Director of Marketing for Flying Dog Brewery in Denver, CO where he is leading the craft brewer’s re-branding efforts. Neal was recognized in 2004 by Fast Company as one of the “Fast 50” and was named to the Event Marketer 2005 “Dream Team”.
Chad Stoller, Executive Director, Emgerging Platforms, Organic
Chad Stoller joined Organic in 2006 as the Executive Director, Emerging Platforms. In this role, he leads Organic's strategy for new communication platforms and the Experience Lab initiative, the next step in persona evolution where clients learn, through a first hand experiences, their customer's media, technology, and content consumption habits.
Chad began his Arnell Group career in 1993 as a media planner and developer for fashion, lifestyle, and technology brands such as Ray-Ban, Banana Republic, Donna Karan, and Samsung Electronics. In 1997, he co-founded Surge Interactive, the interactive branding division of Arnell Group. While at Surge, Chad led interactive brand strategies for Universal Music Group, Tommy Hilfiger, Progressive Auto Insurance, Clear Channel, Rockport, Cuervo, and Playboy.com.
Chad returned to Arnell Group in 2001, assuming the newly created role of Director, Communication Solutions and was responsible for the development of branded entertainment, new media, branded gaming, technology partnerships, and electronic entertainment business, and marketing alliances for Arnell Group's partners and brands including McDonalds, Siemens, Reebok, DaimlerChrysler, Sun Microsystems and Masterfoods. Since 2001, Chad has developed a series of award winning programs including the Cannes Gold Lion award winning “Terry Tate: Office Linebacker” for Reebok and Jeep® Evo 4 x4 for DaimlerChrysler.
Bill Thompson, SVP, Sales & Marketing, Informative
Bill Thompson is a twenty year marketing veteran, skilled and proven at Word of Mouth Marketing. Born and bred at Bain and Arnold, he helped use Word of Mouth to build Fidelity's retirement business, and drive Internet service usage at both Fidelity and Financial Engines.
Bob Troia, Founder/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.
David Weinberger, Author, The Cluetrain Manifesto and Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder
The Wall Street Journal called him a "marketing guru." He's the co-author of the The Cluetrain Manifesto, the bestseller that cut through the hype and told business what the Web was really about. His latest book, Small Pieces Loosely Joined has been published to rave reviews hailing it as the first book to put the Internet in its deepest context. He's been a frequent commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered. He's written for the "Fortune 500" of business and tech journals, including The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, The Miami Herald, The Boston Globe, USA Today, The Guardian, and Wired. Journalists from The New York Times, Newsweek, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, InformationWeek, The Economist, the Wall Street Journal and many more turn to him for insight. He is a columnist for Knowledge Management World and il sole 24 ore, and writes an influential business technology newsletter and a well-known daily weblog, Joho the Blog. He was a philosophy professor for six years, a comedy writer for Woody Allen for seven years, a humor columnist for Oregon's major daily newspaper, a dot-com entrepreneur before most people knew what a home page was, and a strategic marketing consultant to household-name multinationals and the most innovative startups. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy and is currently a Fellow at the prestigious Harvard Berkman Center for Internet & Society. His book Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder is being published by Times Books in May 2007.
He is also one of the most entertaining and acclaimed presenters around.
Dr. David Weinberger turns this remarkable range of experience and knowledge to the most important question facing every business today: How is technology changing the way my employees, partners and customers are putting themselves together, and how is that changing the basics of my business?
Ted Wright, Founder, Fizz
Ted Wright is the founder of Fizz, a full service word of mouth agency focused on the beverage and video game markets. Ted is a charter member of WOMMA and active commentator on word of mouth and beverage marketing for a variety of publications and television networks. During the last six years Ted and his team have enjoyed creating successful word of mouth campaigns for such clients as Pabst Blue Ribbon, Tiger Beer, Zuidam Gin, VeeV Spirits, Aguila and a variety of Pernod Ricard brands. Fizz’s 2007 expansion into video games netted projects with Rock Star Games and Sony while allowing it’s beverage clients greater involvement with their target markets.
When not at work, Ted serves on the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business alumni association and enjoys creating puppet shows for his five year old son Abbott.