TRENDSETTERS

Kristin Fallon is the Head of Corporate Brand & Digital Marketing for GE Healthcare, where she is responsible for the company’s brand position, content, media, and channels. She is currently leading the company’s rebrand as part of its planned spin-off. Throughout her career, Kristin has helped non-profits and the private sector meaningfully engage with stakeholders and grow market share—working w...

On August 18th, Thomas Burkhardt was named President of MARCHON EYEWEAR, INC., one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of quality eyewear and sunglasses. He most recently served as Marchon’s Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Brands, Marketing, and Design.  His promotion underscores how marketing as a business discipline is essential to driving both innov...

Without question, inflation is on everyone’s mind today.  As a result, two leading media auditing consultancies—AuditStar and Cortex Media—teamed up to provide marketers with a Global Media Inflation Outlook for the second half of 2022 and 2023 to sort through some of the confusion and contention in a highly volatile marketplace.  Their 86-page Media Inflation Outlook looks at 15 bellwether countr...

Luca Iandoli believes that people are constantly immersed in a flow of visual data that shapes and reshapes our perceptions.  Companies, brands, and individuals are competing to capture the public's scarce attention by inventing visual formats to stand out, so they can be recognized and remembered.   His new book, Elegant Design: A Designer’s Guide to Harnessing Aesthetics, co-authored with Giusep...

Bank of the West recently published its first Money Matters Report focused on “Revealing the Sustainability Intentions Gap.” Spearheaded by Melissa Fifield, the bank’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability, the report surveyed business leaders and consumers to determine their thoughts around climate change, as well as the actions they are willing to take to mitigate envi...

Whether fueled by the pandemic, climate issues, or social change, there's been an explosion of interest in purpose-driven marketing. Scott Goodson and Chip Walker, partners at StrawberryFrog, the independent marketing, advertising, and design company, have found that activating purpose is often a significant challenge to brands. As a result, they co-authorized a book, appropriately titled ACTIVATE...

While CES certainly provides an annual glimpse into the Future of Technology, exhibitor innovations not only influence marketing thinking throughout the year, but shape business decisions and even economic growth for the future.  Issues of Marketing and Technology have consistently been among the top concerns on marketers’ agenda, according to Annual Internationalist Insights Surveys that rank mar...

Jonathan Barnard is Head of Forecasting and Director of Global Intelligence at Zenith, the ROI Agency, where he is responsible for developing market-leading insight, analysis and thought leadership, as well as coordinating a global network of experts. A veteran of Zenith for twenty-five years, he has tracked more financial swings and business precedents than most. Over the next three years, he exp...

If anyone could characterize the amount of change marketers have experienced or the breadth of their ever-evolving responsibilities, it is Bob Liodice, Chief Executive Officer of the ANA, one of the world’s oldest and largest marketing associations.  With a mission to drive growth, ANA serves the marketing needs of its vast member community that collectively represents more than 20,000 brands.   ...

Ben Jankowski has a knack for posing exactly the right question or directly stating an issue that others may have overlooked.  From talking about today’s “terrible digital ad experience” to figuring out how marketers can “create the kind of value that people really want,” his long experience and love for the business of media helps to push the industry forward.    He is also part of a new generati...

Brian Wieser, GroupM’s Global President of Business Intelligence, has been at the center of advertising forecasting and media trend watching for a very long time.   As he tracks global advertising expenditures in key media categories— TV, Audio, Cinema, Out of Home, Print, and Digital, Brian Wieser believes that total ad revenue will exceed $1 trillion by 2025, or up significantly from its current...

CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers, Stephan Loerke, believes that we may look back on 2021 as a turning point for the marketing industry on several critical issues.  A self-proclaimed optimist, he thinks the past year has laid the foundation for making the ad industry better, fairer, more open, and resilient.  He adds, “And that’s a good starting point to embrace with confidence the challe...

“As 2022 – the Year of the Tiger – comes roaring in, it’s that time to speculate once again on what lies ahead for marketers,” says Doug Wood.  “So, here’s the top ten trends and challenges I see (in no particular order) that if unheeded may make brands the next endangered species (assuming they are not already).”   Doug Wood has practiced law for 45 years with a concentration in advertising and m...

The Zebra was started in 2012 with a single goal: to simplify insurance. And in doing so, they’ve become the leading insurance comparison site in the United States. Earlier this year, the Austin, Texas-based company raised $150 Million after doubling its revenue in 2020 to reach “unicorn” status.   Stephanie Junge-Filipek is Senior Director of Brand Marketing at The Zebra and builds her role aroun...

Taking a legacy brand in a new direction is never easy.  Doing so during a pandemic is certainly not for the faint of heart.   David McKillips accepted the role of CEO for CEC Entertainment in January 2020; CEC is named for its flagship Chuck E. Cheese brand and incorporates the Peter Piper Pizza and Pasqually's Pizza & Wings brands. 

Rahul Malhotra, Head of Brand Strategy and Stewardship at Shell, sincerely believes that corporations can transform the world around us profitably, better, and faster than governments. For the last five and half years, he has been responsible for global brand strategy and architecture for Shell’s brand identity, as well as the company’s brand stewardship and employee ambassadorship. Plus, he has l...

President & CEO of Belvedere Vodka, Rodney Williams, has set an ambitious company agenda with bold commitments to both new product innovations and operating practices. 

JP Kuehlwein has worked throughout the world in a variety of brand, marketing and innovation roles that range from leading the P&L for Pampers in much of Asia to providing premium brand strategy for Procter & Gamble in 16 country and category combinations to becoming the CEO of Frédéric Fekkai and turning around the hair care brand.  Five years ago, JP created the Ueber Brands Consultancy and is a...

"Ambush marketing" is a controversial marketing practice that pits non-sponsors against rights holders. It is as prevalent as ever, as non-sponsors seek to associate their brands, rightly or wrongly, with significant sporting or entertainment events without needing to pay sponsorship fees.

Thirteen years ago, Simon Dermer started eSSENTIAL Accessibility, a platform that enables purpose-driven organizations to enhance their digital customer experience for people with disabilities.  Since then, he has seen an evolution in accessibility, as well as key shifts in industry response. When he founded eSSENTIAL Accessibility, he spent a lot of time ensuring that marketers understood the siz...

Over the course of her 25-year career in media and advertising, Latha Sundaram has become passionate about the role global organizations can play to drive positive social change. While her position as Group Business Leader, Executive Director at MediaCom is to lead purpose-driven marketing and communication strategies for multinational companies, she believes her passion for the “power of people”...

Stephan Loerke, CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), believes that marketers should be leading the charge in sustainability by communicating consumer demands for action internally, while also demonstrating to customers how an organization can help them make more sustainable choices. As a result, the WFA has announced “The Planet Pledge” – an initiative designed to put marketers in a p...

Rob Rakowitz has more than two decades of experience spanning creative, media, research, and strategy functions from both the marketer and agency perspectives.  Now he leads the Global Alliance for Responsible Media or GARM-- a never-been-done-before industry alliance that brings together global marketers, media agencies, media owner platforms and industry associations to work together to improve...

As Molson Coors’ Vice President of Media and Consumer Engagement for North America. Brad Feinberg oversees the Centers of Excellence for Media, Precision Marketing, Creative Services, and Partnerships. His passion for analytics and creativity has led to breakthrough media efforts that have delivered successful results, as well as recognition within the industry and from the Molson Coors Executive...

Erin Bruehl is Director of Communications at Current, a leading U.S. challenger bank created to serve Americans overlooked by traditional banking institutions.  With a mission to improve financial outcomes, Current believes that banking should be accessible and affordable for everyone, especially people with a variety of modern lifestyles—from those young and starting out to people who are part of...