Winter 2012 Speakers
Hearing stories from the field, told by the people who create new approaches to persuasive communication, is an unmatched experience. Exciting, lively, informative: please experience our Distinguished Speakers Series for yourself. See here for full reports on past speakers.
Admission is open to all Ross students. For parking, the University lot near the corner of Hill and Tappan Streets is open to non-permit holders after 5 pm on weekdays. Use BLUE spaces in the structure, not GOLD spaces.
The speaker series will take place as a part of a class in the given locations. Please go to the room a few minutes early in order to find a seat.
Tuesday, January 17, 8:00-9:15pm, Room 0230
Brad Boivin, Director of Sales, CBS Interactive
Brad spoke from the media perspective about how digital has impacted the
networks, and how CBS has pivoted to create interactive advertising
opportunities to leading advertisers.
Tuesday, January 31, 8:00-9:15pm, Room 0230
Jack Palazzolo, Director of Marketing and Strategy Export & Growth Team,
Ford
Jack, a Ross alum, will talk from a client perspective about how Ford
develops marketing campaigns for markets throughout the world.
Tuesday, February 14, 8:00-9:15pm, Room 0230
Rich Stoddart, President, Leo Burnett USA
Rich will speak from the perspective of Agency management on how the digital
revolution has changed the agency business and what Leo Burnett has done to
adapt to the transformational change.
Fall 2011 Speakers
Design-in-Marketing
Sep 21, 7-8pm, Room E1550
Sid Ramnarace, VP of Design, Lifetime Brands, New York.
Sid leads the Design team responsible for such Housewares brands as Faberware, Mikasa, Food Network and more. He discussed his process for Brand differentiation in a very competitive field.
Sep 28, 7-8pm, Room E1550
Guiseppe Delena, VP of Design, Kaleidoscope Design, Cincinnati
After having spent over 20 years as a Designer at Ford Motor Company, Giuseppe now leads a consultant Design team working for a number of clients, including Proctor and Gamble and Navistar. Giuseppe presented a Design case study on the Swiffer Brand.
Oct 5, 7-8pm, Room E1550
Lesli Ann Mie Agcaoili, Team Lead, Colours, Materials and Finished,
Research in Motion (RIM), Canada
After graduating with her Ross MBA in 2010, Lesli moved to RIM to
develop color and materials strategies. She spoke to the topic of
brand differentiation in a highly competitive and technical category.
Oct 12, 7-8pm, Room E1550
Tania Aldous, Global Director of Industrial Design, World Kitchen
(Chicago)
After over ten years with Whirlpool (and four as Design Director for
North America), Tania is now head of Design for World Kitchen (Pyrex,
CorningWare, Chicago Cutlery and more). She spoke to the topic
of OEM Manufacturers and Merchandising, from a Brand perspective.
Digital Marketing
Nov 7, 8pm, Room R0210
Developing a Digital Marketing Plan
Jon Schulz, EVP Specific Media:
Jon is the former head of digital media at Ford. He is now EVP of Specific Media, a company which develops custom digital media opportunities for advertisers and owner of the social media website MySpace. Jon spoke about things he's learned and how to approach developing a digital marketing plan. He's had experience with all types of marketing and advertising plans and spoke from an extraordinarily broad perspective.
Nov 11th, Blau Auditorium, 9:00am-3:00pm:
Social Media Workshop
This workshop gave students a hands-on experience in the fast growing world of marketing using social media. Speakers provided a perspective of how companies are using Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and many other new tools to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their marketing programs.
Speakers included:
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Dr. Courtney Hunt: Organizational Effectiveness Consultant, Founder of Global Center for Digital Era Leadership, Founder of Social Media in Organizations Community, Principal at Renaissance Strategic Solutions
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Ken Zasky: President of Spark Communications, a full-service agency dedicated to exploring new ways to create meaningful communications. Spark is part of Starcom MediaVest Group, a global concern with more than 110 offices in 67 countries. Ken is an U of M graduate.
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Anisha Ahluwalia: Director at Denuo, a Publicis Groupe Company that is part of the Vivaki network. Denuo is a 20 person group of digital savants that invent, solve, and execute within the "white spaces" of marketing (social, mobile, and gaming). Anisha is a social media expert, digital consigliore, and idea catalyst who works with clients including Taco Bell, DuPont, AstraZeneca and MillerCoors.
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Todd Kirby: VP Director of Strategic Research Spark Communications. As head of research for Spark, Todd brings the consumer media perspective to bear on critical client decisions. He's responsible for discovering, facilitating, and integrating consumer insight across all media. Todd joined Spark after almost a decade managing research on behalf of SMG client General Motors. His current research for E*Trade-the Spark Sports Segmentation Study- helped E*Trade craft award winning work by focusing on fantasy football. Todd holds a joint Master's Degree in International and Intercultural Communications from the University of Denver as well as a dual degree in Communications and Psychology from the U of M.
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Bob Wisniewski: Former SVP Media Director at Starcom MediaVest/ Dean of SMG University, Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and Integrated Marketing Communications.
Nov 14th, 8pm, R0220
Digital Marketing and Search
Mike Lorenc, Director of Sales, Google:
Mike will gave his, and Google's, perspective on the latest developments and trends in digital marketing. These perspectives included what they are learning in this fast-changing category and their recommendations have changed over the last few years.
Nov 28th, 8pm, R0220
Mobile Marketing
Linda Daischendt, Executive Director/President, Mobile Technology
Association of Michigan:
How does mobile marketing fit into the puzzle? Linda has significant experience in the new mobile marketplace. She addressed the strengths and weaknesses of mobile, and the latest learnings about how companies are successfully integrating mobile into their digital marketing plans.
Dec 5th, 8pm, R0220
What’s Working in Digital Marketing?
Dr. Siddarth Shah, Sr. Director of Business Analytics, Efficient Frontier:
What's the latest learning on how various marketing tactics interact? How does search work with television? And what do the numbers suggest about how consumers react to various communication vehicles? Dr. Shah is on the cutting edge of what advertisers are learning about those issues and presented on them.
To learn more about Digital Marketing topics such as: Overall Perspectives on Digital Marketing; Using Social Networking for Marketing; Viral Marketing; Paid and Organic Search Engine Marketing; Mobile Marketing; Display and Video Advertising; visit the Yaffe Center’s Digital Media Resources website linked to from the front-page of www.yaffecenter.org. There you’ll find content-filled wikis, past speaker presentation materials, and useful links on these and other topics.
Brand-Building Communications
Nov 15, 5.45-6.30pm, Blau
A Year in the Life of a Brand Manager
Kevin Wenzel, Brand Manager, P&G: Brand Communications and
Management
Dec 5, 5.45-6.30pm, Blau
Building Brands through Social Currency
Erich Joachismthaler, CEO, Vivaldi Partners
> Visit our complete Speaker Archives for more details, including videos and presentations, on past speakers.