Michigan Ross School of Business
Yaffe Center for Persuasive Communication

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 2007-2008 Distinguished Speakers Series for yourself. See here for full reports on past speakers.

Admission is open to all, except where noted. 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.

PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION: WHAT’S BREAKING THROUGH TODAY?

THE 2007-2008 DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES:

  • February 06, 2009
    1:30 - 3pm, R2210, Ross School of Business

    “Digital Marketing: State of the Art, and Lessons Learned” by Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Innovation Officer, Publicis Group

  • December 04, 2008
    5.00pm, Ross School of Business

    Russell Klein, President, Global Marketing Strategy and Innovation, Burger King

  • November 14, 2008
    2.30pm, Schorling Auditorium, School of Education, Room 1202

    “Building the Target Brand” by John Butcher, Vice President, Merchandise Marketing, Target Corporation.

    Butcher explained the insights that drove Target's successful branding strategy and described how Target is responding to the challenge of maintaining brand leadership in discount retailing.

  • November 14, 2007
    5.30pm, Schorling Auditorium, School of Education, Room 1202
    (Limited to Ross School students)

    “Branded Entertainment” by Andrew Meurer, Marketing Director, and Samantha Avivi, Brand Manager, at Procter & Gamble.

    Three years ago, P & G, one of the world’s most influential advertisers, rocked network television by slashing its advertising budget. It replaced conventional ad spots with a more integrated approach in television, films, with celebrities and pop culture to create breakthrough campaigns. Hear how innovative thinking blazed trails for P & G.

  • October 4, 2007

    “Design, Innovation and Leadership” by Carole Bilson, VP of Global Design and Usability at Pitney Bowes Inc.

    Designers must put their skills to use and make an impact in anything they do. Bilson discussed how “design thinking” informs product innovations and general problem-solving. Dedicated, passionate designers can create the future they want, both for individuals and for their companies. Her appearance was co-sponsored by the School of Art and Design and the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA).

  • September 27, 2007

    “Your Response Ability” by Gijs Bakker, co-founder of Amsterdam’s Droog Design collective

    Working with a cadre of international contemporary designers, Droog uses low-cost industrial or recycled materials to create plain, practical products, each informed by cultural developments and the designer’s intuition. Bakker’s presentation and the products themselves embody the spirit of persuasive communication. They tickle the imagination, as well as serving a very real purpose. The objects and environments he showed are benchmarks of modern design. His appearance was co-sponsored by the School of Art & Design and the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA).

  • September 26, 2007

    “Industrial Design as the Key to Brand Experiences and Emotions” by Mark Dziersk, Business meets Design Online Editor, Fast Company, former VP of Design at Herbst Lazar Bell in Chicago and now VP of Industrial Design at Laga one80 Design.

    Those who attended heard Mark discuss cases such as Motorola (where he was intimately involved), Apple, Dove, Dyson, and others. He offered new insights in the ways companies like Apple dominate markets through brilliant industrial design.


Review the ground-breaking sessions from the 2006-2007 Distinguished Speaker Series:

  • January 30, 2006

    "The Future of Marketing Media: Innovation through Content Creation and Distribution>"
    By James Yaffe, Managing Partner of Endeavor Marketing, Los Angeles.

    Marketers are fighting media clutter, TiVo, and changing consumer media habits by moving marcom dollars away from traditional advertising into “advertainment”: the creation of branded media content, product placements, and other such innovative techniques. These new techniques were ably described by Mr. Yaffe, an expert in the thick of the action. He masterminded Martha Stewart’s deal to market co-branded homes with KB Homes, and has also put together path-breaking deals for American Express, Mattel, and AOL, among others.

    November 15, 2006

    "Search Engine Advertising: What it is and How to Use it Effectively"
    By John Kelley and Helena Beem of Google's AdWords Division

    > "Google Lands in Ann Arbor" - News Article by Adrienne Losh

  • November 30, 2006

    "Brand-building in this Cluttered 21st-Century Media Environment"
    By Jeff Hicks, President, Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Miami.

    > Click to view video recording

  • December 7, 2006

    "Life After the 30-Second Spot"
    By Joseph Jaffe, President, Jaffe LLC; former Interactive Media Head at TBWA\Chiat\Day and OMD USA, author of the best-selling book

    "Life After the 30 Second Spot" > Click to view video recording

  • January 26, 2007

    "Persuading Through Great Industrial Design"
    By Iain Roberts, Co-Leader of IDEO’s Consumer Experience Design Practice.

    IDEO is arguably the world’s most-renowned Industrial Design firm. Iain has collaborated with a long list of clients across many industries such as AT&T, Intel, Eli Lilly, Kraft, Nestle, Tetrapak, Ford & Daimler Chrysler.

    > Click to view video recording

  • February 12, 2007

    "Using Non-Traditional Communications Effectively"
    By Derek Koenig, Chief Marketing Officer of Discovery Communications

    > Click to view video recording

  • February 16, 2007

    "Lessons Learned in the NFL" By Mr. Paul Tagliabue, Former Commissioner of the National Football League

    > Click to view video recording


> Visit our complete Speaker Archives for more information on our past speakers.

Ikea Shopping Experience

Capitalizing on Sweden’s reputation for beautiful furniture design, IKEA presented consumers with a new shopping experience.