Perspectives on Branding: Client and Agency Conversations Date & Time 01/27/2012 | 5:15 PM Location 1 E. Jackson Blvd Chicago IL 60604 Details Attendees will benefit from a panel discussion featuring representatives from Client-side Brand Management, Agency-side Account Management, and Brand Consultants.

Moderator: Dr. Nina Diamond, Kellstadt GSB Marketing Faculty

Panelists 

Samuel Monnie - Director of Marketing at Kenmore - Client Side Representative

In April 2011 Samuel was named Director of Marketing - Kenmore at Sears. In this role, he is the steward of brand and marketing strategy for the No.1 Appliance brand in the lives of over 100M Americans every day. He is a savvy marketer global marketer with 15 years of brand building in the CPG, Durable goods, Retail and Food sectors. Over the years he held positions at Procter & Gamble, Gillette, Braun, Duracell and Safeway, including strategic/HQ roles in Switzerland and Germany outside of his home country of the UK. He earned an MSc. in Marketing from the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland and holds a bachelors in Marketing & Law. Samuel expresses his brand passion and creative inspiration via his blog ‘Brandcurious’ and Instagram feed (#Brandcurious). He maintains his Brit roots as an avid follower of the mighty Red Devils (his beloved - Manchester United Football Club), connoisseur of Indian restaurants and keeping a keen eye on the British music scene.

Mag Retelewski - Founder, President at Clarteza - Agency Side Representative

Mag manages the organization by delivering consulting services to Fortune 500 companies as well as small and medium size organizations.  Prior to establishing Clarteza (formerly Global Brand Consulting), Mag worked at Ipsos-Insight, Millward Brown, TNS and Heinz. Her experience includes managing teams on complex international and domestic projects including custom ad-hoc studies, attitude and usage, segmentations, copy testing, brand equity and advertising tracking. Mag has also worked on a variety of categories including consumer-packaged goods, travel, automotive, financial, hospitality and durables. Her international experience has had her managing projects conducted in the US, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa using face to face, phone, mail, focus groups and Internet methodologies.  Mag participated and was a speaker at industry conferences and published a white paper “Global Research: Taking the World by Storm without Getting Wet”. She was also involved in Entrepreneurship Challenge at the University of Chicago and was a guestlecturer at DePaul University. Her education includes Harvard Business School, Executive Education, Masters of Business Administration from DePaul University in International Business and BA from Thomas More College in Business Administration and Economics.

Mark Skroch - Account Director, Senior Vice President at OgilvyOne - Agency Side Representative

Mark’s background includes marketing strategy development across traditional, direct, and digital channels. He focuses on helping clients launch new products in a variety of industries including mobile, finance, and consumer goods. He has worked with a variety of clients including BP, Motorola, CDW, Dove, SCJ, as well as the lead on Ogilvy’s work for Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. Additionally, as part of Ogilvy Chicago’s digital leadership team, Mark works with teams integrating digital innovation within traditional campaigns.  Prior to joining Ogilvy, Mark worked at RMG Connect as the lead account director on Western Union, CUNA Mutual Group and Skinny Cow. There, Mark was responsible for developing integrated campaigns, including Web, search, display, e-mail, TV and direct mail. Prior to RMG Connect, Mark worked at Wirestone LLC as a Marketing Strategist, developing integrated campaigns for Jim Beam, SunCom Wireless, Abercrombie & Fitch, Motorola, and Microsoft. There Mark helped launch several products, develop brand campaigns, and introduce break-through digital campaigns including an international website redesign.

Mark began his career in consulting, working for both Ernst & Young, LLP and Arthur Andersen, LLP on Fifth Third Bank, Household Finance, Cargill, Freddie Mac, First Energy and Cinergy.  In 2007, Mark earned his MBA from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management with degrees in Marketing, Management and Strategy, and Analytical Consulting. He holds a BS in Commerce (Integrated Marketing Communications) from DePaul University where he is also an adjunct professor in their Kellstadt Graduate School of business teaching Advertising and Sales Management. 

Steve Gradman - President, KBooM! Games - Client Side Representative

He’s promoted everything from cars to batteries to hummus, and now, with his latest venture, KBooM! Games, Steve Gradman is looking to promote you. As the president of KBooM! Games, Gradman is taking his branding expertise and bringing it to his cutting-edge programming and marketing teams to design and build custom social media games that create an immersive and fun brand experience.  Gradman leads a fantastic team of developers and marketers based in Chicago and Qingdao, China. KBooM! Games, ,a Chicago-based gaming and technology company, recently released its first title, Sound City, in partnership with Music Dealers.

A leader and innovator from the get-go, Gradman served as student body president of his alma mater, the University of Illinois, before gaining valuable marketing experience in the automotive industry with Nissan and General Motors. While pursuing his MBA at Washington University in St. Louis as a Dean’s Scholarship recipient, Gradman was always setting out to try new things; from working on a music industry start-up to projects for the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce and Purina Pet Foods. Upon completion of his MBA, Gradman accepted a marketing role with Energizer Battery in St. Louis, most notably blending entertainment and branding with an in-pack promotion and partnership for the ActiVision Spider-Man video game.

At Kraft Foods in Chicago, Gradman sparked Jell-O’s first ever Hispanic initiative and launched a line of pita chips under the Athenos brand. In 2006, when social media branding was still germinating, Gradman, as a global marketing director for Newell Rubbermaid Office Products, tested non-traditional advertising tactics including Facebook promotions, DRTV and TV drive to digital on brands like Sharpie and Uni-Ball, and Rolodex that traditionally had done little large-scale advertising. He turned around a double-digit share decline and put new-school strategy into back-to-school with a highly successful branding campaign for the highly commoditized Expo marker business. Gradman has a keen eye on international trends as well, helping launch the Sharpie brand in one of the world’s fastest-growing and most profitable markets, Brazil.

Gradman lives in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago with his wife, Laura, and kids, Stella (6), and Dylan (3).   

Abby Brock - Associate Brand Manager, MillerCoors - Client Side Representative