Each year companies spend billions on marketing initiatives in an effort to distinguish themselves and their products in an increasingly cluttered marketplace. This panel will investigate how CSR can be leveraged to improve the image and awareness of a company in the greater community, the impact of CSR initiatives on the decision making process, as well as what types of CSR have the greatest impact (positive or negative) on consumption behavior and brand image. In addition, the panel will investigate how B2B companies use CSR to indicate that their core values are in line with those of potential or current clients and to gain additional business using CSR.
Dr. Eric Eisenstein primarily researches decision making in situations where the consequences matter to individuals, including high-cognition managerial and consumer decision-making, decision support systems, decision aids, debiasing methods, and learning and the development of expertise. He has published in the Journal of Marketing Research, the Handbook of Consumer Psychology, the Handbook of Marketing, the Journal of Business Research and Advances in Consumer Research. He has worked in marketing and management consulting, including work for AOL, AT&T, Chase Manhattan Bank, Mercer Management Consulting and many others. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Cornell University, where he was awarded the Faculty Innovation in Teaching Grant three consecutive times. He received his master's degree and PhD from Wharton.
Bill is Finch Brands' lead business and brand strategist and one of the premier brand developers in the marketplace. A key member of the Finch Brands team since 2001, he has been the prime mover in the development of breakthrough strategies for Affliction, Daffy's, Everlast, Herman Miller, Joseph Abboud and World Wrestling Entertainment among our other clients.
Bill frequently serves in adjunct executive positions for our clients to supplement and galvanize their internal teams, and is in his element working with businesses of various sizes across categories. A world class speaker, writer, facilitator and focus group moderator, his track record includes delivering game-changing value to emerging companies, multinational mega-corporations and everything in between.
As an industry leader in the practice of business-building, Bill's point of view is highly sought after by our clients and in the media and academic realms, including appearances on Fox Business, NPR and other media outlets and as a guest lecturer at Davidson College, Wake Forest University, Rutgers University, Temple University, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Prior to joining the Finch Brands team, Bill served as Managing Director for Ashton Brand Group, an international brand consultancy with offices in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, London and Charlotte, NC. At Ashton, Bill worked directly with companies such as American Express, AT&T, Ericsson, General Mills, IBM, Kraft, Microsoft and Volkswagen to develop and execute brand strategies - focusing on naming, positioning and go-to-market strategy. In that capacity, Bill managed creative, strategy and business development teams, overseeing hundreds of successful product launches and branding initiatives.
David is an active social entrepreneur and strategy professional. He lives by the mantra that is it possible to do good, while doing well. People no longer have to take a vow of poverty to do good things in this world. Currently, David is the manager of operations and business development for Ryzing, a local philadelphia-based social gaming company. At Ryzing, David manages day to day game operations and development for their Facebook and Smartphone applications, all of which allow players to compete for real cash and prizes while raising funds for charitable organizations.
Additionally, David is charged with cultivating strategic partnerships that support viral growth of their games and enhance the reach of the charity partner. Before joining Ryzing, David worked with SeventySix Capital supporting fund operations and investor relations under the tutelage of Wayne Kimmel, Tony Bifano, and Scott Bohrer. Prior to SeventySix Capital, David spent several years in Washington D.C. as a market entry strategist for The Washington Management Group Companies and as a Media Consultant for the launch of Yellowbook.com's Mid-Atlantic Region.
David is an active member of the Spruce Foundation, a grassroots organization whose mission is to help Philadelphia's at-risk-youth by bringing together NGO's and committed Young Professionals to create an ecosystem of volunteers, donors, and supporters. David earned an MBA in International Business from The Fox School of Business at Temple University and his BA in Political Science from Dickinson College.
Cristina Martin has over 15 years experience in business development, marketing and strategic alliances with both start-up and large companies in the technology industry. She is currently executive vice president of business development at DDC, a technology firm that provides communication and organizational software and services for startups and venture capital firms. Prior to joining DDC, Cristina was responsible for strategic alliance management, channel sales, and the creation and management of a new business partner program at SunGard Higher Education, a software, consulting and technology management firm for the higher education industry. Cristina also managed strategic alliances, such as IBM, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems, for Philadelphia, PA-based consulting firms such as CoreTech Consulting Group and Answerthink. In addition to her corporate experience, Cristina has also helped build companies from the ground up. She was a co-founder of Red Sector A Corp, an e-business consulting firm that was purchased by CoreTech Consulting Group, and a principle employee at Compoze Software, Inc., which was purchased by BEA Systems (now Oracle), and at Vuzit.
In addition to her professional duties, Cristina has served on the board of the Associate Alumnae of Douglass College and is currently on the leadership team of Philly Startup Leaders, a non-profit organization focused on the needs of startup companies in the Philadelphia region. Cristina holds a B.A. in Communication from Douglass College, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and a post-baccalaureate business certificate from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Elyse joined Digitas Health in September 2009, bringing more than 9 years of digital and traditional media experience across several verticals. Elyse currently leads the media for several pieces of business. She is well versed in therapeutic categories that include cardiovascular health, mental health, digestive disorders, influenza, oncology and rheumatoid arthritis for both consumers and healthcare professionals. Elyse works as part of the media leadership team to maintain a comprehensive training program for new employees to foster learning and expertise within digital media.
Elyse was named one of 20 National Rising Media Stars by OMMA in 2004. She has won several awards including a MM&M Gold for Best Total Integration Program for Large Companies in 2007 for her work on Tamiflu. She has been published in several industry publications and is recognized in the digital healthcare space as a sounding board for new publisher opportunities.
Prior to joining Digitas Health, Elyse was the Associate Media Director at Razorfish Health. Some of her clients included Johnson & Johnson, Roche Laboratories and Wyeth. Elyse has also worked for Whittman Hart and The Media Edge - where she honed her advertising skills.
Elyse holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications with minor in Business Administration from Towson University outside of Baltimore, Maryland.