Jonathan Salem Baskin

Jonathan has trademarked "brand is behavior" (literally) and is one of the world's most vocal advocates of consumer engagement. His technology experience mirrors the development of social technology, having first participated in interactive online gaming in the early 1970s while playing "Empire" on the University of Illinois' pioneering PLATO system. He was an early user of the Whole Earth's WELL (one of the first online communities) and CompuServe, the first major commercial online service. He led the experience design team for a systems integrator consulting firm in the late 1990s, and wrote about brands and technology for the IT industry's InformationWeek (twice weekly column 2009-2010).

Jonathan is an experienced marketer, having led marketing functions for Nissan North America, Limited Brands, and Blockbuster. He led the PR team on Apple's first iMac launch and was a participant in the weekly executive marketing meetings hosted by Steve Jobs. He also has significant agency experience, having started his career with Grey Advertising in New York and Los Angeles (rising to be its youngest EVP), worked for Edelman Worldwide in Texas and California, and led business development for Zyman Marketing (Sergio Zyman of Coke fame). Jonathan has run his own consulting firm for the past decade, working with leading agencies and clients on four continents. He is a prolific author (in 2008, his first book, Branding Only Works On Cattle earned him the label "merry iconoclast" from Publisher's Weekly, and The Economist called him "a rabble-rouser," while his second book, Bright Lights & Dim Bulbs launched in 2009 an annual collection of his best essays). His latest book, Histories of Social Media, was published in January, 2011 by the Society for New Communications Research, where he is a senior scholar. Currently he is working on a new book scheduled to be published in 2012. Jonathan is a regular columnist on leadership for Advertising Age's CMO Strategy section (since 2008), and his award-winning blog, Dim Bulb, has been a must-read for senior marketers worldwide since 2007. He also writes for Fast Company and iMedia Connection, and is on the advisory board for Social Media Today, America's leading web site and community dedicated to social media marketing.

What he presents:

The Competitive Advantage of Truth - Reaffirming Brand Authority
Credibility and Relevance
New Media, Old Behavior - Do's and Dont's of Using Social Media