The Ad Podcast

German is a practitioner of "mixed cognitive arts" building modern brands across a full spectrum of categories (with a leaning toward health, pharma, wellness, beauty, finance, insurance, food, hospitality, sports and automotive). A Silicon Valley-trained entrepreneur and thought leader applying ingenuity and leading methodologies to simplify marketing challenges using human insights, cultural trends, lateral thinking and new technologies. A passionate advocate for anthropology bringing ethnographies, artificial intelligence, expert crowdsourcing and cultural computing to advertising, media, innovation and corporate strategy. A client-savvy executive building long-lasting client relationships and driving high-profile pitch wins and account retention for agencies. A visionary team architect mentoring talent, rejuvenating culture and shaping the future of the Strategy & Planning discipline. Feeling at home in both disruptive and mainstream agencies with a preference for the former. Brands: Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Intel, NASDAQ, Ask.com, Creditcards.com, Ely Lilly, AMGEN, Novartis, Pfizer, Otsuka, Kyowa Kirin, Ipsen, Stryker, Foundation Medicine, National Jewish Health, Weight Watchers, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, American Family Insurance, Emblem Insurance, Volvo, Volkswagen, Honda, Lufthansa, Expedia, L'Oreal, Estee Lauder, Erno Laszlo, Victoria's Secret, RadioShack, Best Buy, CVS, Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, Wendy's, Miller Coors, Brown Forman, Kahlua, Nike, Pearl Izumi.

Mark Barker is co-founder and strategy lead at Craft & Commerce, an outcomes-focused digital media agency serving purpose-driven brands, nonprofits, foundations and advocacy organizations.

Michael Nyman has made a career by being on the leading edge of marketing trends. With this latest venture he has created another new go to market strategy. Nyman, the former long time PMK*BNC Co-Chairman & CEO, has now launched Acceleration, a new investment vehicle & advisory firm. With Acceleration, Nyman will be developing a new go-to market business approach with a series of strategic and complementary acquisitions and build outs aimed at providing a unique collective of specialized agencies, designed to help clients move quickly and efficiently with their branding, marketing and media decisions. Nyman, a 30-year veteran, started his own firm, Bragman Nyman Cafarelli (along with founder Howard Bragman and co-founder Brad Cafarelli) in 1991, before selling it to Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG:NYSE) in the fall of 2000, and leading the firm through its transition to a public company and subsequent expansion. In the fall of 2009, Nyman was asked to lead the merger combining the talent powerhouse of PMK with BNC’s established leadership in not only communications, but also marketing services and expertise in merging brands with entertainment. Within five years PMK*BNC had doubled its revenue and built up to 300 employees representing nearly 1,000 entertainment and Fortune 500 clients. For more than two decades of work with BNC and PMK*BNC, Nyman has architected and contributed to numerous award-winning campaigns and/or counseled clients, including Samsung, Pepsi, American Express, Avon and BeatsbyDre to Product(Red), Jordan Brand (Nike), The Television Academy (Emmys), Shonda Rhimes, JC Penny, The Academy of Country Music (ACM’s), Warner Bros, Digital Networks Group and Condé Nast. Nyman has served on multiple boards over the past two decades. Currently he is the Chairman of the California Film Commission, serves on the Board of Governors at Cedars-Sinai and the Board of Councilors for USC’s Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism.

As the Global CEO and Founder of Meet The People, an advertising group headquartered in New York City, he leads a team of more than 750 staff across ten offices in the US and Canada. He created MTP in 2021 to build a unique new consultancy group that focuses on helping brands to growth their business by combining the power of integrated marketing and advertising strategies merged with data and technology. MTP works for world know blue chip brands like IBM, Google, LG, LVMH, L’ORÉAL, Moderna, CME Group, Sappi and many mid-sized businesses in North America. Furthermore he's an active investor in EU and US based startups, with a track record that includes pre-IPO investments in firms like Airbnb, Anduril, Animoca Brands, Anthropic, Blockchain.com, Blockdeamon, Forge, Klarna, OpenAI, Palantir, Robinhood, SoFi, SpaceX, Spotify, TON, Tonies and many more. With over 27 years of entrepreneurial experience in marketing, He has built and managed multiple international advertising groups, with operations in EMEA, APAC, MENA, and the US. He is passionate about innovation, entrepreneurship, and social impact, He regularly speaks at industry events and support charitable causes.

While carrying the “ethos” of a Marketing Technologist to many enterprises, He's always possessed a firm understanding of how technology has continued to transform the discipline of Marketing while disrupting today’s conventional consumer engagement models. Over that past 20+ years his communications experience ranges from African American, Hispanic, LGBT, Asian American, Arab American, Indian, Boomers, Millennials, Urban, GM to International. He's been an audience "segmentation specialist" for clients looking to enhance their brand positioning by rethinking and redefining their Go-To-Market approach. Some of them include the likes of Lexus, NYPD, Medline, State Fair, Spalding, HBO, MCD, LA Sparks, Game Show Network, Verizon Wireless, Clear brand under Unilever, Ford Division, Lincoln Mercury, Burger King, Colgate, HSBC, Time Warner Cable, Home Depot, AstraZeneca, US Marines, Pfizer, Novartis, Merck, and Hyatt Resorts. His vantage point is oriented around enhancing a clients’ Brand building efforts through ROI driven programs that leverage unique consumer insights and deliver relevant customer experience. I've always thought outside the traditional framework to solving business problems because the only thing constant is EVOLUTION. He has also done guest speaking for Meltwater Social, MediaPost, Digiday, ThinkLA, CYNOPSIS, Adweek, and The VAB inclusive of live and virtual events.  In the past, he's participated in guest speaker series for NYU, Baruch, University of Maryland, University of Nevada, and Georgetown.  Tune into the  HYPERLINK "https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/IvUyCwp2q2H2LpTVv9A2?domain=open.spotify.com" The Transient Identiti, podcast which chronicles the Voice of the Consumer. Other than Strategic Intuition and the Human Truths in Marketing, "gratitude" is one thing he value deeply in business. Meaning, being grateful for how open-minded he's been to constantly challenge and even disrupt my own thinking!