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Brand Experience
25 brand experience (BX) thought leaders to follow on Twitter
The best brands don’t just sell a product or service, they connect with their audience and create experiences that keep customers coming back for more. Brand experience (BX) is what drives target customers’ perceptions, emotions, and preferences, which influence their purchase and usage behavior. BX and marketing leaders have the ability to turn brands into religions and embrace new and emerging technology, and we have a lot to learn from those that are doing it well.
Here are 25 brand experience and marketing thought leaders you should be following on Twitter, so you can learn from their wisdom and vision.
Alicia Tillman- Tillman is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of SAP and has 20 years of hands-on marketing executive leadership and general management experience. She’s led teams in the technology, financial services, and business travel industries and was recently honored as 2018 Top 50 Most Influential CMO in the world by Forbes.
Follow Alicia for the latest marketing trends and women’s leadership.
Ann Lewnes- Lewnes is the CMO of Adobe and is responsible for Adobe's marketing and communications efforts worldwide. She drives the company's corporate positioning, branding and identity, marketing campaigns, public relations, social media and field marketing efforts. Prior to Adobe, she was the VP of marketing for Intel. She’s obsessed with media, music, design & film, and is dedicated to giving back.
Follow Ann for her passion for creativity and the arts, and updates from Adobe.
(@alewnes)
Antonio J Lucio- Lucio is the Global CMO at Facebook, and worked for HP, Visa, and Pepsico before that. He’s a proud father of 5 daughters and lives to help people find purpose and meaning at work. His mission in life is to build brands that stand the test of time, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Follow Antonio for his perspectives on technology and diversity.
Bozoma Saint John- Saint John is the CMO for Endeavor (WME, IMG, UFC, Miss Universe, PBR, EGM et al) and the former Chief Brand Officer (CBO) of Uber. She’s also worked in marketing for Apple, PepsiCo, and Ashley Stewart.
Follow Bozoma for her diverse perspective and hilarious personality.
Brian Kenny- Kenny is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer (CMCO) for Harvard Business School where he develops the strategy for positioning HBS as the global leader in management education. He is responsible for aligning all branding, marketing, and PR efforts across the publishing and teaching enterprise. He’s also the lead singer for CramerHill.
Follow Brian for the latest in Harvard research and insights.
Byron Sharp- Sharp is the Director of the Ehrenberg Bass Institute and a Professor of Marketing Science at the University of South Australia. He’s a self-described old-fashioned scientist (known for research that seeks to discover and describe law-like patterns), but studies a 'new' area – marketing (buying behavior and brand growth). He’s the author of How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't Know and Marketing: Theory, Evidence, Practice.
Follow Byron for tweets about marketing, science, and skeptical thinking.
Chris Capossela- Capossela has worked at Microsoft for 25 years and is currently the CMO where he leads global product marketing, advertising, brand, research, and communications functions for businesses and consumers. He’s passionate about family, tennis, and driving change to empower all.
Follow Chris for the latest on Microsoft, AI, and technology.
Dara J Treseder- Treseder is the CMO for Carbon and serves as an officer on the board of directors of the Public Health Institute and as an advisor to UN Women initiatives. She's also worked in marketing for GE, Apple, and Goldman Sachs. In 2018, she was recognized by Forbes as a “CMO Next”—one of the 50 Marketing Chiefs Redefining the Role and Shaping the Future.
Follow Dara for the latest from Carbon and her stance on equality issues.
David Edelman- Edelman is the CMO of Aetna and lead the research, design, strategy, and implementation of enterprise-wide marketing initiatives. He focuses on designing personalized experiences for customers and partners based on their lifetime health journey. He's also worked for McKinsey, the Boston Consulting Group, and Digitas.
Follow David for information about health and wellness in the workplace and how that translates to leadership.
Diana O’Brien- O’Brien is the Global CMO at Deloitte where she leads the global marketing functions and enabling all leaders to make a greater impact by aligning marketing with Deloitte’s global strategy and brand purpose. She’s on a mission to help others thrive, an autism advocate and wellbeing enthusiast. She’s also on the board of directors for the American Marketing Association and Ad Council.
Follow Diana for marketing leadership insights.
Donald Miller- Miller is the CEO at StoryBrand and he helps companies clarify their message so customers engage through online courses and in-person workshops. He’s the bestselling author of several books including Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Own Life.
Follow Donald to learn the best ways to tell your brand’s story.
Gary Vaynerchuk- Vaynerchuk is the Chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia, a board/advisory member of Ad Council and Pencils of Promise, and is a longtime Well Member of Charity:Water. He’s an investor in Twitter, Snapchat, Uber, Venmo, and a 5-Time NYT Bestselling Author of multiple books including Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too and Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World.
Follow Gary for his business podcasts.
Guy Kawasaki- Kawasaki is the Chief Evangelist at Canva, on the board of directors of Cheeze, and brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz. He’s been a keynote speaker for Audi, Apple, Nike, and Microsoft, and an Executive fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. He’s the bestselling author of several books including Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions and Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life .
Follow Guy for leadership advice.
Heidi Browning- Heidi is the CMO of the National Hockey League whose happy place is the intersection of media, tech, music, culture & hockey. Before that, she was the SVP of Strategic Solutions for Pandora. She’s been recognized as one of Billboard's 50 Most Powerful Women in Music and Inducted into the SF Big Advertising Hall of Fame.
Follow Heidi for her insights into marketing one of the biggest sports organizations in the world.
Jay Baer- Baer is a keynote speaker, emcee, consultant, and the founder of the digital marketing consultancy Convince and Convert. He’s also the NY Times best-selling author of 6 books including Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth and Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers.
Follow Jay for best practices in merging customer experience (CX) and BX.
(@jaybaer)
Jim Stengel- Stengel is the Former CMO at P&G and spent more than 25 years in marketing with the company. He’s currently the president of his own consulting group and a professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He’s the author of Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies and Unleashing the Innovators: How Mature Companies Find New Life with Startups.
Follow Jim for his marketing and brands insights for large and startup companies alike.
Karen Walker- Walker is the SVP and CMO at Cisco where she and her team are responsible for building and strengthening Cisco’s brand, supporting growth strategies, cultivating opportunities in new and existing markets, and increasing demand for Cisco's solutions globally. She’s passionate about marketing, biotech, interior design, and football (the real one), and believes in diversity, equality, and kindness.
Follow Karen for her expertise in leadership, especially seeing women lead.
Keith Weed - Weed is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Unilever where he leads the development of Unilever's Brands with Purpose, digital transformation in Marketing and the creation of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. He’s also a lover of all things visual and a future thinker.
Follow Keith for his thoughts on marketing, sustainable business growth, and new technology.
Marc Mathieu- Mathieu is the is the CMO of SAMSUNG Electronics USA. He has held various leadership roles in Marketing divisions of Fortune 100 & global companies such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, and now, Samsung. He’s a tech startup fanatic and likes connecting people with products, and he’s on the board of directors for the Almeida Theater and Punchdrunk.
Follow Marc for his expertise in startup tech.
Marisa Thalberg- Thalberg is the Global Chief Brand Officer for TacoBell and the founder of ExecutiveMoms.com, a networking site for working moms. Before that, she held marketing VP roles for Unilever and the Estee Lauder Company. She was named top 25 Most Influential CMOs in the World by Forbes in 2017 and 2018.
Follow Marisa for her passion for women in the workplace and working moms.
Musa Tariq- Tariq is the Global Head of Marketing for Airbnb Experiences and an advisor for MasterClass, Omni Rentals and Item Management, and Ennismore. He’s also worked in marketing for Nike, Burberry, Apple, and the Ford Motor Company. He was named to Forbes Most Influential CMO’s in 2017.
Follow Musa for his expertise in creating exceptional brand experiences.
Raja Rajamannar- Rajamannar is the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and President, Healthcare Business, operating at the intersection of business & marketing. He’s a digital thinker, animal lover, and is passionate about health and wellness. In 2018 he was WFA Global Marketer of the Year, Forbes Top 5 World's Most Influential CMOs, and is in the CMO Club Hall of Fame.
Follow Raja for his insights on purpose-driven marketing.
Richard Branson- Branson is the Founder of the Virgin Group, a company he founded more than 50 years ago, and spans across different sectors including mobile telephony, travel and transportation, financial services, leisure and entertainment, and health and wellness. He’s the bestselling author of several books, including Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way and The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership.
Follow Richard for marketing expertise from one of the biggest companies in the world.
Seth Godin- Godin is the Founder of the altMBA, a blogger, and entrepreneur. He’s the author of several books including This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See and Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? For more than thirty years, he’s been trying to turn on lights, inspire people and teach them how to level up, according to his blog.
Follow Seth for his insightful business blog.
Simon Sinek- Sinek made a splash in 2009 with his book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action and Ted Talk by the same name, which has more than 40 million views. He’s a self-proclaimed unshakable optimist who believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. He’s also written Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't and The Infinite Game.
Follow Simon to gain an optimistic and infinite perspective on life.
Want to follow the whole group at once? Check out our BX Thought Leaders twitter list. Know someone we should add? Let us know by tweeting @Qualtrics.
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