Jay Rockliffe - Having graduated from Sheridan College’s Honors Marketing Program in 1996, Jay joined Ogilvy & Mather as an account executive for IBM Canada’s corporate division. In this capacity, he managed advertising campaigns from conception to placement, including the IBM branded term “e-business”. Furthermore, he managed and sold the IBM Middleware Integrated campaign that quickly became a worldwide contract.
At Olgilvy & Mather he was fortunate to be on the new business team and therefore able to work with many major players, including Zellers Canada, Sears Whole Home, and the Royal Canadian Mint. In 1999 he joined Communique, where he used the experience gained on these accounts to become the project leader responsible for the strategic development of the Microsoft Windows 2000 launch. This extensive launch included print, outdoor, Internet and direct advertising initiatives, and allowed him to combine marketing expertise with technological skills. Continuing to focus more specifically on combining marketing and technology interests, he jumped at the opportunity to work for Communique’s sister company Devlin Applied Design following the success of the Windows 2000 launch, where he was VP of marketing and Business Development and helped build the first ever usability lab to help build and hone web sites.
Michael Franzini is an entrepreneur and branding expert with 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing. He is Founder and CEO of GUNPOWDER, a drink brand based on Guayusa, a super-herb from the Amazon Rainforest. For 10 years, Franzini was CEO of Public Interest, the nonprofit ad agency he founded, which became the main alternative to the Ad Council. There he worked with clients such as Google, Rock the Vote, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the Girl Scouts of the USA and the Wounded Warrior Project. Since then, Franzini has worked on advertising, marketing and branding for clients such as Johnson & Johnson, Walmart, T-Mobile and Panasonic. Franzini is also an Emmy-Award-winning director whose TV spots have twice been highlighted by the New York Times as being among the best advertising on television. Franzini has published several books, including One Hundred Young Americans, released by HarperCollins in 2007. The book tells the true story of youth culture in America through images and biographies of a cross section of 100 teens from all 50 states. As part of his five-year collaboration with Time Warner Cable on their Connect A Million Minds initiative, Franzini conceived and managed a Global Online Town Hall Meeting with Al Gore. His role on that project included briefing and giving live direction to the former Vice President throughout the event. In the course of his advertising career, Franzini has collaborated directly with individuals such as Magic Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, Bill & Melinda Gates, will.i.am and Elton John.
