Thursday, May 24th, 2018

Micro-Influencer/Branding One-Day Intensive

Noon – 12:45 PM, Herscher Hall, Guerin A, Webcast Live

Post-Adpocalypse: How to Make Money and Work with Brands

Brad Senesac, The Gemini Group

Cat Mendez, Social Media & Influencer Marketing Strategist

Jesse Engle, CEO, Tap.Bio

Joe Saladino, Joey Salads on Youtube

Zack James, Founder & CEO of Animeme Studios

Mike Prasad, CEO, Tinysponsor, Moderator

Cat Mendez, Social Media & Influencer Marketing Strategist: Catherine began her marketing career as one of the original team members at MySpace.com, conceptualizing and implementing unique, never-before-seen ad campaigns within the fast growing social network. After MySpace, she shifted gears, working with Fortune 500 companies to integrate multi-channel campaigns – Film, Web, Television, Music, Video Games and Events - with entertainment properties. Combining her entertainment and social media marketing knowledge, she has since focused on developing and implementing multi-tiered digital strategies for clients such as Torani in order to build brand affinity and drive conversion.

Brad Senesac, The Gemini Group: Brad’s expertise ranges from entertainment, sports and fashion to the world's leading Fortune 500 companies. He specializes in impactful, strategy-based solutions and creative communication through video production, event design and management, social media, print, broadcast & online advertising, branding, public relations & sponsorship development and sales. Brad brings several years of marketing agency experience and has provided senior level counsel to clients while maintaining overall responsibility for strategic direction, client service and management. Brad has also served the nonprofit sector on behalf of many community institutions. He has worked in both the private and public sectors and earned a reputation for his deep knowledge of issues management, crisis communications, special events, branding, public relations, media relations plus multicultural marketing. Among the broad array of business sectors in which he has led agency work in homebuilding and commercial construction, state government, travel and tourism, restaurant and food service, telecommunications, financial services, retailing and packaged goods, music and entertainment. A few of the household brand clients he has worked with include Coca Cola, The Recording Academy of Arts & Sciences, N’Sync, Polaris, KPMG, Home Depot, Porsche and SPANX.

Jesse Engle, Co-founder and CEO, Tap Bio: Jesse Engle is Co-founder and CEO of Tap Bio, the answer to Instagram’s profile link problem and a new platform for turning social media followers into customers. Jesse has been building Internet companies for 20 years. Previously, he was co-founder and CEO CoTweet, the first tool used by brands to manage their presence on Twitter. CoTweet was acquired by ExactTarget in 2010, which was later acquired by Salesforce. Jesse graduated from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he focused on Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and three sons.

Zack James, Founder & CEO of Animeme Studios: Zack James is a viral animation producer featured in over 250 media outlets including Times, People and USA Today. Zack has amassed 10 Million fans, 2 Billion video views and is a Webby-Nominee. Today, Zack is focused on the future of animation, gaming and interactive content.

Mike Prasad, CEO, Tinysponsor: Mike is the Founder & CEO of Tinysponsor, the world’s first programmatically-addressable and inventory-driven marketplace for influencer and content sponsorships. Mike brings his diverse experience as an entrepreneur, VC, and digital strategist to focus on building a platform that can help creators and business collaborate and thrive together. Prior to Tinysponsor, Mike co-founded ventureLab, a cross-market early-stage VC and incubator, and before that he worked with startups from Y Combinator, Idealab, 500 Startups, Yetizen, Supermassive, HAXLR8R, SOSventures and more. In 2008, as the digital strategist and co-founder at Kogi BBQ, he started the worldwide twittering food truck trend that is now a billion dollar industry. Prior to his work in startups, Mike delivered digital strategy and implementation for companies large and small, from local businesses to Fortune 500's, including Microsoft, Amadeus, Nolet's Gin, Fatburger, Burger King, Fedex, Outrigger Hotels, Wynn Hotels, Tasting Panel Magazine, NVIDIA, Toynami, and others. He was also Social Media Advisor to SAG New Media, Founding Member of SMCLA, and as a creative director, he and his teams have won numerous awards and recognition, including 2 ADDY's. With his diverse background, Mike has spoken around the world on social media, digital strategy, startups, and investing across global ecosystems. He has also been called upon as an expert by TechCrunch, Fast Company, Tech in Asia, e27, NPR, FOX, to name a few, and his work has been covered by most major news outlets in multiple countries. He is also an avid foodie and cocktail enthusiast with a passion for exploring culture.