Kevin Barenblat is co-founder and CEO of Context Optional, a social marketing firm leading brands in marketing and consumer promotions across social networks. Over twenty Fortune 500 companies such as Absolut, Digitas, Hearst, Microsoft, Ogilvy, and OpenTable have partnered with Context Optional to connect with customers across Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, and the iPhone.
After graduating from Stanford with an engineering degree Kevin worked at Boston Consulting Group, a leading strategy consulting firm. He then earned an MBA from Harvard Business School before taking on strategy and marketing roles for start-up companies in the San Francisco Bay area. Kevin often speaks on successful social marketing strategy and tactics for branded engagement at events such as Ad:Tech, OŐReillyŐs Web 2.0, MediaPostŐs OMMA, and Digital Hollywood.
Katherine Bateman provides strategic marketing expertise to Buddy Media. Bateman specializes in private industry marketing strategy and planning development: including advertising planning and management; brand strategy, positioning and development and developing marketing collateral.
Bateman has nearly 20 years of client and agency management experience with companies including PepsiCo, Pizza Hut, BBDO, Clorox, Intel, and Macys.com. Her expertise stems primarily from a background on the client side where she managed nationally advertised brands while working closely with major traditional and interactive agencies.
During her career, she has held positions including VP of Marketing, macys.com; World Wide Interactive Marketing Manager, Intel, IAB's Internet Advertiser of the Year, 1998; Associate Brand Manager, Clorox; and Marketing Manager, PepsiCo's Pizza Hut. Katherine did her undergraduate studies at UCLA and holds an MBA from the University of Michigan.
In 1999, Bateman launched marketing consulting practice in San Francisco. During this time the consultancy has managed projects that include national consumer marketing strategy and campaign execution, brand strategy development, affiliate programs, B2B lead generation & direct marketing, agency recruiting and business development.
As Senior Manager of Digital Media for Mattel Brands, Betsy oversees digital marketing and media strategy for Mattel's core brands, including Barbie and Hot Wheels. She is responsible for all aspects of digital campaign development, from strategic planning to creative execution. In her five years at Mattel, Burkett has helped some of the world's most recognized and trusted toy brands connect with today's consumers through new marketing strategies and emerging media channels.
Prior to joining Mattel, Betsy spent seven years managing online marketing efforts for Sony Pictures Entertainment's theatrical, television and Web-based properties. She has received a variety of honors for her digital marketing achievements, including a Webby, Beanie and several other Web-marketing awards. Betsy earned a B.A. in Marketing from Ohio University.
As Group Vice President of Experience Planning at Razorfish, Garrick has a dual role. He leads both a multidisciplinary team of strategists, planners, analysts and interaction designers across engagements in San Francisco and Los Angeles, while also functioning as Razorfish's global lead for user experience. Garrick has over 14 years of experience in creating breakthrough digital products, services and experiences across multiple platforms. Since joining Razorfish in 1999, he has helped clients such as CBS, Williams-Sonoma, Intel, eBay, PayPal, Yahoo! and Sun Microsystems adapt to a changing consumer and technology landscape.
In addition, he leads an in-house innovation team (Razorfish IdeaLab) that focuses on next-generation consumer applications and technologies - including social media, mobile applications, interactive advertising and IPTV. Garrick is also a recognized thought leader in the industry. He publishes FEED: The Razorfish Consumer Experience Report, which charts the evolution of consumer behavior and technology; writes and edits the Razorfish Digital Design Blog that Adweek named one of the top 5 industry blogs; and has spoken widely at conferences such as SXSW, Ad:tech, Web 2.0 Expo, IAB MIXX, Microsoft's MIX, iMedia and the IA Summit. Prior to joining Razorfish, Garrick developed localized broadband content at Cox Interactive Media for Excite @Home and Looksmart and worked on early search, content management systems and directory services for CNET's Search.com and Snap.com- a media portal that later became NBCi.
Justin Smith is the founder and editor of Inside Facebook, the leading service dedicated to providing information on Facebook and the Facebook Platform to marketers and developers. He is also the author of the Facebook Marketing Bible, the most widely referenced book on Facebook marketing today. The Facebook Marketing Bible has been used by thousands of brands, agencies, businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations to craft their Facebook marketing strategy.
From 2007 to 2009, Justin served as Head of Product for Watercooler, a venture-backed startup based in Mountain View, California, and one of the leading developers of applications on Facebook and other major social platforms. Under Justin's leadership, Watercooler's Facebook applications reached well over 30 million Facebook users, and Watercooler established itself as the leading network of sports and television entertainment applications. Justin remains an advisor to Watercooler today.
Prior to Inside Facebook, Justin was an early employee at Xfire, the largest social utility for gamers, which was sold to Viacom for $102 million in 2006. Prior to Xfire, Justin earned a degree in Computer Systems Engineering from Stanford University, where he was a Mayfield Fellow and a recipient of the Terman Award in Engineering.
