Still Sizzling: How Brands Don’t Simply Survive, but Thrive Through Difficult Times

Known on the campus of Columbia College Chicago for academic lectures that are grounded in research and framed in COLOR, Shanita Akintonde is a three-time Excellence in Teaching award finalist. This 20-year teaching vet is a successful former advertising and PR practitioner whose client base included McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Sprite. She is currently the executive vice president of branding for UJAMAA Construction, Inc., builders of the Obama Presidential Center in her hometown of Chicago. She’s immediate past national chair, PRSA Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Participants will end this session infused with intellectual ice cream and chock full of communication cotton candy, all drawn from both theoretical and practitioner-based evidence. Akintonde utilizes case studies, research and interview material from leading agency CEOs that capture best practices for building a brand. This is a definite you-don’t-want-to-miss PRSA session!

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 
• Identify their niche and determine target market needs.
• Demonstrate how to manage consumer perceptions about their brand.
• Employ how to put branding tactics to use in order to elevate/build their career.