Professor Kevin Lane Keller Joins GBK Collective Advisory Board

Professor Keller's seminal contributions to the marketing discipline are widely recognized. Heralded as the "bible of branding," his textbook, Strategic Brand Management, now co-written with Vanitha Swaminathan, is in its fifth edition and has been adopted at top business schools and leading firms across the globe. He is also the co-author with Philip Kotler and Alex Chernev of Marketing Management, the most widely used MBA textbook in marketing around the world, now in its 16th edition.

"The marketing world is dynamic and constantly changing, with digital transformation and changing consumer expectations constantly reshaping how brands communicate and engage," said Keller. "I'm excited to partner with the GBK team and clients, helping brands navigate these challenges and seize new opportunities with strategic clarity and innovative thinking."

Professor Keller is an authority on building, measuring and managing brand strategies, and has consulted with some of the world's most successful brands, including Accenture, American Express, Disney, Ford, Intel, Levi Strauss, L.L. Bean, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, among others.

His research has also been published in all four of the major marketing journals—the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, and Marketing Science. An academic pioneer in the study of brands and branding, with over 135 published papers, he is one of the most highly cited of all marketing academics worldwide and has received numerous awards for his research accomplishments.

"In today's rapidly changing marketplace, building a successful brand that is both timely and timeless requires a nuanced understanding of consumer behavior and a relentless pursuit of innovation and relevance," Keller added. "This is at the nexus of the leading-edge work GBK is doing with clients to help them better understand and serve their target customers and drive growth."

GBK Co-founder Professor Eric Bradlow, Vice Dean of Analytics and Chair of the Marketing Department at the Wharton School, echoed Keller's enthusiasm for the collaboration. "With Kevin joining our advisory board, we're bolstering our capabilities for strategic positioning, brand equity measurement and next-generation brand tracking. Not only is he the leading academic thought leader in these areas, but also has wide ranging practical experience with some of the most successful brands around the world."

"Adding Professor Keller to our growing list of top business school professors is emblematic of our founding vision. GBK couples innovative academic thought leadership with world-class analytics and insights methods, informed by practical, real-world corporate experience," added Korst, who was previously a senior marketing executive at Microsoft and T-Mobile. "Our 'collective' approach allows us to uniquely solve our client partners' most pressing business challenges and identify tremendous opportunities for future growth."

Previously, Professor Keller was on the faculty at Stanford University, where he also served as the head of the marketing group. He has also been on the faculty at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a visiting professor at Duke University and the Australian Graduate School of Management.

SOURCE: GBK Collective