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What I like best about my work is figuring out what makes people tick…
And then shaping the ideas that connect to those inner needs.
Background
I started my brand consultancy in 1988… back when white out was considered a major productivity tool and no one thought twice about flying First Class to Hong Kong to test an advertising campaign.
The world is certainly a different place now. But some things actually haven’t changed: People make decisions based on intangible, emotional triggers that are hard to uncover.
My business is searching out those triggers and unexpected truths and making them the foundation for successful brands and businesses.
About
Since starting my firm in 1987, I’ve worked to uncover the often unexpected truths about how people really think and feel, helping major corporations and entrepreneurs around the world connect their brands to their customers. I’ve been a trusted advisor to senior executives from Chase, MasterCard, Seagram and Sony and have counseled new businesses everywhere from New York to Dubai.
I am passionate about helping Community Colleges get the recognition and support they need to create the future of the middle class in America.
MBA, Columbia University School of Business
MA in Medieval Studies, Columbia University
BA, Wellesley College
RESEARCH, BRAND STRATEGY, COMMUNICATIONS
I love coming up with the insight that really anchors the brand positioning.
Some of my favorites:
Of course, adolescents love movies about werewolves and vampires…all those uncontrollable urges and orgiastic screams in the dark… – FearNet
The pain points for middle class investors actually revolve more around service than performance… they want to understand and be understood… – Edward Jones
The private jet flyer doesn’t talk about the experience of luxury or indulgence; he rationalizes the expense as ‘smart money’… – Wheels Up
Clients
la guardia community college
Did you ever get that wonderful feeling that you’re just in exactly the right place at exactly the right time in your life?
That’s how I feel about my work in Strategy and Development at LaGuardia Community College.
This CUNY school in Queens has 60,000 students who come here from 150 different countries around the world. Most of the students live in households that earn less than $25,000 a year and they work 2-3 jobs to pay their tuition and living expenses.
They are the bravest, strongest and most hard working students I have ever met.
It gives me great joy to be working with them and this remarkable college.
From The New York Times:
How Can Community Colleges Get a Piece of the Billions That Donors Give to Higher Education?
One friend who found herself instantly moved was Karen Dubinsky, whom Ms. Selz had known for years on the Upper East Side. A former actress, Ms. Dubinsky had an M.B.A. from Columbia and a long career in consulting. Not long ago, after earning another master’s in medieval studies and with a child in college, she had been thinking about teaching at a prep school. But visiting LaGuardia compelled her to volunteer, and that volunteering led Dr. Mellow to hire her in June to devise new development strategies. Read the full article.
From The Hechinger Report:
Volunteer ‘Pushy Moms’ help community college students transfer to four-year schools
NEW YORK — On a rainy December afternoon, Eren Ozsar sat hunched over his laptop in a crowded
Starbucks on the Upper East Side. He peered intently at the screen as he clicked through the admissions
office site for Columbia University’s School of General Studies.
“Is there any way to determine what your odds are of getting in?” the woman across the table from him
asked.
After a few minutes, Ozsar shook his head. “Not that I know of,” he replied.
The woman, Melanie Rose, delivered some tough news.
“That is a reach school,” she said. “You need some safeties.”
Read full article here.