Married to the Brand

Bill McEwen is a Global Practice Leader at The Gallup Organization, in charge of its worldwide Brand Management Practice. As team leader, he has spearheaded the development of programs that have built brand relationships from Singapore to Sao Paulo and from Washington to Wiesbaden. These programs have been successfully applied to a broad range of marketing challenges — including department stores and banks, as well as construction companies and salsa manufacturers.

Bill’s perspective derives from a singular scope and depth of experience in advertising, marketing education, brand consulting, and marketing management. His extensive background in brand marketing includes shampoos and snacks — but also mortgages and microprocessors, grocers and gas stations, data transmission services and department stores. He has worked with brands that include Kraft, Coors, and Nestlé — as well as Wells Fargo, Wal-Mart, Intel, and Gap Inc.

Bill came to Gallup in 1994 with more than 20 years of experience in senior leadership roles at multinational ad agencies with outstanding brand-building credentials — Leo Burnett, FCB, Needham, D’Arcy, and McCann-Erickson. His ad agency background combines with his client-side product management experience and his academic expertise as a former tenured associate professor of communication sciences at the University of Connecticut.

Bill received his Ph.D. in Communication from Michigan State University, where he was an NDEA Fellow. MSU recognized him with its Outstanding Alumni Award for 2004. He has been a frequent and prolific contributor to advertising and marketing journals, a regular speaker at industry events, and also serves as an editorial board member for two marketing and advertising journals. He has been an American Marketing Association keynoter, President of AMA’s San Francisco chapter, and an AMA Executive Fellow in Residence.