I discussed the latest marketing trends with Bill Imada, Chairman and Chief Connectivity Officer at IW Group and the co-founder of the National Millennial Gen Z Community. Mr. Imada shares his insights about the latest demographic shifts facing marketers and the need for companies to have a multicultural approach in their marketing strategies. He highlights the importance of making long-term investments in reaching diverse audiences from within the communities where they live and work, despite potential backlash. He also advises marketing students to continuously invest in building and maintaining their personal brands. Mr. Imada’s insights set the stage for his closing keynote address at the 5th annual Rutgers Business School Marketing Summit, held on November 17, 2023, focused on the future of marketing.    

Biography: 

Bill Imada is Chairman and Chief Connectivity Officer of IW Group, a public relations and marketing agency specializing in the multicultural markets in the U.S.A. For more than three decades, Bill and his team have played a critical role in reaching the growing Asian, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and other diverse markets. Bill and his agency represent clients such as Apple TV+, AARP, BeamSuntory, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Edison International/Southern California Edison, Jack Daniels, Janssen, Lexus, Lionsgate, McDonald’s, Nielsen, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walmart, Walt Disney, Warner Bros. Pictures Entertainment, and many others. Bill serves on the boards of the Advertising Educational Foundation, Coalition for Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, Institute for Public Relations, LAGRANT Foundation, National ACE, PBS Southern California, and the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. In 2022, Bill was inducted into the PR Week Hall of Fame. This year, Bill is a finalist for the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Fame (2024).