How Do You Create Moments of Magic in Retail?

Speakers

• 
  Yuping Liu-Thompkins Professor of Marketing | Director of Loyalty Science Lab | E. V. Williams Faculty Fellow

  Yuping Liu-Thompkins is Professor of Marketing and Director of Loyalty Science Lab in the Strome College of Business at Old Dominion University. Dr. Liu-Thompkins is an expert on building customer loyalty and habit through effective marketing programs. She specializes in combining customer data with consumer psychology to derive useful customer insights and actionable marketing strategies. Through collaboration with national and international companies in travel, retail, financial, and other industries, Dr. Liu-Thompkins has studied extensively the design and effectiveness of loyalty program as a tool for customer retention, cross-selling, and customer growth. With a personal passion for technology, Dr. Liu-Thompkins is also known for her expertise in digital marketing, especially the use of social media for branding and customer engagement purposes. Dr. Liu-Thompkins has published her research in top marketing journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Interactive Marketing, and Journal of Advertising. She has made media appearances in New York Times, Washington Post, CNN Business, Fortune, NPR’s Marketplace and With Good Reason programs, and various podcasts. More information about Dr. Liu-Thompkins’ work can be found at https://www.yupingliu.com.

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• 
  Phil Rubin the founder of Grey Space Matters, a customer-focused strategic growth firm

  Phil Rubin is a global leader in strategic customer marketing and loyalty, and an entrepreneur who has grown and led businesses for more than 25 years. He is currently the founder and principal of Grey Space Matters, an innovation and growth advisory that works with emerging technology companies, investors and large enterprise clients in a variety of roles, all designed to drive profitable growth. Prior to founding GSM, he led Global Insights, Strategic Partnerships, Global Enterprise Business Development and Client Growth for Bond, a Toronto-based firm focused on connecting brands and people to drive profitable growth. Phil joined Bond in February 2020 when the company acquired rDialogue, the firm he founded in 2006. rDialogue, a leading independent customer loyalty firm, worked with blue-chip global clients including Activision, Adidas, Allergan, American Express, Boehringer Ingelheim, Brooks Brothers, Citigroup, Disney, Estee Lauder, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants (now IHG), Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Nike, Nordstrom, PGA of America, Panera, Pittsburgh Steelers, sweetgreen, UPS and Williams-Sonoma. Phil is recognized as an industry thought leader and sought-after keynote speaker for events across North America, Europe and Asia. He is a charter Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional (CLMP) and is a Board of Regents member of The Loyalty Academy. Phil’s career started in Macy’s Executive Training Program and included roles at Midway Airlines and GTE Wireless (now Verizon). He earned an M.B.A. with a concentration in marketing and strategy from the A. B. Freeman School at Tulane University and a B.S. in Finance from L.S.U.

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• 
  Bill Hanifin CEO Wise Marketer Group (WMG), Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP)

  Bill Hanifin is CEO Wise Marketer Group (WMG) and a Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional (CLMP™). Bill is responsible for the overall management and growth of Wise Marketer Group and serves as the Managing Editor of TheWiseMarketer.com (TWM).TWM is known as the Global Voice of Customer Loyalty and is the acknowledged global source of news, education and research serving the Customer Engagement, Loyalty, CRM, and Digital Marketing industry worldwide. TWM has a highly engaged newsletter subscribership in excess of 14,000 representing over 120 countries.WMG operates The Loyalty Academy™ (TLA), which offers the first educational program for marketing professionals in the industry, the Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP). Loyalty Academy™ offers public workshops for loyalty marketing training and provides corporate training to global brands.TLA currently has certified 580 marketing professionals in 41 countries. TLA maintains an annual calendar of certification workshops, with events confirmed in 2023 in Dubai, Amsterdam, Morocco, Singapore, Melbourne AUS. Additional events are pending for Cape Town, India, UK, and US.Over a twenty plus year career as a strategist and business development expert in customer loyalty, Bill has created, implemented, managed, and measured Customer Marketing strategies for well-recognized brands. Most of this work was delivered through his strategic advisory firm Hanifin Loyalty, which he operated between 2006 – 2022. Bill has worked with American Express, Circle K, Denny’s, Lucky Brands, Master Card, Maverik, McGraw Hill, Panera Bread, Redbox, 7-Eleven, Scotiabank, Shell, Visa, and many more.Bill has a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of Customer Loyalty in virtually every customer facing brand and retail sector as well as in numerous geographic markets. Bill worked with brands across Latin America for several years, launching cobrand payment card rewards programs through Visa and MasterCard, hotel and retail loyalty programs and multiple coalition programs that are still operating today.Bill is passionate about understanding the driving forces of customer engagement and consumer purchase decision making. His financial background has enabled a unique set of tools and intellectual property in the financial modeling and management of customer loyalty programs. He has pioneered the creation of a methodology to approach customer loyalty planning through a holistic corporate approach that invokes the cooperation of cross-functional leadership and C-Suite support.

  Read more
• 
  Christopher Sandstrom Director of Strategy & Growth Americas, Comarch

  Christopher is responsible for the growth and success of Comarch’s products and services in the North American market. He is passionate about optimizing business operations and recognizes the value in providing brands with the tools they need to grow their business.

  Read more

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Yuping Liu-Thompkins Professor of Marketing | Director of Loyalty Science Lab | E. V. Williams Faculty Fellow

Yuping Liu-Thompkins is Professor of Marketing and Director of Loyalty Science Lab in the Strome College of Business at Old Dominion University. Dr. Liu-Thompkins is an expert on building customer loyalty and habit through effective marketing programs. She specializes in combining customer data with consumer psychology to derive useful customer insights and actionable marketing strategies. Through collaboration with national and international companies in travel, retail, financial, and other industries, Dr. Liu-Thompkins has studied extensively the design and effectiveness of loyalty program as a tool for customer retention, cross-selling, and customer growth. With a personal passion for technology, Dr. Liu-Thompkins is also known for her expertise in digital marketing, especially the use of social media for branding and customer engagement purposes. Dr. Liu-Thompkins has published her research in top marketing journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Interactive Marketing, and Journal of Advertising. She has made media appearances in New York Times, Washington Post, CNN Business, Fortune, NPR’s Marketplace and With Good Reason programs, and various podcasts. More information about Dr. Liu-Thompkins’ work can be found at https://www.yupingliu.com.

Close

Phil Rubin the founder of Grey Space Matters, a customer-focused strategic growth firm

Phil Rubin is a global leader in strategic customer marketing and loyalty, and an entrepreneur who has grown and led businesses for more than 25 years. He is currently the founder and principal of Grey Space Matters, an innovation and growth advisory that works with emerging technology companies, investors and large enterprise clients in a variety of roles, all designed to drive profitable growth. Prior to founding GSM, he led Global Insights, Strategic Partnerships, Global Enterprise Business Development and Client Growth for Bond, a Toronto-based firm focused on connecting brands and people to drive profitable growth. Phil joined Bond in February 2020 when the company acquired rDialogue, the firm he founded in 2006. rDialogue, a leading independent customer loyalty firm, worked with blue-chip global clients including Activision, Adidas, Allergan, American Express, Boehringer Ingelheim, Brooks Brothers, Citigroup, Disney, Estee Lauder, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants (now IHG), Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Nike, Nordstrom, PGA of America, Panera, Pittsburgh Steelers, sweetgreen, UPS and Williams-Sonoma. Phil is recognized as an industry thought leader and sought-after keynote speaker for events across North America, Europe and Asia. He is a charter Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional (CLMP) and is a Board of Regents member of The Loyalty Academy. Phil’s career started in Macy’s Executive Training Program and included roles at Midway Airlines and GTE Wireless (now Verizon). He earned an M.B.A. with a concentration in marketing and strategy from the A. B. Freeman School at Tulane University and a B.S. in Finance from L.S.U.

Close

Bill Hanifin CEO Wise Marketer Group (WMG), Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP)

Bill Hanifin is CEO Wise Marketer Group (WMG) and a Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional (CLMP™). Bill is responsible for the overall management and growth of Wise Marketer Group and serves as the Managing Editor of TheWiseMarketer.com (TWM).TWM is known as the Global Voice of Customer Loyalty and is the acknowledged global source of news, education and research serving the Customer Engagement, Loyalty, CRM, and Digital Marketing industry worldwide. TWM has a highly engaged newsletter subscribership in excess of 14,000 representing over 120 countries.WMG operates The Loyalty Academy™ (TLA), which offers the first educational program for marketing professionals in the industry, the Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP). Loyalty Academy™ offers public workshops for loyalty marketing training and provides corporate training to global brands.TLA currently has certified 580 marketing professionals in 41 countries. TLA maintains an annual calendar of certification workshops, with events confirmed in 2023 in Dubai, Amsterdam, Morocco, Singapore, Melbourne AUS. Additional events are pending for Cape Town, India, UK, and US.Over a twenty plus year career as a strategist and business development expert in customer loyalty, Bill has created, implemented, managed, and measured Customer Marketing strategies for well-recognized brands. Most of this work was delivered through his strategic advisory firm Hanifin Loyalty, which he operated between 2006 – 2022. Bill has worked with American Express, Circle K, Denny’s, Lucky Brands, Master Card, Maverik, McGraw Hill, Panera Bread, Redbox, 7-Eleven, Scotiabank, Shell, Visa, and many more.Bill has a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of Customer Loyalty in virtually every customer facing brand and retail sector as well as in numerous geographic markets. Bill worked with brands across Latin America for several years, launching cobrand payment card rewards programs through Visa and MasterCard, hotel and retail loyalty programs and multiple coalition programs that are still operating today.Bill is passionate about understanding the driving forces of customer engagement and consumer purchase decision making. His financial background has enabled a unique set of tools and intellectual property in the financial modeling and management of customer loyalty programs. He has pioneered the creation of a methodology to approach customer loyalty planning through a holistic corporate approach that invokes the cooperation of cross-functional leadership and C-Suite support.

Close

Christopher Sandstrom Director of Strategy & Growth Americas, Comarch

Christopher is responsible for the growth and success of Comarch’s products and services in the North American market. He is passionate about optimizing business operations and recognizes the value in providing brands with the tools they need to grow their business.