Who is Michael Leis’s mentor?

[This post is part of a series on Mentors and Heroes]

Michael Leis is an independent strategic consultant helping companies use emerging media, and previously worked at Trellist Marketing|Technology and Emerge Digital. He is also a frequent contributor to iMediaConnection, an online marketing publication. Follow him on Twitter @mleis.

Michael Leis’s mentor is…

William Donnelly, professor

How long have you known each other and how did you first meet?
We first met in the mid 1990’s.

How would you describe how you relate to your mentor?
He was my professor in Media Planning at Temple University.

How formal or structured is the mentorship? Does William know you consider him a mentor?
He doesn’t know how much his instruction and work have shaped my thinking and subsequent career — though this exercise did get me to reach out and let him know.

What is one piece of advice your mentor gave you that has stuck with you the most?
Look at all the media an audience consumes to build a profile of their perceptions, aspirations, and realities. Create real, Aristotelian arguments around these findings, and use creativity to target and spend wisely to help the audience and the brand simultaneously.

What else do you want the world to know about your mentor?
That the book he wrote: Planning Media: Strategy and Imagination — while published almost two decades ago is still relevant and valuable. I regularly refer to it in my strategy work for brands in emerging media.

Thank you Michael for sharing your mentor with us!

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