Andy Azula is senior vice president/ creative director of The Martin Agency
in Richmond, Va. Prior to moving to Richmond, Andy has worked at Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, McCann SF, Fallon Minneapolis and Loeffler
Ketchum Mountjoy. He was born in Miami and raised in Los Angeles. After figuring out he could never be a professional artist or musician, he decided to majoring in Commercial Art and Marketing. He then attended the Portfolio Center in Atlanta in hopes of becoming an art director.

Andy has gotten to work on lots of different accounts throughout the years and the agencies. Accounts have included BMW, Nikon, Timex, Lee Jeans, E*Trade, The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft and more recently, Walmart and of course, UPS. His work has been recognized by Communication Arts, The One Show, Cannes, The National Addys, The Clios, The MPA Kelly Awards, as well as Archive, Graphis and Print magazines.

Building Brand Equity—How M&M’S® leveraged an American Icon to Drive Brand Equity and Consumer Loyalty.

In 2007, the iconic M&M’S® Brand launched the “Inner M Campaign,” a 360-degree program that integrated key marketing disciplines, including public relations, online tactics and national advertising. The program kicked off with a media event featuring a 52-foot “Inner M” Lady Liberty, who floated up the Hudson River alongside the real Statue of Liberty. Renee Kopkowski, vice president of Communications for Mars Snackfood US, will describe the strategies and tactics behind the company’s Inner M Campaign, which generated a record number of media hits in national and local outlets—all with 100 percent of the campaign messaging. Attendees will learn how to integrate several marketing disciplines, how to build brand equity vs. brand awareness, how to create a successful event that generates national and local media buzz without hiring a celebrity spokesperson, and how to continue to get PR coverage as the campaign continues to grow with new advertising and online components.

Renee Kopkowski is vice president of Communications for Mars Snackfood US, managing the company’s internal and external communications efforts across the U.S. Prior to joining Mars, she was a principal in Wonder PR, a boutique PR agency that served healthcare, consumer products and Fortune 500 companies with strategic communications planning, internal communications, PR and crisis planning. Ms. Kopkowski is the current president of PRSA Georgia.

Mel Clements is currently the Advertising and Digital Manager –Basketball for Nike, Inc. Mel has previously worked as a Senior Interactive Brand Manager for The Coca-Cola Company and as an Interactive Strategist for Philips Design, a business unit of Royal Philips Electronics.

At Coca-Cola, Mel was responsible for managing all interactive initiatives, including interactive advertising, videogames and mobile for the Sprite & Flavors BBU. At Philips, Mel led the Search Engine Marketing efforts for new products and also put together the first Philips Celebrity Home Tour campaign.

Clements holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.