Institute for Research in Marketing
The Institute for Research in Marketing brings together the expertise of the Carlson School’s marketing faculty with top marketers and market research professionals from global brands, creating thought-provoking dialogue and driving the science and practice of marketing forward. This two-way conversation provides greater context for faculty research and encourages real-world adoption of that research, leading to better business strategies and more effective public policies.
Advisory Board
The Institute’s Board of Advisors consists of industry leaders from major firms and provides guidance, facilitates partnerships, and assists with national outreach and advocacy.
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Thank You for Attending the 2023 Ignite Conference
Do I Belong? How Brands Build Community
Friday, November 17, 2023
About Ignite
With over 300 in-person attendees, as well as a national online audience, the Ignite Conference sparks creative ideas around current industry topics to help marketing practitioners keep pace with today's dynamic trends. Ignite fuses the distinct marketing perspective of some of the country’s leading business scholars with those of corporate leaders from premier global companies.
IRM Spotlight
Learn more about an Institute for Research in Marketing Advisory Industry Board Member:
Martha Bennett
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) & EVP - nVent
Martha is a marketing executive who is committed to solving the next big problem and turning a business from floundering to fabulous. Her team describes me as a transparent leader who is passionate about developing the next level of leaders, transforming culture while delivering bottom line results. More recently she's using her voice as an advocate for social justice.
She has built her career experience thus far working across large multi-national companies, public sector government agencies, and even a stint in an entrepreneurial family run enterprise where every decision - big or small has a personal impact. In each role, she applied her strengths in strategy, marketing excellence, changing culture and delivering results to make a lasting impact on her legacy.
Learn more about Martha on LinkedIn
Learn more about an Institute for Research in Marketing Advisory Faculty Board Member:
Mark Bergen
Professor, Marketing - James D. Watkins Chair in Marketing at the Carlson School of Management
Mark's research focuses on pricing and channels of distribution, where he has studied issues such as pricing as a strategic capability, price wars, pricing as truces, pass-through, branded variants, dual distribution, gray markets, co-op advertising, and quick response. Bergen's work has been published in a broad array of scholarly journals and business press, including the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing, Marketing Science, Management Science, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Monetary Economics, Harvard Business Review, and the Sloan Management Review. He teaches undergraduates, MBAs, executives and PhDs in courses on pricing strategy and marketing management, earning him numerous awards for teaching excellence at the Carlson School and recognition as an outstanding faculty member. Additionally, he serves as a consultant with companies in the medical, service, food, retail, and industrial markets. Professor Bergen holds a BS and a PhD in economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and the University of Minnesota respectively.
Learn more about Mark on LinkedIn
Fall 2023 IRM Campaign Competition
Thank You Best Buy For Sponsoring!
Sofia Marcon, Ryley Bednarczyk, Ryan Hallonquist, Rayn Khan, Shashank Murali, and Jasmine Nguyen -- the winning team in the IRM Campaign Competition with Board member company Best Buy. Student's in Michelle Champlin Bergner, MBA capstone Marketing course competed to create the best strategic marketing plan to meet Best Buy's needs. A special shout out to Best Buy's Mandy Jelinek and Jennifer Faris Sposeto, MBA for working closely with students throughout the semester, and to additional Best Buy judges, Carrie Craig and Amanda Renneke. Thank you for making this experience possible for students and for a fantastic semester!