Biography
Alexander Biel heads the international consulting firm of Alexander L. Biel & Associates. He was formerly the Executive Director of The Ogilvy Center for Research & Development and a trustee of the Marketing Science Institute. He is a member of the editorial advisory board of the International Journal of Advertising, and Market Leader, the journal of the British Marketing Society. Alex served on the board of directors of Research International Group, a WPP company, as a non-executive director. He was also a director (non-executive) of Lightspeed Online Research, Inc.
Together with David Ogilvy, Alex established the Ogilvy Center in 1984 as a unique way for Ogilvy companies to reinvest in the future. Under his leadership, The Center carried out a unique program of research concentrating on the broader issues involved in the study of consumer behavior, brand equity, advertising response and innovation on the leading edge of the advertising and marketing communications business.
Among its activities was the study of creative problem solving and the subsequent development of a group-based process called Interactive Innovation to help invent ideas and solve tough problems.
An acknowledged authority on brand equity, Alex's practice focuses on helping leading marketers build the equity of their brands .
In the course of his career he has held management positions with advertising agencies (Leo Burnett, Ogilvy & Mather, McCann-Erickson) and market research firms.
His most recent book (with David Aaker of the University of California/Berkeley) is titled "Brand Equity and Advertising". Published by Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates. He is currently working on a second book on the subject of creative problem solving.
He has published over sixty articles on research, advertising, brand equity and other marketing topics, and various of his papers have been translated into seven languages. Click Bibliography to see a complete roster
Some of his articles include: "Do You Really Want to Know?" (Journal of Advertising Research, March/April 1996), "Brand Magic: The Hardness of the Softer Side of Branding", (International Journal of Advertising, August, 1997), "Consumer Rage is All the Rage" (Market Leader, #4. Summer, 1999), and "Reality and Strategy in the World of Consultants: an Overview", (paper to the 1999 Esomar Congress, Paris, September 8, 1999)
(These articles and presentations can be accessed by clicking Papers)
Alex's work is frequently cited in the literature; a sampling of these references, as well as an interview in the business press may be visited by clicking Citations
Alex is a frequent speaker on branding and advertising issues. He has appeared on the podium in over 20 countries, including every country in Europe, as well as Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India (in fact, the picture at the top of this page was taken in New Delhi after one of his talks).
