Sergio Zyman

Leading Authority on Global Marketing, Branding and Strategy

Sergio Zyman speaker, keynote speech
English · Spanish

Sergio Zyman was born in Mexico City and began his career with management positions in Japan, Brazil, Guatemala, and New York before moving to Atlanta to begin his first of two tenures with The Coca-Cola Company.

His first residence was highlighted by a series of launches of revolutionary products such as Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, and New Coke (a product not well received by consumers, but one that many believe was an idea far ahead of its time—a theory well supported by the numerous cola flavors and formulas that are popular today). Sergio Zyman departed The Coca-Cola Company in 1988 and formed Core Strategy Group, a consulting firm with a client roster that included 7-11, Miller Brewing Company, and several other large companies. He was influential in the positioning and development of the strategy that resulted in the election of former Mexican President Vicente Fox.

Roberto Goizueta, former Chairman of Coca-Cola and a true believer in Sergio Zyman ‘s forward thinking, persuaded him to return to Coke in 1993 to hold the first chief marketing officer position ever created in any company. Sergio Zyman re-conceptualized the company’s marketing strategy and boosted worldwide annual sales from nine to 15 billion cases—the most explosive growth in the company’s history. Upon Mr. Goizueta’s death, Sergio Zyman  departed The Coca-Cola Company and wrote a series of books, including the international bestseller The End of Marketing as We Know It.

In 1999, he founded Zyman Group, an international marketing consulting firm. As the driving force behind Zyman Group, he was sought after by food and beverage companies, industrial manufacturers, popular retailers, and global communication powers around the world. This success led Inc. magazine to name Zyman Group one of the fastest growing consulting firms in the United States. In 2005, Sergio Zyman  sold majority ownership of Zyman Group to MDC Partners.

Sergio Zyman has been hailed as one of the most dynamic and charismatic speakers in the world. He energizes audiences with his entertaining and bold, unpredictable style. He speaks on non-traditional growth strategies, the role of marketing in corporations, the similarities between the political process and the marketing process, and all current and social events and the impact on consumer behavior.

He holds an Executive MBA from Harvard University and attended graduate schools in London, Paris, and Jerusalem.Sergio Zyman was named Man of the Year in 1998 by the UJA. In 2008, he was bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Asociacion Nacional de la Publicidad. He is currently involved in major strategy projects and politics, and is writing another book.

The End of Marketing as We Know It

Marketing today doesn't work. Or so says the "Aya Cola," Sergio Zyman, former marketing czar of Coca-Cola and quite possibly the most famous marketing gadfly in the world. Brilliant, irascible, unconventional, Zyman is best known for reinventing the Coca-Cola Company's marketing approach by spearheading the global launches of Diet Coke, New Coke, Classic Coke, Fruitopia, and Sprite. Now, in this brisk and revolutionary book, Zyman shows why old approaches to marketing have lost their fizz--and how to get a jump on the strateies that will work in the twenty-first century.

Zyman explores such topics as:

Why feel-good marketing is pointless unless it results in sales
Why marketing is a science not an art

The End of Marketing as We Know It

The End of Advertising as We Know It

In this follow–up to his bestselling book The End of Marketing As We Know It, Sergio Zyman, Coca–Cola′s renowned former chief marketing officer, argues that the business of advertising as we know it is dead. He uses real–world examples to illustrate how modern advertising overemphasizes art and entertainment and neglects the most important rule of advertising–sell the product. With a keen eye and a no–holds–barred approach, Zyman discusses how advertising died, what killed it, and how to revive it. He addresses the most critical issues affecting any organization′s sales and marketing departments, using his time–tested, unorthodox, and sometimes even counterintuitive principles in order to translate key strategies into positive business results. For marketing managers, advertisers, and CEOs, this book offers groundbreaking advice from one of the legends of modern marketing, as well as the knowledge, insights, tools, and direction to transform advertising strategies from hoping to planning, from art to science, from guessing to knowing, and from random success to planned success.

The End of Advertising as We Know It