JJ Nelson - Lead Voice
With a start in print journalism and a career of making consumer observations, JJ Nelson is a writer working out the country’s hottest markets: New York City, Nantucket, Mass., and Portland, Ore. JJ loves observing people in their day-to-day, making connections and translating those connections into ideas. Although she secretly longs to be an undercover agent, she knows her penchant to prattle would get the best of her. Instead, JJ explores her insatiable taste for consumer culture and trends through her passions for food, travel and writing. These extend beyond themselves to encompass celebrity, health and fitness, lifestyle, even politics. Thanks to the Huffington Post, no fad or fashion goes unnoticed. Some say she’s opinionated; she would plead to be a free spirit, who can’t help but remark on the world around her. Her ideas are fresh and prolific, and she hopes “Blogging Out Loud” will stimulate you as much as it does her. In addition to her freelance work for Vertical Marketing Network, JJ works as a bartender and food writer. She lives bi-coastally and observes globally.
Betsy Berman - Editor
For more than 25 years, industry maven Betsy Berman has brought innovative ideas, strategic thinking and a unique conceptual ability to agencies and marketers alike. A talented trendspotter and consumer insights specialist, Betsy started her career as a copywriter and was quickly recognized for thinking outside the box; soon she was generating exciting and effective campaigns for brands as varied as AT&T, Burger King, CBS, Coors, Kraft, McDonald’s, The NBA and Warner Bros. In addition, she has conducted valuable ideation sessions and spearheaded special projects for major agencies and associations. Her secret, she says, is in the shopping; the best way to spot trends is to engage in the marketplace. She acknowledges this is not a bad life. When not shopping, Betsy enjoys spending time with her husband, their children and grandchildren. Always on the go, she lives in Chicago and Orange County, Calif.
