Name: Jeffrey L. Bowman
Profession: Strategic Adviser
Age: 45
Simply put, Jeffrey L. Bowman is recognized as being ahead of his time. A graduate of South Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science in marketing and a M.B.A. in marketing from Clark Atlanta University, the advertising genius has gone into business for himself after leading Ogilvy & Mather one of the world’s largest advertising and communications agencies.
A true strategist and pioneer, Bowman is known for change management and marketing effectiveness work with global brands British Petroleum (BP), British Airways, Coca-Cola, GAP, S.C. Johnson, Mass Mutual, Verizon, and Wyndham, among others. With the marketing and advertising game undergoing a complete shift to the digital landscape, Bowman had already seen the writing on the wall. Well ahead of the curve, Bowman is leading the next generation of Ad Men by sharing his vast knowledge of marketing and advertising with a community he dubs “the New Majority.”
“There is a plurality that black men have to live in while navigating the world,” Bowman explains when discussing the success gene in a black man’s DNA,” Bowman tells BE Modern Man. So the thought leader and change agent launched REFRAME: The Brand, a trademarked approach to offering advisory services and executive education for large to mid-size organizations. “Through this Total Market Enterprise approach, my associates and I are able to assess, organize, strategize, and elicit effectiveness from budding thought leaders in the industry.”
It is that effortless sense of self, a defined aura of blackness in a competitive marketplace that enabled Bowman to earn distinction. “A black man not knowing this can be the difference in selling an idea successfully or not. It’s not that other men don’t have this quality of perceiving those that identify, or are unable to make others comfortable through an inner-strength—but black men finesse the plurality with a cool, authenticity factor,” he says. From winning the Grand Prix award at the 18th annual 4A’s Jay Chiat Awards for Strategic Excellence to being recognized by his compatriots with the “Most Creative and Effective” tag at the Twin Peaks Awards, Bowman continues to tap into emerging consumer segments with a bold audacity.
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