Dave Neelsen Email & Phone Number

Dave Neelsen is a Principal and Co-Founder at StoryFirst Media Group Inc. based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, North America. After years as a business strategist and relationship-driven person in a world hell-bent on selling features and benefits, I saw the rise of a social media-driven world and an economic downturn that brought on a fast-changing picture to the marketing and business worlds. It was 2007. YouTube was just two years old, and Apple was about to introduce the first iPhone. The paradigm shift coming to the world of marketing and business was like a meteor on a path toward Earth. At that moment in history, most video production companies’ value proposition was still rooted in their access to professional equipment. Likewise, traditional ad agencies emphasized a “features and benefits” approach to selling. Both approaches were rendered obsolete. Control over traditional marketing channels (TV and print) was ripped from ad agencies and production companies and placed literally into consumers' hands. Our history was working in film production and traditional agencies at the time but we saw the meteor coming. Businesses needed a different marketing approach; an approach focused on finding differentiators that consumers would notice in an attention economy. Audiences wanted what they always wanted: respect. YouTube and Apple gave them the power to demand it. In 2009, we launched StoryFirst Media. I'm Wisconsin born-and-bred. Having lived in Illinois and spent a lot of time in Texas, I'm equally at home sharing a fine craft beer with you in a Milwaukee tavern, a Chicago Blues joint, or an Austin ice house. However, while we're having that beer together, be careful questioning the excellence of the Green Bay Packers. Did I mention that I'm Wisconsin born-and-bred? I bleed green and gold.