KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR MARKETING
Keynote Speaker for Marketing: Prof. Dr. Johanna Gollnhofer
Are you looking for a marketing keynote speaker who delivers more than just buzzwords? I'm a professor of marketing at the University of St. Gallen and give keynotes on brand relevance, AI in marketing, brand loyalty, and consumer behavior. Scientifically sound, tailored to your industry, in German or English.
WHY EVIDENCE INSTEAD OF BUZZWORDS
Marketing determines revenue
—and yet, gut feelings often play a decisive role
That's exactly where my work as a keynote speaker for marketing comes in: I bring robust research to the stage and translate it into decisions that your team can make the following Monday.
6%
Companies gain real competitive advantages through AI.
According to McKinsey's State of Marketing , a survey of 500 marketing managers in Europe
Basics
Mark Ritson's study with Ipsos has demonstrated that basic marketing knowledge is often lacking.
This is the stuff that makes a good keynote speech. Not the next buzzword, but the question: What do we actually know, and what don't we know? What does the future hold? And how do we ensure that we truly gain more customers in the future?
SELECTION CRITERIA
What makes a good keynote speaker for marketing?
Three things need to come together: a robust data foundation, genuine relevance to your industry, and the ability to translate research into concrete decisions. Someone who merely lists trends will entertain for 45 minutes. Someone who provides evidence will change the way a team works.
01
Topic fit - the most common mistake in selection
A presentation on digital marketing in the consumer goods sector won't automatically work for a B2B machine manufacturer. That's why I tailor each keynote to your specific context, instead of simply repeating a pre-made show.
02
The source - verifiable, not claimed
I conduct my own research and publish in journals such as the Journal of Consumer Research. What I claim on stage can be found in my research and publications.
03
Translation – complex relationships into concrete actions
The Dentsu CMO Study 2026 describes a group of around 17 percent of marketing executives who actively read cultural trends and see AI as an opportunity for new business models. That's exactly what I'll do for you—and in an entertaining way.
REFERENCES
I have already given these keynote speeches.
Stage experience is difficult to claim and easy to demonstrate. An excerpt:
MARKETING KEYNOTE TOPICS
My keynote topics for marketing events
I receive the most requests for presentations on four topics. All of them can be booked as a classic keynote address, a short presentation, or as the opening for a workshop.
MARKETING STRATEGY
How can I keep my brand relevant?
Markets are becoming faster, more complex, and more uncertain. This keynote will show you which strategic levers ensure relevance—from Amazon to TikTok to ChatGPT—and how to effectively allocate your budget between brand building and performance.
AI IN MARKETING
Marketing 2030: Five theses on how AI will change brands
As a keynote speaker on marketing, I'm currently booked more often for this topic than any other. No wonder: According to Bitkom Research, 84 percent of companies see AI as the trend with the greatest impact on marketing by 2027. At the same time, 52 percent say that marketing departments lack the necessary skills.
BRAND GROWTH
Brand Loyalty: Will this grow my brand?
A keynote address that challenges one of the most popular beliefs in marketing. Customer loyalty is considered the golden grail — but is it really the key to growth?
SUSTAINABILITY
Consumer behavior and sustainability
Why do people say one thing and buy another? DHBW Heilbronn has been measuring this gap since 2021 and found an average discrepancy of nine scale points between attitude and actual behavior. According to many other studies, the gap is even significantly larger. My book The 60% Potential explains how to close this gap.
TOPIC IN DETAIL
How can my brand remain relevant when AI takes over product searches?
Brands are currently losing control over the first step of the purchasing decision. If a brand doesn't appear in AI-generated responses, it simply doesn't exist for these consumers.
Already, 70 percent of German consumers use AI applications for product and price research. This figure comes from a representative survey conducted by EY-Parthenon among over 1,000 consumers in Germany. The more AI influences purchasing decisions, the less control brands and retailers have.
The question of how brands even appear in these responses is particularly uncomfortable. An analysis of over 10,000 real AI conversations from the Murmuras Consumer Panel shows that in 96.8 percent of cases, the user mentions a brand in the very first message. The AI itself only brings brands into the conversation in 3.2 percent of the time.
84.5%
The B2B brands examined are completely missing from at least one of the four major models.
In other words: Visibility is becoming more important, not less so. If you're not on people's minds, you won't get any exposure.
RECORDS
Keynotes in video
An impression of how the content is received on stage — directly from my playlist “Keynotes & Moderation”.
TOPIC IN DETAIL
Does my brand truly grow through customer loyalty?
Customer loyalty is rarely the lever that brands expect. Loyalty is more often a consequence of brand size than its cause.
Decades of research by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute show that brands grow because more people buy them at least once—not because existing customers buy them more often. The institute states it clearly: growth comes from acquiring new customers , not from preventing churn.
The crucial point here is the context, which is often lost in presentations. The institute itself clarifies that loyalty and market penetration are linked: Large brands have more customers and, at the same time, somewhat better loyalty scores. Both increase together.
PROCESS
How does the request process for a marketing keynote work?
Customer loyalty is rarely the lever that brands expect. Loyalty is more often a consequence of brand size than its cause.
You write to me directly
No agency loop — you'll get a response from me.
02
Short briefing
Occasion, date, target group and the core message that should stick.
03
Offer & Cut
I will tailor examples, data, and recommendations for action to your industry.
04
On stage
Keynote, presentation, panel or moderation — preferably with a subsequent Q&A.