Michael Berland

Bio

Michael J. Berland is an internationally recognized strategic advisor and communications consultant and an expert in how people think and behave as consumers, voters and decision-makers. As a partner in Penn, Schoen & Berland, the leading research-based strategic political and corporate communications company, he has led studies and campaigns for the world’s top brands, blue-chip companies, political candidates and entertainment clients in more than 80 countries on six continents.

In his 20-year career, Michael has become known for applying the insights and tactics of the political campaign trail to the corporate arena, creating highly aggressive, tightly focused image and marketing campaigns. His expertise includes image analysis, message development, corporate and product positioning and targeting.

Michael’s clients have included multinational companies, political candidates, professional sports leagues, entertainment figures, and higher education and cultural institutions. He has worked with the leaders of Vodafone, RIM/Blackberry, Qwest, Unilever, BP, ConAgra, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Estée Lauder, Procter & Gamble, Bausch & Lomb, KPMG, Pfizer, and Siemens. His sports and entertainment clients include the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Football League (NFL), and The Dixie Chicks.

Michael has worked with political candidates in the US and abroad. He served as strategic advisor to New York City Mayor Bloomberg in his 2001 and 2005 mayoral campaigns. For Hillary Clinton's 2006 Senate and 2008 Presidential campaigns, Michael used state-of-the-art targeting to win key victories among especially challenging demographics in critical regions of both campaigns.

Michael’s TV appearances include CNBC, MSNBC, PBS’ “Wall $treet Week,” and “Your World with Neil Cavuto” on Fox News. He has been featured in USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. An editorial he co-wrote about how Americans consider the Super Bowl a holiday was published in The Los Angeles Times. The New York Times heralded Michael’s targeting and messaging work in the Bloomberg campaign as “transcending the traditional political fault lines of race, party and class.” Michael was also featured advising The Dixie Chicks in Oscar-winning director Barbara Kopple’s documentary “Shut Up & Sing” about the band’s controversial criticism of President Bush.

The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) awarded Michael The David Ogilvy Research Award for Michael’s global targeting and communications research for BP.

Michael chairs the Gotham chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) chapter in New York City.

Michael graduated magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar and received his initial training at the Social and Demographic Research Institute. He lives outside New York City with his wife and two children.