Webinar

Power of Marketing in Tech Transfer: What is a Good Strategy? 

 

Date: Thursday, December 12, 2024 
Time: Noon – 1 p.m. ET
Cost:  $0 – AUTM Members  /  $225 – Non-members
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There are no universal guidelines for marketing an IP asset in academic tech transfer units/offices, but this panel of experts will share tips and tricks and provide examples that can help you be successful in your tech transfer marketing efforts. Topics that will be covered during the discussion:

  • Different marketing approaches - active (what makes this successful), passive, internal (outreach) & external: one size doesn’t fit all
  • Role of social media (online and in-person networking by TTO personnel)
  • When do you begin the campaign
  • Role of the marketer versus role of the inventor in marketing
  • How do you measure marketing success   
  • TTO marketing road map: learning & making adjustments through a campaign
  • ​The benefits for each stakeholder in a marketing activity (inventors, licensing manager, industry scout/BD, marketer)

Learning Objectives

  • Compare your marketing strategy and tactics with the panelists’ examples
  • Create compelling marketing messages to interest key opinion leaders
  • Revise your marketing outreach activities to secure industry engagement/feedback
  • Analyze the outcomes and make adjustments for subsequent campaigns

Instructors

Instructor Bios

Nadia Cantu is a dedicated advocate for the role of academia in driving technological innovations across industries. As the Business Development Manager of the Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), she crafts strategies to bring UAB's technologies to the attention of key industry players and foster high-trust relationships with them. Nadia's academic journey began with a BS and MS in Marine Biology from the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur and the Northwestern Center of Biological Research in Mexico, respectively. After moving to the United States, she earned her MBA at the University of Pittsburgh, specializing in business strategy and operations. Before moving to Birmingham, she held intern positions at the Innovation Institute of the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Life Science Greenhouse. She joined Philips Respironics as a Performance Management Analyst and later, SMI Aware as Operations Manager.

Olena Danylyuk is a technology commercialization professional and accomplished scientist with over 20 years of interdisciplinary PhD research experience in fields including biomedicine, bioengineering, molecular and cancer biology and material science. Since joining Henry Ford Health System’s (HFH) Innovation Institute in January 2022 as a Licensing Associate, she has been instrumental in protecting intellectual property, marketing and commercializing emerging technologies. Dr. Danylyuk also introduces clinical trial opportunities and fosters collaborations that advance HFHS's mission. Prior to HFH, she served in various roles at Wayne State University, contributing to academic, clinical and technology commercialization initiatives. 

Andrew Rankin is the Technology Deployment Outreach Lead at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where he plays a key role in the marketing and strategic deployment of new technologies. Since joining INL in May 2019, Andrew has focused on bridging the gap between complex technological innovations and market adoption. His role encompasses crafting strategic go-to-market plans, conducting detailed market analyses and enhancing technology transfer success through targeted marketing strategies. His contributions have significantly enhanced engagement, licensing and adoption of INL’s innovations. Andrew holds an MBA from Idaho State University and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Utah Valley University. His work in technology marketing has been recognized with the Early Career Professional of the Year 2020 award by the Technology Transfer Working Group.
 
Sue Rhoades is Manager of Industry Engagement in Drexel Applied Innovation, the technology transfer office within Drexel University. Sue's role is to connect Drexel innovations and inventors to industry's unmet needs and innovation challenges. She leads marketing and business development efforts with corporate technology scouts, R&D leaders and innovation networks to identify collaboration and licensing opportunities based on company needs and Drexel research & IP assets. Drexel is a world-class, private R1 research university in Philadelphia, PA, that is committed to use-inspired research with real-world applications. Sue joined Drexel after a private sector career in marketing, sales, business development and product management. She has also worked in tech-based economic development in Delaware and Pennsylvania. 

Eusebio (a.k.a. EZ) Pires (Moderator) has a great passion for impactful biomedical research, demonstrated by his 17-year academic career focused on translation and commercialization of research. At Technology Transfer, he leads the efforts for Rutgers Technology Marketing and Business Development. He works very closely with licensing managers and Rutgers inventors to strategically identify business partners for their technologies. At the same time, he engages with potential industry partners, building new and fostering existing relationships. He organizes several activities and events showcasing Rutgers IP expertise internal and external to the University. 

Janet Yancey-Wrona is the Technology Business Development Manager for the University of Maine, helping to commercialize important new discoveries from the University. This position follows a variety of management positions in life sciences-based companies. After beginning her professional career as a research scientist at IDEXX Labs, Janet served as the founding President of the Maine Technology Institute, overseeing more than $40 million in investments for R&D in Maine-based organizations. From there, she moved on to manage two pharmaceutical startups, a research products company and served a variety of marketing roles, most recently as Director of Marketing for the testing business at Lonza, one of the world’s largest healthcare manufacturing companies. Janet’s background includes a doctoral degree in biology from the University of North Carolina and a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health.