Background
Achenbaum, Alvin Allen was born on December 11, 1925 in New York City. Son of Benjamin and Dora (Dworin) Achenbaum.
marketing and management consultant
Achenbaum, Alvin Allen was born on December 11, 1925 in New York City. Son of Benjamin and Dora (Dworin) Achenbaum.
Bachelor of Science, University of California at Los Angeles, 1950. Master of Science, Columbia University, 1951.
He earned a bachelor"s degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master"s degree in Business Economics from Columbia University. From 1951-1974, Achenbaum held senior executive positions at four major advertising agencies in New York City: McCann Erickson, J. Walter Thompson, Grey Advertising, and Ted Bates, where he served as vice chairman, overseeing all professional services. These firms advised more than 150 blue chip American and global companies.
Notable clients included Procter and Gamble, General Electric, Nestle, Kraft, Honda, and the United States Department of Defense.
Achenbaum regularly spoke out about emerging trends and the future of advertising and marketing, challenging many of the accepted business practices of the day. He wrote weekly columns for Ad Age and Marketing Week in the 1980s.
He generated considerable controversy by challenging the nature of the relationship between advertising agencies and their clients. His consulting work contributed to major changes in both the advertising agency selection process and the development of negotiated agency compensation agreements.
In addition to his work as a practitioner, Achenbaum was an adjunct professor of marketing at the Baruch College of the City University of New New York
He also guest lectured at numerous universities, including New York University, Columbia University, and McGill. In 2005, Achenbaum retired from management consulting and turned his efforts toward preparing aspiring marketing professionals and scholars. He founded the In 2012, the Institute donated Achenbaum"s professional papers (research studies, presentations, articles, correspondence and speeches) to the The John West. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at Duke University Libraries.
The Hartman Center praised the collection as "one of the rare collections which covers the breadth of a person’s career, while also documenting the internal workings of a number of agencies and consulting firms." The papers comprise over 80,000 items and contain approximately 100 linear feet of material, documenting over fifty years of Achenbaum’s professional life.
In 2013, the established the Alvin A. Achenbaum Travel Grant Program, which sponsors travel for scholars of marketing, research and advertising to study at the Hartman Center. In 2013, the Institute published Lessons Learned: A Practitioner’s Guide to Successful Marketing, an instructional guide for students and marketers based on the business lessons Achenbaum learned during his long career.
In 1987, Achenbaum was elected to the Market Research Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was named one of the most influential advertising people of the 20th century by Advertising Age.
He resides in New York City.
Member Citizens Advisory Committee of Irvington, since 1970. Member Middle Eastern affairs committee Anti-Defamation League. Advisory committee Association Consumer Research.
Trustee Marketing Science Institute. American Marketing Association Foundation. Editorial board Marketing Management Magazine.
Member Market Research Council New York, Copy Research Council New York, American Marketing Association (vice president global marketing division, board directors, foundation trustee), American Economic Association, Association Public Opinion Research, Beta Gamma Sigma.
Married Barbara Ann Greenwald, June 24, 1951 (deceased April 1992). Children: Jonathan Peter, Lisa Jane, Martha Beth. Married Leila Lebendig, June 6, 1993.