A consultant who works with major companies and nonprofit organizations to help them align what they “stand for” with how they operate on a daily basis will visit Penn State to present the annual Don Davis Lecture in Advertising Ethics.
Pamela Divinsky will present a free public lecture titled “What Do You Stand For? And, Does it Really Matter?” at 7:30 p.m. April 5 in Freeman Auditorium at the HUB-Robeson Center on the University Park campus.
Under her direction, The Divinsky Group works with organizations to define and develop core strategies that strengthen their business, fortify their reputational equity, cultivate loyalty and ambassadorship, and drive material social impact.
Divinsky has industry expertise in health care, loyalty marketing, financial services, quick service restaurants and social services. She has experience with brand and purpose development, business development, client relationship building, investigation and analysis, and strategic planning.
She provides strategic and activation counsel and for a variety of clients, including: The Boys and Girls Clubs, the Canadian Cancer Society, HSBC, the Lung Association of Canada, Molson Coors, Tim Hortons, Walmart and TD Bank Financial Group. Divinsky has been responsible for developing initiatives that have combated child poverty, created policy change on numerous health and social issues, developed sustainable supply chains, raised awareness of racial and ethnic discrimination and sparked local community activism.
The lecture was made possible through the generous support of the late Donald W. Davis Jr., a Penn State alumnus who earned his journalism degree in 1942 and later created the program to honor the memory of his father, former Penn State professor Donald W. Davis Sr. The event is intended perpetuate the ideals of ethics in advertising that Davis Sr. maintained throughout his professional and academic careers.
The elder Davis established the University’s advertising program in 1936. He also published his “Basic Text in Advertising,” which emphasized the “continuing fight for standards,” and exemplified his approach to advertising. He taught for 37 years, predominantly at Penn State, and under his leadership enrollment in advertising courses grew to be the largest in the country.
Davis Jr., who died in 2010 at the age of 89, was the retired chairman and CEO of Stanley Works, one of the largest international manufacturers of builders’ hardware and tools. Under his leadership, Stanley grew to a “Fortune 200” company with annual sales approaching $2 billion.