Daryl Travis

A trusted advisor to many of the largest and best brands in the world, Daryl Travis is a rare breed of author, thought leader and highly regarded consultant. His first book Emotional Branding pioneered the idea that brands are largely about feelings not facts. As Founder and Chairman of Brandtrust, his teams apply social and behavioral science to reveal deeper human truths that solve complex brand, innovation and customer experience challenges for many global brands. He could be described as a professor, detective, journalist, psychologist and writer all rolled into one. A colorful and engaging storyteller, Daryl speaks frequently on the power of human truths to change everything including how you think about your customers and your business. He explains how research can lead us astray or help us to gain a competitive edge. “Most research discloses what happens,” he says. “However, it often fails to reveal why it happens or the underlying emotional drivers that are critical in creating an effective strategy.” Daryl’s guiding mantra is The NINA Principle®: No Insight—No Advantage®. Passionate about learning and understanding more about how people think, Daryl is always reading a new book—more than one hundred each year. His voracious reading helps leverage recent breakthroughs in the social sciences to improve the consumer research process, tapping into the deeper underlying emotions and nonconscious motivations critical to revealing insights. Daryl and his wife Donnita extend his continuous learning passion as active members of Chicago’s philanthropic community, volunteering time and resources to support education and literacy programs for underprivileged children throughout the city.