Barring travel delays, senior SOJC advertising major Zach Blank will step off a plane in New York City sometime this afternoon, and one of the first things he’ll do is get out his laptop and blog.  Blank, left this morning for NYC and the Ad Age Digital Media Conference.  While there, he’ll be blogging and posting on his website, (sitbandr.com) about the conference as the school’s first Bedbury Scholar.

The Bedbury Scholars Program, made possible by Scott Bedbury ‘80, will support up to three exceptional senior students each year. The students will be selected for their potential in different aspects of brand leadership. 

After review and selection by a faculty committee, scholars will attend a high profile professional conference chosen for emphasis during that year.
The Bedbury Scholarship will fund registration fees, airfare, and lodging for the students, who while there will document their experiences using tools such as blogs, podcasts, or video and, upon their return to Eugene, share information with students and faculty through a formal presentation. 

“As Scott explained the type of experience he wanted for a first Scholar, he mentioned Digital, Brand, and Entrepreneur in the same sentence,” says Deborah Morrison, the SOJC’s Chambers Distinguished Professor of Advertising.”We talked about the Digital Media Conference in March.

Blank emerged as “an amazing candidate” for the Bedbury Scholars program “because he brings together the digital architectural skills of a seasoned consultant with the design and strategic skills of the best interactive talent out there,” Morrison says. “… by being part of the Bedbury Scholars program, he's getting to talk and learn with some of the industry's smartest thinkers.”

Bedbury is a godlike figure in the brand and advertising world. His generosity and vision gives us an opportunity to push our creative strategist approach to the industry, while reminding people that some very smart people are grown in Oregon. And we want to show that being creative and strategic works synergistically, especially in the digital world.”

Bedbury, himself an Oregon native, is a member of the School’s Hall of Achievement as well as the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement. Perhaps best known for helping to put both Starbucks Coffee and Nike on the map, he established Brandstream, a global brand development company, in Seattle in 1998. His book, A New Brand World: 8 Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the 21st Century, published by Viking Press in 2002, further established him as a brand-building genius.  The UO named him Outstanding Young Alumnus in 1997.

Blank returns to Eugene on Thursday.