About: Bio

For more than 30 years, Bill Nicholson, founder and CEO of Nicholson Consulting, has provided brand guidance and creative deliverables to a wide range of local, regional, national and international clients. His work has included brand and product positioning strategies, marketing communication plans, naming architecture, brand management standards, creative concepting and copy writing.

After achieving an undergraduate degree in journalism and an MBA from The Ohio State University, Bill spent 10 years in marketing at Ford Motor Company, gaining valuable insights into “big brand” behaviors, good and bad.

A love of advertising lead Bill to Marcus Advertising (now Marcus Thomas), in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1991, where he spent five years in account planning and management. His insights into consumer motivation helped the Cleveland Indians become the first Major League Baseball team to sell out an entire season before opening day – a feat repeated for the next four years. That’s more than 17 million tickets!

Bill headed south in 1995, working at RBL&W Advertising in Raleigh, then Henderson Advertising in Greenville. Major clients included Michelin, Volvo Truck, Volvo Construction Equipment, Navistar Parts, the Carolina Hurricanes and SouthTrust Bank.

After leaving Henderson in 2002, Bill co-founded At Large Marketing Solutions. Clients included Dow Chemical Company, the Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association (XPSA), plus dozens of regional and local companies. In 2008, At Large Marketing became Nicholson Consulting. His client sweet spots during this period have been public advocacy and technology.