Insightfully funny keynotes on the power of laughing at ourselves in marketing and business

“Tom Fishburne is the David Ogilvy of cartooning”
-Seth Godin

For more than twenty years, Tom Fishburne has captured the marketing industry in a weekly cartoon series called Marketoonist — while working with some of the world’s most interesting brands.  

From drawings on the backs of Harvard Business School cases and doodles emailed to coworkers from a cubicle at General Mills, Tom’s cartoons and insightful articles are now read by half a million readers a week.

Tom has delivered more than 200 keynote talks in more than 30 countries, using humor and insight to tell the story.

Twenty years of drawing cartoons about marketing and business

In his weekly Marketoonist cartoons and articles, Tom has chronicled every twist and turn in business over the last twenty years.  Holding up the mirror helps us talk about the things we most need to talk about in business.

Keynote talks with humor and insight

Using his own hand-drawn cartoons to get audiences laughing at situations we’ve all experienced in business, Tom delivers insights, case studies, and stories about how business leaders can evolve to do their best work.

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Most requested keynote topics

Tom has road-tested keynote talks on marketing, technology, innovation, and the future of work in over 200 events in more than 30 countries (and half the US states).

The Funny Side Of Marketing: Avoiding the Customer Journey to Nowhere

We now have the ability to deliver more consistent and creative customer experiences than ever before. So why does customer engagement so often fall flat? We’ve all felt the pain of customer engagement that doesn’t work — customer journeys that break, consumer data without insight, attempts at personalization that misfire. A sense of humor can help us probe those pain points and explore how to become better marketers.

Thriving in the awkward adolescence of AI and technology

Technology changes exponentially; organizations change logarithmically. Most organizations haven’t kept pace with the potential brought by technology. From AI to data to digital transformation, technology initiatives are often adopted shallowly, missing their full potential. If we want to pursue technology transformation, we ultimately have to think about organizational transformation.

Overcoming Idea Killers and Building a Culture of Innovation

The creative process shouldn’t end after the brainstorm, yet ideas often suffer a thousand cuts on the path to launch. In this keynote talk, Tom will unpack the mindset that organizations need to adopt in order to develop remarkable marketing and innovations. He will frame ways to build a culture that champions creativity and overcomes idea killers. No idea is born perfect, and innovation requires the collective creative efforts of everyone in an organization.

The Power of Laughing at ourselves at work

Humor is the language of culture change. As former Apple executive Hiroki Asai put it, “Fear kills creativity and humor is our most powerful tool to drive fear out of the system.” Through humor, we are able to talk about topics that are otherwise difficult to talk about. We can better connect with others, whether in external marketing or driving internal culture change. In this keynote talk, Tom uses cartoons and case studies to help us all tap into our innate sense of humor and unlock the power of laughing at ourselves.

Testimonials for Tom

“We’ve been collecting speaker evaluations since 2005 and Tom Fishburne was our highest rated speaker ever. He not only engaged and amused, but landed important lessons that stuck with people long after the day was done.”
Jennifer Nelson,
Johnson & Johnson
"Tom is a tremendously engaging speaker who not only delighted our audience with his witty insights, but also provided clear advice. We were hoping that Tom would excite and inspire our audience, and he did not disappoint."
Sarah Neels,
Google
“Tom was our highest rated speaker for the entire event — universally received 5 out of 5 stars from every attendee who rated his session. A brilliant presentation that deftly mixed humor and insight to inspire the audience.”
Scott Brinker,
MarTech

Inspiring and engaging audiences around the world

A few of the 200+ companies and conferences that have entrusted their audiences to Tom