Fee Range for Denise Lee Yohn
$15,001 - $20,000 USD
Denise Lee Yohn
Brand-building Speaker & Expert;
Author of What Great Brands Do
About Denise Lee Yohn
Most companies think branding is a marketing problem. Conference speaker Denise Lee Yohn's whole career argues otherwise — she's spent 25+ years showing leadership teams that the strongest brands aren't built by campaigns, they're built by culture, operations, and the decisions leaders make every day that never touch an ad budget.
She's lived both sides of that argument. Early on, she was inside the machine — running brand strategy at agencies for Burger King, Land Rover, and Unilever, then leading marketing for Jack in the Box and Spiegel. She later built Sony Electronics' first-ever brand office from the ground up, a role that taught her what it actually takes to get an entire organization — not just a marketing department — pulling toward the same brand promise. Since 2004, she's brought that perspective to organizations as an independent consultant and speaker.
Audiences hire Denise when they need more than inspiration — they need a working framework. Her keynotes translate directly into what HBR and Forbes columns and two bestselling books (What Great Brands Do and FUSION) argue in print: that brand and culture aren't separate initiatives, they're the same job. It's a message that's landed with rooms as different as TEDx, CES, Facebook, Lexus, and the NFL.
Denise Lee Yohn's Expertise
- Brand strategy & leadership — building differentiated, competitive brands from the inside out
- Organizational culture — integrating brand and culture to drive performance (the core thesis of FUSION)
- Customer & employee experience — designing "extraordinary experiences" that reinforce brand promise
- Corporate brand-building — developing brand offices and functions within large organizations (e.g., her role at Sony Electronics)
- Marketing & advertising strategy — agency-side and client-side experience across CPG, auto, and QSR (Burger King, Land Rover, Unilever, Jack in the Box, Spiegel)
- Executive & leadership development — coaching leaders to build "great brand" thinking into how they run their organizations
- Workforce engagement & resilience — helping leaders build ready, motivated teams in changing markets
- Keynote speaking & thought leadership — translating brand/culture strategy into actionable frameworks for live audiences
- Business writing & commentary — regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company, and go-to expert source for outlets like CNBC, WSJ, and NPR
Denise Lee Yohn's Bio
Denise Lee Yohn is a brand leadership expert and keynote speaker who helps organizations turn brand strategy into their competitive edge — not just their marketing message. She's the bestselling author of What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles that Separate the Best from the Rest and FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, two books that have become go-to references for leaders trying to build brand and culture together instead of treating them as separate initiatives.
Her expertise didn't come from theory — it came from the inside. Denise led brand strategy at ad agencies for Burger King, Land Rover, and Unilever, ran marketing for Jack in the Box and Spiegel, and built Sony Electronics' first-ever brand office from scratch. That mix of agency, corporate, and consulting experience is what makes her keynotes land differently: she's not describing branding from the outside, she's showing leaders what actually worked when she was the one accountable for results.
Today, Denise is one of the most sought-after voices on brand leadership, organizational culture, and customer experience. She's spoken at TEDx, the Consumer Electronics Show, and corporate events for Facebook, Lexus, and the NFL, and she writes regularly for Harvard Business Review and Forbes. When national outlets like CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times need a sharp, practical take on branding and leadership, Denise is one of the experts they call.
Contact Us for Denise Lee Yohn's speaker fees, and date availability.
Denise Lee Yohn's Presentation Topics
Denise Lee Yohn travels from Colorado, USA. She offers a wide variety of different presentation formats including keynote presentations, workshops, fireside chats, moderated Q&A, on a wide variety of topics. Each presentation is unique, customized and tailored for audiences, industries, conferences and event formats. All of Denise's programs can be delivered as a keynote (45 - 75 minutes) or as workshop (1.5 - 3 hours)
Future-Proof Your Business: Human-Centered Leadership in the Age of AI +
In this timely and thought-provoking keynote, Denise shows business leaders how to future-proof their organizations by investing in what AI can’t replace: human insight, empathy, and connection. Drawing on recent workforce trends—including major layoffs in HR—Denise outlines three essential shifts:
- integrating employee and customer experience
- co-creating culture and people strategies across departments
- cultivating empathy organization-wide
This isn’t about resisting technology—it’s about pairing it with a people strategy that drives performance and resilience. Perfect for leaders who want to thrive in the age of AI with their people, not in spite of them. --
The Fusion Formula: Brand + Culture = Results +
Forget everything you think you know about workplace culture! You don’t need perks and parties. You need engaged employees who produce the right results and help you build a great brand. Denise shows you how to infuse your culture with your core brand values and align your people with your unique brand identity, so you produce a healthy organization and a valuable brand. Based on her new book, FUSION, Denise shares the secrets behind the world’s greatest organizations and lays out the leadership playbook for achieving the brand-culture fusion you need to power your performance and future-proof your business. --
Brand Leadership: How to Build a Rock Star Brand +
You know how great brands dominate their fields. You experience it every time you pay a premium for a certain type of jeans, or see a line of people camping out to catch the newest smart phone release. Denise shows you how to achieve rock star brand status. Drawing from case studies, analyses, and interviews with brand leaders from the world’s leading brands, she shows you what great brands do and how to achieve the kind of brand leadership that everyone — from customers to employees to investors — wants a piece of. --
Ignite Experience: Fuse Customer Experience & Employee Experience to Drive Your Growth +
Customer experience is the new competitive battlefield where customer loyalty is won or lost. And among employees, the war for talent is intensifying. How do you win on both fronts? Denise shows you how to align and integrate your employee and customer experiences—and unleash their combined power to fuel your growth. Learn how to design and deliver employee experiences that fully engage your people and translate into customer experience excellence. Denise lays out the complete game plan you need to win the hearts and minds of customers and employees. --
Extraordinary Customer Experiences: How to Win Customers' Hearts & Dollars +
How do some companies break through the clutter; compete with bigger, better-resourced competitors; and manage to grow and thrive when so many others fail? They earn customer love and loyalty through extraordinary experiences. Denise gives you the complete blueprint for creatively designing and consistently delivering customer experiences that win over customers for life. Learn how to get the edge that everyone else wants and excel at customer experience. --
What Great Salespeople Do +
If you’re worried about how the role of sales and selling is changing, you need to know what the best salespeople do to succeed in this new business environment. Denise shows you that great salespeople do what great brands do. She explains how to innovate — not imitate, how to create extraordinary experiences that embody your brand, and how to cultivate strong, emotional connections with customers. You’ll be inspired to engage with clients in new ways that cut out competitors and create long-term business success. Learn why and how the most effective salespeople operate as brand evangelists — and how you can too to win the new sales game. --
Brand-Building Isn't Just for the Big Guys +
It’s true! You don’t have to be big to be great. Even if you’re an entrepreneur who’s short on time and money, you can build a brand that stands out and has a big impact. Denise shows you what you need to beat the big guys at their own game. She reveals the Minimum Viable Brand (MVB) framework and how to lay the foundation for getting traction in a crowded, cluttered marketplace. Learn the 6 “What’s” that every start-up and small business must answer — and how the most successful entrepreneurs have built powerful, profitable brands. --
Workshop: Operationalize Your Values +
Take your core values from words on a page to the driving force of your organization with an outcomes-oriented working session led by Denise. Participants engage in powerful exercises and facilitated discussions that enable them to identify the attitudes and actions they need to adopt to live out your core values on a daily basis. They develop a shared understanding of what the values mean, why they’re important, and how to work together to interpret and deliver on them. Ignite the power of your core values to focus, align, and empower your organization. --
Workshop: Build a Breakthrough Brand with a Clear Competitive Positioning +
A clear, definitive competitive brand positioning is essential to brand building. It defines who you are selling to, what your business scope is, and what you do to create value for your customers. It provides strategic guidance on product development, pricing, messaging, and more. In this hands-on workshop, Denise shows you how to craft a competitive brand positioning, including:
- the most effective way to identify and define your target segment(s)
- how to determine an appropriate competitive frame of reference
- three strategies to establish meaningful and lasting differentiation
- the sources that achieve brand credibility among today’s savvy customers --
Workshop: Scale-Up Your Brand +
Are you looking to grow significantly, expand your scope, or hit a new milestone? You need a solid strategic brand platform…and Denise will show you how to develop one. In this one-day, hands-on, fast-paced workshop, you will learn all the tools you need to develop a strong, valuable, sustainable brand strategy that will ignite your growth and help you scale. Set the foundation for your brand to inspire true customer loyalty, improve your profit margin, and increase the longevity of your business. --
Book Denise Lee Yohn to speak at your next conference or corporate event.
Frequently Asked Questions About Denise Lee Yohn
What does Denise Lee Yohn specialize in as a speaker? +
Denise speaks on brand leadership, organizational culture, and the connection between the two — helping companies build brands strong enough to drive real competitive advantage, not just recognition. --
What books has Denise Lee Yohn written? +
She's the author of What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles that Separate the Best from the Rest and FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies. --
What companies has Denise Lee Yohn worked with? +
Her background spans agency-side strategy for Burger King, Land Rover, and Unilever, brand leadership roles at Jack in the Box and Spiegel, and running Sony Electronics' first-ever brand office. She's consulted independently since 2004. --
Where has Denise Lee Yohn spoken? +
She's presented at TEDx, the Consumer Electronics Show, the National Restaurant Show, and Sustainable Brands, along with corporate events for organizations including Facebook, Lexus, and the NFL. --
Does Denise Lee Yohn write for any publications? +
Yes — she's a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and Forbes, and has written for Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and QSR Magazine, among others. --
Does Denise Lee Yohn offer a keynote or workshop format? +
Denise Lee Yohn is both, a keynote speaker and workshop leader for conferences, sales meetings and corporate training events. --
How much does it cost to book Denise Lee Yohn as a keynote speaker in Canada or the USA? +
Denise Lee Yohn's keynote speaker fees are currently in the range of $15,001.00 –$20,000 USD, with final pricing confirmed through K&M Productions Speakers & Shows based on event format, location, audience size and customization. Contact K&M Productions to check date availability and arrange a pre-event call.
Also note that there is a fee range link on most speaker pages on our website. Corporate keynote speakers in Canada & the USA represented by K&M Productions Speakers & Shows confirm fees through our agency by written agreement. Final pricing reflects agreed-upon details and execution of the contract terms. --
Is Denise Lee Yohn represented by a speaker's bureau in Canada and how is the contract handled? +
Denise Lee Yohn is directly represented by K&M Productions Speakers & Shows Canada who coordinate bookings in Canada as well as the USA and handle the contract-agreement with the client. Keynote speakers in Canada as well as the USA often work through a bureau to take care of their contracts and payments while they look after the creative and content aspects of their topics and presentations. Bureau representation ensures consistent communication between the client and the speaker as well as an "insurance policy" for your conference in the unlikely occurrance of speaker illness or cancellation. --
How do I contact Denise Lee Yohn to check her date availability and begin the booking process in for events in Canada or the USA? +
Denise Lee Yohn is contacted through K&M Productions Speakers & Shows to confirm her speaking schedule, availabilities, fees and event details. Event planners and meeting planners typically schedule a pre-event call to clarify format, objectives, and expectations. The tranparent booking process starts once the event requirements are sorted and confirmed via written confirmation. The contract-agreement is then issued on behalf of the speaker. --
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What Clients are Saying About Denise Lee Yohn
Best speaker of the day...a fresh perspective!
–Director, Marketing · Facebook
You definitely made an impact…your talk provided us with a framework as to how to operationalize [our] brand to achieve our Billion Dollar vision.
–VP Marketing, E&J Gallo
We recently had Denise speak for a series of three events. She was nothing short of amazing in front of a very passionate and outspoken audience. She did a fabulous job and really was able to relate it to the attendees and their industry. Our client sincerely appreciated her being well versed in the industry she was speaking to. Because of this she got some hard questions and didn’t shy away from them. She was an absolute pleasure to work with and we really enjoyed getting to know her. She was fabulous!
–Moxi Events
We wanted someone who could stretch our thinking. The attendees were blown away by her presentation. We were very pleased with the depth of her experience and her ability to easily communicate that to a broad audience base.
–Canadian Tourism Commission Board of Advisors
Denise’s keynote took our customer summit to new heights… Her talk was inspiring and informative — worth every penny!
–CEO, Zift Solutions
Denise was a fantastic opening keynote speaker for the Transformational CMO Assembly. This Assembly is one of our most prestigious events of the year and we are always in need of an innovative speaker to start things off on the right foot. Denise’s presentation skills, warm personality, and industry knowledge were all well received.
–Co-Founder & Managing Partner, The Millennium Alliance LLC








