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The Reed College of Media and College of Creative Arts will merge to form the new WVU College of Creative Arts and Media as of July 1, 2024. Get details.

Tod Meisner

Sr Public Affairs Analyst - State Farm

Tod Meisner possesses nearly 20 years of experience in digital and traditional marketing strategy, brand and advertising content, social media management, public and media relations, sports information, and employee communications. He is certified by The Direct Marketing Association as a digital marketing strategist and is a Second Wind-certified Agency account manager. Meisner is also a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

Meisner recently joined the Public Affairs and Communications team at State Farm. In his role as sr. analyst, he’s responsible for identifying and improving the brand’s communications goals to drive business and communication efficiencies. His detailed reports are used to provide actionable insights to various business partners across the enterprise to make data-driven decisions and communications improvements.

During his career, he’s become accustomed to working with big brands and iconic organizations. Meisner recently concluded a 6-year stint at Aflac as a brand manager, leading and driving the company’s social media strategy as part of the national brand and advertising team.

Meisner rebuilt Aflac’s social media strategy from the ground up. Using a paid-first approach while focusing on awareness, knowledge, and connection. He also helped produce content for multiple award-winning campaigns and grew Aflac’s connected community on its main social media channels, and most recently launched the brand’s TikTok strategy.

His career journey began in college athletics as a sports information director with stops at SMU, the Missouri Valley Conference, and Conference USA. While Meisner made a strong impact on college athletics, he also created relationships early in his career with professional organizations. Meisner worked for both the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks while living in Dallas, Texas, in the mid-2000s.

His experiences are diverse when it comes to branding and advertising, having worked at boutique agencies such as Verge Pipe Media and MM2 PR, as well as working client-side for Associa in Dallas.

Meisner is a leader who inspires. He possesses a deep level of self-awareness honed through the 100X Leadership System by Better Leaders/GiANT Worldwide and practices those teachings daily. Its philosophies encourage him to support and challenge himself, as well as the individuals around him, to become the best versions of themselves.

A proud ESFJ and Nurturer, Meisner is also a challenger of people. He remains deeply concerned about the relational health and harmony of his students and colleagues. He’s committed to protecting values and principles while understanding how certain actions, behaviors and initiatives affect people and teams.

Meisner’s teaching philosophy focuses entirely on ensuring student-centric success. The main goal of his instructions and interactions is to serve as a mentor, guide, and facilitator of knowledge to his students. To that end, he employs the support and challenge model. As a liberating leader, Meisner will challenge students throughout the term, but will always be there to support.

In addition to his day-to-day duties for State Farm, Meisner teaches undergraduate and graduate level classes for Auburn University, Arizona State University, West Virginia University, the University of Florida, and New York University (NYU). The courses focus on social media campaigns and engagement for public relations as well as, branding, advertising, and digital marketing.

Meisner is also a part-time public speaker. He’s given numerous talks on branding, advertising, content marketing, and digital media. Whether it’s for a crowd of dozens or thousands, he brings energy and practical tips to an audience while leaving them entertained and informed.

He is a member of various professional organizations, including ANA, FWAA, USBWA, SPRF, CoSIDA, and the Knights of Columbus.

Meisner is a devoted husband and father, spending the remainder of his time with his family. He and his wife Megan reside in Little Elm, TX with their sons Courtney (11) and Clancy (2) and two Brittany Spaniels (Snoozer and Weagle, both 4). He enjoys watching St. Louis Cardinals baseball, smoking meats on his offset smoker, and having the occasional glass of bourbon.

Meet Tod Meisner


Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:54 Why do you teach in the program?
2:25 How do you bring the real world into your online classes?
3:57 How do you engage with students?
5:19 Fun (surprise) question