Howard Lichtman

Partner & Co-Founder

The Lightning Group

Howard Lichtman is the Partner & Co-Founder of Ethnicity Multicultural Marketing & Advertising, as well as Founder & President of The Lightning Group.

Ethnicity is a dynamic, integrated, full service, multicultural marketing and advertising agency dedicated to driving new growth and sales by engaging Canada’s fast-growing, big-spending, ethnic communities. We drive new sales and growth for corporations by successfully reaching out to ethnic communitiesand utilizing a disciplined process to determine which ethnic community has the greatest ROI potential. Insights are utilized to craft appropriate messaging and then communicated through ethnic media, earned media and grass roots activations.   Some of the recent entertainment marketing initiatives include programs for eOne, 20^th Century Fox, Pepsi, Cirque du Soleil and Scotiabank.

Howard is also President of the Lightning Group, which provides new revenue-optimizing and “go-to-market” strategies for corporations. The Lightning Group also offers Virtual Chief Marketing Officer services by assistingCMOs with new opportunities or by providing a fresh perspective on current marketing practices.

Howard is responsible for the programming, marketing, sponsorship sales, advertising, and media relations for the Taste of the Danforth. His efforts have transformed the Festival into the largest street Festival in Canada, with 1.6 million attendees.

Prior to this, Howard was Executive VP of Marketing and Communications at Cineplex, where he designed a number of innovative programs that have become industry standards, including on-screen advertising, lobby advertising, sampling, and movie ticket couponing. As part of a sponsorship initiative, he created the American Express “Front of the Line” program.

Howard also serves on numerous Boards and Advisory Councils. 

Speaking at: Strategic partnerships: When 1+1 equals more than 2