John Weitzel: bringing the real world to the classroom

When John Weitzel steps into the classroom, he brings decades of industry experience and a passion for marketing that has benefited his students for more than 20 years. Now, he will retire from full-time teaching, but continue to be involved with the Department of Marketing.

When Weitzel began to consider teaching, he had just finished his MBA and connected with Dr. Andy Brogowicz, chair of the Western Michigan University Department of Marketing, via a client relationship. “Through a bit of serendipity, I ended up at WMU when Andy needed somebody quickly in 2001, and I needed to get back to West Michigan to be closer to my parents,” says Weitzel. “Although I was new to teaching, I was hopeful that my years in the industry would allow me to bring real-world experiences to the students. Since my career had been in advertising, I had many relevant client experiences to share.”

Weitzel started his career in advertising in 1974, joining Norman Navan Moore and Baird in Grand Rapids. In 1977, he co-founded J.W. Messner, Inc., and helped the agency grow to be one of the largest specialty automotive agencies in the country. During his tenure at J.W. Messner, he served as executive broadcast producer, account group supervisor, and eventually senior executive vice president. He led efforts in music development for the agency and worked with some of the top talent in the country, primarily in Nashville, Tennessee. Pat Patrick, a producer in Nashville, was a key collaborator with Weitzel for over 22 years. In later years, Weitzel and Patrick formed the music production alliance SpotDawgs.

In 1996, Weitzel was assigned the Northwest Region for Chevrolet, which included the states of Washington, Idaho and Oregon. With a Seattle-based staff, he managed the marketing efforts for 10 regions within the three-state area, with annual billings exceeding $10 million. In 1999, he joined GMR*Works as West Region Buick director, responsible for a 16-state region and planning and implementing sponsorships and events for Buick marketing groups. During this time, he assisted the Buick marketing team in coordinating Tiger Woods’ affiliation with the brand.

At WMU Haworth, Weitzel holds the rank of master faculty specialist and was awarded tenure in 2006. He served on the WMU Athletic Board from 2014 to 2019, an advisory committee convened by the WMU Athletic Director. In 2014, Weitzel co-wrote and presented, with Dr. Edward Mayo, at the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture. The article they presented—on ballpark advertising—was subsequently chosen to appear in the symposium’s annual book.

“One of the best things that happened for me at WMU was my collaboration with Dr. Ed Mayo,” says Weitzel. “He became a mentor to me from the beginning and really helped me navigate my early years as an advertising instructor.”

Mayo invited Weitzel to become part of Suncoast Sports, a sports marketing firm with a mission to own a minor league baseball team. This became a fantastic endeavor as the duo worked on developing funding for a new ballpark. “Because I was in the midst of taking over teaching the WMU sports marketing courses from Ed, who pioneered the sports marketing focus, I was able to bring in a lot of the research from that enterprise into the classroom,” says Weitzel.

Feeling very fortunate to work with Mayo and others in the Department of Marketing, Weitzel reflects on the experience. “This is one of the best marketing departments in the country, with a faculty that’s not only academically accomplished, but truly outstanding in the classroom,” he says. “It was evident from my first year at WMU that the marketing faculty cared about their students, and motivated them to be their best. It has been my great honor to serve alongside such a dedicated and talented group of colleagues for these 22 years.”