Alison Bryant

CEO & Chief Play Officer

PlayScience

Dr. Alison Bryant founded PlayScience-a research, consulting and innovation firm-to break down the walls between industry innovators, academics and consumers. She leverages her academic research expertise, deep understanding of consumers, entrenched industry knowledge, and strategic vision to partner with organizations looking to create, develop and launch new products, ideas and perspectives. She has spent more than a dozen years helping clients, colleagues and students navigate the ever-changing media landscape and understand the lives and lifestyles of youth and families.

Alison has spent her career moving seamlessly between the academic and industry worlds (and usually sitting in both concurrently). Prior to founding PlayScience, she was the Chief Strategy Officer for Smarty Pants, a research and consulting firm focused on kids, teens and families. Alison was also previously Senior Research Director of Digital Research and Brand & Consumer Insights for the Nickelodeon/MTV Networks Kids & Family Group, where she led Nick's efforts to understand the digital lives of consumers, conducting research on a variety of platforms-online, console and handheld gaming, interactive television and mobile among them. She also served as the research and strategic insights mastermind behind the 18 websites and the Virtual World and Game Studios under the Nickelodeon umbrella, managing brands from Addicting Games and Nick, to Neopets and Shockwave.

Alison's Ph.D. is from the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California, and she holds Master's degrees from USC and the University of Alabama. She started her academic life at Davidson College in North Carolina, majoring in German and Political Science and minoring in gender studies and international studies.

Speaking at: Kids and Casual Gaming — The Real Deal