Viacom’s Hawa Arsala and Mary Kate Callen led off with a fascinating deep dive on Gen Z that drilled down on how the power balance between brands and consumers is changing. Key insight: Gen Z-ers have a strong sense of self and of their own power.
Our first panel of the day–featuring marketers from Electronic Arts (Andrea Hopelain above), Align Technology, LVMH, Pinterest and Bulletproof–broke down what it takes to build a 21st-century brand against the backdrop of an ever-changing marketing landscape.
Quinn O’Brien (above) gave the audience a highly transparent look at the launch of Lenovo’s new “Smarter Technology For All” campaign. O’Brien said the tech giant took great care to get input from internal stakeholders globally before going live with the campaign in 12 key markets.
Scott Nelson of Panera delivered a passionate keynote focusing on purpose and his brand’s long-running attempts to “fix America’s broken relationship with food.”
An afternoon panel pulled together a group of marketers from Anheuser-Busch, Bayer Consumer Health and The Hershey Company who have brought elements of their creative in-house. Among the benefits of doing so, said Bayer’s Josh Palau (above): greater “speed to insights.”
Jim Mollica of Under Armour sat for a wide-ranging Fireside Chat that covered brands as publishers, cross-channel analytics and influencer marketing among other topics.
The last big panel of the day was strictly devoted to charting the future of media. Participants from Blackrock, Intel, Citi, Nestle Waters & Estee Lauder gave their respective takes on where TV, data and digital video are headed.
Mark Messing (above right) stressed the critical role customer loyalty plays for Domino’s Pizza, focusing squarely on the brand’s Points for Pies & Delivery Insurance programs.
RxBar CMO Victor Lee talked origin story and the importance of brands living and breathing authenticity.
Chris Marino of American Express held court on growth marketing and consumer acquisition.
The day ended with an elegant, old-school Italian dinner at Barbetta. More to come from a buzzing New York.
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