TRENDSETTERS: Recent Episodes

Deborah Malone

TRENDSETTERS lives at the heart of the Internationalist mission as it spotlights a person and an idea in international marketing. Over the last decade, we have amassed hundreds of profiles of extraordinary individuals and their groundbreaking work on our website.

We’ve learned that there’s interest in hearing the voices of these marketers directly, which has now given life to our TRENDSETTERS podcast series.

How do iconic brands remain relevant without losing the authenticity that made people care in the first place?

In this episode of Trendsetters, Deborah Malone speaks with Mike Nelson, Vice President of Marketing at Martin Guitar, about one of marketing's most difficult leadership challenges: balancing heritage with innovation. Mike explains why purpose—not nostalgia—should guide brand evolution, how Martin defines "accessible luxury," and why craftsmanship, emotional connection, and consistency matter more than ever in an era of constant change.

Whether you manage a heritage brand or a fast-growing startup, this conversation offers practical insights into building brands that evolve while remaining true to what matters most.

Today, I'm joined by Jared Belsky, CEO and Co-Founder of Acadia, former CEO of 360i, and author of You Get the Agency You Deserve.

Jared recently made headlines by returning media rebates directly to clients—a decision that sparked an important conversation about trust and transparency in the agency business. But as you'll hear, that's really just the starting point.

Our discussion explores why collaboration may be replacing consolidation, why marketers are rarely taught how to become great clients, and why Jared believes that—despite all the disruption—this may actually be the most exciting time ever to build a career in marketing.It's an optimistic conversatio

As brands invest heavily in creative excellence and AI-powered content creation, a new challenge is emerging: how do great ideas survive the journey from headquarters to market? In this episode of Trendsetter,

Deborah Malone speaks with Alexander Augustesen, CEO and Co-Founder of Zuuvi, about what he calls "creative infrastructure"—the systems and processes that connect brand strategy to market execution.

Innovation is one of the most celebrated—and misunderstood—concepts in business.

In this episode, Deborah Malone speaks with Costas Papaikonomou, product innovation veteran, entrepreneur, investor, and author of The Grumpy Innovator series and The Disruption Fallacy. Drawing on decades of experience helping global companies create new products and growth opportunities, Costas challenges conventional thinking about disruption, innovation, and progress.

Together, they explore why good ideas often fail, why weaker ideas survive, and why the most valuable opportunities are sometimes hiding in plain sight.

In this episode of Trendsetters, Deborah Malone speaks with Mary Katherine “MK” Woltz of Danone about how retail media is evolving from a channel into a core driver of business outcomes.

They explore the shift toward connected commerce, the changing role of retailers as media partners, and how brands are balancing performance with long-term brand equity.

A grounded conversation on how marketing is moving from channels to systems.

Mirella Amalia Vitale of ROCKWOOL — a global leader in sustainable stone wool insulation that improves building safety, energy efficiency, and comfort — discusses the company’s new platform, “If It’s Worth Building,” and how marketing is evolving from product performance to human impact.

A timely perspective on leadership, purpose, and why brands should speak up when markets go quiet.

As Habitat for Humanity marks its 50th anniversary, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Amy Dunham reflects on how the organization is evolving to meet a growing global housing crisis.

In conversation with Deborah Malone, she discusses Habitat’s new Let’s Open the Door campaign, the enduring meaning of “home,” and why solving housing affordability will require collaboration across sectors, communities, and generations.

In a marketing industry increasingly defined by dashboards, data layers, and expanding channel choices, Adam Benaroya has been advocating something refreshingly counterintuitive: strategic simplification.

He believes that complexity itself rarely creates value. In many cases, it quietly drains time, budget, and creative energy from the work that actually matters.

When Anthony Farina talks about joining Fujifilm, he doesn’t describe it as a career move. He describes it as stepping into one of the most compelling transformation stories in modern business.

For decades, Fujifilm was synonymous with photography. Today, it is a diversified global company spanning healthcare, life sciences, advanced materials, and imaging technologies — a reinvention few legacy brands have achieved at comparable scale. As Chief Corporate Communications & Brand Officer, Farina sits at the center of translating that evolution: aligning storytelling with strategy, and purpose with measurable outcomes.

What if one of marketing’s biggest growth opportunities is also one of its most persistent blind spots?

On today’s Internationalist Trendsetters, I’m speaking with Sonsoles Gonzalez, Founder of Better Not Younger, about the realities of marketing in today's "longevity society"—and why the industry still struggles to move beyond surface-level representations of women over age 40.

Sonsoles shares her journey from global beauty leadership to entrepreneurship, her decision to step into a Founder role, and why real progress requires rethinking outdated timelines around age, ambition, and confidence.

In a wide-ranging Trendsetters conversation, Bob Liodice, President & CEO of ANA (Association of National Advertisers), explains why the organization chose Agentic AI and Authenticity as its Words of the Year—and why they are inseparable.

This conversation offers signals for every kind of marketer—brand builders, performance leaders, CMOs, talent developers, and agency partners alike. And it raises a central question for the year ahead: as technology becomes more autonomous, can marketing stay authentically human?

Today's edition of Trendsetters explores one of the most complex—and consequential—areas of modern marketing: how nonprofit organizations build brands, inspire belief, and raise critical funds in a world where every dollar must work harder than ever.

My guest is Jon Lee, Principal and Head of Brand Leadership at Lerma, one of the most forward-thinking multicultural agencies in the U.S. Jon has led award-winning work for organizations including He Gets Us, The Salvation Army, Compassion International, OneHope, YoungLife, and many others.

His team’s approach is built on Cultural Fluency—an understanding that audiences today respond not only to messages, but to identity, values, and the deeper meaning of affiliation.

Despite soft consumer confidence and uneven economic signals, ad spending continues to grow faster than consumer spending—breaking a historical relationship marketers have relied on for decades.

So what’s driving the disconnect?

Luke Stillman, Managing Director at Madison & Wall, unpacks what he calls the hidden engines of ad growth—five forces quietly pushing more money into the advertising system, even when underlying demand hasn’t kept pace.

In a world obsessed with disruption, Deloitte Principals Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach argue that the real danger facing organizations today isn’t moving too slowly—it’s drift. In their new book, HONE: How Purposeful Leaders Defy Drift, they make the case for a different kind of leadership: one rooted in steady, intentional refinement rather than constant transformation.

Their work represents a new leadership lens for marketers navigating purpose, performance, and perpetual change.

If you’ve ever had a Big Idea that deserved to move faster — this episode is for you.

I’m speaking with Susan Schramm, author of Fast Track Your Big Idea!, about why so many marketing strategies stall, and what leaders can do to turn vision into velocity. Susan reveals why the biggest threat to your idea isn’t the budget or the timeline — it’s the people side of risk. And she shares a practical framework that helps marketers build alignment, accelerate momentum, and avoid losing their way mid-launch.

If you’re steering transformation, launching a brand platform, or trying to get teams energized about what’s next — don’t miss this conversation.

In today’s episode, we’re stepping into the kitchen with Jen Harrington, CEO and founder of HATCH, the independent, women-owned agency that’s redefining what it means to build creative partnerships.

Jen recently launched Eat In or Dine Out, a sharp new YouTube series for CMOs that uses food as a metaphor for one of marketing’s most pressing questions: Should you “eat in” with in-house talent, or “dine out” with external partners?

Join us as Jen shares her recipe for modern marketing — one that blends agility, empathy, and flavor in every campaign.

When an ad agency launches an AI division with a campaign that begins by declaring how bad AI can be, you know it’s not business as usual.

Michael Moszynski, Chairman and Co-Founder of London AI, isn’t interested in selling artificial intelligence as the next miracle cure for marketing. Instead, he’s redefining what AI should mean for agencies, clients, and creativity itself.

Today we’re joined by Dr. Jan Flemming, one of The Internationalists of the Year and a true innovator in European retail marketing. As CMO at PENNY and Media Director of REWE Group, he has redefined how top German grocery retailers connect with millions of customers. His story is an inspiration to marketers everywhere who want to push boundaries, challenge assumptions, and turn industry problems into lasting progress.

What happens when media no longer just delivers messages—but reflects what we already believe?

Former Omnicom Vice Chairman Tim Love and former Speaker of the House Richard Gephardt tackle that question in The Medium is the Mirror, exploring how algorithms, advertising, and politics collide to shape truth itself. From children’s online safety to national security, both leaders call for greater accountability—from platforms, policymakers, and each of us.

Bridget Sponsky, Executive Director of Brand Marketing at Ally Financial has become one of today’s most innovative marketers by blending bold actions with measurable results.

When speaking with Bridget, you immediately sense why Ally feels different from most financial institutions. Its purpose is simple yet powerful: put people first. Whether that means designing fairer financial products or championing equity in sports, Ally keeps its focus on customers—their goals, their realities, and their right to a brand that truly acts like an ally.

Children’s online safety is one of the defining tests of how advertising can live its purpose.

In my latest Trendsetters podcast, I speak with Charley Stoney, CEO of EACA, about #Campaign4Good—a pan-European competition created with 5Rights Foundation that invites young creatives to design campaigns protecting children in digital spaces. With support from EU Commissioner Michael McGrath, this initiative shows how creativity, advocacy, and policy can combine to deliver real impact across Europe.

Hear Charley’s perspective on why purpose still matters, how young talent is driving change, and why #Campaign4Good could reshape the future of advertising.

Most CMOs obsess over purpose, storytelling, or benefits.

But what if the real driver of growth is something simpler—and more powerful?

In my new conversation with Ulli Appelbaum, author of The Science of Brand Associations, we dig into the evidence, the frameworks, and the discipline needed to build brands that stick in the brain—and in the market.

Today, we’re joined by Rogier Vijverberg, founder of SuperHeroes—the independent agency with a mission to save the world from boring advertising. From flying blimps over football stadiums for Netflix to transforming Buicks into modern art, SuperHeroes has mastered breaking through the clutter. We’ll talk with Rogier about how Gen Z tastemakers and AI collectives are reshaping creativity, what it takes to keep an agency fresh, and why the future of advertising might look very different from what we expect.

Sweden’s CMO doesn’t just market a country—he makes it impossible to forget.

From letting the world call a random Swede to co-writing a horror story with AI, Nils Persson has turned Visit Sweden into a masterclass in bold, creative, and sustainable destination marketing. In our conversation, he shares how humor, cultural insight, and environmental responsibility can work together to win travelers’ hearts—and change their behavior.

How do you keep a 110-year-old brand at the forefront of technology and trust? Joe Prota, Director of Brand Marketing at IBM and a recent Internationalist of the Year honoree, is answering that question daily— by reimagining how brand marketing can blend storytelling, purpose, and AI-powered innovation. As a result, he’s helping IBM stay not just relevant—but resonant.

Rishad Tobaccowala’s marketing roots run deep, but his ideas go far beyond the boardroom.

He recently marked 250+ published editions of his brilliant "The Future Does Not Fit in the Containers of the Past," a weekly Substack that blends strategy, philosophy, and personal reflection. I had the chance to ask him about the themes that matter most, the future of marketing, his evolving relationship with technology (including AI), and how writing continues to change him.

According to Robin Bonn, CEO & Founder of Co:definery, the ad agency market is not oversupplied but rather under-differentiated. In an industry where agencies often work harder while margins decrease and talent experiences burnout, he presents a thought-provoking analysis in his new book entitled Market of One: How Your Agency Can Rewrite the Rules and Create a Lasting Competitive Advantage. Today, we examine how agencies can set themselves apart from one another instead of appearing virtually indistinguishable and question the common belief that agency commoditization is unavoidable.

Khalid El Khatib is the CMO of Consumer Reports, the nonprofit advocacy organization and one of the most popular publishing platforms in the country. He oversees CR’s revenue-generating teams, including member acquisition and fundraising, and works to elevate the organization’s profile among new, younger, and more diverse audiences. Today, we discuss how he has managed to embrace the 89-year legacy of Consumer Reports while also creating a contemporary appeal for a new generation of potential members.

Marriott Bonvoy, the hotel loyalty program of Marriott International, which rewards members at over 7000 locations globally across its brand portfolio, has introduced a new marketing campaign and brand platform. In this initiative, Bonvoy has moved away from traditional hotel advertising clichés, choosing instead to emphasize the emotional appeal of travel experiences.

Terri da Silva, Vice President, Global Head of Portfolio, Brand and Content Marketing, discusses the inspiration for the “Travel Shapes Us” campaign and why it matters to her personally.

Few people have a role that combines media, creative, and analytics. However, Brad Feinberg, VP of Media, Digital, and eCommerce at the Molson Coors Beverage Company, is one of those rare individuals. And if that’s not enough, he’s also part of the company’s Americas Commercial Accelerator leadership team. The Accelerator aims to build capabilities across all geographies and categories for premium brand growth, while scaling beyond beer. Plus, it looks to invest in those initiatives that support people, communities, and the planet. Brad outlines strategies for enhancing value across a portfolio of brands in a competitive category while delivering effective and meaningful consumer engagement amidst changing behaviors.

When Mollye Rhea founded For Momentum in 2003, she pioneered one of the first cause marketing agencies to foster partnerships between brands and nonprofits. She characterizes her work as “bringing causes and companies together to multiply good.” For Momentum is now one of the leading cause-related marketing firms in the United States. For Momentum has been monitoring corporate partnership trends for over a decade. Their latest study, The Partnership Shift: Evolving Trends in Corporate and Nonprofit Collaborations, has just been released. Mollye Rhea shares the findings at a time when rapid policy changes are compelling companies and nonprofits to adapt swiftly. She provides insights on navigating this dynamic landscape and highlights strategies experienced corporate partnership professionals and nonprofits can employ to effectively respond to these challenges.

Ask Amy Dunham, Habitat for Humanity International's Chief Communications Officer, about her latest initiative, and she'll enthusiastically discuss encouraging the Habitat organization to take a fresh look at a much-loved brand. Whether reacting to changing market conditions, new leaders, or an organizational strategy update (or all of the above), she believes marketers must continue to plan and execute in uncertain times, regardless of fast-changing, incomplete information. Amy Durham shares how she's leveraging a brand refresh effort through research (thanks to a donor gift).

David Aaker is prolific. He has published over 120 articles and 18 books that have sold more than 1 million copies and have been translated into 18 languages. Among them are Managing Brand Equity, Building Strong Brands, Aaker on Branding, Creating Signature Stories, and The Future of Purpose-Driven Branding. Marketing Expert Philip Kotler called him the Father of Modern Branding. David Aaker was named one of the top five most important marketing/business gurus. His new edition of Aaker on Branding responds to information overload, skeptical consumers, and acerbic social media. We discuss what marketers must get right to leverage strong brands.

Many associate marketing with innovation, but it is also about anticipating what’s next. If anyone can look around corners as a strategic and transformational leader focused on driving growth, it’s Charlie Chappell of The Hershey Company.

Few people have held such a diverse range of marketing roles—from product development at Kimberly-Clark to brand management and marketing at P&G to senior roles at Hershey that span Global Marketing Excellence, Media Leadership, and now Vice President of Innovation and R&D.

Today, we examine the qualities that make a future-driven marketing leader, particularly in an era of constant change. And what does that mean for brand innovation?

Not all visionaries are people of action. Amy Williams is both.

She recognized the need to redesign online advertising, making annoying internet ads a force for good. In 2016, she co-founded Good-Loop as a simple and profitable way for major brands to do good through their advertising.

So far, her Good Formats have raised over $10 million for good causes globally. Today, we’ll discuss how she accomplished it.

Mike Nichols’ career has been at the intersection of business, sports, and philanthropy—an inspiring but not typical combination. As Chief of Sponsorship and Activation at Group 1001, an Indiana-based financial and insurance collective that includes brands like Gainbridge®, Delaware Life, and Clear Spring, he “brings to life” the group's values with partnerships that build community through education and sports.

“Parity Week by Gainbridge®: Investing in the Future of Women’s Sports” is one example of collaboration between for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including Gainbridge®, Parity, and the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF®). At the event in November 2024, $150,000 in grants were awarded to 21 deserving organizations and athletes that support girls and women through sports and/or education.

Throughout his career, Manos Spanos has been consistently motivated by the intersection of marketing, innovation and technology—whether working for large multinationals or startups. Now, as the Chief Commercial Officer of Sunny Sky Products, a leading producer of beverage solutions, he talks about turning bold ideas into realities while offering his perspective on the potential of AI, purposeful branding, and rising above the clutter.

According to Kate Price, “High-performance marketing means integrating the drivers of brand and demand – long-term customer perceptions and short-term sales.

Kate, a partner at Prophet's New York office specializing in marketing transformation, shared findings from a recent report by the consultancy, titled Brand & Demand: A Relationship Guide (to Marketing’s Great Love Story).

The study, based on a survey of over 300 marketing leaders in North America, demonstrated that companies outperforming their competitors are three times more likely to integrate brand building with performance marketing. In our discussion, we examine the strategies employed by these top-performing companies and identify what distinguishes them from those lagging behind.

TRENDSETTERS: Parity Reveals a “Silver Lining” for Brands in Support of Women Athletes Parity, the sports marketing and sponsorship platform that’s revolutionizing the financial model for women athletes and creating impactful opportunities for brands, released some new research quantifying the economics of being a woman athlete. Leela Srinivasan, Parity’s CEO, discusses some key takeaways from the organization’s “Beyond the Game” study and outlines a “silver lining” for brands that can also make a “very meaningful” or “life-changing” difference to the athletes themselves.

Ask Marla Kaplowitz about her outlook for the agency business in 2025, and she’ll begin by reminding you that ad agencies operate in a constantly evolving environment. In fact, they often do their best work and deliver their greatest value during periods of significant change. She does have several critical items on her New Year agenda. First among them is an agency “compensation reset” that goes beyond the standard Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) model. This month also marked a redesigned 4As website with new features and an updated logo.

Bob Liodice, the ANA's chief executive officer, is bullish on AI. Not only has the term been chosen three times as the "Marketing Word of the Year" through voting by the ANA membership, but he believes that GenAI has the capability to help his members become better marketers.

"AI," he says, "will change the entire productivity scale. Marketers are learning rapidly that our work can be done much faster, more easily, and more productively. ...The beauty of AI is that it is a tool that not only promises something but also delivers quite a bit. We have seen data that suggests the overall increment in productivity is nearing 10% in the two years that GenAI has been in the market."

Brian Wieser is one of the few people who can outline a career with such roles as investment banker, equity research analyst, long-time agency executive, and developer of two of the global advertising industry's most widely relied upon data sets. His firm, Madison and Wall, operates at the intersection of how trends in media spending and advertising budgets affect marketers and investors. He’s an ideal person to discuss the pros and cons of the announced Omnicom—Interpublic (IPG) merger and the industry outlook for 2025.

Ask Ruth Bernstein about her concept of Brand Beacons, and she’ll tell you they set the next standards in business. While that may sound like a monumental task or an extraordinary description of a brand’s potential, after a 30-minute conversation, I was convinced about the power of beacon status. Ruth Bernstein is the CEO and Co-Founder of Yard NYC, an independent creative company that helps inspire cultural and emotional connections to brands. She proves that brands can transform companies, communities, and causes—and that’s just a start.
Today, we discuss some of her foundational beliefs and some of the brands that achieve the highest aspirations of beacon status.

Eighteen months ago, former Omnicom Vice Chairman Tim Love released his award-winning book Discovering Truth: How to Navigate Between Fact and Fiction in an Overwhelming Social Media World. Drawing inspiration from renowned business leaders, Discovering Truth explored how today's social media affects trust in institutions and divides an increasingly polarized society. Tim Love is now devoting his efforts to what he calls “grave concerns about a dangerously wide-open internet” and especially to the potential impact on children.

We discuss those concerns and his tips for Navigating Between Fact & Fiction.

Surprisingly, few books are dedicated to how marketers can bring out the best in their advertising agencies. Joanne Davis, a renowned expert in client-agency relationships, has just released a new book through Internationalist Press entitled How to Get Your Agency to Run Through Brick Walls—Without Paying More. With humor and wisdom, she provides a concise yet impactful volume that delivers a compelling message for clients seeking to unlock the full potential of their agency partnerships.

Dave McCaughan, Expert on Age and International Culture, Explains What Brands Get Wrong about Older PeopleDave McCaughan is a storyteller, marketing expert, consultant, and public speaker passionate about understanding the interconnection between people and brands. He spent three decades with McCann throughout Asia, developing the Strategic Planning practice and working with a stellar roster of global clients.

Ten years ago, he created a fascinating consultancy called BIBLIOSEXUAL for “marketing what matters to people” and joined two partners in establishing AI Agency, which uses artificial intelligence to track the narratives important to building brand stories.

Today, he turns his attention to another favorite topic — life stages, redefining aging, and the potential this offers to brands.

Women’s sports have been soaring in popularity, yet they still receive as little as 5% of sports media coverage. Ally Financial took a pioneering step in May 2022 by committing to spend equally on men’s and women’s sports within five years. Ally also scored a huge early win by working with CBS to move the National Women’s Soccer League’s championship game to its first-ever prime-time slot. This decision paid off.

Not only was viewership up 71% over the previous year, but the game became the most-watched match in the league’s history. Ally’s 50/50 pledge is now changing the way brands consider their investments in women’s sports. We discussed this groundbreaking effort with Bridget Sponsky, Ally’s executive director of brand and sponsorship marketing, and Mariana Dimitrova, Managing Partner & Executive Director at EssenceMediacom.

Hiki is the world’s leading app for friendship and dating in the Autistic community. It stands out from other dating apps because of its mission: to enable the Autistic community to connect with each other. Autistic people are 4x more likely to feel lonely than others. A contributing factor is that false assumptions and misinformation have created biased images in media and advertising that misrepresent those on the autism spectrum. Hiki aimed to challenge these limiting views and drive genuine representation of the community. Sef Cavendish, Social Media Coordinator at HIKI, and Rachel Lowenstein, Global Head of Inclusive Innovation at Mindshare, talk about this important initiative.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that one out of every thirteen people have enough hearing or vision impairment to depend on captioning and descriptive audio for their media use. By 2050, WHO also anticipates that 2.5 billion people will be living with some degree of hearing loss. While these statistics may seem overwhelming, the Ad Access Alliance, a group led by Procter & Gamble, is joining forces with others in the advertising ecosystem to ensure all ads are accessible to people with hearing or visual impairments. Today, Taide Guajardo, Chief Brand Officer Europe at P&G, and Phil Smith, Director General of ISBA, or the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers, discuss an ambitious program to make all content more accessible.

Lana McGilvray is the co-founder and CEO Of Purpose Worldwide, a communications consultancy that specializes in helping clients define and connect purpose to growth. In an era of accountability, particularly in marketing, even the most noble missions must be associated with economic outcomes. Given her broad experience with brands, associations, nonprofits, and tech companies, Lana discusses the biggest challenges in pursuing a committed purpose agenda. She also offers insights on how notions of purpose can evolve to reflect societal issues.

Parity was created in 2020 to close the gender income and opportunity gap in professional sports, and CEO Leela Srinivasan has been in her role for a year. To help revolutionize the financial model for women athletes and create meaningful opportunities for brands, she has championed what may be the most extensive study of women’s sports fandom to date. In partnership with SurveyMonkey, Parity surveyed 14,000+ consumers in 7 countries to find out who’s watching women’s sports, why, and what they think of women athletes. The results led Leela Srinivasan to declare that women’s sports have moved from “having a moment” to being mainstream. She emphasizes, “Brands that don’t forge partnerships with women athletes are missing a massive opportunity.” Today, we discuss the survey findings, how results differ by country, and some remarkable statistics about purchasing intent related to female athletes.

Michael Kelly has worked in digital media and communications strategy roles at consumer packaged goods and technology companies for much of his career. Now, he has accepted a “dream job” as Communications Director of World Bicycle Relief. While he’s a cycling enthusiast, he’s also passionate about the mission to provide bicycles to remote regions of the world so individuals have transport to education, paid work, and healthcare services—helping these secluded communities to thrive. In addition to learning more about World Bicycle Relief’s business model of combining nonprofit programs with social enterprise sales, we also discuss the intrigue of nonprofits and the marketing differences with for-profit companies.

Rahul Malhotra is responsible for global brand strategy and architecture for the Shell brand family, which includes overseeing brand identity, brand stewardship, employee ambassadorship, and brand purpose. Over 125 years old and valued at over $50 billion, the Shell brand is one of the world's top 23 most valuable brands, and its yellow and red scallop shell logo is one of the most recognizable symbols around the globe. Shell follows a single brand strategy and employs roughly 3000 empowered frontline marketers and another 3000 agency partners in the 50 markets worldwide that use the trademark. While AI may be one of the most discussed issues in marketing and advertising now, Rahul Malhotra is doing more than talking about it. He’s worked to help Shell teams in every country have better access to the company’s vast creative assets through new AI tools.

For the past decade, Anthony Farina, Chief Communications & Brand Officer of biotech giant CSL, has been part of the company’s extraordinary evolution. From his beginnings as the first communications leader in CSL’s century-long history, he has helped champion a purpose-driven ethos or “promise,” which enabled the CSL family to unify as one global brand as it doubled in size through acquisitions. Now, CSL has achieved another brand milestone. The biotech leader is the #1 Fastest-Growing Brand in the Pharmaceutical Category, according to Brand Finance, with brand value growth of over 30%.

Anthony Farina discusses various topics, from transformation to brand positioning, from differentiation to the power of content, and from the significance of purpose to the responsibilities of a leading corporation.

Gilbert Dávila is among the most sought-after experts on multicultural marketing in the United States today. After spending 25 years working as a senior marketing executive and multicultural market expert at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, The Walt Disney Company, and others, he co-founded AIMM, The Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing, in 2016 with a passion-driven mission to help CMOs and their teams realize the full multicultural market growth potential for their brands. AIMM is now part of the ANA. After hosting the Second Annual GrowthFronts in New York, an upfront event for diverse-owned and targeted media, he discussed closing the gap between intention and action and new research on the investment level in diverse media and its potential for brands.

Dr. Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel believes that brands reflect culture and actively shape societal norms and values. Her new book, Cultural Intelligence for Marketers: Building an Inclusive Marketing Strategy, demonstrates how marketers can create programs that resonate effectively with audiences and meaningfully impact society. Her book is devoted to helping marketers view culture more critically and act on that cultural knowledge to find answers for their own brands and businesses. Dr. Gabriel says her goal is to enable brands to “ignite cultural innovation and leverage the power of media for good.” Our discussion focuses on the framework of Cultural Intelligence for Marketers, social responsibility, and the future of marketing strategy.

Few can boast of a professional life that includes investment banker, equity research analyst, long-time agency executive, and developer of two of the global advertising industry's most widely relied upon data sets. Brian Wieser has devoted much of his career to understanding trends in media spending, its overall effect on advertising budgets, and what this means not only to marketers but to investors. His strategic advisory firm,

Madison and Wall, is just over one year old, and Brian is raising his expectations for the advertising industry in 2024 by forecasting ad growth at 5.6%. While he explains clear risks and opportunities, he currently sees an upside in ad spending as far out as 2028. In looking at specific media, he sees strength in commerce media and weakness in TV advertising.

SeeHer is the ANA’s global initiative to champion the positive representation of women and the leading global movement to eliminate gender bias in marketing, media, and entertainment. A new edition of the report, Global Perceptions of Progress on Gender Equality, conducted by SeeHer in partnership with dentsu, showed some surprising results, including disillusionment in the U.S. market.

While 90% of Americans believe media and marketing can create change by helping shape gender roles, they perceive barriers to still exist. The report found that 30% of Americans see women in ad messages as leaders, compared to 48% in 2021, and 70% believe women are being portrayed as caretakers, compared to 52% in 2021.

SeeHer President, Christine Guilfoyle, addresses these issues and offers several next steps..

As a leader in self-regulation, the ANA, through the Center for Ethical Marketing, helps businesses build brand and consumer trust through best practices, guidelines, guidance, compliance services, and committees. The Center seeks to educate, elevate, and advance accountability for the industry and mediate consumer complaints.

Senny Boone, Senior Vice President of the Center for Ethical Marketing, has three decades of communications law experience spanning marketing, fundraising, and privacy issues, including innovative technology and consumer protection. She has said repeatedly that “Marketing suffers from a lack of trust in the marketplace, leading to heavy regulation and less growth for brands.”

We discuss these issues and answer what marketers can do when brands face ethical dilemmas.

Liz Kneebone has spent much of her career focused on environmental, social, and governance issues, as well as playing an active role in stakeholder engagement and change management. Today, as Vice President of the Society and Sustainability Collective, an ANA initiative, she believes sustainable, inclusive marketing practices are a significant growth driver for all organizations across every industry. Liz advocates that marketers and their supply chain partners are responsible for driving a positive impact on people and the planet alongside business results. Today, she talks about how marketers can motivate customers to move from mere concern for sustainability to adopting sustainable behaviors and purchasing sustainable goods and services.

Martin Puris believes we are approaching a second Creative Revolution in Advertising. He plans to be part of it—just as he was instrumental in the first Creative Revolution during the Golden Age of Advertising when he founded Ammirati & Puris with his partner Ralph Ammirati in the 1970s. Famous for finding the right words to convey the Big Idea, Martin Puris, as a copywriter, coined such iconic brand concepts as “The Ultimate Driving Machine” for BWM and “The Antidote for Civilization” for Club Med, as well as “UPS, We Run The Tightest Ship in the Shipping Business” and “Schweppes, The Great British Bubbly.” He continues to believe, “Great ideas move the world.” Today, he talks about what should matter in marketing, the elements of memorable advertising, and why he believes he can help today’s clients see what they’re missing.

The AEF is the ANA Educational Foundation, and its mission is to connect today’s advertising and marketing communities with academia. AEF educates and inspires the next generation of talent while advancing the understanding of marketing and advertising in society.

According to Gord McLean, President & CEO of AEF, “Our future marketing and advertising leaders are not just looking for a job, they are looking for a meaningful career that will make a positive impact on society."

Today we discuss the future of marketing leadership, a “curricula for modern marketing,” and how marketers can connect with professors and students to ensure that the next generation is inspired to enter the business… and literally make a difference.

Fifty-two percent of Americans have experienced online hate. And violence attributed to hate speech has increased worldwide. Expressions of racism, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, and other forms of targeted harassment against vulnerable groups and individuals can make the connectedness of social media become toxic.

Anita McGorty, Executive Vice President of Engage Responsibly, talks about how this ANA-led nonprofit dedicated to online hate education provides resources for businesses and consumers so that anyone can be part of the solution to create a safer and more inclusive digital environment.

Sir Martin Sorrell possesses the exceptional ability to seamlessly integrate macro geopolitical issues and technological trends with his deep understanding of marketing, advertising, and media. Plus, he has decades of experience interpreting the significance of an industry’s evolution, first-hand. Certainly, one of the many things that drives him as a CEO is being forthright about current realities.

Following his annual January visits to both CES and the World Economic Forum, he shared his views on the complexity of world events in 2024 and how they impact brand building and business growth in a complicated “post-digital” era where the efficiencies of tech are now central to running any company.

As always, his thoughts are well worth consideration. And while he can be scathing at times, particularly when discussing agency holding companies or even Gen Z, Sir Martin Sorrell continues to navigate with an abundance of information and expresses his views unambiguously and without false optimism.

Marla Kaplowitz has spent a long career at ad agencies…. And now as CEO of the 4A's (American Association of Advertising Agencies), she is helping her members navigate the constantly changing agency world. She sees her role as ensuring that agencies remain relevant, compete successfully, and have the resources to flourish.

Today, she anticipates how events in 2024 will impact the business, interprets the milestones of the past year, and shares several insights from critical 4A's research and recent reports as the business moves forward.

Two long-time friends and international media professionals had a simple idea that is now changing how both clients and agencies can access strategic marketing solutions—whether within North America or throughout the world.

Called AdVentures Americas for its US home base, Oliver Eills (Founder & CEO) and Patrick Williams (Managing Partner), both originally from the UK and Ireland, have spent the last several decades providing multinational media solutions for some of the world’s best-known brands. Today, they are using their knowledge, experience, and connections, along with the best of technology, to implement ideas in those areas traditionally left uncovered by many internationally minded organizations.

To help champion new growth around the globe through local markets, AdVentures enables both marketers and agencies to easily access international audiences with smart activations—either within the US and/or other countries, while also delivering a truly revolutionary audience curation solution for the programmatic marketplace.

Bob Liodice, chief executive officer of the ANA, certainly understands both the challenges and opportunities marketers face today. As he anticipates the key issues and trends of 2024, Bob considers both large, defining topics like the effect of AI on the industry and how a central ANA tenet like “growth” is continuing to develop, as well as tactical solutions like new efficiencies available to the media supply chain. With his comments on current realities involving a range of subjects from the economy to talent and creativity, Bob Liodice offers a 2024 perspective that all marketers must consider.

Stephan Loerke, CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), is unquestionably an optimist when he talks about the potential for marketing to drive outcomes and even reshape business goals. However, he is also tremendously pragmatic when he discusses the importance of embracing key marketing initiatives. He believes that CMOs “need to lead,” and given the global complexities of the year ahead, clearly, he asserts, “the time to lead is now.” With his passion for championing climate issues and his belief that marketers are pivotal to encouraging new sustainable behaviors for both brands and consumers, Stephan Loerke foresees a Sustainable Transformation that will be as sweeping as the Digital Transformation we have all experienced. Today we talk about pivotal lessons from 2023 and the significance of 2024 in marketing.

Lisette Arsuaga, Co-Founder of AIMM, ANA's Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing, has long been an advocate for demonstrating how high-growth brands are also those with strong diversity and inclusion attributes or “cultural relevance” that is embedded throughout all marketing touchpoints.

Recently, AIMM conducted a survey through the Cultural Inclusion Accelerator (CIA) to better understand consumers’ perceptions around inclusive marketing practices and DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) efforts. The results clearly showed that most consumers today are motivated to support brands that do not discriminate.

According to Lisette Arsuaga, “Our survey findings revealed there is a strong business case for brands to implement DEIB and inclusive marketing practices. Consumer support for multiculturalism and diversity heavily outweighs opposition….” Today we talk about what this means for brands and how marketers can authentically implement best practices.

Rogier Vijverberg founded the agency SuperHeroes in Amsterdam in 2009 with an ambitious mission to save the world from boring advertising. Nearly 15 years later, SuperHeroes is still an independent agency, but now with offices in New York (or Williamsburg Brooklyn to be precise) and most recently Singapore… driven by that same mission. A self-described “digitalist,” with the title of Chief Creative Hero, he calls SuperHeroes "a thumb-stopping agency that wins the attention game with digital natives with audience first creativity."

This year he also founded a new digital street art collective called JIMMY to work with global brands. The studio creates social content also known as ‘faux-out-of-home/ CGI-ads’ and is taking over cities around the world with fantastical digital storytelling.

Today we talk about a range of topics from ad avoidance to new realms of authenticity, from the demands of younger generations and to the global role of contemporary culture… as well as how digital street art may be the next frontier for brands.

Michel Quintas has the rare title of Director for Global Digital Strategy and Execution at Biogen, the Cambridge, Massachusetts multinational biotech company specializing in the treatment of neurological diseases. Not only has he helped lead an enterprise-wide transformation of Biogen’s digital customer engagement, but he has been instrumental in advocating omni-channel programs and a Digital Center of Excellence, founded on the concept that “innovation lives everywhere.” Today, he shares what he has learned from two decades of living a truly global life and what that experience means for marketing initiatives that leverage IT infrastructure and next-gen technology throughout the entire product lifecycle.

Jared Belsky, Founder & CEO of Acadia, the recently launched and highly successful Atlanta-based agency, has been on both the client and agency sides during his career. He believes that marketers often are trained in every aspect of their business except managing their ad agencies. His latest book, You Get the Agency You Deserve, offers both practical and emotional lessons on how to improve client-agency relationships.

He says, “Marketers are unwittingly causing their own destruction. The 18-month average agency tenure triggers an economic destruction that few executives appreciate or understand how to solve.”

Conversation with Leela Srinivasan, CEO of Parity
Parity was created in 2020 to close the pay gap in women’s sports, benefitting elite women athletes and their fans, as well as brands. Founded by former leaders on Wall Street, the company drives revenue to pro women athletes by curating sponsorship opportunities, as well as other aspects of brand ambassadorship, content creation and in-person appearances. With a current roster of more than 800 athletes from 70 sports, including Olympians and Paralympians, new CEO Leela Srinivasan aims to revolutionize the financial model for women athletes, while creating meaningful opportunities for brands-- large and small. Today we talk about Parity’s mission, Ms. Srinivasan’s goals for the organization, the athletes’ stories, and why brands should care about the new world of fandom for women’s sports.

Phil Rowley, Head of Futures for Omnicom Media Group UK, admits that the Metaverse is both overhyped and underappreciated. While a lot of marketer attention is now on the “shiny objects” of AI with products like ChatGPT, he has recently focused on “Avoiding the Regretaverse” or, perhaps better said, “how not to mess up in the Metaverse.” Beginning with definitions, we discuss how brands can best take advantage of the biggest change to the media landscape in decades.

Few would disagree that an agency’s greatest asset is its people/talent. Tim Ringel, ad veteran, serial entrepreneur, and one of the founders of agency group-- Meet The People, is on a mission to ensure that an improved work culture is front and center for ad agency employees.
He describes Meet the People as the world’s first people-centric agency group, based on a better work/life balance, no glass ceilings, and a commitment to DEI. Today he talks about the evolution of the ad agency, as well as how a better employee experience leads to stronger work and greater efficiency for clients.

Kate Goodall has spent a good portion of her adult life supporting women and women-led companies. As Co-Founder and CEO of Halcyon, an incubator for early-stage impact ventures, she has formed several strong opinions about business. Kate often talks about “the inevitable impact-driven future of business” and “the rise of values-driven consumer behavior.”

An advocate for startup accountability through determining the right metrics and continually measuring progress, she also believes that marketing needs to improve by moving beyond promises and optics to having a more deliverable role in brand building and ensuring that all actions live up to mission statements.

Eric Feinberg is a leading expert on cyber information warfare and is Vice President of content moderation for the Washington, DC based nonprofit, Coalition for a Safer Web. There, he works alongside former Ambassador to Morocco, Marc Ginsberg, to shed light on terrorist extremist content, hate speech, violent activity, and illegal drug sales on social media.

Eric has also invented a unique cyber research tool called Ai2, for which he received a patent. He describes it as an evolution of artificial intelligence or “anticipatory intelligence” that enables a user to observe social media posts and identify trends that can better anticipate activities from bad actors, malevolent organizations, or extremist groups.

The Internationalist (https://the-internationalist.com/) focuses on the continual reinvention of marketing by highlighting the ideas of inspirational marketers around the world as they move the industry forward. Internationalist Marketing TV shares these perspectives through video with case studies, interviews, discussions, and personal stories.

Joanne Davis of Joanne Davis Consulting has a reputation for helping to find a still point in the constantly churning world of client – agency relationships. From concepts like Can This Agency-Client Marriage Be Saved to specific ideas on how to repair relationships, she has proven that while change may be constant, it doesn’t have to break industry partnerships.

We asked her to make sense of these times—from the departure of top talent to new ways of working, from the rise of highly specialized agencies with focuses on Web3 and AI-powered Media to layoffs, combining creative shops, and suggestions that the agency business may no longer be about creating ads…

Joanne shares her thoughts.

The Internationalist (https://the-internationalist.com/) focuses on the continual reinvention of marketing by highlighting the ideas of inspirational marketers around the world as they move the industry forward. Internationalist Marketing TV shares these perspectives through video with case studies, interviews, discussions, and personal stories.

A well-known drinks marketer for much of his career, Colin Westcott-Pitt turned his attention several years ago to the global development of the Glanbia Performance Nutrition Brand Portfolio, which includes Optimum Nutrition, Slimfast, Body & Fit, Isopure, among others. Its flagship global brand, Optimum Nutrition, has just been certified as the world’s #1 sports nutrition brand, according to Euromonitor, and has achieved the extraordinary milestone of becoming a Billion Dollar brand.

Today Colin discusses the marketing of the brand and how it was driven by a purpose of helping consumers everywhere to achieve their performance and healthy lifestyle goals. Plus, he shares the lessons he learned along the way.

The Internationalist (https://the-internationalist.com/) focuses on the continual reinvention of marketing by highlighting the ideas of inspirational marketers around the world as they move the industry forward. Internationalist Marketing TV shares these perspectives through video with case studies, interviews, discussions, and personal stories.

The WFA, with Kantar Research, Offers Imperatives on Marketers’ Role in Sustainable Actions. Özlem Şentürk Explains…

The World Federation of Advertisers has been proactive in linking sustainability with marketing imperatives. At their annual Global Marketer Week Conference in late April, they presented new research in partnership with Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice. Entitled Sustainable Marketing 2030, the study highlights the current gap between intention and action on sustainable marketing practices. Furthermore, the results consider the critical role marketing can play as businesses continue to transform to satisfy climate concerns.

Özlem Şentürk, Senior Partner at Kantar, presented the WFA research. She covers a series of thought-provoking topics ranging from product innovation to circular frameworks to recognition that current concepts of growth may have to be reconsidered if businesses aim to be compatible with a sustainable future.

The Internationalist (https://the-internationalist.com/) focuses on the continual reinvention of marketing by highlighting the ideas of inspirational marketers around the world as they move the industry forward. Internationalist Marketing TV shares these perspectives through video with case studies, interviews, discussions, and personal stories.

Ask branding expert Allen Adamson his perspective on the most important shift in contemporary marketing, and he’ll tell you it’s the need to focus on the consumer’s experience, rather than stressing product differentiation. His new book, Seeing the How: Transforming what people do, not buy, to gain market advantage explores why today’s most successful businesses are those that have significantly transformed our daily routines, or literally, “made life as we live it better.” He stresses that “successful experience disruption is the de facto new competitive advantage across all categories.” Allen is also Co-Founder of Metaforce, a consultancy that helps clients identify growth strategies and then activates them in market. His new book debuts on May 2nd. Today we touch on some of marketing’s most significant topics—from growth strategies to the changing role of the CMO, and how the entrepreneurial mindset and marketing innovation should be better aligned.

It’s not every day that someone champions a global redesign of an iconic brand. PepsiCo’s Chief Design Officer Mauro Porcini led the process to refresh Pepsi’s logo and visual identity to make it more relevant for today and tomorrow. Most of the marketing world has now had a glimpse of the new logo, revealed earlier this month with new colors—electric blue and black, a bolder, all-caps font, and a striking Pepsi wordmark within a larger globe. However, most may not realize how and why it came about. Today, Mauro Porcini talks about innovation, design, what inspires people to buy brands… as well as the very long, inclusive process to get a major global rebranding right…

Nick Bayer of Saxbys®, a certified B Corp with a mission to “Make Life Better,” is also Shaping Future Business Leaders…Nick Bayer, Founder and CEO of Saxbys®, a certified B Corp with a mission to “Make Life Better,” has always been in the business of bringing people together. When he created Saxbys in 2005, he never considered it to be just a chain of coffee cafes, but rather a social impact company fueled by great food, beverage, and hospitality. Ever driven by his company’s mission, Nick Bayer introduced Saxbys’ pioneering Experiential Learning Platform® (E.L.P.®) in 2015 in partnership with Drexel University as the nation’s first entirely student-run cafe where participants earn full academic credit and wages through a university cooperative education program. Bayer’s vision is to embolden the next generation of entrepreneurs, providing undergrad students with tangible experience as a supplement to traditional classroom learning. Today we talk about the entrepreneurial mindset, being purpose-driven, and the future of business.

Martyn Etherington is the Chief Marketing Officer of BMC Software, a Texas-based IT services/consulting and enterprise application software company with annual revenues of $2.2 billion. He is a strong believer in the importance of acting as a “Growth CMO,” and often attributes success to adopting a sense of “fearlessness” in that role.

Additionally, he views marketing not only as the means to shape a company’s overall growth mindset, but as being critical to aligning any organization with strategy deployment, operationalization, and continuous improvement. That level of clarity and direction is extremely important as BMC serves over 10,000 customers worldwide with software that helps them both run and reinvent their businesses through products used for multiple functions like automation, service management, operations, workflow orchestration, and security.

Brian Wieser has spent his career understanding trends in media spending, its overall effect on advertising budgets, and what this means not only to marketers, but to investors. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that Brian has now branched out with his own consulting company called Madison and Wall. Today we talk about better interpreting the nuances of global digital media growth versus deceleration, those issues of greatest concern in 2023, as well as some of the self-fulfilling industry prophecies of 2022.

Tim Love is the former Vice Chairman of Omnicom Group, and a man who has devoted a lifetime to loving advertising, marketing, and thinking differently. When he saw storm clouds on the horizon of his chosen profession. he responded by questioning those with the greatest vision. The result is a new book entitled,

Discovering Truth: How to Navigate Between Fact & Fiction in an Overwhelming Social Media World. The book grew out of a series of podcast interviews about the effects of social media with marketing executives, industry experts, academics, and well-known people throughout the world. Discovering Truth is an insight-filled exploration of the role of media in communications and how today’s social media affects trust in institutions and divides an increasingly polarized society. From the rise of fake news to destabilizing foreign and domestic extremist content, more information does not necessarily lead to more facts.

Most importantly, the book offers ways to navigate the discovery of truth in a world where technology platforms instantaneously share and feed misinformation. This could not be timelier, as the book offers a path to a future where we all might better discern between fact and fiction… if we are willing to do the work, ask the right questions, and see more than one perspective.

Discovering Truth: How to Navigate Between Fact & Fiction in an Overwhelming Social Media World by Tim Love is published by Internationalist Press, the book publishing division of The Internationalist.

Stephan Loerke, CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), sees several opportunities ahead for marketers to have broader influence in those issues of greatest concern to consumers. Despite a turbulent 2022 and worries about economic uncertainty in 2023, he is adamant that marketers are now able to drive sustainable growth for their brands and for their businesses. In fact, Stephan Loerke outlines a list of items that should be on every global marketer’s agenda in the coming year. Among them is avoiding the “green hush” regarding climate credentials. His organization launched the WFA Planet Pledge in 2021 by providing a framework to help drive any marketer’s commitment to embrace environmental challenges. Interestingly, Loerke has participated in the last two United Nations Summits on Climate Change, including COP26 in Glasgow and the recent COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. (COP or Conference of the Parties—refers to the countries that signed the treaty formally known as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change/ UNFCCC.)

There’s no better person to understand what’s on the minds of marketers than Bob Liodice, chief executive officer of the ANA, one of the world’s oldest and largest marketing associations.

Today we talk about the trends that emerged from the organization’s annual Masters of Marketing conference, as well as look ahead to 2023. While Bob admits that he does not have crystal ball, he does share a long list of important topics that are affecting how brands market responsibly today. From current economic realities to issues regarding talent, metrics and creativity. Bob Liodice offers a view of the next 12 months that all marketers must consider.

According to Dave Knox, “the leaders of yesterday have to learn the rules of an entirely new game of business in order to maintain their position as the leaders of tomorrow.”

He combines his marketing talent with an entrepreneurial instinct to continually rethink today’s fast-changing business world. A Procter & Gamble alum, a brand builder, an investor, an entrepreneur, and author, he is now the Executive Director of Blue North, a community for entrepreneurs, creators, and builders in the eleven-county Northern Kentucky region. Today, he shares not only his personal career journey, but talks about that critical intersection of marketing innovation and notions of “disruption” that are so essential to both entrepreneurial thinking and contemporary brand building.

Pete Blackshaw operates that the heady nexus of marketing innovation, digital transformation, and entrepreneurial thinking. Throughout his career, Pete has been a marketer at Procter & Gamble and Nestle, an entrepreneur, a digital guru, an author, a data analyst, and a community service leader.

He now serves as CEO of Cintrifuse, the Cincinnati-based startup community and investment fund that boasts backers like as P&G and Kroger. Cincinnati has been named among the Most Sustainable Cities in the U.S. over the last several years, so green initiatives are very much on his mind. Pete believes there is an untapped synergy between two extreme passion points of today’s youth – GREEN and GAMING. Today, we talk about new business models, sustainability, the next generation of problem solvers and gamers, and why he’s an “urgent optimist.”

Katherine Freeley has worked for major agencies as well as large multinational marketers—from Colgate Palmolive to now Novartis… as Global Head Media & Digital Procurement. While she’s always been a driver of digital transformation in Global Marketing and Media, she is also a passionate believer that marketing procurement can play a far more meaningful role in both achieving brand goals and enabling more rewarding client-agency relationships. For Katherine, it all begins with simplification and alignment. Today we talk about unnecessary complexity, redefining KPIs, and associating objectives with success.

Ulli Appelbaum often views himself as a contrarian in today’s transactional world of digital marketing. A true Internationalist, who has lived on several continents and has worked on numerous global brands, he held senior strategy roles at BBDO, Leo Burnett, Fallon Worldwide, and SapientNitro before founding his boutique brand strategy shop, First The Trousers Then The Shoes, Inc. in Minneapolis. Ulli believes that “Tragically, there are too many positioning trainwrecks in the marketing strategy world.” As a result, he has written The Brand Positioning Workbook: A Simple How-To Guide to More Compelling Brand Positionings, Faster.

The book appears to be deceptively simple, while rich with insights. Ulli opens with a quote from Proust: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Not only does he demonstrate how seeing with new eyes is important to brand positioning, but his perspectives are useful to both new and seasoned professionals because they are actionable.

Anthony Farina is no stranger to transformation, as he leads the Communications, Brand and Corporate Affairs functions at one of the world’s top biotech companies-- that has grown from 12,000 to 30,000 employees in 100 countries in less than a decade. He created CSL’s first-ever global Communications function, launched its first global brand positioning and employer brand, and transformed its digital and content capabilities. Today we discuss what Anthony fondly calls CSL 2.0 as he considers how a company evolves, stays relevant and continually reinvents itself in an increasingly purpose-driven corporate world.

Kristin Fallon is the Head of Corporate Brand & Digital Marketing for GE Healthcare, where she is responsible for the company’s brand position, content, media, and channels. She is currently leading the company’s rebrand as part of its planned spin-off. Throughout her career, Kristin has helped non-profits and the private sector meaningfully engage with stakeholders and grow market share—working with start-ups to a giant like GE, as well as international development organizations from NGOs to the UN and World Bank. Today we discuss the intersection of brand, culture, and strategy at this important juncture for GE Healthcare.

On August 18th, Thomas Burkhardt was named President of MARCHON EYEWEAR, INC., one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of quality eyewear and sunglasses. He most recently served as Marchon’s Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Brands, Marketing, and Design. His promotion underscores how marketing as a business discipline is essential to driving both innovation and positive transformation throughout any organization. An increasing number of newly named corporate leaders now have a background in marketing.

Thomas Burkhardt continues to oversee a portfolio of 6 owned brands and 23 licensed fashion brands including Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein, Columbia, Converse, Cutler and Gross, DKNY, Donna Karan, Dragon, Flexon, Karl Lagerfeld, Lacoste, Lanvin, Liu-Jo, Longchamp, Marchon NYC, MCM, Nautica, Nike, Nine West, Paul Smith, Pilgrim, Pure, Salvatore Ferragamo, Skaga, Victoria Beckham and Zeiss.

Without question, inflation is on everyone’s mind today. As a result, two leading media auditing consultancies—AuditStar and Cortex Media—teamed up to provide marketers with a Global Media Inflation Outlook for the second half of 2022 and 2023 to sort through some of the confusion and contention in a highly volatile marketplace. Their 86-page Media Inflation Outlook looks at 15 bellwether countries across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific by assessing overall economic projections, along with a Total Media Market Spend Forecast by type of media, a Media Inflation Forecast, and their own well-informed Media Market Observations.

Luca Iandoli believes that people are constantly immersed in a flow of visual data that shapes and reshapes our perceptions. Companies, brands, and individuals are competing to capture the public's scarce attention by inventing visual formats to stand out, so they can be recognized and remembered.

His new book, Elegant Design: A Designer’s Guide to Harnessing Aesthetics, co-authored with Giuseppe Zollo, outlines how designers, inventors, and product managers can create visual imagery that is quick to process, as well as meaningful, distinctive, and memorable in an age characterized by constant information overload.

We could add this line to Spreaker: To learn more about the book, available worldwide now or as a pre-order, https://bloomsburycp3.codemantra.com/viewer/624480e95f150300016f1164

Bank of the West recently published its first Money Matters Report focused on
“Revealing the Sustainability Intentions Gap.” Spearheaded by Melissa Fifield, the bank’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability, the report surveyed business leaders and consumers to determine their thoughts around climate change, as well as the actions they are willing to take to mitigate environmental issues.

Marketers will find the insights valuable as (79%) report they are “passionate” about climate change, while 82% admit to buying goods and services from brands that support environmental and/or societal issues at least some of the time.

Whether fueled by the pandemic, climate issues, or social change, there's been an explosion of interest in purpose-driven marketing.
Scott Goodson and Chip Walker, partners at StrawberryFrog, the independent marketing, advertising, and design company, have found that activating purpose is often a significant challenge to brands. As a result, they co-authorized a book, appropriately titled ACTIVATE BRAND PURPOSE, which discusses how their trademarked “Movement Thinking” approach can be applied to purpose. Movement Thinking™, conceived by the authors, is a process that harnesses the concepts of social movements to energize staff, build trust and belief, and ultimately help businesses prosper.

ACTIVATE BRAND PURPOSE: How to Harness the Power of Movements to Transform Your Company, published in 2021, focuses on how business leaders can move beyond talk to action, while galvanizing people around a cause. The book draws on business cases and interviews with top brand executives at Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Patagonia, Nike, Verizon, Xerox, REI, Truist Bank, Walmart, and many others. It also investigates what people expect from a brand in return for their money and loyalty through the Purpose Power Index, featuring more than 17,500 consumer responses.

While CES certainly provides an annual glimpse into the Future of Technology, exhibitor innovations not only influence marketing thinking throughout the year, but shape business decisions and even economic growth for the future. Issues of Marketing and Technology have consistently been among the top concerns on marketers’ agenda, according to Annual Internationalist Insights Surveys that rank marketing priorities for the coming year. Without question, no part of marketing or the customer value chain has been left untouched by technology. Everyone wants to know what technologies matter most now.

Whitney Fishman Zember has many of the answers. As Managing Partner, Innovation & Consumer Technology at Wavemaker US, she helps brands and businesses understand technology-driven consumer-based insights, while uncovering new opportunities to harness technology to connect marketers with audiences in new and meaningful ways.

Jonathan Barnard is Head of Forecasting and Director of Global Intelligence at Zenith, the ROI Agency, where he is responsible for developing market-leading insight, analysis and thought leadership, as well as coordinating a global network of experts. A veteran of Zenith for twenty-five years, he has tracked more financial swings and business precedents than most.

Over the next three years, he expects the ad market to achieve its highest rate of sustained growth since 2000. According to Jonathan Barnard, “As consumers rely ever more on digital technology to connect and entertain them, and to inspire and fulfil their purchases, advertising is playing a greater role in driving sales and brand growth.”

If anyone could characterize the amount of change marketers have experienced or the breadth of their ever-evolving responsibilities, it is Bob Liodice, Chief Executive Officer of the ANA, one of the world’s oldest and largest marketing associations. With a mission to drive growth, ANA serves the marketing needs of its vast member community that collectively represents more than 20,000 brands.

Speaking with Bob Liodice on trends is akin to experiencing a condensed session on the evolution of modern marketing. Our conversation continually touches on “hot button” topics ranging from consumer authenticity, purpose, sustainability, and diversity to innovation, measurement, transparency, and privacy, while also exploring what’s ahead and what matters most now.

Ben Jankowski has a knack for posing exactly the right question or directly stating an issue that others may have overlooked. From talking about today’s “terrible digital ad experience” to figuring out how marketers can “create the kind of value that people really want,” his long experience and love for the business of media helps to push the industry forward.

He is also part of a new generation of marketers driving ownership and change on important media topics and this work has helped shape leading industry initiatives including brand safety, cross-media measurement, and privacy.

Brian Wieser, GroupM’s Global President of Business Intelligence, has been at the center of advertising forecasting and media trend watching for a very long time.

As he tracks global advertising expenditures in key media categories— TV, Audio, Cinema, Out of Home, Print, and Digital, Brian Wieser believes that total ad revenue will exceed $1 trillion by 2025, or up significantly from its current $766 billion. He says, “The pandemic has been an extraordinary catalyst for growth.” While his 2021 global ad revenue forecasts reflect a 22.5% increase over the year prior when COVID-19 first began, he anticipates continued growth in 2022— as much as 9.7%. And that figure doesn’t even include U.S. political advertising!

CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers, Stephan Loerke, believes that we may look back on 2021 as a turning point for the marketing industry on several critical issues. A self-proclaimed optimist, he thinks the past year has laid the foundation for making the ad industry better, fairer, more open, and resilient. He adds, “And that’s a good starting point to embrace with confidence the challenges that 2022 will throw at us.”

For Loerke, 2021 was the year that the industry got serious about climate change and the fact that marketing has a key role to play in the solution. His organization launched the WFA Planet Pledge in April as a framework and commitment to help marketers embrace environmental challenges.

“As 2022 – the Year of the Tiger – comes roaring in, it’s that time to speculate once again on what lies ahead for marketers,” says Doug Wood. “So, here’s the top ten trends and challenges I see (in no particular order) that if unheeded may make brands the next endangered species (assuming they are not already).”

Doug Wood has practiced law for 45 years with a concentration in advertising and marketing. He is a Senior Counsel at Reed Smith and serves as General Counsel to the ANA, the Mobile Marketing Association, and the Ad Council, while advising major brands throughout the world.

The Zebra was started in 2012 with a single goal: to simplify insurance. And in doing so, they’ve become the leading insurance comparison site in the United States. Earlier this year, the Austin, Texas-based company raised $150 Million after doubling its revenue in 2020 to reach “unicorn” status.

Stephanie Junge-Filipek is Senior Director of Brand Marketing at The Zebra and builds her role around performance brand marketing and measurement. Named one of The Internationalist’s NEXT 50 in 2019, she has spent a decade in international media planning, buying and optimization for key digital brands, including travel leaders like Trip Advisor, Expedia and Trivago.

Taking a legacy brand in a new direction is never easy. Doing so during a pandemic is certainly not for the faint of heart.

David McKillips accepted the role of CEO for CEC Entertainment in January 2020; CEC is named for its flagship Chuck E. Cheese brand and incorporates the Peter Piper Pizza and Pasqually's Pizza & Wings brands.

Rahul Malhotra, Head of Brand Strategy and Stewardship at Shell, sincerely believes that corporations can transform the world around us profitably, better, and faster than governments. For the last five and half years, he has been responsible for global brand strategy and architecture for Shell’s brand identity, as well as the company’s brand stewardship and employee ambassadorship. Plus, he has led an extraordinarily successful program to embed Shell’s Purpose into the DNA of employees and into the value propositions for all stakeholders.

President & CEO of Belvedere Vodka, Rodney Williams, has set an ambitious company agenda with bold commitments to both new product innovations and operating practices.

JP Kuehlwein has worked throughout the world in a variety of brand, marketing and innovation roles that range from leading the P&L for Pampers in much of Asia to providing premium brand strategy for Procter & Gamble in 16 country and category combinations to becoming the CEO of Frédéric Fekkai and turning around the hair care brand. Five years ago, JP created the Ueber Brands Consultancy and is also now an author and marketing professor. His latest book, Brand Elevation: Lessons in Ueber-Branding, is winning great industry praise as it explains the success drivers behind those brands he considers “peerless and priceless.”

"Ambush marketing" is a controversial marketing practice that pits non-sponsors against rights holders. It is as prevalent as ever, as non-sponsors seek to associate their brands, rightly or wrongly, with significant sporting or entertainment events without needing to pay sponsorship fees.

Thirteen years ago, Simon Dermer started eSSENTIAL Accessibility, a platform that enables purpose-driven organizations to enhance their digital customer experience for people with disabilities. Since then, he has seen an evolution in accessibility, as well as key shifts in industry response. When he founded eSSENTIAL Accessibility, he spent a lot of time ensuring that marketers understood the size and spending power of the disability market. Now his mission is more about inclusivity, digital usability, and new standards for software and compliance.

Over the course of her 25-year career in media and advertising, Latha Sundaram has become passionate about the role global organizations can play to drive positive social change. While her position as Group Business Leader, Executive Director at MediaCom is to lead purpose-driven marketing and communication strategies for multinational companies, she believes her passion for the “power of people” and her viewpoint as a woman of color and global citizen can have a transformative effect in today’s advertising world.

Stephan Loerke, CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), believes that marketers should be leading the charge in sustainability by communicating consumer demands for action internally, while also demonstrating to customers how an organization can help them make more sustainable choices. As a result, the WFA has announced “The Planet Pledge” – an initiative designed to put marketers in a position where they can help lead brands’ responses to climate change, encourage efforts across the wider marketing industry, and help consumers act more sustainably when using their products and services.

Rob Rakowitz has more than two decades of experience spanning creative, media, research, and strategy functions from both the marketer and agency perspectives. Now he leads the Global Alliance for Responsible Media or GARM-- a never-been-done-before industry alliance that brings together global marketers, media agencies, media owner platforms and industry associations to work together to improve consumer and brand safety in ad-supported digital media.

As Molson Coors’ Vice President of Media and Consumer Engagement for North America. Brad Feinberg oversees the Centers of Excellence for Media, Precision Marketing, Creative Services, and Partnerships. His passion for analytics and creativity has led to breakthrough media efforts that have delivered successful results, as well as recognition within the industry and from the Molson Coors Executive Team.

Erin Bruehl is Director of Communications at Current, a leading U.S. challenger bank created to serve Americans overlooked by traditional banking institutions. With a mission to improve financial outcomes, Current believes that banking should be accessible and affordable for everyone, especially people with a variety of modern lifestyles—from those young and starting out to people who are part of today’s growing Gig Economy.

Brenda Tsai leads marketing at Bank of New York Mellon with a focus on creating value across the top and bottom line, while developing initiatives that accelerate the firm’s growth strategies.

June Sugiyama has served as the Director of the Vodafone Americas Foundation for over 20 years. During that time, she has seen an extraordinary evolution of initiatives, as well as changes in consumer and corporate attitudes toward ventures that advance the use of technology for social good. As International Women’s Day approaches on Monday, she talks about why the Vodafone Americas Foundation now focuses entirely on empowering women and girls through technology.

Allyson Stewart-Allen has been considering how the US will be viewed by the rest of the world as an attractive trade and investment destination—even as the country’s domestic agenda takes center stage for a new administration. She also anticipates a US-EU Free Trade Agreement to take priority over a US-UK trade deal. The size of the European Union would be a commercial prize for US companies post-Brexit as a trading bloc with nearly 450 million consumers compared to the UK’s 66 million.

Emerson is a $16.8 billion global industrial software and engineering company with over 80,000 employees. Founded in 1890 in St. Louis, Missouri, as a manufacturer of electric motors and fans, over the past 100-plus years, Emerson has grown from a regional manufacturer into a global technology solutions powerhouse. While much growth came through acquisitions, management has worked diligently to create tighter company integration-- mostly through brand solutions and marketing strategy. Emerson’s work in exploring Values to build consistency, defining key Causes that align with various business units, and now identifying Purpose through employee participation has been remarkable.

Ask Doug Wood what’s on the minds of marketers as they consider advertising legal concerns in 2021, and his answer outlines a broad range of critical topics. He says, “The evergreen subjects – media transparency, privacy, data security, ad taxes, and efforts to regulate the influence of the big digital platforms will continue to be in the top ten. As we move forward, commercial production post-COVID will garner a lot of attention as precautions adopted to address the pandemic may become norms and add costs. Digital fraud will also come to the forefront, as well as brand safety. MRC certification efforts will expand; GARM will move forward, and the ANA will make strides in MarTech oversight. As we’ve seen in the past few years, we can expect brands to continue asserting their clout in the industry.”

Sonsoles Gonzalez has done what many marketers dream about. After almost 3 decades in senior roles at global beauty giants-- L’Oréal and Proctor and Gamble—she created her own company. She is the Founder and CEO of Better Not Younger, the only haircare brand specifically designed for women over the age of 40.

Manos Spanos, Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing for the Yogurt Business Unit at Danone North America, believes that marketing needs to stand for positive change. “If something is not doable,” he says, “innovate to make it doable.” And while that sounds like a tall order, especially for these times, he has been able to demonstrate what happens when purpose and passion intersect in branding.

Sir Martin Sorrell's success has always been built on anticipating what's next for an advertising industry that must continually reinvent itself. His company, S4 Capital, has had quite a year with seven acquisitions to date since the first Covid-19 lockdown began last March. This includes two recent US acquisitions in early January: integrated media agency Decoded and marketing agency Metric Theory.

Today we’re talking with him about his views of the advertising and marketing business, new geographic balances and what’s ahead for an industry that needs to validate growth.

Whitney Fishman Zember has been helping brands and businesses understand media and communication trends, as well as technology-driven consumer-based insights, for over fifteen years. As Managing Partner, Innovation & Consumer Technology at Wavemaker US, she uncovers opportunities to harness technology to connect marketers with audiences in new and meaningful ways. Her ability to spot trends is second to none, and she has been tracking developments at CES for years. Whitney’s perspectives are always eye-opening.

Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting and Global Intelligence at Zenith, and Brian Wieser, Global President of Business Intelligence for GroupM, have been in the business of advertising forecasting, intelligence, and trend watching for an exceptionally long time. Given their experience through numerous financial swings and business precedents, few are more likely to aptly guide the industry after a year like 2020. Jonathan joins us from London, while Brian joins us from Portland… and despite the number of time zones in between, they agree on potential outcomes for several macro issues, but often differ somewhat on a variety of specific industry concerns going forward.

ransformational Marketer, Perry Kamel, Creates New, Remarkably Purpose-Driven Company. Perry Kamel has a 30+ year track record for transforming companies—from giants like Siemens ICN and Ciena to his role as Founding Global Managing Director of Accenture Interactive. He has extensive experience in applied innovation, as well as degrees in electrical engineering and in business. If one could apply a personal motto to Perry Kamel, it would be— “He dreams big and leads others to achieve what may have been considered impossible.” He is no stranger to working with cutting edge technology solutions, or the organizational and operational aspects so vital to enduring success.

Adam Benaroya has always been a digitally-driven marketer. Today, as Head of Global Media and Performance Marketing at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, he is responsible for the global media program, as well as broader digital- and data-centric Centers of Excellence (COEs), which include audience strategy, biddable media policy and execution, adtech/martech, privacy, and analytics.

Sebastian Jespersen is an innovator, a business strategist, and a breakthrough digital thinker. He has a provocative idea that involves our new digital world and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In fact, it is an idea that puts marketers at the center and emphasizes how they can make a difference for a more meaningful and safe digital life.

Josh Blacksmith, Senior Director of Global Consumer Relationships and Engagement at Kimberly-Clark, is championing a relatively new endeavor for most Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPG) companies: global first-party data collection and how it can be used to impact meaningful, lifetime customer relationships. This has been an area of significant focus for him from the beginning of his career.

As Kirsten Allegri Williams surveys our new marketing world of increased screen time and work from home connectivity, she passionately believes that brands will now win entirely on digital differentiation. “At this moment in history and for the foreseeable future, a brand’s digital presence makes up the entirety of how it reaches customers.”

Ask Iris Meijer to describe her role at Vodafone Business, and she’ll likely tell you that she helps customers succeed in a digital world. Vodafone Business is the vibrant enterprise division of British multinational Vodafone, one of world’s largest telecommunications companies. With expertise in connectivity, the Internet of Things and global scale, Vodafone Business serves customers of all sizes-- from thousands of small to medium-sized companies, as well as large multinational customers. As Global CMO and a member of the senior leadership team, Iris Meijer champions a wide variety of programs that help build customer trust and overcome their challenges.

Julie Chan believes that now-- more than ever before-- it is important for marketers to understand “fluidity.” A global media expert who is GSK’s Communications Planning Lead for the Pain and Respiratory business categories, she recognizes that the ability to change rapidly must be built into our communications today.

Yin Rani’s career has been built on bold strategies, coupled with breakthrough communications. Last October, she accepted the role as Chief Executive Officer of MilkPEP or The Milk Processor Education Program, where she started to address the challenges of the milk industry by using marketing to make a positive impact. Less than six months in her new position, COVID-19 interrupted some of her plans—but certainly not all!

Michael Moszynski believes that an ad agency—at the very least-- should provide businesses with the inspiration to advertise. As CEO of independent creative shop, LONDON Advertising, he is keenly aware that right now every agency is reminding their clients that “those who advertise in a downturn will gain market share over those who do not.” However, he has gone one step further.

While transformation is unquestionably a critical business survival skill, Luis Gallardo has pioneered the transition from global marketer for one of the world’s top professional services companies to Founder of the largest forum of happiness and well-being experts and thought leaders that now reaches 10 million people across the globe. And he admits he never could have done it without relying on his strategic marketing and brand building skills.

Simon Perkins was named President of the Orvis company in May. While it remains the world’s oldest mail-order retailer, Orvis has evolved to become a globally recognized fishing, wingshooting, and lifestyle apparel brand that is deeply invested in education and conservation. The company was founded in Manchester, Vermont in 1856 by Charles Orvis, a fly-fishing enthusiast. And while he created his mail-order business to sell fly rods, flies, and other fishing tackle, he believed that fly fishing made his life better and wanted to share the significance of the sport with others.

Mirella Amalia Vitale, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Communications & Public Affairs at The ROCKWOOL Group admitted early last year that "Everything changed when we aligned around purpose." Today, at a time when everyone’s way of living has been challenged and the nature of cities is changing amid an unforeseen pandemic, she emphasizes that “Purpose is more relevant now than ever before.”

Olga Osminkina-Jones has long been a brand builder and a champion of disruptive, cutting-edge marketing with cultural relevance. In her various roles at Pepsi and Danone over the past six years, she has been able to redefine a commodity product as luxury, revitalize a brand's value through both consumer and social insights, and has overturned the common misconception that Millennials don't care about image.

As Head of Brand Strategy and Stewardship at Shell, Rahul Malhotra understands how to champion purpose within an organization. His provocative phrase “Purpose is dead. Love live purpose” borrows from the traditional proclamation hailing the continuity of monarchy: “The king is dead, long live the king.” He believes that prior to COVID-19, purpose was a statement for many organizations. “Going forward,” he says, “purpose must truly become part of an organization’s DNA to instill value and trust. Purpose is not a desktop exercise; it has to start with why you exist.”

Last September, Anna Bager was named President & CEO of the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), a national trade association that represents the $8+ billion Out of Home (OOH) ad industry. And while her new role would seem particularly challenging with a stay-at-home edict during a global pandemic, this industry sector did not fare as badly as projections anticipated. Interestingly, Out of Home advertising—up until Q1 of 2020—had also experienced 10 years or 66 quarters of growth.

Wally Snyder has devoted his entire professional career to working on advertising development, regulation and ethics. He served as a trial lawyer and as Assistant Director for Advertising Practices at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) before joining the American Advertising Federation (AAF) where he served as president and CEO, from 1992–2008. He was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame® in 2009. Currently, he serves as Executive Director for the Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE), which is now part of the AAF.

Manos Spanos, SVP and CMO of Brand Marketing for the Yogurt Business Unit at Danone North America, has been motivated throughout his career by the intersection of marketing, innovation, and technology. He has been an early adopter of Artificial Intelligence (AI), algorithms and other technology tools that not only generate efficiencies and sustainable results, but also power content creation and execution.

Rick Tocquigny began his career at Procter & Gamble as a brand management trainer, then moved to PepsiCo’s Doritos Brand Team and later transitioned to General Mills as VP Sales and Marketing for Colombo Yogurt. However, he transformed his career a dozen years ago by becoming one of the earliest podcasters with the Life Lessons and Transformed Traveler Network.

Amanda Brinkman believes that small businesses have big hearts. As the Chief Brand and Communications Officer at Deluxe Corp., long known as a maker of checks, she transformed the company by highlighting its small business clients rather than Deluxe itself, while ensuring that the company would become a resource for small business tools and opportunities. She says, “Small business owners love what they do, and they love their communities. They stand up in extraordinary ways. It’s simply their instinct.”

Brad Jakeman, former President of PepsiCo’s Global Beverage Group, is rethinking food—quite literally. This March, he became the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Rethink Food, created to provide expertise and investment to companies that support the production, availability and demand for healthier and more sustainable food for all people. Brad Jakeman believes that the food industry is poised for profound disruption in the next 10 years as consumers not only expect higher-quality nutrition through less sugar and fewer pesticides or antibiotics, but also demand a healthier planet by limiting single-use plastics, as one example.

Ask Tifenn Dano Kwan about the future of work, and she’ll say, “It’s already here.” As the new Chief Marketing Officer of Dropbox, which brings together file sharing and cloud content with tools for business collaboration, she and her teams around the world are actively ensuring that working remotely can be simpler and more efficient than ever before.

Graciela Benveniste recognizes that people are experiencing an inundation of information now. She also admits that consumers now expect brands, particularly financial services, to help with analysis and trends on everything from the global economy to personal finances.

Jodi Harris is Global Vice President, Marketing Culture & Capabilities at Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer with well over 500 brands and countless beer varieties. She was been instrumental in building the Anheuser Busch marketing culture in the U.S. by igniting a passion for learning and creativity to empower the company’s people and its partners.

Anthony Farina is Chief Communications Officer & Global Corporate Affairs Leader at CSL Behring—now the world’s third-largest biotechnology leader. Earlier this month, CSL Behring announced the formation of a new alliance with Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Company and other international partners to develop a potential plasma-derived therapy for treating COVID-19. He commented that “Unprecedented times call for unprecedented actions. This new alliance brings together the expertise of industry leaders worldwide for scale, sustainability, and reliability.”

Marla Kaplowitz understands that the responsibility of leading a trade association means having a laser focus on the needs of its members—especially now. As President & CEO of the 4As, she serves more than 600 member agencies across 1,200 offices, which control more than 85% of total U.S. advertising spend.

Bob Liodice, CEO of ANA, has been busy. However, when your membership consists of over one-thousand client-side marketers that represent 20,000 brands and invest more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually, you must move quickly in a crisis. The organization has compiled articles, playbooks, recommendations, and best practices—all designed to provide marketers with tools that can help reduce COVID-19’s impact on businesses and brands.