SAVE THE DATE FOR 2008: The 2008 Annual Conference will be held on October 16-19 at The Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes in Orlando, FL 

Thursday, October 11

Friday, October 12

Bob Liodice
President and Chief Executive Officer
ANA

Technology – Transforming the Marketing Landscape
All the rules have been broken; all the paradigms have been shattered. Today, marketers live in a world of continuous change – one that demands a total reinvention of the marketing discipline. Technology is driving this transformation – pushing the marketing community in new, uncharted directions. Steve Ballmer, the charismatic leader of Microsoft, will share his vision of the future and his ideas for how marketers can tap into the enormous technological power at their disposal to reinvent their brands and connect with consumers of tomorrow.

Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation

Budweiser Creativity – The Catalyst for Brand Leadership
Groundbreaking creativity and product innovation drive brand differentiation. And no company in America demonstrates these qualities better than Anheuser Busch. With its iconic “Frogs,” “Whassup” and “Clydesdales” campaigns, Budweiser is truly the champion of continuous brand reinvention. Chief Creative Officer Bob Lachky will share tales of corporate courage and ingenuity that made Bud the “King of Beers.” Importantly, we will hear how Anheuser Busch continues to reinvent itself by creatively tapping into opportunities afforded by the new media landscape, solidifying its leadership position and fueling its growth in a highly competitive, low-margin business.

Bob Lachky
EVP & Chief Creative Officer
Anheuser-Busch

Reinventing the AT&T Brand
One of the breakthrough marketing stories of this generation is the transformation and resurgence of the AT&T brand. AT&T is one of the best-known, most durable and iconic brands in the world and the mantelpiece of the largest communications company in America.  Wendy Clark, senior vice president – AT&T Advertising, will demonstrate the power of the company’s brand transition strategy, which boldly integrated the SBC, Pac Bell, BellSouth and Cingular brands. She will also explain the company’s plans for continuing its brilliant brand transformation success story in the years ahead.

Wendy Clark
Senior Vice President of Advertising
AT&T Inc.

“Remodeling” the Home Depot Brand
Home Depot transformed the marketplace for the do-it-yourself consumer.  However, over time, its quality and service deteriorated, eroding performance and growth prospects. With competitive challenges building, the company decided to “start all over.” Led by CMO Roger Adams, the Home Depot brand initiated a “back to the future” reinvention.  It returned to its roots – exceptional in-store service – and reinvigorated its bedrock belief in consumer empowerment, as reflected in the engaging tag line – “You can do it, we can help.”  Mr. Adams will demonstrate how this massive retailer’s dramatic transformation is revitalizing consumer loyalty and generating excellent financial returns.

Roger W. Adams
Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
The Home Depot, Inc.

Dexter Filkins
Foreign Correspondent
New York Times

The McDonald’s “Recipe” for Sustaining Growth
Energizing McDonald's growth engine was no easy task. Faced with stiff competition, weak performance, consumer issues and public affairs pressures, the Golden Arches needed to change fast. And change it did. The company initiated a dynamic revitalization strategy that has won back customers and generated strong revenue and profit growth. Marketing helped lead the way by rebalancing the company's product portfolio, retooling its positioning and strengthening its massive integrated marketing program. CMO Mary Dillon will discuss McDonald's strategy for success and vision for staying on top.

Mary Dillon
Executive Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer
McDonald's Corporation

Today's Most Valuable Brand Asset: Rethinking Share Strategy
Share of voice. Share of market. It goes without saying these are important measurements for any brand. But, in today's networked world, there may be an even more critical benchmark for building and measuring brand equity. Brand guru and DDB Worldwide Communications Group CEO Chuck Brymer, who formerly led the Interbrand consulting group, will share his ideas about what is increasingly separating star brands from also rans and what this means for brand communications.

Chuck Brymer
President & CEO
DDB Worldwide

Saturday, October 13

Bob Liodice
President and Chief Executive Officer
ANA

“Digital Emmy” Nominees
The nominations for four new Emmy categories for the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards will be debuted. The new advertising category nominations represent a bold next step recognizing excellence on PCs, digital set top boxes, portable media devices, and video game advertising. Awards recognize and honor the use, creativity, and adaption of technology which improves, enhances, or extends the consumer experience with the media.

Peter O. Price
President and CEO
National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

Laura Lang
Chief Executive Officer
Digitas

Consumer-Generated Media – The New Marketing Paradigm
The marketing landscape has been forever transformed by a flood of consumer-generated media and marketing options now available to the public. Former Vice President Al Gore leads the Current TV network, whose primary focus is giving consumers the opportunity to create and influence what airs on television. This approach results in the ultimate forms of viewer-created content. Mr. Gore will share his thoughts on how marketers can leverage opportunities to connect with consumers, while at the same time instituting needed “brand protections” – all important insights for marketers ready to dive into the new “Wild, Wild West” of marketing.

Al Gore
Chairman & CEO
Current TV

Brand Differentiation – “Insuring” Liberty’s Success
Insurance is insurance - right? Not if you ask Steve Sullivan, CMO, Liberty Mutual. He knows that the cornerstone of successful marketing - particularly when it comes to the ubiquitous category of insurance - is "brand differentiation." Mr. Sullivan and Mike Sheehan, CEO, Hill Holliday Advertising will share their insights and reveal how Liberty Mutual has transformed its marketing model to ensure deep consumer relevance and clear differentiation - especially in comparison with well known competitors that feature humorous animations and cartoon characters.

Steve Sullivan
Senior Vice President – Communications
Liberty Mutual Group

Mike Sheehan
Chief Executive Officer
Hill, Holliday Advertising

Private Equity – Buying Brand Jewels
The recent flurry of brand acquisitions by private equity firms is a clear demonstration of the power of brand equity. Michael Kassan will lead a “fireside chat” with industry leaders to discuss why private equity firms have become significant players in the brand acquisition market. Importantly, Mr. Kassan and company will address how “intangible assets” are financially valued and private equity strategies for strengthening brand assets and getting even greater returns on their respective investments.

Michael Kassan
Principal
Media Link

Anton Levy
Managing Director
General Atlantic

Fidelity – Transforming a Business into a Brand
Significant obstacles face those charged with creating a unified brand management strategy in a decentralized, multi-business organization. How can you get an array of independent operating divisions all rowing in the same direction? Claire Huang, Fidelity, and Pam Hamlin, Arnold Worldwide, will share the Fidelity brand transformation story. They will detail the business, marketing and organizational challenges that Fidelity faced during its reinvention journey, as well as the bold new direction the company is pursuing to optimize its performance in the years to come.

Pam Hamlin
President, Managing Partner
Arnold

Marketing Media Ecosystem 2010
ANA, in concert with the AAAA, IAB and Booz Allen Hamilton, is leading a breakthrough study on the evolution of the marketing supply chain. This research – the first to address the entire, interconnected marketing ecosystem – will address the leading marketing strategies, organization designs and capabilities required across the value chain in 2010 and beyond.

Andrea Rasmussen
Principal
Booz Allen Hamilton

Sunday, October 14

Bob Liodice
President and Chief Executive Officer
ANA

How to reach the elusive “Ad Avoider”
How can someone be made to listen when they’re covering their ears and eyes? And how can an important segment of the population be influenced when they're actively rejecting advertisements?

Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions and Starcom MediaVest Group collaborated on a multi-pronged study that sought to uncover the growing insights into the consumer group they have coined the "ad averse" This multimedia presentation will reveal the study’s key research findings, including insights into the cognitive rewiring of today’s consumers – catalyzed by the digital age where empowerment, disintermediation, and multitasking rule – and the value proposition marketers must offer in exchange for their advertising acceptance or even embrace. The session will also present insight-driven action steps for marketers that can move any brand message from passively falling on deaf ears to actively creating moments that motivate this type of consumers to act.

Steve Berkowitz
Senior Vice President, Online Services Group
Microsoft

Avaya “Connects” with Business Customers
The business communications industry is a highly competitive marketplace. Marked by a plethora of software and equipment providers – many with deep pockets – the challenge of differentiating products and services is quite substantial. Avaya CMO, Jocelyne Attal, will discuss how Avaya breaks through the clutter and connects with business to business customers. An industry veteran, Ms. Attal will demonstrate how Avaya's marketing strategy has succeeded by leveraging end-to-end marketing, product and services marketing, channel enablement, and corporate marketing communications. She’ll specifically discuss Avaya’s challenges including marketing mix measurement, Avaya’s use of the Web to drive demand, and what it feels like to win a Webby Award.

Jocelyne Attal
Chief Marketing Officer
Avaya Inc.

Harrah’s and Caesars – Rolling the Dice on Brand and Organization Integration
Bringing two powerhouse brands together is a huge marketing challenge. And that’s exactly what faced two senior marketing executives when their companies – Harrah’s and Caesars – recently merged. Kris Hart, from Harrah’s, and Kevin O’Donnell, from Prophet, will explain their integrated brand portfolio strategy, which they carefully based on quantitative customer research and a qualitative market assessment. Their findings led to the development of a dynamic marketing investment model and a new brand management organization.

Kris Hart
Vice President, Brand Management
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.

Kevin O'Donnell
Senior Partner
Prophet

Coldwell Banker: The Best of Both Worlds
How does a 101-year-old company reinvent itself for a new marketplace? That's the challenge facing Coldwell Banker, the real estate behemoth, at a time when the Internet is reshaping the way people buy and sell homes. Charlie Young, Senior Vice President of Marketing, for Coldwell Banker, will explain how the company is differentiating itself from traditional competitors as well as new online players. Its 'best of both worlds' strategy provides consumers with innovative online tools in the early 'dreaming stages' and—when they're ready—the industry's most experienced, knowledgeable on-the-ground agents.

Jeff Jones
President
McKinney