Brand Innovation Conference presented by The New York Times

7:30am

General Session

WELCOME
Bob Liodice
President and Chief Executive Officer
ANA

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UPS: IGNITING THE BRAND BEGINS WITH EMPLOYEES
Before your customers can express their passion and affinity for your brand, one must connect to an even more-significant ambassador—your employees. The UPS brand—symbolized by reliability, trust, and superior service—is activated through its employees, who serve as brand ambassadors to customers in more than 200 countries around the world. Educating employees on what the brand represents and demonstrating how they are the most-important customer touch point serves to activate their passion, which leads to a passionate customer. Each day UPS drivers walk through the doors of 8 million customers, delivering and picking up 15 million packages. This daily human connection enables UPS drivers to learn their customers’ businesses and anticipate how to serve them better. Based on customer satisfaction indexes, the UPS driver enjoys a better relationship with customers than its competitors. That’s why a critical component of UPS’s new global branding effort is targeted to educating employees—the people who represent the living, breathing brand.

Christine M. Owens
Senior Vice President, Communications and Brand Management
United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS)

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Q&A Session
John Claybrooks
Senior Global Brand & Marketing Communications Leader
The Dow Chemical Company
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PROCTER & GAMBLE: PAMPERS BUILDS CONNECTIONS WITH MOMS
Pampers has defined a higher purpose for their brand than the primary functional benefit of keeping babies dry. Pampers has leveraged the key consumer insight that moms—especially first time moms—are constantly looking to connect with others who are sharing similar experiences. Pampers created programs such as “Pampers Village” and “A Parent is Born” as forums for moms to connect, learn, and discover. Hear how Pampers is creating an emotional bond with their brand by encouraging consumers to share parenting information and advice through social media, blogs, and online videos.

Jodi Allen
Vice President, North America Baby Care
The Procter & Gamble Company 

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INNOCENT DRINKS: A BRAND MOVEMENT FROM EUROPE
Innocent Drinks was founded by three friends, working in advertising and consulting, in London in 1999. On that first day Innocent sold twenty four smoothies, and now they sell over 2 million a week across Europe. Innocent’s business is about making food good, and about making healthy stuff interesting. And that’s the basis of their brand movement: they know that people know they should be healthy, it’s just that sometimes being healthy can be dull. So Innocent Drinks has made it their mission to make being healthy an easy thing, an interesting thing, an amusing thing, and not just a bowl of soggy bean sprouts. Live fast, die old.

Dan Germain
Head of Creative
Innocent Drinks

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INNOVATION, THE INTERNET, & BRANDING
The lead "Bits" blogger for The New York Times, Nick Bilton, will share up-to-the-minute observations on innovation and chronicle the countless ways in which the Internet and technology are continuously changing how we live and work in relation to branding. Nick will discuss research from his upcoming book, "I Live in the Future & Here's How it Works" and his tenure as a researcher in The Times's R&D Labs.

Nick Bilton
Lead Blogger, Bits Blog (covering business, innovation, technology, society)
The New York Times
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12:30pm

LUNCHEON Sponsored by The New York Times
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SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: BAGS FLY FREE
It’s hard to find anyone who’s a fan of travel these days. But Southwest Airlines has always been the industry rebel, clashing with more established airlines over business models and airfares. This time, the battleground is fees. The nickel-and-dime pricing that runs rampant in the airline industry is the bane of frugal travelers and a boon for Southwest. Those extra fees became particularly personal when they started getting into baggage and Southwest knows that passengers appreciate their “bags fly free” point of difference. The company’s internationally known blog, “Nuts About Southwest,” and Facebook presence (80,000 fans and counting) further help build the Southwest personality and turn passengers into fans The strategy is working as it's helping boost traffic, increase market share and keep the company profitable.

Sandra Howard
Director of Advertising
Southwest Airlines Co.

Q&A Session
Ryan Anderson
Director, Global Brand Management 
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. 
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CREATING A SEAT AT THE TABLE
When Mercedes-Benz USA decided to create an online owner community, it had a relatively simple objective: to augment traditional research by engaging its own customers on a broad scope of issues on a frequent, regular and cost effective basis. Over the course of a year, "MB Advisors" became much more - a customer movement that helped the company navigate the economic downturn while gaining market share and building the brand. Today, the 1400-member community has a "seat at the table" in a vibrant interaction across virtually all areas between the company and the people who know it best. Mercedes-Benz USA will talk about generating the engagement and the two-way dialogue that are the bedrock of an owner community, and share some of the surprises encountered along the way.

Steve Cannon
Vice President, Marketing
Mercedes-Benz USA

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Q&A Session
Marcus Jones
Multicultural Marketing Manager
Allstate Insurance Company
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BRAND MOVEMENT SURVEY–LEARNING FROM THE ANA COMMUNITY
A brand movement is an emotional connection with customers that generates a level of fervor, passion and advocacy. Results of a survey among ANA’s community of marketers will be debuted. The work probes how brand movements are created, covering issues including: the proper balance of rational/functional vs. emotional benefits; customer touch points important for building emotional connections; measurement of those connections.

Roger Adams
Chair
ANA Brand Management Committee

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View Key Takeaways
View Brand Survey Press Release

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Adjournment