Conference Agenda

ANA MEDIA AND MEASUREMENT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEETING (MMLC)

The ANA’s Media and Measurement Leadership Council is an activist group of brand advertisers’ Chief Media and Research Officers who are responsible for the effective deployment of media expenditures and measurement tools to support investments. The MMLC identifies and solves key industry challenges to drive advertiser value and growth, utilizing working groups that foster member collaboration and mentorship.

In this meeting, we will discuss active MMLC initiatives, including (but not limited to) retail media (measurement and internal organizational alignment), influencer marketing (optimizing investment), cross-media measurement (ANA's Aquila), CTV measurement, sustainable media practices, and AI in media planning.

This session is open only to active members of the council. If you wish to join the MMLC and lead media and/or media measurement at your brand, please email Jason Trubowitz at [email protected]. 

BREAKOUT SESSION: DON’T LET BAD DATA RUIN YOUR MEDIA MIX

Every media channel including retail media, programmatic, paid social, CTV, and search performs better when powered by rich, first-party data. Yet many brands still rely on rented platform data whose targeting capabilities are steadily declining. This session will show how the highest-ROI investment marketers can make today isn’t in any single channel but in building a strong first-party data foundation. We’ll show what that foundation looks like in practice, how leading brands activate it, and the measurable impact it has across channels.

Paul Headley

VP, Strategy & Analytics IDX

OPENING HOST REMARKS

Leah Marshall

Vice President, Digital & Influencer Marketing ANA

 INSIDE WALMART’S CREATOR-POWERED RETAIL STRATEGY

Learn how Walmart is reshaping the retail experience through the power of creators and commerce innovations. From Gen Z shopping insights to AI’s role in disruption, get an inside look into how Walmart is turning creator influence into measurable impact and why the retail giant is betting on big on shoppable social content.

Sarah Henry

VP, Head of Content, Influencer & Commerce Walmart

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER, GROW YOUR REACH: TRACTOR SUPPLY’S LOYALTY-LED MEDIA STRATEGY

Tractor Supply, loyalty isn’t just an outcome—it’s a core pillar of the media strategy. Advanced digital modeling and media execution help identify the brand’s most loyal customers, guiding where and how it shows up to retain and grow—from targeted media investments to real-world moments like rodeos, community programs and in-store events. This session explores how connecting data-driven media with local community engagement strengthens loyalty, drives store traffic, and delivers measurable business impact.

Please note this session will not be available for on-demand and must be watched live.

Kimberley Gardiner

Chief Marketing Officer Tractor Supply Company

TRUST, CHANGE, AND THE FUTURE OF MEDIA

A candid fireside chat on how media is evolving in real time. We’ll explore how media leaders are navigating content decisions in a highly charged political and social climate, managing consolidation, and working to rebuild audience trust and credibility as expectations shift. A timely look at how news media is adapting in an increasingly creator-led media eco-system.

Moderator: Mike Leonard

Senior Director, Global Content Development ACAST

RETAIL MEDIA MEASUREMENT

As retail media grows, advertisers must fully evaluate the respective offerings, while becoming familiar with both new opportunities and risks. With so many retail vendors, the need to establish common measurement practices and standards is great.  While retail media offer many benefits, it also presents a notable challenge – the lack of those common measurement standards, which has put a costly burden on advertisers and hindered the industry's growth. This session will review the ANA retail media measurement guideline to help advertisers optimize spend.

Jackson Bazley

EVP, Measurement for Marketers ANA

PERSPECTIVE FROM A WALL STREET ANALYST

Brian Nowak leads the Morgan Stanley Internet research team. He covers 40+ companies in the technology and digital advertising sector including Amazon, Google, Meta, and The Trade Desk. According to Mr. Nowak's recent analysis, the outlook for online advertising is characterized by intensifying competition and challenges for players outside of walled gardens; e-commerce is projected to continue its long-term growth; and AI in search has both risks and opportunities.

Brian Nowak

Head of U.S. Internet Research & Managing Director Morgan Stanley

SOLVING MEDIA COMPLEXITY WITH CODE

The complexity paradox by Camphouse. We’ve never had more channels, formats, and signals—and never heard more promises of “simple” dashboards and one‑click AI. Yet every layer of simplification risks stripping away the nuance that actually drives results. In this keynote, Camphouse explores what it means to embrace complexity instead of hiding from it: treating your media and creative ecosystem like an operating system, not a spreadsheet. We’ll tease how advertisers and agencies can keep every granular detail, orchestrate thousands of smart variations, and still feel radically in control.

Alexander Hogman

CEO and Founder Camphouse

CLOSING REMARKS

Leah Marshall

Vice President, Digital & Influencer Marketing ANA

MAKING TV ACCOUNTABLE – WHY OUTCOMES DRIVE BETTER DECISIONS

Today’s marketers have more data than ever — impressions, audiences, reach, and frequency — but when your ad is on the line, data alone isn’t enough. EDO, the TV Outcomes Company, will share a live, interactive demo — where attendees will see the latest TV performance for their brand and competitors. 

James Zaumeyer

SVP Head of Brand Partnerships EDO

OPENING REMARKS BY A+E GLOBAL MEDIA

Nicole Durette

SVP, Advertising Sales A+E Global Media

MEDIA’S HIGH STAKES FUTURE: NAVIGATING DISRUPTION, FRAGMENTATION & OPPORTUNITY

The media ecosystem is evolving faster than ever, reshaped by AI disruption, shifting consumer expectations, fragmented channels, and unprecedented measurement pressures. Today’s media leaders must navigate an environment where breakthrough opportunities and complex challenges collide. This keynote will examine the most critical shifts shaping the future of media and explore how industry leaders are balancing innovation with responsibility. Hear where the industry is headed and what it will take to win in a marketplace that demands both innovation and accountability.

Bob Liodice

Chief Executive Officer ANA

INDUSTRY CROSS-MEDIA MEASUREMENT

Bill Tucker will share how Aquila, an industry leading marketer-led measurement initiative, is enabling true cross‑media planning through deduplicated reach and frequency across the walled gardens, digital and broadcast environments. Built on privacy‑safe, first‑party, tagless data, Aquila represents unprecedented collaboration among advertisers, platforms, and broadcasters.

Bill Tucker

CEO Aquila LLC

HOST OPENING REMARKS

Maria Givens

VP, Head of Media & Digital Platforms Bayer

TRANSFORMING MEDIA: A CALL FOR REINVENTION & CONSUMER-DRIVEN GROWTH

The media landscape is transforming faster now than at any time in recent history. Exponential fragmentation of communication channels, the merging of media and retail, and the accelerated growth of digital commerce are all fueled by breakthroughs in data and digital technology. The pace of change we are witnessing is not just about keeping up; it’s about reinvention in service to consumers while driving growth.

Marc Pritchard

Chief Brand Officer The Procter & Gamble Company

GLOBAL CHIEF MEDIA OFFICER KEYNOTE

Shenan Reed

Global Chief Media Officer General Motors

FIRESTARTER SESSION BY GROUNDTRUTH: WHAT ACTUALLY DRIVES PURCHASES & STORE VISITS IN 2026

AI is everywhere, measurement is fragmented, and budgets are under scrutiny. Yet the core question remains the same: what actually moves someone from ad exposure to intent, a store visit, and ultimately a purchase? Learn what’s truly driving consumers to stores and checkouts this year and hear the three key ingredients behind media campaigns that consistently deliver measurable lifts in store visits and sales.

Rosie O’Meara

Chief Executive Officer GroundTruth

THRIVING IN TECTONIC TIMES

We are no longer in transformational times. We are in tectonic times. Rishad will share the five tectonic shifts we are all going through. How the mediascape is being ruptured and marketing reshaped. Most importantly, Rishad will share how we can all thrive and lead today.

Rishad Tobaccowala

Author Rethinking Work

SOCIAL & MULTIPLATFORM CREATIVE ARCHITECTURES THAT DRIVE MEANINGFUL IMPACT

In today’s media landscape, innovation isn’t about choosing between influencers or premium talent, it’s about designing the right social and multiplatform creative architecture and delivering measurable results. In this session, A+E Global Media shares how distinct campaign models — from influencer-led, social-first storytelling to talent-driven, full-funnel integrations spanning linear, digital, shoppable CTV, and experiential — can drive favorability, consideration, and recommendation when executed cohesively across platforms. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for building integrated partnerships that balance creativity with performance.

Stephanie Mokas

Senior Director, Media Solutions A+E Global Media

THE CREATOR ECONOMY: CENTRAL, COMPETITIVE, COMPLEX

In just a few short years, creator marketing has become a critical plank in many marketers’ strategies. Over that same period, it has also become significantly harder to navigate, as rising competition, increased scrutiny, and growing performance pressure reshape the landscape. In this session, eMarketer will break down where those pressures are coming from and what they mean for marketers, offering a clear-eyed view of where this rapidly evolving space is headed.

Please note this session will only be played for the virtual attendees when lunch begins for our in-person attendees.

Max Willens

Principal Analyst, Social Media and the Creator Economy eMarketer

YOUR MEASUREMENT IS GETTING CREATIVE WRONG

In an era of data-driven precision, many brands are realizing that traditional measurement techniques often leave the ‘heart’ of the campaign, the creative, in a statistical blind spot. This session explores why standard approaches frequently misattribute creative performance and what can be done to fix it. Attendees will walk away with a roadmap for evolving their measurement to better isolate the creative impact, finally giving the ‘big idea’ the credit it deserves.

Mike Finnerty

US President Mutinex

MANAGING MULTI-BRAND PORTFOLIOS: UNITY WITHOUT UNIFORMITY

This session will share how Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ AI-enabled approach aligns messaging across distinct brands. You’ll hear how shared frameworks, precision targeting, scalable creative and measurement systems create efficiencies and drive performance. This session is relevant for advertisers of all sizes, from the largest brands to the smallest teams.

Scott Strickland

Chief Commercial Officer Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

HOW BRANDS REALLY GROW: WHAT RETAIL MEDIA MARKETERS NEED TO KNOW

For years, advertisers have invested heavily in media channels that look impressive on dashboards but fail to deliver true brand growth. Search and social often claim credit for sales that would have happened anyway - providing attribution, not incrementality. Meanwhile, marketing mix models tend to favor high-reach channels while undervaluing retail media’s impact. The result? Misallocated budgets and missed opportunities. In this session, independent analyst Andrew Lipsman will reveal why retail media is currently underestimated and how it can drive real growth by building reach, strengthening brand presence, and ensuring physical availability. Whether on-site, off-site, or in-store, retail media offers brand marketers powerful ways to engage high-value audiences with media that truly moves the needle on incremental sales.

Andrew Lipsman

Independent Analyst & Consultant, Retail Media Media, Ads + Commerce

FIRESTARTER SESSION BY SIMULMEDIA: BUILDING EFFICIENT REACH: THE GLASS JAR PROBLEM

Precision targeting has become marketers’ default approach, with many TV buyers shifting budgets to targeted CTV for its promises of precision and measurability, often at high cost and with limited transparency. While CTV now accounts for roughly half of TV viewing, linear TV still delivers massive reach across sports, tentpole events, and entertainment programming, frequently at a fraction of the cost. Learn how the right mix of linear and CTV is the most efficient way to “fill the reach jar” and share practical strategies for marketers of all sizes.

Jonathan Steuer

Chief Science Officer Simulmedia

DIRECT CONTRACTS WITH PROGRAMMATIC SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERS

Increasingly, marketers are engaging directly with programmatic supply chain partners: DSPs, SSPs, and ad verification companies. Reasons for doing so are focused on transparency, control/ownership of data, and making programmatic investments work harder. This session will showcase ANA research on direct contracts with practical insight from the leader of the digital investment and ad tech partnership team at a major consumer health advertiser.

Gary Guarnaccia

Head of Investment, AdTech Bayer

INSIDE GEORGIA-PACIFIC’S AI-POWERED MEDIA TRANSFORMATION

As marketers face rising pressure to do more with less, Georgia-Pacific is showing what’s possible when AI, data, and strategy work together. Join Laura Knebusch, SVP of CPG marketing & consumer experience, for a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the world’s largest manufacturers of packaged goods is using AI to innovate media planning and optimize spend in real time to deliver more impactful connections with consumers for iconic brands including Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, and Brawny.

Please note this session will not be available for on-demand and must be watched live.

Laura Knebusch

SVP of CPG Marketing & Consumer Experience Georgia-Pacific

RETAIL MEDIA THAT PERFORMS: TURNING SHOPPER SIGNALS INTO MEDIA OUTCOMES

Retail media is evolving from an emerging channel to a core media channel, but marketers are still navigating how to translate commerce data into measurable impact. New solutions are combining the impact of retail data with Google’s AI to reach high-intent shoppers at every touchpoint. Join Google and Kroger to hear how brands are activating purchase signals across channels to drive performance, accountability, and growth.

Moderator: Brian Spencer

Marketing Director Kroger Precision Marketing

MADISON AVENUE REVISITED – AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR MEDIA

During the past 20 years, media has radically transformed itself – from channel simplicity to complexity, from advertising certainty to insecurity, from holding company growth to stagnation, and from media agency profitability to austerity. Big tech took over revenue and the technological infrastructure, media mixes shifted to low-cost programmatic, and many legacy brands suffered a serious slowdown in growth. Holding companies have attempted to reverse their deterioration through principal-based media trading and other radical means. What decisions have C-suite executives at marketers and agencies made that have worsened their outcomes? What do these executives need to now do to change course, particularly in light of AI? Madison Avenue Revisited is Michael Farmer’s newest book, following Madison Avenue Manslaughter, and Madison Avenue Makeover.

Michael Farmer

Chairman & CEO / Author Farmer & Company / Madison Avenue Revisited

HOW CONTEXT IS THE KEY TO BRAND GROWTH

In an AI-first world, brands no longer control how they show up. Content is infinite, identity is fragmented, and visibility is mediated by systems that interpret and position brands in real time.

In this environment, context determines meaning. This session explores why context is no longer just a brand safety layer or targeting tactic, but the infrastructure that connects intelligence, measurement, and optimization. How does your brand show up today? How do you want it to show up? And what actions can you take to drive brand growth. The future of marketing belongs to brands that understand and design for context.

Jonah Goodhart

Co-Founder and CEO Mobian

CLOSING REMARKS

Join attendees and speakers for an elevated, extended reception featuring cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and a light buffet. A relaxed, open‑flow format will allow for continued networking throughout the evening.

IN-STORE: RETAIL MEDIA'S MOST UNDERVALUED CHANNEL

Most media plans are built around where consumers spend their time online. Few account for where more than 90% of purchases actually happen: inside the store. This session explores how in-store retail media is emerging as a measurable channel that can drive awareness, consideration, and sales lift. Drawing on campaign data from endemic and non-endemic advertisers, we’ll show what happens when brands treat the store as a media environment.

Nolan Johnson

SVP, Media Partnerships Grocery TV

CONFERENCE HOST REMARKS

Maria Givens

VP, Head of Media & Digital Platforms Bayer

MEDIA OPTIMIZATION AT NISSAN

Allyson Witherspoon is responsible for global brand strategy, U.S., marketing communications and media, data innovation and customer experience, enhancing brand value, customer trust and insights, and brand. Allyson will discuss Nissan’s media optimization initiatives – what they did, how it worked, lessons learned, and what’s to come.

Allyson Witherspoon

Chief Marketing Officer, Global Brand Advisor Nissan

DRIVING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH AT DOLLAR GENERAL

Join Tony Rogers, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Dollar General, for an inside look at how one of America’s fastest-growing retailers is evolving its media and marketing strategy. Tony will share insights from his tenure at DG, including the bold steps taken to upgrade the company’s digital media capabilities, the rapid expansion of DG Delivery, and other innovative advancements led by his team. Discover how DG is leveraging data, technology, and creativity to connect with customers in new ways and drive measurable business impact. This session offers a rare opportunity to learn from a leader who is redefining retail marketing at scale.

Tony Rogers

Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Dollar General

SPORTS. STORY. SCALE: INSIDE “LOVE, YOUR MIND” AS A MENTAL HEALTH MEDIA ECOSYSTEM

Explore how the Ad Council’s “Love, Your Mind” campaign transforms game-day attention into meaningful action. This session will reveal how athletes, leagues, and media partners collaborate to deliver messages that destigmatize mental health and move culture forward. Hear how sports storytelling and the media ecosystem behind it can reach audiences at unprecedented scale, deliver measurable results, and drive social impact.

Please note this session will not be available for on-demand and must be watched live.

DJ Perera

Chief Media Officer The Ad Council

IN-HOUSING MEDIA

The in-housing of media has accelerated in recent years. The in-house media team at HP is a full-scale operation focused primarily on digital media planning and buying, including search, social, and programmatic. The team was built to achieve greater control over data, ensure transparency in media buying, and enable faster, more agile go-to-market activations. While most digital operations are in-house, HP maintains a hybrid model, working closely with external agencies for specific expertise, traditional media, and broader strategy/innovation. This session will take us behind the scenes on how HP's in-house media team blends internal expertise with strategic external agency partnerships for the effective management of their substantial advertising investments.

Please note this session will not be available for on-demand and must be watched live.

Karolina Tuszewicka Martínez

Head of Media – North America & Latin America HP

THE STATE OF PROGRAMMATIC QUALITY: WHAT THE ANA PROGRAMMATIC BENCHMARK REVEALS

How much of your programmatic investment is truly delivering quality? In this fast‑paced session, Tim Brown, Founder and CEO of Fiducia, unpacks the latest findings from the ANA Programmatic Transparency Benchmark, highlighting where marketers are making progress, where inefficiencies persist, and which KPIs matter most for improving programmatic performance and accountability.

Tim Brown

Founder and CEO Fiducia

CONFERENCE CLOSING REMARKS