From Brand Promise to Buyer Behavior: Influencing Every Layer of the Customer Ecosystem (In-Person Only)

OPENING REMARKS

Sonia David

VP, Business Marketing Practice ANA

UNSTOPPABLE TOGETHER: WHEN INSIGHTS MEET IMPACT

When the Truist brand first launched six years ago, the company was presented with a unique opportunity to build a brand identity from the ground up, one that would resonate with all audiences and meet the needs of every client: B2C, B2B and B2B2C. Through a rigorous research and design process that considered everything from voice and color palette to creative storytelling and personalized experiences, “Unstoppable Together” was born. Each element of the brand comes together to deliver the promise of “Leaders in banking, unwavering in care,” demonstrating that when you have a trusted partner focused on your success, you become unstoppable.

Joe Smith will highlight how the Truist brand engages both consumer and commercial audiences, with a particular focus on how the company communicates with its B2B clients through precision-targeted messaging, meaningful partnerships, and purposeful storytelling. He will then showcase the Truist Championship as a powerful example of how thoughtful sponsorships create authentic brand experiences, strengthen relationships, and bring “Unstoppable Together” to life.

Joe Smith

SVP, Head of Brand Experiences Truist Bank

THE HIGHEST VALUE B2B-BRANDS

Alfred DuPuy

Director, Valuation & Strategy Brand Finance

UNDERSTANDING B2B BUYERS IN AN AI‑DRIVEN WORLD

Today’s B2B buyers expect the same relevance, clarity, and confidence they experience as consumers. Yet reaching them is more complex than ever. In this session, Tobias Puehse shares how Mastercard is applying AI, advanced segmentation, and synthetic personas to better understand real buyer needs and activate smarter customer experiences. Learn where AI investments are delivering measurable impact, how synthetic personas are being used in practice, and how realistic buyer counts can inform channel strategy and spend. You’ll get practical insights to translate data, technology, and experimentation into customer experiences that drive business results.

Tobias Puehse

SVP, Insights and Intelligence, Americas Mastercard

PEOPLE VERSUS CORPORATE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

This session explores how a complex, highly regulated B2B enterprise activates both people and corporate channels on social media to earn attention and trust with buying groups.

Attendees will hear how Broadridge approaches the balance between corporate social presence, paid programs, and the voices of relationship managers and other frontline experts. The discussion will touch on practical ways social content, governance, and activation can support brand credibility, deepen engagement across decision committees, and contribute to pipeline in a risk-sensitive environment.

Lauren Harbury

Senior Director, Head of Paid and Social Media Broadridge

FROM DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TO AWARD WINNING GROWTH: HOW KIMBERLY CLARK REIMAGINED THE B2B FUNNEL

Kimberly Clark Professional faced a familiar challenge: standing out in an oversaturated industrial market where distributors controlled the buyer relationship and only a small fraction of customers were ever in market.

For B2B marketers everywhere, this pressure is universal—how do you drive relevance, preference, and measurable impact when attention is scarce, buying cycles are long, and your access to end users is limited?

In this session, Jessica Soddy will share how the WypAll® team unlocked transformational results by re-engineering the B2B funnel, balancing always on education, smart content, and digital activation to deliver a 2.6× NSV target and 5× ROI. She’ll break down the nuanced differences between B2B and B2C funnel behavior, show why the full journey matters more than ever, and reveal the lessons learned that any marketer can take back to their organization to accelerate growth.

Jessica Soddy

Global Integrated Marketing Director Kimberly-Clark

DRIVING BRAND MODERNIZATION THROUGH STORYTELLING

Today’s business environment is crowded, noisy, and complex—and standing out is harder than ever. B2B Marketing leaders are expected to align a lot of different voices, simplify complicated strategies, and turn them into stories that actually land with decision-makers and move the business forward. Brand launches and transformations aren’t just about new logos or messaging anymore. When done right, they’re real growth drivers that require building a strong storytelling DNA into the business, involving tight cross-functional alignment, and leadership at the executive level.

In this session, we’ll dig into how modern marketing leaders can successfully position and launch brands with purpose inside complex organizations. Drawing from real-world experience leading high-performance marketing teams at both global companies and fast-growing startups, Andrew Hoerner, VP of B2B and Corporate Marketing at Early Warning®(the company behind Zelle, Paze, and Certos), will share practical lessons learned over a decades-long career in financial services.

You’ll learn how to:

• Balance Marketing Approaches within a "house of brands"
• How to handle multi-brand, multi-audience environments and balance corporate, product, and solution-level storytelling.
• Use B2B storytelling to drive real growth
• How to move past feature-heavy messaging and corporate speak to tell stories that connect with buyers, partners, and downstream audiences—building trust and accelerating adoption.

Andrew Hoerner

VP Corporate and B2B Marketing Early Warning

THE RISE OF THE CONFIDENT MARKETER: WHAT DRIVES IMPACT IN B2B MARKETING

The ANA B2B Practice’s first comprehensive benchmark study, The State of B2B Marketing Study reveals what’s working and what’s holding teams back. Many B2B marketers face challenges with attribution, brand ROI, and sales alignment. But the research also identifies a new path forward led by Confident Marketers who connect marketing to business outcomes, invest in brand, and align internal operations.

This session will share key findings and highlight senior marketing leaders who are navigating today’s challenges and driving impact. Join us if you want to gain actionable insights to build influence, clarity, and credibility in your organization.

Sonia David

Vice President, B2B Practice ANA

RECAP AND CLOSING REMARKS

Sonia David

VP, Business Marketing Practice ANA