'What They Said' at the 2022 ANA Brand Masters Conference
ANA just concluded our 2022 Brand Masters Conference, presented by Twitter. The following provides great quotes and insights from some of the conference speakers (in order of appearance).
"I've been inspired here by stories of building brands for humans, stories of creativity and courage, stories of resilience and perseverance." Amy Spiridakis, Conference Host and VP of Marketing at Target
"As you know as marketers, great brands live on the inside before they ever live on the outside. So, we had to be sure our team had a North Star of where to go." Sharon Otterman, CMO at Caesars Digital
"Our marketing needed to evolve in order for us to deliver value to our customers and consumers." Lorraine Barber-Miller, Chief Marketing and E-Commerce Officer at Philips
"Being a trusted brand gives us permission to innovate, gives us permission to talk to customers and think about customer experiences in new ways." Kate Ardini, CMO at John Hancock
"Brand Purpose without activation is BS, it doesn't mean anything." Scott Goodson, Founder and CEO at StrawberryFrog
"As much as the Great Restoration is a reset button for society, it's also a chance for brands to better show up to connect wellness and sustainability. No matter whether brands have fans, followers, or customers, fan-built worlds present lots of new marketing opportunities for marketers." Ged Tarpy, Managing Director of Global Media and Entertainment, and Tim Perzyk, VP of Global Business Marketing and Research at Twitter
"We must rise above brand boasts and provide a more authentic, more credible, and more human experience – it's about storytelling, not selling." George Olexa, Sr. Director of Brand Strategy, Partnerships, Storytelling and Social Media at Intel, and Timothy Gunatilaka, Creative Director at mcgarrybowen
"I'm always trying to remind myself and my team to step back and make sure we're always thinking of the creative first, because the media plan is only as good as the creative that you're putting in to it." Jason Horowitz, SVP of U.S. Marketing and Global Head of Media and Digital at Mattel, Inc.
"Our philosophy is that most decisions in life are two-way door decisions and that means they're reversible." Ukonwa Ojo, Global CMO of Prime Video and Amazon Studios
"Our best return-on-investment programs really happen when we sync our national brand activations and pull them all the way through commerce with our retail partners, so we're really bringing them to life for the shopper." Jennifer Mason, Customer Director of Shopper Marketing at Mondelez International
"You need to show up like it's a first date – bring the emotion and energy of your brand to your current customer relationships." Daniel Cornell, VP of Communications and Activation Planning, and Joel Walker, SVP at Blue Chip
"We know that brand building is the main driver of long-term growth and profit." Tia Cummings-Hopkins, SVP of Global Brand Marketing at Square
"Privacy is too important to your business and your customers to get wrong. Make sure you invest in a solution that provides data security and privacy protection by default, instead of as an afterthought." Jared Hand, SVP of Sales at InfoSum
"I encourage all of you, that as you're thinking about your marketing strategies and tactics to put, and keep, your consumer in your tribe first." Tai Beauchamp, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer at BROWN GIRL Jane
"Follow the consumer. That was our North Star the entire time for our re-fresh." Michelle Peterson, CMO at Pressed
"We are at our best when we are this creative catalyst helping our customers and our clients actually turn those ideas in to reality." Joe Rivas, IBM Brand, Product and Content Marketing, IBM
"Retail is ruthless – you have to drive business, but you need to drive innovation to succeed." Craig Brommers, CMO at American Eagle Outfitters, and Kenny Mitchell, CMO at Snap
"It wasn't about building an entire new brand, it was about uncovering the parts of our brand that were so special and unique." Dana Paris, CMO at Canidae Pet Food
"You need to make a stand! Let the brand stand out, and show up! And let your brand show the way for your consumer." Matthew Tilly, Executive Director of Marketing at Vericast
"There's a renewed expectation from a shopper, and from a consumer, that you are showing up as a brand in the way that is meaningful to them across the entire path-to-purchase." Colleen Kelly, VP of Trade Marketing and Industry Relations at Anheuser-Busch
"I have three recommendations for marketers interested in infusing their own campaigns with 'Brands for Humans' principles – be clear on your objectives; be clear on what your audience is asking for; and be clear and authentic with your content." Julie Spenser Washington, Chief Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience Officer at Trinity Health
"How does living the brand positioning apply to building relevance? Engage in shared interests, actively listen, lend a helping hand, and entertain them." Carl Loredo, U.S. CMO at The Wendy's Company
"We're customer obsessed, and letting them guide us when it comes to how we're connecting them. Our storytelling is more effective when we ground our efforts in insights." William White, CMO at Walmart
"Ford's Purpose is to help build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams." Suzy Deering, Global CMO at Ford Motor Company
Thanks to Amy Spiridakis, VP of Marketing at Target, for her superb job in hosting the event.
The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the ANA or imply endorsement from the ANA.