'Law & Order: SVU' star Ice-T, MOME chief Rafael Espinal and top CMOs gather for Variety's daylong summit examining the boom in live events, physical media and one-of-a-kind experiences Don’t doubt what you can see with your own eyes. The revival of physical media and the skyrocketing value of elaborate consumer experiences is very real and emerging as an antidote to fears that AI is changing everything. Top marketers and industry executives discussed these trends and other issues rocking the world of marketing and advertising gathered Oct. 7 in Manhattan for Variety’s Experience and Culture Summit: The IRL Advantage, presented by Outfront.
Keynote speakers for the day included multi-hyphenate media entrepreneurs Charlamagne Tha God and Questlove. Here’s an overview of the sessions. It all added up to a day packed with eye-opening business insights and great networking in a moment of massive transformation.
This session features: Grace Kao, CMO of Snap; Jimmy Knowles, global head of experiential at Canva; Kelly Mahoney, CMO of Ulta Beauty; Heather Malenshek, CMO of Land O’Lakes; Emily Silver, CMO of Dick’s Sporting Goods; and Stephanie Paturzo-Swingle, head of commercial marketing for Instacart. Knowles pointed to the growth of Canva’s annual Canva Create fan conventions as an example of how the importance of experiential events for brands. We’re not recipients of the brief any more; we’re writing the brief.” Malenshek detailed how Land O’Lakes is stretching beyond its agricultural and dairy product roots to help bring contemporary perspectives on rural America to life.
There’s a lot of misinformation that only exacerbates our culture urban-rural divide. We’re trying to affect the writers, some of whom have never left the city of Los Angeles. It’s a long game and we hope over time to start seeing shows that are much more authentic to that area.” The CEO of Outfront did not hold back on his views about how AI is disrupting marketing in his conversation with Brian Steinberg, Variety’s senior TV editor.
It’s not just about agentic advertising and marketing. It’s about agentic commerce,” Brien says. It’s important to redefine our value proposition.” IRL Advantage: Building Trust in an Agentic World This session featured Aarti Bhaskaran, head of research, consumer insights and strategy for Snap; Jeff Greenspoon, CEO of Americas for Kantar; and Stacy Minero, chief marketing and experience officer for Outfront.
Marketers need to work harder than ever to build fan communities with genuine connections to consumers. Physical media helps in that process as research shows consumers trust a brand that “shows up” in the real world via billboards, et al. We’re saying ‘Think about physical media, IRL media, as a foundation in a holistic media plan, an omnichannel media mix.’” Bhaskaran says she sees this phenomenon playing out with the Gen Z consumers that she studies.
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