Workshops
*Attendees may choose one of the workshops in each session.
11:35 AM - 12:20 PM
FEATURED WORKSHOPS
The New Strategic Imperative: Translating Between Human and Artificial Intelligence
As a community, strategists have long been relied on as translators. Interpreting the brief. Identifying and analyzing consumer research. Bridging data and creativity. And this role has only been amplified with the onset of AI as we learn to navigate the divide between human and artificial intelligence. In this interactive workshop from McKinney heads of strategy Jasmine Dadlani, Chief Strategy Officer, and Anita Schillhorn van Veen, Executive Director, Strategy, they will demonstrate the ways they facilitate collaboration, experimentation and reconciliation between AI and human intelligence to produce fresh, imaginative insights and strategies for their teams and their clients. They will demo tools including ChatGPT + Claude, AI research tools such as FocalData + Bolt, and business intelligence tools including Waldo, as well as some of the customizations they've developed to ensure nothing gets lost in translation.
Jasmine Dadlani - Chief Strategy Officer, McKinney
Anita Schillhorn - Executive Director of Strategy, McKinney
SPONSORED WORKSHOP BY
Learning to Think Like a Trends Analyst: Mastering the Art of Trend Identification
Preparing for the future can be daunting with so many unknowns, but consumer trends are often grounded in a much more stable foundation that can be tracked over time.
In this session, we will uncover what viral moments actually reveal about consumers and their daily habits and how those underlying sentiments can shape brand strategies. The packaging of a trend is often flashy and exciting, but the insights that shape every trend is where the gold often lives, if you're willing to dig for it.
Diana Kelter - Associate Director of Consumer Trends, Mintel
Pamela Marsh - Managing Director, Primary Research, Omnicom Media Group
WARC Future of Strategy Report - What Comes Next?
WARC’s Future of Strategy report is an annual study based on a global survey of strategists, that looks at the current state of planning and strategy, and where the discipline is going.
Join us as we reveal some of the key themes that emerged from this year's report including how the strategy role is changing; what skills and expertise need to be prioritized, as well as the impact of different social, cultural and technological trends on strategy development.
Ann Marie Kerwin - Americas Editor, WARC
SPONSORED WORKSHOP BY
A Guide to Modern Metrics: Exploring Return on Creative
Discover how to measure the true impact of creative. Join Cassie Taylor, TikTok’s Head of Trends and Creative Solutions, as she explores a new perspective on creative metrics and how to deliver returns on them — from creative capital and Creative GenAI, to engagement equity and quantity easing —while sharing actionable insights on how to leverage them for your next brief.
Cassie Taylor - Head of Trends and Creative Solutions, TikTok
VIRTUAL WORKSHOP
A New Creative Revolution
It’s estimated that upwards of $750 billion was spent on advertising worldwide last year. Perhaps only 6% of it is truly effective in having a transformational effect on brands. A golden age for advertising technology has not been a golden age for creative effectiveness. We find ourselves in an age of salesmanship, and now a return to showmanship is needed. Learn from Orlando Wood, author of Lemon and Look out (IPA) and creator of creative effectiveness course a.p.e. (advertising principles explained), what showmanship advertising looks like, hear about three of its principles, and how these can put you on the path to growth and profit.
Orlando Wood - Chief Innovation Officer, System1 Group
1:05 - 1:50 PM
FEATURED WORKSHOPS
Greater Humanity Through Photography
In an era where strategists are increasingly absorbed by their screens and digital tools, photography offers a powerful alternative to infuse more humanity into the discipline. In this workshop, Dino and Ed will demonstrate how strategists can harness the power of photography by showcasing practical, real-world examples of tools, techniques and approaches that can help them become better strategists and develop superior strategies.
Ed Cotton - President, Inverness Consulting
Dino Demopoulos - Chief Strategy Officer, Chroma Strategies
SPONSORED WORKSHOP BY
Think Differently: How AI-Powered Intelligence Transforms Agency Growth
AI provides new opportunities for agencies to drive growth. In this session, Jonathan Ricard, Chief Strategy Officer from Resonate breaks down old conventions and introduces paths to new growth opportunities fueled by AI-powered marketing.
Jonathan Ricard - Chief Strategy Officer, Resonate
Boring to Breakthrough: An Ecosystem in Sync Delivers Impactful B2B
The safe space for B2B marketing tends to be boring and transactional because it's a sure way to move a metric. Interesting and creative solutions can make a bigger impact on growth but past experiences or sheer lack of confidence (and risk aversion) inhibit CMOs from taking another chance on a big idea. The key lies in framing the role of any market initiative in the context of a well-oiled ecosystem, where every campaign and every interaction the company has with the market across functions (e.g. sales, product, service) matters. Marketing creates the campaigns, but every other function at the company has to deliver.
Lateef Mauricio Abro - Vice President of Connections Strategy, Digitas
George Lin - Senior Vice President of Digital, Spark Foundry
How To Bring A Human Lens To Marketing Growth
You hear about false binaries in our industry all the time, like… Strategists care about insights while Marketers care about driving business results. Our presenters reject this. Some of the best brands in the country are built on poetic insights that also create real and significant financial value. In a marketing environment where strategists are pushed to drive efficiency, automate research and crank out the next brief… how can you drive kickass results without losing your humanity? Join Kate Rush Sheehy and Neeti Newaskar from GSD&M for a hands-on workshop that will leave you with practical tools to build stronger bridges with marketers. The workshop will focus on:
- Building your toolkit for collaboration with growth marketers
- Developing new methods for effective AND insightful strategies
- Uncovering shortcuts to new audiences, channels, and category entry points
Kate Rush Sheehy - SVP, Strategy & Insights, GSD&M
Neeti Newaskar - VP Group Strategy Director, GSD&M
VIRTUAL WORKSHOP
Speaking the Language of Customer Experience In a Post-Pandemic Market
Agencies are grappling with a complex market reshaped by COVID-19. Besides internal disruptions, technology and customer experience are having a growing influence on agencies' work for brand partners and the relationship between brand and consumer. This virtual workshop will explore the question: how can we rethink our approach to make this relationship as impactful as possible?
Mike Chamberlin - Principal, Openfield