With laid-back chic being the order of the day, it’s not shocking that the UGG brand is back with a vengeance, donned by A-listers including Dua Lipa and Kendall Jenner, while Cher was featured in the company’s latest Spring campaign. To fuel its revival, the fashion brand is leaning into purpose, community and immersive experiences to drive its next chapter.

In this session, hear from Carole Diarra, Global Vice President of Marketing at UGG, as she explores how UGG is strategizing around innovation and cultural connection and the role both will play in transforming the iconic footwear brand into a purpose-driven, global lifestyle brand.

It's not a secret; more often than not, relationships are the key to success. But how do you determine who to let in your trusted circle? And are you ready to help bring someone else along?

In this session, you'll hear from Sara Badler, CRO, Advertising & Partnerships at Dotdash Meredith, and Traci Spiegelman, Vice President, Global Media at Mastercard, about how they continue to build their squads, inside and outside their companies, the key to making sponsorship work (as the sponsor and the sponsored), and the power those relationships have to your success.

Disruptive technologies like virtual reality and the metaverse provide untapped opportunities for marketers to connect with consumers. While it’s clear these innovations are here to stay, what is less clear is how brands can stay ahead of the curve and be disruptive in their own right. As gaming innovation and technology become more sophisticated, brands need to take a step back and rethink their strategies around in-game advertising and their definitions of creativity.  
 
In this session, join Fernando Machado, Chief Marketing Officer of Activision Blizzard and Pelle Sjoenell, Chief Creative Officer of Activision Blizzard as they explore the evolving role of creativity in brand marketing through the lens of the gaming and entertainment industries. You’ll walk away understanding of how gaming connects with key human motivations and how to better approach the growing gaming community as a marketer. 

CMO Symposiums are strategically curated by the Adweek community and encourage candid, off-the-record discussions designed for the industry's leading marketers. During these conversations, we'll deep dive into relevant topics that are top-of-mind for brand marketers who continue to raise the bar for our evolving industry.

In partnership with Nielsen, Antonio Lucio, Principal and Founder of 5S Diversity, will host intimate conversations on the below themes:

PART 1: A Brand’s Blurred Lines – The growing intersection between consumer brand, employer brand, and CSR strategy and messaging
PART 2: The Creative CMO – fostering creativity, engagement and bold ideas in hybrid environment

*By-Invitation-Only / Space is limited*

The media and content landscape have seen multiple seismic shifts yet measurement has yet to fully adapt, especially with the impact of the creator economy. The expansion of creator content requires new approaches and now is the time to ensure we're measuring what matters. Join Gaz Alushi, President Analytics & Measurement, Whalar for a fireside chat with Jorge Ruiz, Global Head of Marketing Science, TikTok followed by a discussion moderated by Lou Paskalis, President & COO, MMA Global  focused on building a framework for a robust and consistent approach for measuring the impact of the Creator Economy.

Lunch will be provided.

Join Jamie Gutfreund, CMO, Whalar for an engaging discussion on Web3 and NFTs in the Creator Economy followed by an interactive session with Whalar, Tubular Labs, and creators to share best practices for mastering the creator economy.

adidas believes that through sport, it has the power to change lives. This is reflected in the way it designs products, creates for athletes, and supports its communities. Vicky Free, Head of Global Marketing at adidas, has taken the helm over the past year to build a brand that relies on authentic, human-centric stories that resonate with consumers while continuing to build sports and lifestyle credibility. Through innovation in products, partnerships and across all dimensions of sport, adidas is focused on creating a better future. In this session, join Adweek and Vicky as she explores the brand’s efforts to use marketing to propel culture forward, its continued commitment to women in sport and its focus on elevating the stories of its diverse communities.

Retail media networks are an indispensable source of consumer insights for CPGs and other suppliers seeking to build closer, authentic relationships with shoppers. This type of strategic data collaboration is most evident in the relationships between retailers and their thousands of suppliers. Hear from Asmita Dubey, CDO of L'Oreal, Kristi Argyilan, SVP Retail Media for Albertsons, and Warren Jenson, President of LiveRamp, as they discuss how to unlock business transformation through the use of interoperable infrastructure and privacy-enhancing technologies—ultimately creating a thriving new revenue stream.

As we approach the second half of 2022, it’s more apparent than ever that a new generation of consumers is poised to rewrite the playbook for successful brand storytelling and marketers must prepare. According to eMarketer, Gen Z already has an estimated collective buying power that is nearing $150 billion and will only continue to grow as we look ahead.

Evolving iconic brands, understanding the new consumer mindset, and inspiring the next generation of leaders – Anton Vincent, President Mars Wrigley North America, will sit with Adweek to discuss how Mars Wrigley is paving a path for the future. 

Content marketing is experiencing a renaissance moment, and the social entertainment era is presenting opportunities for brands to engage new audiences. Join Dash Hudson & TikTok as they discuss the shifting landscape and explore the potential for brands to make an impact and capitalize on the future of commerce.

Guinness has a rich and storied advertising legacy that has become part of pop culture, and it continues to raise the creative bar. In this conversation, Grainne Wafer, global brand director of Guinness at Diageo, talks about building a brand with creativity at its heart, how it stays relevant and influences culture, and where the business will go next.

Hyper-casual gaming is one of the fastest-growing sectors within the Casual gaming marketplace. Dominating the global Mobile gaming charts in both downloads and MAUs, this ‘TikTok version of gaming’ is inspired by of-the-moment trends on social media. Hyper-casual games are fun, easy to learn, and have the rare ability to immediately create hits inspired by viral trends as they are happening. The audience is made up of highly diverse young adults, and best yet for brands, players are ‘hyper-engagers.’

In this session, you will learn how to reach this highly engaged audience that is largely untapped by marketers. Burak Vardal, CEO and co-founder of Rollic, Zynga’s hyper-casual studio, will discuss how his team creates trends and hits, and how brands can leverage the platform to reach audiences. 

The metaverse is an ever-evolving and exciting place where brands and creators alike are reaching digital-native audiences on a global scale. Hear directly from well-established creators in the space on their methods and the new technologies they are engaging with, the communities they are helping to build for both the consumer and brands, and the impact that their work ultimately has and will have on our industry. 
 
Join Meta and Adweek at Beryte Lebanese Restaurant over lunch and hear from creators and business leaders who are leveraging new technologies to drive business results.
 

Join Whalar CEO, Rob Horler for a discussion with NBCU, Spotify and Moonbug. These legendary executives will share how they are adopting new business models and partnerships to create opportunities and manage challenges. Lunch will be provided.

Creator-led digital communities are witnessing an exciting phase of growth. Creators and their communities bring powerful advantages for marketers IF they understand this new landscape. Join our 3-part Master Class led by Steven Wolfe Pereira with notable marketers and proprietary research from Whalar and Tubular Labs. The session will also feature a special hands-on opportunity to work with creators to make your own social content.

Fresh off of set in Toronto, quadruple threat Zoe Lister-Jones discusses her experience wearing multiple hats as Writer, Creator, Director and Star of the upcoming Roku Original comedy series SLIP. Joined by Roku’s Head of Scripted Originals Colin Davis and moderated by Adweek editor Shannon Miller, the group will tackle questions including, ‘Exactly what goes into getting an original show from script to the screen?’ and ‘Why marketers are interested in aligning their brand with original content?’

*By-Invitation-Only / Space is limited*

Will our creative industry experts toast each other’s best work, or will they roast one another? Join us as we apply the principles of two iconic subreddits r/toastme and r/roastme, to a discussion with three leading creative minds who’ll share their most significant projects to date as we celebrate creative excellence, the Reddit way.

The advertising sector is one for celebrating its successes, as it should, but it rarely opens up about its mistakes and how adapting when things go wrong can enrich a project or future work and help those involved evolve.

This event will explore a few of those learning opportunities, taking an unprecedented look behind the curtain at our experts' campaigns and spit fire or honey at each other's work.

Expect a lively discussion featuring the industry's best and a rose or two to toast. 

Adweek's Creative 100 recognizes today's most innovative minds across brands, agencies, media and more. Join us as we recognize this year's honorees in Cannes at a reception packed with bold creative leaders and rising talents from around the world.

More Than Just Pretty Pictures: From Influencer Marketing to Social Proof at Scale
Social proof is the concept that what consumers say and post online is more trustworthy than anything that brands can say to consumers.  Join Mavrck for a cocktail soirée to learn how consumer brands are evolving their influencer programs to generate social proof at scale, unlocking an unprecedented return on their investment in content consumers actually trust.
 

*By-Invitation-Only / Space is limited

Everything is Better with Creators is a bold statement, but we believe that this is a rallying cry for an expanded and updated view of the marketing industry.  At this festival of international creativity, why aren’t creators more integrated into the content? Please join us for a lively debate and three part discussion with leaders in the industry.

Part 1: Hear from Ukonwa Ojo, Global CMO, Prime Video & Amazon Studios, Neil Waller, Co-Founder, Whalar and Todd Kaplan, CMO, Pepsi
where we'll pose this question: agree or disagree - is everything better with creators? What does this mean for traditional media and marketing efforts? Are creators helping or hurting your industry? Can they be taken seriously?

Part 2: Jamie Gutfreund, CMO, Whalar will share new research around Reaching The Unreachables and the shift by younger audiences away from traditional entertainment providers to individual creators and what it means for brands.

Part 3: Join Ashley Rudder, Head of Creator Partnerships, Whalar and Victoria Bachan, Managing Director, Whalar Talent in an engaging discussion with a panel of creators and what the creator economy means to them. 

Breakfast will be provided.

LEGO is one of the world's most adored toy brands the world over, loved by children and grown children/adults alike. This toy titan has creativity at its heart from product through to its marketing - it inspires and utilizes creativity. But how does it use this level of consumer engagement and fan love to ensure its continued success in the real world and going forward, virtually?   Join Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer / Executive Vice President at the LEGO Group, as she talks the importance of fans and creative storytelling. 

While more brands are recognizing the growth potential of U.S. Hispanics, for many advertisers it’s still an untapped market. In this conversation, Donna Speciale, President of U.S. Advertising Sales and Marketing at TelevisaUnivision, joins Adweek to share the power of this rapidly growing audience, the tremendous opportunity that lies ahead for brands to creatively and authentically connect with U.S. Hispanics, and best practices for driving real growth for their businesses.

During Cannes, we are surrounded by legendary work, creativity and people with ideas, knowledge, and experiences that transcend industries or moments in time. These leaders are also the legends that can provide a better explanation for what may not be obvious to everyone. Join Whalar and Adweek as we host intimate conversations with executives who will “Pay it Forward” by sharing lessons learned, lessons they wish they learned, and their POV on what’s next.  Lunch will be provided.

Fame no longer belongs to those who shout the loudest, as people are able to tune out irrelevant messages and interruptions. Today, influence has been flipped upside-down, where Creators are driving modern brand fame through authenticity, trust and participation. The TikTok Creator Effect is a new phenomenon, offering new possibilities for brands to expand their world and thrive during a period of rapid change, and proprietary research from Whalar and Tubular Labs. The session will also feature a special hands-on opportunity to work with creators to make your own social content.

From being the first brand to partner with Charli D’Amelio on TikTok in 2019 to the drop of the “Bless Your F*ing Cooch” campaign inspired by viral TikTok creator Carly Joy that garnered billions of views, eos is clearly comfortable with moving fast, taking risks and doing things that are fresh and new.   
 
In this session, join eos Chief Marketing Officer, Soyoung Kang, as she shares the beauty brand’s journey to becoming a giant on TikTok boasting nearly 900k followers and the keys to crafting cutting-edge campaigns that bridge product, retail, and innovation. You’ll walk away understanding the importance of experimentation in marketing and how to do it well, the evolving role of social media and video, and why there’s beauty in a marketer not being in complete control of the narrative.  

It’s no secret that retail media networks are one of the most important trends of 2022 with eMarketer forecasting that US Retail Media Networks will exceed $52 billion in ad sales by 2023. The growth of retail media will further accelerate as marketers look for solutions to help them unlock the value of shopper data, close the loop on attribution and prove the ROI of their campaigns. This is no exception for retailers like Best Buy leaning into the benefits of retail media and embracing emerging media to enhance the shopper experience across the buyer journey.

In this session moderated by Adweek’s Chief Content Officer, Ann Marinovich, hear from Megan Clarken, CEO, Criteo and Keith Bryan, President of Best Buy Ads & SVP of Media Strategy & CRM, Best Buy, as they explore the opportunities of growing retail media networks, how retailers are leveraging commerce data to prepare for the next phase of advertising, and what it takes to blaze the trail in the evolving commerce media space.

Don't miss your chance to meet the Ukrainian journalists and marketers behind Adweek's special issue, "On Ukraine, by Ukrainians." The issue's three lead editors—Hanna Rudenko, Dasha Andriushchenko and Sofiia Pylypiuk—will share their experiences and their hopes for how the global creative community can help their nation now and in the future.

Location: Adweek Apartment - 3/4 Bd de la Croisette (3rd Floor, above Dolce & Gabbana)

The world is filled with Marketing podcasts where CMOs talk about marketing. But the new generation of leaders is looking up to find guidance on how to deal with work and life priorities. Adweek brings a new take on traditional podcast about marketing. Home/Work shares how different types of couples approach life and work.

Hosted by AMA Marketing Hall of fame inductee Antonio Lucio,  Home/Work is about real talk on the good, bad, ugly, and extraordinary of balancing life and work. We will bring true role models of our industry together with their partners to discuss how they do it. We will showcase all types of couples; traditional and nontraditional. We will focus initially on two career households and expand it to other types of family arrangements i.e., single moms or single dads. The idea is to showcase as many possible definitions of couples and families as possible so that the new generation of leaders understands that balancing life and work will always be challenging but there are many ways of approaching it.

Kara Swisher, editor-at-large of New York Magazine and co-host of the Pivot podcast., New York Times contributing opinion writer and host of the Sway podcast is the go-to for expert analysis on all things business, technology and digital media. Swisher builds buzz regularly with dissecting the latest trends in business and technology. With NFTs, crypto, and metaverse opportunities on the rise, Swisher is an advocate for reminding the industry on how to remain agile while accelerating through this continued era of transformation. 
 
Join Kara Swisher as she delves into navigating the industry that has shaped her career, the impact of technology on work, and her experience growing franchises.

** This session has been canceled due to weather conditions.

As a leader in the fresh and packaged fruit categories, Dole continues to innovate through its purpose, putting people and the planet at the heart of everything they do. 

In this conversation, Rupen Desai, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Dole Sunshine Company, talks about building brands with conscience and its ongoing effort to build a business where people, planet and prosperity thrive together. 

As Adweek’s creative and media breakthrough agencies, Mischief and VaynerMedia have both been breaking the mold and disrupting the industry. Both have a similar ethos, but very different approaches. From differing backgrounds to styles of leadership, these agencies highlight that cultural relevance is at the root of success in the industry.   Join Greg Hahn, Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder of Mischief and Gary Vaynerchuk, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of VaynerMedia as they explore and unpack the different avenues in which they implement and view creative work. 

Over the last 62 years, Little Caesars has grown from a single store in Detroit to the third largest pizza chain in the world. During that time, the brand has established its personality, beloved character and tagline (pizza! pizza!) through memorable — and slightly off-center — advertising. But as consumer behavior shifted, Little Caesars needed to take a fresh look at how they engaged customers in a category with very little loyalty when it comes down to purchase decisions. Social currency needed to be the focus—after all, pizza is the most social food in the world. Enter a new creative agency McKinney, intent on taking Little Caesars from TV tonnage to full customer engagement. Together, the agency and Little Caesars believed TikTok was the right partner for making conversations a top priority.  Were they right?

Join Little Caesars, McKinney and TikTok at Cannes for a lively discussion around Little Caesars best-in-platform work, resulting in over 2.6MM organic views in a year, and catapulting Little Caesars to the number one pizza brand on TikTok. 
 

***This session has been canceled due to weather.

From Aspiration to Belonging: How TikTok builds relevance and connection for brands and Gen Z. A deep dive conversation into what is driving the exponential growth of TikTok for audiences and how brands can harness the momentum as a scalable strategy for growth. Lunch will be provided.

Not JUST a Transaction:
Creators have the power to do more than drive transactions they can transform and inspire the world to support and understand important social causes.

Part 1
Truth and Media: A discussion with “The Washington Post TikTok Guy”, Dave Jorgenson to explore the role of creators in informing and engaging younger audiences through relevant and essential news and information.

Part 2
Creator Careers In 2022, TurboTax reported people filing for taxes with the profession of “creator” has increased 207%. Creativity is for everyone - and a career as a creator is an accessible role for the future. It’s vital that diverse voices can succeed. This session will address ways brands can support the education and development of future talent through a “creator academy”.

Part 3
Creators for Good: Ad Council will present the innovative, Creators for Good program to share how the Ad Council is partnering with creators to drive awareness for Mental Health. 

Looking to connect with some of the most innovative and accomplished women from around the world? Don't miss this casual, community-oriented meetup hosted by Warner Media and Adweek, along with See It Be It, inVisible Creatives and Women in Marketing. There's no better place to meet new friends, connect with industry icons and even plant the seeds for future collaboration opportunities. We'll see you there!

Location: Warner Bros. Discovery Beach

For many brands, the global pandemic continues to accelerate the more humanizing approach to advertising and the critical value of diversity efforts. From comprehensive partnerships with the NFL and Live Nation, Verizon is no exception to this. With the help Mike Wente, VP of Verizon’s Creative Marketing Group, the brand is capitalizing on a pivotal moment of digital marketing transformation.

In this session, join Mike as he shares his perspective around the intersection of creativity and innovation and why these are the key pillars to brand growth and development. You'll gain actionable insights from case studies that illustrate 5G’s role in shaping the future of digital experiences, how Verizon’s technology drives creativity and innovation among its partners, and Verizon’s creative strategy and commitment to inclusive marketing.

NFTs are more than just buzzwords, web3 is the new commerce paradigm every marketer should understand. Hear from the strategists behind some of the most successful NFT brand campaigns from Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch, and beyond.

The brief for this relaxed gathering with cocktails and dinner has always been very simple: People we love. And those we want to know better. A cross-industry celebration of creativity. The people you’ve been wanting to see all week. A gastronomic buffet so our guests can pop in for a quick bite, a Master Sommelier to guide us in fine rosé tasting, and rotating co-hosts so we meet and get to know even more great people industry-wide. 

*By-Invitation-Only / Space is limited*