ANA Conference: Day 2 Recap
The second day of the annual ANA Masters of Marketing was a marketer's dream. An incredible lineup of speakers, celeb spottings, and exceptional networking opportunities filled the day.
No matter where you went, you were sure to hear someone remark to another, "Aren't these speakers incredible?" And yes, they were just that good. Take a look at some recaps:
Esther Lee, SVP of Brand Marketing and Advertising for ATT gave the audience an inside look at AT&T’s brand strategy. She showed the evolution of AT&T transforming from a technology brand to a “human” brand. Showing clips from their latest TV ad campaign “Rethink Possible,” she revealed that AT&T decided to focus not on the technology, but the human connection it allows when they went "back to basics" and actually interviewed their customers.
Thomas Friedman of the NY Times spoke about his latest book “That Used to be Us,” and how the American workforce has changed completely in the last half century. In order to be competitive in the American workforce, workers need to constantly innovate and bring more relevance to their jobs. Those without jobs need to be creative in their way of adding value to a new job.
He advised that parents should tell their job-seeking children that they need to think like an immigrant, an artisan, and a waitress at Perkins. We’re all immigrants to the new digital world, we should take pride and feel ownership in our work like an artisan, and we should be hungry and always looking for opportunities to move up. Friedman's advice and talk gripped the audience and spurred many conversations.
Dana Anderson, SVP of Marketing Strategy and Communications of Kraft Foods, kept the audience laughing while teaching us how to leap. The crowd roared with laughter as this hilariously cantankerous presenter told stories of getting kicked out of a Lamaze birthing class and of her love/hate relationship with presenting.
Her advice to the marketer audience was to leap and to trust your leaping employees! She recounted stories of managers giving away blank checks to employees who performed exceptionally - much to the chagrin of Kraft's finance department. Also, meticulous and painful planning pays off in the end- the resulting campaign will "feel like a girdle yet fly like a bird."
Anthony Palmer, CMO of Kimberly Clark, showed the crowd how to put the big M in Marketing. One of the greatest challenges for marketers is convincing the rest of the company to adopt a sustainable business model; however, it's one of the most important factors for ensuring success. He also took us behind the scenes of the extremely successful "U by Kotex" campaign, focusing on getting women and girls to talk about their female health instead of being ashamed by it. Their 600M+ media impressions was achieved by creative partnerships with publishers, celebs, and other tv personalities.
One of the most well-attended panels was NBC Universal’s lunch. Brian Williams, Lester Holt, and Al Michaels discussed the jam-packed upcoming year of 2012 which includes the Super Bowl, Olympics, and the presidential election. The three men gave the audience an incredible look into their news experiences-Michaels talking about his iconic "Do you believe in miracles?" experience, and Williams and Holt recounted the time they had to evacuate Cairo due to unstable conditions.
As you can see, the day ended with a fabulous event at the Fairmont Princess resort with marketers and our own AOL employees complete with a surprise birthday celebration. Stay tuned for a more ANA recaps!
Keywords: Events
