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Growth, AI and the economy were all big buzzing topics at the ANA Masters of Marketing conference, which just wrapped up its annual October run at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort in Orlando.
The event is one of the biggest gatherings of brands, marketers and agencies of the year, and its four days of presentations, breakout sessions, dinners and discussions always yield a wealth of information for attendees, who gathered this year more in-person than virtually.
Adweek took in the many presentations, networking opportunities and industry chatter to get an idea of what brands, agencies and marketers are planning for the future and how the conference helps them connect.
Growth above all else
The year’s theme was “Force for Growth. Force for Good.” and the tone was set by P&G’s Marc Pritchard, who championed growth above all else.
Pritchard framed his post-pandemic discussion by showcasing P&G brands’ recent efforts to employ previously taboo topics—such as period education and overflowing diapers—into their standard marketing pitch.
“You can’t just talk about your product: You’ve got to gain insight into consumers’ job to be done, problem to solve or what their habits are,” Pritchard said. “[Marketers] can actually transform that into a creative idea demonstrates how the product actually works, why the brand is better for people, and do it in a very creative way.”
But Pritchard neither kicked off the growth discussion nor ended it. On the first night of the conference, iHeartMedia CMO Gayle Troberman dove into data showing how marketers’ education, geographic location, viewing habits and even their love of the occasional Aperol Spritz not only conflicts with the broader market they’re trying to sell to, but may be inhibiting their companies’ growth. On the last day, FC Barcelona’s managing director of Asia Pacific and the Americas, Bryan Bachner, noted that the Catalan soccer club has opened offices in New York and Hong Kong in attempts to market to the broadest audience of fans possible.
Brands take center stage
From the conference’s main stage, brands continued to guide that growth discussion. Mastercard CMO Raja Rajamannar brought a Brazilian chef onstage and paired his presentation with the chef’s handmade chocolates to make the case for his company’s branded restaurants and their appeal as a marketing perk to regional and traveling cardholders.
Both Stanley Black & Decker CMO Tabata Gomez and La-Z-Boy CMO Christy Hoskins spoke about how a combination of nostalgia and recommitment helped pull their legacy brands back from the brink of obscurity. Meanwhile, Target-owned delivery brand Shipt’s CMO Alia Kemet and Planet Fitness chief brand officer Jaime Medeiros discussed how even their younger brands must occasionally tweak the marketing formula to remain culturally relevant.