A summary of insights from industry leaders on Day 1 of Advertising Week New York, Monday, October 16, 2023.
With over 400 sessions across 20+ tracks and 600+ speakers, Advertising Week New York is a key annual event in connecting industry leaders to engage in meaningful dialogue about the challenges and opportunities facing advertising, marketing, insights and tech.
Since no single person can attend all of the sessions available (that would take an organized team of people), here are some highlights from the sessions we attending on Day 1:
1. Authenticity comes from education and awareness, and the earlier we can teach that (ideally, to children), the better.
SESSION: The Authenticity Model: How Advertisers are Reaching for Representation in their Brands with Patricia Ratulangi, VP Global Communications/DEI, Nielsen; April Quinn, President, US, R/GA; Nikki Buchanan, Senior Sales Director, Multicultural, SXM Media; Vida Cornelious, VP, Creative, Advertising, The New York Times; Lydia Daly, SVP, Audience Impact and Intelligence, Paramount; Mercedes Bender, Principal, DEI Practice Lead, Ipsos Strategy3; Yvette Ellis, Enterprise Marketing Excellence Leader, Deloitte
KEY INSIGHTS:
- As a Black woman, I was often brought in to represent diversity in projects, but my diverse perspective was not considered or included when it came to strategy. – Mercedes Bender
“Train people when they’re young to be more inclusive; we can’t expect people to show up to this moment prepared when they aren’t informed and empowered to do things authentically.” – Yvette Ellis
“Teaching them what the lived experience is (vs. stereotypes); there is no excuse for not being more informed.” – Lydia Daly
2. If and when cookies go away, the industry will evolve and adapt.
SESSION: Efficient measurement with non-traditional identifiers with Caitlin Borgman, Chief Commercial Officer, ID5; Shawna Harris, Director of Data & Analytics, Women in Tech; Ali Manning, COO, Chalice; George Lin, VP Media Director, Spark Foundry
KEY INSIGHT:
“Cookies are like McDonald’s…cheap, ubiquitous…but probably not the best choice for you if you have major buying power. And if, say, McDonald’s is going away, that doesn’t mean you’re not going to eat again. And there are also limitations to the menu available.”- Ali Manning
3. AI needs better marketing that addresses worry vs. wonder.
SESSION: What to do about the gender-based skill gap in AI with Emily Wengert, Managing Director and Executive Creative Director, Huge Inc.; Candace Marks, Sr. Director, Product Management, Getty Images; Jocelyn Lee, Managing Director, Digital Advertising, Deloitte Digital; Anne Hunter, SVP, B2B Products and Go-to-Market, North America, Ipsos; Amber Coleman-Mortley, Sr. Director, Community and Culture, The Female Quotient
KEY INSIGHT:
AI needs better marketing to avoid the same pitfalls that befell NFTs – being seen as “Beanie Babies for Tech Bros.” We need to address the “Worry and Wonder” (when it comes to AI and implementation of innovative technologies – Anne Hunter
4. Paris Hilton is proving that being authentic drives incredible growth.
SESSION: Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media and Catapulting Brands into the Cultural Zeitgeist with Paris Hilton, CEO/Co-Founder, 11:11 Media and Bruce Gersh, President & COO, 11:11 Media
KEY INSIGHTS:
- Paris has had incredible growth, with Instagram organic growth of 21% in the past year, an overall audience of over 70m+ and retail sales of $4b+
“I like to work with brands that are innovative, authentic, empowering – ones I would use in real life, align with myself and my company’s values. And brands that like to have fun!” – Paris Hilton
5. “Change the problem, not the people.”
SESSION: The Revolution Will Be TELLYvised: Interview with Ilya Pozin, Founder & CEO, Telly; and Douglas Rowell, Founding President & Co-Chair, Advertising Week Latin America
KEY INSIGHT:
RE: disrupting industries, “take 20% of what’s wrong and what you’d like to see changed in an industry and change it. But keep the 80% and understand how hard it is to change consumer habits. Change the problem, not the people.” – Ilya Pozin
What insights did you discover on Day 1?