Sponsorship & Experiential Marketing

Opening Remarks (11:00am - 11:05am) 
Tori Carr, Director - ANA

Roundtable Discussion (11:05am - 11:25am) 

I. How a Collaboration with Vogue Helped Turn eBay Into a Go-To Fashion Destination (11:25am - 11:55am)
This presentation explores ways of working and collaborating with partners that creates breakthrough work for brands. The presenter explores how bringing media, creative and partnerships teams together resulted in a first of its kind e-commerce experience that put eBay on stage at the Biggest Fashion Event of the Year, the Met Gala.

Speaker: Benjamin Vendramin, Chief Creative & Content Officer, EssenceMediacom

II. Building Brand Universes with Giant Spoon and Reddit (11:55am - 12:25pm)
In a collaborative partnership with Reddit for Business, Giant Spoon has transformed Reddit’s digital product into a physical experience tailored for audiences at tentpole events including CES, SXSW, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and more. These brand experiences won Event Marketer’s Grand Ex “Campaign of the Year” 2023 – a testament to the magic of brand universes and their power in educating, inspiring, and building community. Join Marc Simons, cofounder of Giant Spoon – the only creative agency on Fast Company’s Top 50 Most Innovative Companies 2023 list, and #1 in its Advertising category – and Emma Rathe, Head of Event Marketing at Reddit, Inc., for an engaging session that will explore how to build format-agnostic brand universes that transform your business.

Key Takeaways:
•Key distinctions of a form-agnostic brand universe vs. a traditional experiential campaign
•How to transform passive audiences into authentic communities
•Using immersive tactics to engage with B2B audiences

Speakers: 
Marc Simmons, Co- Founder, Giant Spoon
Emma Rathe, Head of Event Marketing, Reddit, Inc. 

III. A Pulse Moment in NYC: A Look into Citizens Activation Strategy as Official Bank of the 2023 TCS NYC Marathon (12:25 - 12:55pm)

Citizens entered the New York City metro market in 2022 through the acquisition of HSBC’s east coast branches and New Jersey-based Investors Bank, with the focus of building a physical presence in the hypercompetitive finance market that is New York. Looking to authentically connect with New Yorkers using sponsorships, in 2023 Citizens became Official Bank of the TCS New York City Marathon & New York Road Runners, the premiere NYC community running organization, as an opportunity to engage communities in all five boroughs. With a digital-first mindset, Citizens strategically executed a week-long activation & takeover around NYC’s most iconic event, the 2023 TCS NYC Marathon, that engaged customers, colleagues, runners, and NYC communities.

Speakers:
Jeff McGrath, VP, Senior Brand Partner, Sponsorship Manager, Citizens
Paul Wolski, SVP, Creative Director, Miller Zell


Closing Remarks (12:55pm -1:00pm ET) 

**Schedule subject to change

SPEAKER BIOS


Benjamin Vendramin, Chief Creative & Content Officer, Creative Systems - EssenceMediacom
Benjamin’s career spans across North America from creative and entertainment companies to media agencies, including McCann, Taxi, TBWA\Chiat\Day, JWT, WP Narrative and MediaCom. In 2018 he joined MediaCom (now EssenceMediacom) with the fundamental belief that audiences do not delineate between media and creative, neither should we.
By reshaping Mediacom’s creative model, integrating media and creative teams, the agency won its first ever Cannes Gold Lion and was recognized as the most creative media agency by WARC 2 years in a row. Also in back-to-back years MC won Adweek’s Global Media Agency of the Year. Prior to EssenceMediaCom, Benjamin held creative leadership roles at WP Narrative, where in just 2 years they were awarded Small Agency Of The Year at the Shorty Awards, and at McCann, his concept for MGM Resorts won five Lions at Cannes and was shortlisted for the coveted Titanium Lion. Also at McCann, he wrote and directed his first film, The Greatest Action Movie Ever, part of an immersive social platform. The movie sold to Disney, premiered nationwide and was a winner at SXSW

Marc Simmons, Co- Founder, Giant Spoon
Marc is a co-founder of Giant Spoon, an independent, integrated agency that expands the ways people experience brands.
As the only creative agency on Fast Company’s Top 50 Most Innovative Companies 2023 and #1 in the Advertising category, Giant Spoon is known for turning marketing upside down. Obsessed with culture and driven by insatiable curiosity, the agency combines teams across creative, media, and strategy to stir shit up for ambitious brands.
Leading the agency’s experiential and ops teams, Marc is known for creating brand experiences that drive engagement and build fandom. Marc’s creative approach led to transforming 15+ monuments around the world into the Upside Down for Netflix’s Stranger Things, turning a 90,000 sq. ft. ghost town into Westworld for HBO fans, and rallying 400+ drones to transform the night’s sky for Paramount+ and Halo.
Marc’s work has appeared in the Hollywood Reporter, Business Insider, Adweek, Mashable, Forbes, Fast Company, and the New York Times. As one of Ad Age’s 40 Under 40, Marc has taken the stage at CES and Digital LA. Before co-founding Giant Spoon, Marc was the West Coast Director of OMD's Ignition Factory.

Emma Rathe, Head of Event Marketing, Reddit, Inc. 



Jeff McGrath, VP, Senior Brand Partner, Sponsorship Manager, Citizens
Jeff McGrath is an experienced sponsorship professional with more than a decade leading brand strategy in the sports & live entertainment industries. At Citizens, he led their New York market entry sponsorship strategy, overseeing a cross functional team and sponsorship portfolio that includes Citizens newest sponsorship of New York Road Runners & the New York City Marathon. Outside of work, Jeff is a passionate Boston sports fan and avid traveler who loves spending free time at the beach and with family.

Paul Wolski, SVP, Creative Director, Miller Zell
Paul Wolski is passionate about activating brands in dynamic ways to elevate the user experience. From immersive theme park and event design to retail environments, Paul has spent over three decades bringing his hands-on approach to creative innovation and brand storytelling. Leading the Miller Zell design team, he has enjoyed working with Citizens to create exceptional “out-of-branch” sponsorship activations that captivate, engage and even educate. Inspired by animation, film and fashion, Paul enjoys his free time working on his Pop Art illustration series.