Leveraging Brand Activation Innovation for Success

SPARTAN: CREATING A GLOBAL COMMUNITY CONTENT PLATFORM

Spartan is the global leader in extreme wellness and endurance, which recently pivoted from live events to creating daily content that connects and inspires its 10-million strong community. Hear from Spartan's CMO, Carola Jain, on how they’ve successfully shifted business strategy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the brand to an UNBREAKABLE digital platform that serves and grows its passionate community while building and sharing meaningful health and wellness content for corporate partners. Leveraging the brand’s Founder and CEO along with a host of macro and micro influencers, the new Spartan Unbreakable content engine comprises an editorial hub — with daily recaps and dynamic reporting on nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle — a daily newsletter, a 24/7 Spartan Zoom video conference and virtual race events. 

Carola Jain

Chief Marketing Officer Spartan Race

KICK-STARTING THE ALCOHOL FREE BEER CATEGORY IN USA

Heineken® has been an iconic presence in the U.S. since the 1930’s, when ships waiting in New York harbor delivered the first imported beer as soon as Prohibition ended.

Continuing with that pioneering spirit, in 2019 the Dutch brewer launched Heineken® 0.0. tasked with revitalizing the brand and exponentially grow the anemic non-alcoholic beer segment. Borja Manso-Salinas, VP of Marketing Heineken® Brand will share their 2020 REGGIE award winning “Heineken 0.0 – Dry January” campaign with us and how a loved and iconic brand can reinvent itself being true to its positioning and values and, at the same time, open up a whole new category for consumers.

Borja Manso Salinas

Vice President, Marketing (Heineken Brand) Heineken USA

YOUR BRAND IS NOT IN THE CART

Risa Crandall of Aki Technologies shares the latest in technology to connect with the consumer based on their moments/motion with personalization all the way through the line.  Working the brands direct aligning to inventory availability, digital carting  and conversion now and in the next wave of marketing life. 

Risa Crandall

Vice President, Strategy and Sales, CPG Aki Technologies

BRAND BUILDING DURING A RECESSION

History tells us that brands who stay the course with their investment in marketing and advertising during a recession come out more successful on the other side - gaining market share and profitability. Yet, the knee jerk reaction for many brands is to hit the pause button on ad budgets when the going gets tough.

This session led by Giant Spoon VP of Strategy shares data that proves strong brands who marketed and activated consistently through an economic downturn recovered nine times faster. Economists and advertisers agree: the economy will rebound and brands will increase marketing once again. But for those who maintain a steady presence, the bounce-back will happen more quickly and with greater lasting positive effect, increasing a brand's long-term value.

Adam Wiese

Vice President, Strategy Giant Spoon

THE MACALLAN EDITION NO. 5: TELLING THE STORY BEHIND THE ART & SCIENCE OF WHISKY

Founded in 1824, The Macallan is one of the worlds’ most admired and awarded single malt Scotch whiskies. This past summer, The Macallan launched Edition No. 5, the fifth bottle in its annual limited edition series. This expression celebrates the all-natural color of The Macallan whiskies. In order to bring this story to life, The Macallan collaborated with the Pantone Color Institute to create an unique shade that was inspired by the complexity of the whisky-making process: “The Macallan Edition Purple.”

A coordinated global launch explored the complexity of color through the lens of art and science. Markets around the world unveiled the newly created shade of purple while underscoring the natural color of The Macallan through 360-degree, omnichannel, innovative programming. The launch efforts included multi-phase disruptive and educational social strategy, content development, influencer partnerships, PR and more. The program culminated with an immersive consumer experiential activation at The Oculus at the World Trade Center in NYC, where the product and color were revealed for the first time to the world. Sam Leotta, The Macallan Brand Director for the Americas, will share the strategy and results behind this multiple award-nominated campaign and will be joined by RJ Whittington, The Macallan Brand Manager.

Samantha Leotta

Brand Director, Americas The Macallan at Edrington