Common, T-Mobile Leaders, Pinterest and Mars Talk the Rise of IRL Experiences, Using AI to Sell Candy and More at Variety’s Executive Studio

As a marketing enthusiast who has spent countless hours poring over industry news and insights, I find these two articles particularly captivating. The first one highlights the strategic partnerships and innovative strategies of Disney Advertising, led by powerhouses like Danielle Brown and John Campbell. Their discussions on cross-functional team meetings, client-centric approaches, and the use of AI in advertising resonate with me, as I believe that collaboration is key to success in today’s fast-paced digital landscape.


2024 Advertising Week in New York concluded, and EbMaster’s Executive Interview Studio, sponsored by Canva, wrapped up its week with a stellar lineup of influential industry pioneers and esteemed advisors. The interview studio showcased key figures from companies like Spotify, NBC Universal, Ford, and even popular music stars such as Camila Cabello.

The variety editors moderated the discussions on Thursday involving a multitude of distinguished personalities such as Common, who has won awards from the Academy, Emmy, and Grammy; Judy Lee, head of global brand experiences and programs at Pinterest; Vinayak Hegde, T-Mobile’s consumer chief marketing officer; and numerous others.

The conversation covered creating a brand, learning about consumer preferences, and keeping up with the rapidly evolving tendencies impacting young consumers from Generation Z in contemporary markets.

Below are some of the major takeaways from the second day.

Canva and Pinterest: Redefining Experiential Marketing with Creativity and Connection

Judy Lee, who leads global brand experiences and initiatives at Pinterest, and Jimmy Knowles, global head of experiential marketing for Canva, recently had a discussion with Todd Spangler from EbMaster, focusing on the fast-growing field of immersive advertising.

Over the past two years, Knowles and his team have observed an intense yearning among Canva customers for genuine, face-to-face interactions with the brand. As head of a fresh experiential marketing team, Knowles has been successful in devising methods that allow consumers to truly experience and touch the Canva brand.

Knowles stated it’s incredibly gratifying because Canva, unlike Pinterest, is fairly fresh in the field of experiential marketing. We’re still expanding our team and refining our practices there. It’s fascinating to observe how our community has engaged with this change. These insights have been instrumental in molding our experiential strategy and bringing it to fruition. The journey has been thrilling.

For Lee and her crew at Pinterest, the secret to their triumph lies in meticulous forward-planning. Their schedule stretches all the way to January 2026, neatly segmented between business-to-business and business-to-consumer initiatives.

In terms of interactions with consumers, our primary focus lies on Generation Z and millennials. Gen Z continues to be our swiftest expanding and largest user base on Pinterest, which is truly energizing as Lee stated. On the B2B front, where we collaborate extensively with our business marketing team, our approach is to make business-to-business interactions less mundane, breaking through the monotony that often arises. This is a key aspect of our creative strategy.

Global CMO of Mars Inc. Explains How Mars Uses AI to Sell You Snickers

Gülen Bengi, the worldwide Chief Marketing Officer at Mars Inc. and head of Mars Snacking’s growth division, sat down for a chat at the EbMaster Ad Week Studio to share insights on how Mars maintains its dominance in the snack market during the year 2024.

Bengi underscored the importance of crafting advertising encounters tailored specifically for each consumer segment as a crucial factor for business success in today’s competitive market. In line with this understanding, Mars developed an AI system capable of generating content, which was based on their iconic Snickers phrase: “You’re not yourself when you’re hungry.

Bengi mentioned that they collaborated with renowned soccer coach José Moreno from the European Championship, leveraging AI technology to inject some humor for fans. You might recall that Snickers symbolizes ‘you’re not yourself when you’re hungry,’ and this project aimed to mock odd behaviors or blunders we commit when hungry as part of a larger campaign.

Common Explains Why T-Moblie Was His Perfect Home for an Advertising Campaign

Vinayak Hegde, the marketing chief at T-Mobile, joined forces with Andrew Panay, CEO of Panay Films, along with a renowned artist who has won an Academy Award, Emmy, and Grammy, to talk about their partnership on the new series of T-Mobile ads starring the famous Chicago hip-hop artist. This discussion took place at the EbMaster Ad Week Studio.

Panay consistently seeks individuals with genuine, unique perspectives. With a lasting admiration for Common and his remarkable wit, it seemed only natural to invite him to collaborate on a T-Mobile campaign, given his talent.

According to Panay, he is entirely truthful and presents himself as such. We value artists who contribute to discussions and creativity, so we’ve built a fantastic collaborative partnership with them.

When Common accepted a role in advertising, he emphasized that the product should hold some personal significance for him. The mission of T-Mobile to bring people together through their services struck a chord with him, as he too, as an artist, aims to establish connections with others.

If a product doesn’t function as expected or doesn’t resonate or seem authentic, I won’t proceed with it,” Common stated. “That’s not truly representative of who I am. Finding a collaboration that we can grow together is one of the key factors.

Warner Brothers Discovery CRO Discusses Brand Revolution and Future of Global Content Business

Common, T-Mobile Leaders, Pinterest and Mars Talk the Rise of IRL Experiences, Using AI to Sell Candy and More at Variety’s Executive Studio

Bruce Campbell, who serves as both the Chief Revenue Officer and Strategy Officer at Warner Bros. Discovery, shared that he appreciates interacting directly with operational teams, including advertising sales and distribution departments. He went on to explain how he fosters unity among these sections, emphasizing potential partnerships between brands and some of the company’s upcoming films like “Wonka,” “Barbie,” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” as a way to boost revenue.

Campbell emphasized that we should utilize all our resources when dealing with brands. He mentioned the abundance of groundbreaking innovations and exceptional products available, which can help create more precise products and connect with audiences in a more tailored manner, surpassing traditional demographic boundaries.

Campbell highlighted how the partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal Studios gives them an edge on a worldwide level when it comes to offering licensed experiences like the Harry Potter theme park or Warner Bros. studio tours. He explained that at present, Warner Bros. operates in over 65 countries globally and boasts teams capable of identifying local content, tapping into local advertising markets, and fostering international expansion for the company.

Regarding AI applications, Campbell stated that numerous executives are examining and integrating possible technologies within their businesses to optimize marketing resources, boost enterprise productivity, and monitor customer interactions.

Campbell emphasized that effectively using our data allows us to create more tailored products for specific audience groups. He mentioned numerous advanced technologies using AI and machine learning that can significantly improve this process. Regarding generative AI, he noted it offers a significant opportunity but requires utmost caution in content creation.

Sean Downey on YouTube Growth and the Transformational Power of Tech at Google

Common, T-Mobile Leaders, Pinterest and Mars Talk the Rise of IRL Experiences, Using AI to Sell Candy and More at Variety’s Executive Studio

For approximately ten years now, Sean Downey – President of America and a global partner at Google – has shared that Google has integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its advertising services. In various industries, he spoke about the practical applications of this technology, which include utilizing transformation graphs and predictive modeling to understand audience behavior, scaling up operations efficiently, and extracting valuable insights from the vast amounts of data collected.

Downey stated that AI could serve as a powerful propeller for businesses, enabling them to soar to new heights. Our role is to visit these companies, whether they’re marketers or brands, and demonstrate the benefits of AI in improving their performance and achieving superior business results. We can guide them on how AI can eventually optimize their operations for enhanced efficiency.

Downey said that AI is providing exponential growth opportunities for industry leaders. He explained technology is not necessarily going to replace jobs but rather empower people to do their jobs better. Downey added that humans will continue to do the strategic work at hand and build creative ideas but will likely do so using insights from AI that will enable growth.

Downey pointed out that we invest a considerable amount of effort in making people grasp essential truths. The question is: How do they comprehend their data structures? How do they understand their areas of focus for campaigns? Downey continued, ‘The majority of individuals are employing some form of AI tool provided by Google, whether it’s Google Ads or YouTube…AI is being used to generate insights, manage media purchases at scale, or boost creativity in content production.’

Downey, having joined Google just a year after YouTube was acquired, offered his distinctive viewpoint on the platform’s growth. He marveled at the incredible transformation that led it to permeate culture, media, and ultimately become a worldwide sensation. Today, YouTube has ignited a billion-dollar creator economy and earned Emmy nominations for its content creators.

Disney Advertising Leaders Discuss Client-Centric Strategies in Sports and Entertainment

Common, T-Mobile Leaders, Pinterest and Mars Talk the Rise of IRL Experiences, Using AI to Sell Candy and More at Variety’s Executive Studio

Danielle Brown, Senior Vice President of Sports Brand Solutions at Disney Advertising, along with John Campbell, Senior Vice President of Entertainment and Streaming Solutions, held a conversation about Disney’s collaborations and marketing plans spanning multiple brands.

Brown expressed her admiration for ESPN’s tendency to embrace market advancements in streaming, data, and consumer interactions, particularly in innovation. Campbell further mentioned the addition of sponsorship possibilities and a new program named Project Elevate, designed to support underrepresented small businesses, which aligns with the company’s entrepreneurial mindset.

Brown pointed out that regular cross-department gatherings, such as those held at Disney, are crucial for making sure that all the resources within Disney’s entire advertising network are used efficiently.

Brown noted, “The Walt Disney Company is brimming with knowledge resources. By utilizing these assets, I believe it fuels our creativity… it allows us to simplify things for our advertisers and agencies. It all begins by focusing on the client’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). What are their objectives? Are they a new brand or an established one? We collaborate with Fortune 500 companies when it comes to integrations, ensuring they preserve their brand identity.

Brown explained that Disney’s application of AI combines advanced technology with a personal touch. She mentioned that Disney maintains a proprietary audience graph focused around approximately 260 million devices in over 100 million homes. Furthermore, machine learning and optimization throughout the consumer journey are significant factors, yet the human aspect of Disney’s impact on brands and their objectives remains crucial.

Brown mentioned that Disney holds a significant edge due to our extensive audience database. We possess an abundance of detailed information sets… This exclusive audience graph has further enabled us to create ‘clean room’ technology, which empowers advertisers to strategize, execute, and assess their campaigns all within the safe confines of the Disney Clean Room.

Campbell explained a significant collaboration with Hershey during the Halloween season regarding matters of ownership, sponsorship, and execution on social media, among other things. This partnership led to a highly favorable social response of 89%, a sentiment that Campbell noted is relatively scarce in today’s context.

Campbell mentioned that integrating ‘Abbott Elementary’ on Hulu isn’t just about being part of one platform, but it’s also about reaching comedy enthusiasts across the entire network. He explained that by doing this, they can broaden their reach for partners, and Disney Plus will provide an immersive experience where users are likely to spend more time.

Parbinder Dhariwal, the Vice President and Head of CVS Media Exchange, Discusses Strategies for Competing in a Market with Over 200 Retail Media Networks

Parbinder Dhariwal, holding the position of Vice President and General Manager at CVS Media Exchange, took a seat at EbMaster’s Ad Week Studio for a conversation about their strategies in attracting fresh clients and maximizing the potential of their 9,000 physical locations.

Amidst more than 200 retail media networks available, Dhariwal aims for CVS to consistently shine above the competition. To achieve this, he focuses on two key aspects: the distinctiveness of our “loyalty rewards program” and our “leading role and analytical prowess.

Dhariwal emphasized that our loyalty isn’t just a small matter; it needs to be on a grand scale. To compete effectively in retail media against established mediums that have been around for years, we must provide robust measurement capabilities that are both extensive and accurate. However, what truly sets us apart is our commitment to work transparently and honestly with the market.

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2024-10-11 03:49