Virtual Conference: The Year Ahead in Marketing

Keynote: Key Insights from the 2026 Trends Report

Bennie F. Johnson

CEO, American Marketing Association

Molly Soat

Vice President, Professional Development, American Marketing Association

Closing the Execution Gap: How to Make Marketing a True Revenue Catalyst

The inbound playbook is officially broken. As lead volume declines across industries, marketing teams are under pressure to reinvent their go-to-market strategies. But most are focusing on the wrong problem. The problem isn’t tools or AI adoption. It’s the execution gap: the disconnect between strategy and execution that slows alignment, stalls AI initiatives, and prevents even the best campaigns from launching. Join ZoomInfo’s CMO, Tal Raz, on January 20 for a candid session on how to close the execution gap and make marketing a true revenue catalyst. You’ll learn how to: –Identify execution gaps that quietly undermine marketing performance –Apply AI in practical ways to find, target, and engage the right buyers –Align marketing and sales around coordinated, AI-powered outbound motions –Shift from reactive activity to a repeatable, revenue-focused operating model Walk away with actionable strategies to reduce friction, scale execution, and drive measurable marketing outcomes.

Tal Raz

Chief Marketing Officer, ZoomInfo

Beyond the Bush: How MANSCAPED Uses Mental Availability & Advantage to Sharpen Growth

Innovative brand growth metrics from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute – including Category Entry Points (buying situations that cause consumers to buy a product), Mental Availability (how often a brand is considered in buying situations), and Mental Advantage analysis (which buying situations a brand dominates) – are revolutionizing how Marketers guide Marketing strategies, report growth metrics, and measure ongoing brand health. This revolution is driven by a new approach to brand tracking called Better Brand Health Tracking (BBHT).

In this session, join quantilope’s Senior Solution Consultant, Gianna Saladino, alongside MANSCAPED’s Executive Director, Strategy and Insights, Scott Jensen, for a deep dive into Better Brand Health Tracking. Hear directly from MANSCAPED on how they’ve integrated CEPS, Mental Availability, and Mental Advantage metrics to launch a new brand campaign, break into a new category, and fuel brand growth.

Key Takeaways:

• From Funnels to CEPs: Learn how to identify the specific buying situations (Category Entry Points) that actually drive penetration.
  Building Mental Availability: Understand why Mental Availability is a more reliable predictor of long-term brand health than traditional brand equity scores.
• Measuring Mental Advantage: Discover how to analyze which buying occasions your brand dominates – and where your competitors are vulnerable.
• Data-Driven Creative: See how MANSCAPED translates BBHT insights into high-impact campaigns that fuel brand growth.

Scott Jensen

Executive Director, Strategy and Insights, MANSCAPED

Gianna Saladino

Senior Solutions Consultant, quantilope

Session details coming soon!

Keynote: The Year Ahead - Turning Insights from the Past into Strategies for the Future

In this inspiring keynote address, discover how understanding where we’ve been unlocks the clarity and confidence needed to navigate where we’re going. Drawing from real-world experience turning around major brands at companies like Coca-Cola, Conagra Brands, Walgreens, and Frito-Lay, this session explores the pivotal moment facing marketers today—with all its challenges and possibilities.

You’ll explore:

• Where We Are Now: The complex landscape of modern marketing, from fragmented consumer attention to the transformative impact of AI, and why this moment offers extraordinary opportunities for those ready to adapt.
• Strategic Insights for the Year Ahead: Five critical predictions that will shape marketing success, including hyper-personalization, the power of authenticity, the disappearing middle market, community as competitive advantage, and the primacy of speed over perfection—plus concrete strategies for leaning into each one.
• Your Path Forward: How to transform your unique challenges into superpowers, why excellence in small things builds capacity for big impact, and practical actions you can take immediately to lead with both data and empathy.

Whether you’re managing heritage brands or building new ones, leading teams or contributing as an individual marketer, you’ll leave this session equipped with clear predictions, actionable strategies, and renewed inspiration to do the meaningful work that only you can do.

Ryan Watson

Senior Director of Consumer Strategy and Occasion, The Coca-Cola Company

Session details coming soon!

Lasting Connections in a Digital World...How Branded Merch Creates Loyalty and Real Results

This session explores consumer behavior in a saturated digital marketplace and why physical products consistently outperform other mediums in driving memory, emotional connection and likeability. As consumers face constant digital noise, brands are struggling to create lasting impact. We’ll unpack the psychology behind why people keep certain branded items—and discard others—revealing how touch, utility, and design influence perception and recall. The discussion will also examine the rise of thoughtfully crafted merchandise as a strategic response to digital fatigue to cut through saturation, deepen engagement, and create meaningful, long-term brand impressions in an increasingly virtual world.

Melissa Ralston

Chief Marketing Officer, PPAI (Promotional Products Association International)