Registration for this event is free! | Save the Date
Join us for a free virtual conference that looks ahead to what’s next in marketing. Industry leaders and trend-watchers will explore the forces shaping the marketing landscape in the coming year—from shifting consumer expectations and emerging technologies to evolving team structures and measurement strategies. Whether you’re planning campaigns or setting long-term strategy, this event will help you prepare with clarity and confidence.
Key Takeaways
- Key marketing trends to watch in the year ahead
- Insights into how AI and tech will reshape marketing roles and workflows
- Predictions for evolving consumer behavior and expectations
- Tips for aligning strategy with brand values and business goals
- Tools to help guide planning, budgeting, and innovation
Can’t attend every session? No problem. All conference sessions will be available on-demand for 6 months after the event!
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
January 20, 2026 | 10:00 a.m. CT
“Key Insights from the 2026 Trends Report“
Bennie F. Johnson & Molly Soat
CEO, American Marketing Association / Vice President, Professional Development, American Marketing Association
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
January 21, 2026 | 10:00 a.m. CT
“The Year Ahead – Turning Insights from the Past into Strategies for the Future”
Ryan Watson
Senior Director of Consumer Strategy & Occasion, The Coca-Cola Company
Day 1 (ALL TIMES IN CT)
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!
Day 2 (ALL TIMES IN CT)
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)
Bennie F. Johnson
CEO, American Marketing AssociationBennie F. Johnson is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Marketing Association. AMA is the largest community-based marketing association in the world, trusted by marketing and sales professionals to help them discover industry trends. AMA’s community of local chapters spans more than 70 cities and 320 college campuses throughout North America. AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM® professional certification, five premiere academic journals, and industry-leading live and virtual training events.
He most recently served as the Executive Director of AIGA, the largest professional association for design. AIGA grows the power of design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, business driver and catalyst for positive impact. While at AIGA, Bennie hosted the acclaimed Design Adjacent podcast and the design leadership fireside chat series from 2020 to 2022.
Currently, he serves on the Board of Overseers for Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, and is a former Board Chair of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. Bennie is also a special advisor to the People’s Graphic Design Archive. He was recently named to the Board of the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.
Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.
Bennie graduated from Yale University with a B.A. and from Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies with a M.S., Strategic Communications.
Scott Jensen
Executive Director, Strategy and Insights, MANSCAPEDScott Jensen brings over two decades of strategic leadership and innovative thinking to his role as Executive Director of Creative Strategy at MANSCAPED. With a robust background in shaping brand narratives and driving market growth, Scott has held pivotal roles at renowned agencies such as 72andSunny and Deutsch LA. His strategic insights and creative prowess have earned him industry accolades, including multiple Effie Awards and recognition in the Jay Chiat Awards. At MANSCAPED, Scott continues to champion bold, transformative campaigns that redefine men’s grooming, ensuring the brand remains at the forefront of cultural and market trends
Melissa Ralston
Chief Marketing Officer, PPAI (Promotional Products Association International)Melissa is the Chief Marketing Officer for PPAI. She has held global leadership roles across go-to-market strategy, brand development, value creation, innovation and partnerships in a variety of industries. In addition to her roles within two different promotional products suppliers, she has also worked with well-known brands developing advertising campaigns and marketing strategies. She previously served as an at-large director on the PPAI Board from 2022 to 2024 and prior to that, the PPAI Strategic Foresight and Promotional Products Education Foundation committees. A versatile leader who is experienced leading through successful change transformations, including rebranding and acquisitions, she’s keenly focused on stakeholder engagement with a collaborative approach.
Tal Raz
Chief Marketing Officer, ZoomInfoTal Raz joined ZoomInfo in 2016. As Chief Marketing Officer, she is responsible for ZoomInfo’s brand and performance marketing strategies, which focus on leveraging data-driven initiatives to strengthen brand reputation, accelerate sales growth, and enhance customer engagement, through both traditional and product-led growth (PLG) strategies. Tal oversees product marketing, demand generation, brand strategy, content, events, communications, customer marketing, marketing operations, and product-led growth (PLG). She graduated from The College of Management Academic Studies in Israel with a Degree in Business Administration Systems and Human Resources.
Gianna Saladino
Senior Solutions Consultant, quantilopeGianna is a seasoned insights strategist with a proven track record of transforming research into business impact across diverse industries, including CPG, media and telecommunications. Prior to joining quantilope, she worked at Ipsos where she focused on both quantitative and qualitative advanced methods to uncover the actionable insights that drive brand success. Gianna is a key leader in developing innovative brand-tracking solutions at quantilope, proactively bringing strategic value to her client relationships, exceeding mere data delivery to guide long-term success.
Molly Soat
Vice President, Professional Development, American Marketing Association
Ryan Watson
Senior Director of Consumer Strategy and Occasion, The Coca-Cola CompanyRyan is Senior Director of Consumer and Occasion Strategy at The Coca-Cola Company, where she brings over 15 years of experience driving brand transformation and consumer-focused strategy. Previously serving as Brand Director for Diet Coke, Ryan developed and executed a breakthrough recruitment strategy, reversing years of brand decline.
Ryan’s career spans both engineering and brand management, providing her with a unique perspective on how brands deliver on their promises from production to consumer experience. Before joining Coca-Cola, she held brand management roles at Walgreens, Conagra Brands, and Procter & Gamble, where she honed her expertise in consumer insights, category management, and brand revitalization—particularly in managing established brands in evolving categories.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Ryan earned her Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management Engineering from Purdue University and her MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Her diverse background has shaped her approach to marketing: combining analytical rigor with deep consumer empathy and creative problem-solving.
Known as a results-driven servant leader, Ryan excels at building high-performing teams and developing strategies grounded in genuine consumer understanding. Her leadership philosophy centers on turning challenges into opportunities and helping others discover and leverage their unique strengths.
Beyond her corporate achievements, Ryan is deeply committed to community engagement and mentorship. As an ordained Deacon, she leads with faith and purpose, investing in the development of others and serving her community. She is also a talented artist who uses creativity as a tool for inspiration and connection.
Ryan’s superpowers—creativity, empathy, and relationship-building—define both her professional success and her impact in the community. She is passionate about helping brands and people alike discover their unique strengths and leverage them to create meaningful change.
