Board members had been planning this conference for months, but success is determined in a lot of well-planned details that assure quality speakers who are prepared with smart professional content. The venue, technology, foodservice and hundreds of other details can have an impact on profitability and living up to the ambitious goal of being relevant. The chapter mission to advance the study and practice of marketing is also an important measure of this and all of our programmimg.
This conference scores high marks. Notable was the quality of presentations and the smooth transitions from speaker to speaker. While the audience had opportunities to move to breakout sessions, I stayed put in the auditorium for Kathy Button Bell (CMO of Emerson), Jeff Stevens (Owner of Wellbeing), Hafiz Huda (former Creative Director at Amazon), Mitch Meyers (CEO of BeLeaf Company) and Tara Rogers-Ellis (co-founder of MOJO PR). As a bonus, conference goers had the opportunity to visit local agencies 2e Creative, Coolfire and New Honor Society in the afternoon.
Heidi Singleton deserves special recognition for taking on conference co-chair responsibilities. She was instrumental in the critical program and technology support for speaker interface, PowerPoint, sound and more. She lead the effort to keep the program focused on its name, FORESIGHT 2020: A LOOK AT WHAT MATTERS NEXT.
Congratulations to all at AMA St. Louis and all of those who made this the 03.06.2020 conference among the best in 59 years.
Here's the summary of events as posted on chapter website:
59th Annual Saint Louis AMA Conference
March 6, 2020 at the Danforth Plant Science Center
March 6, 2020 at the Danforth Plant Science Center
Be inspired by global thought leaders on what matters next in
the future of marketing.
Conference
Program:
7:30 to 8:00 Registration and
Networking
8:00
to 8:15 Welcome – AT&T Auditorium
8:15
to 8:50 – AT&T Auditorium
Kathy Button-Bell, Senior Vice President
and Chief Marketing Officer, Emerson
The Demand for Authentic Purpose for all Businesses in 2020
Customers, investors, corporate boards, the Business
Roundtable, employees and prospective employees are all currently casting a
cynical eye toward companies and their moral compasses. The newfound
transparency offered by LinkedIn, Glassdoor and other social media vehicles
make corporations as porous as an egg shell, and just as fragile. This is
a discussion of developing authentic company values and consistently
communicating a story of rich corporate culture both inside and out. It could
be your prescription for illuminating your Purpose in 2020.
9:00-9:30 Breakout Session 1 (Choose 1)
Jeff Stevens, Owner, Wellbeing Brewing –
AT&T Auditorium
What is Authenticity?
It’s rare to see a creative brief that doesn’t include the word
“authenticity.” Every brand wants it, but what does it actually mean? Jeff
Stevens talks about his journey in creating brands and what authenticity
actually means (or doesn’t) in a creative brief and the work that follows.
Dr. Raj Sachdev, Professor, Columbia
College – Lagenberg Theater
The Future of Marketing Strategy in a Global Security and
Privacy Environment
Cybersecurity is becoming the new mark of a stalwart brand, and
its success or failure can make or break a consumer’s trust. Dr. Sachdev will
describe key cybersecurity and privacy issues that marketers can expect over
the next 5-10 years and beyond, and analyze key marketing strategies in this
ever-changing environment.
9:40
to 10:15 – AT&T Auditorium
Hafiz Huda, Fmr. Creative
Director, Amazon
Finding Human Purpose for Your Brand
In the age where every brand is trying to find a brand purpose
that can change the world, we need to become much more grounded in the daily lives
of the customers we serve. Everyone wants to break through the clutter, but if
your brand can provide a relevant opportunity for people to engage, you win in
the marketplace. Hafiz will discuss his experiences in shaping the Amazon Go
brand and how a practical approach to storytelling creates the right
opportunity for people to care.
10:30-11:00 Breakout Session 2 (Choose 1)
Mitch Meyers, CEO BeLeaf Company –
AT&T Auditorium
The Future of Cannibas Marketing
A great scholar once said, “Whoever laughs last is probably the
most stoned.” In the age where the cannibas category is becoming more
legitimate (and legal) by the year, the brands and marketers who get there
first will certainly have the last laugh. Learn about how cannibas is changing
the face of health and wellness, and how marketing will set the stage for the
adoption and explosion of this emerging catgeory.
Ryan Brown
Chief Strategy Officer, New Honor Society – Lagenberg Theater
Ready for Hire: Future-proofing your Portfolio
The ubiquity of our media, the marketing within it, and the
tools to create the content that feeds it, have placed a new premium on the
perspectives that inform the solutions we create. Yet articulating your ‘why’
behind your work is as impossible as ever in a time-starved world of goldfish
attention spans and hard-to-impress super-critics. In this session we’ll expose
how the desperation in the hunt for creative talent is changing the industry’s
filter on portfolios of work, the people behind them, and the new expectations
of creatives in the workplace.
11:10
to 11:45 – AT&T Auditorium
Tara Rogers-Ellis, Co-founder & Managing
Partner, Mojo PR
The Myths, the Truths & the Fundamental Tools to be
Successful in Business Anywhere in the World
Having worked across a number of continents, and in vastly
different cultures, Tara has learnt the fundamentals of being successful in
business no matter where you are in the world.
In today’s world, where geographies can be traversed in a day,
and business opportunities abound around the globe, knowing the basics for
building a successful business anywhere will stand you in good stead.d.
11:45
– 12:00 Student Awards –
AT&T Auditorium
12:15 Leave for Agency Crawl
2:00 – 2e Creative, 411 N 10th St #600
3:00 – Coolfire, 415 N 10th St
4:00 – New Honor Society, 555 Washington Ave
2ndFloor
