INSIDE THE SUMMIT

Marketing Mobility Innovation

How do you engineer brand love for behavioral change? VELOZ’s Margaret Mohr would know. The California-based nonprofit recently launched its Electric for All campaign, voiced by none other than actor, woodworker and best-selling author Nick Offerman. Mohr shared how the campaign is resonating with different audiences and what they’re learning.

The Shipyard’s Matty Ayers also had to think long and hard about behavioral change in the mobility space when working with Joby Aviation, the electric aerial ridesharing company. It’s about overcoming audience fears, he said:

“The funny thing about fear is that it’s just wonder badly branded. The job isn’t to conquer it—it’s to re-engineer it. Fear and awe are chemically identical; one paralyzes, the other propels. The only difference is the story you tell yourself.”

Speakers

• Margaret Mohr, Director of Communications, VELOZ
• Rick Milenthal, CEO, The Shipyard
• Patti Ziegler, CMO, The Shipyard
• Matty Ayers, Chief Innovation Officer, The Shipyard
• Amand Moul, VP of Account Management, The Shipyard

Leveraging Culture to Grow Your Brand

Content fatigue is real. Scott’s SVP Jim Safka talked about brand bravery and what it takes to inject more emotion and authenticity into content, even digital content. “Phoning in the digital work and thinking it can’t be backed by emotion is wrong,” he said. And like any great work, it all starts with a tight strategic brief and clearly defined audience. Safka explains more in this session.

Speakers

• Jim Safka, SVP of E-commerce, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
• Moderated by Lauren Allen of MobileFuse

Building Brand Love Through Memorable Experiences

Ohio State Football gets most of the national attention, but the university maintains 36 (!!!) varsity sports, and CMO Tracy Hedrick said they spend time thinking about all of them. And it goes beyond the traditional marketing channels you might expect. Hedrick told us they curate theme games that have been especially popular with their audiences.

Speakers

• Tracy Hedrick, CMO, The Ohio State University Department of Athletics
• Moderated by Kelly M. of Locality

From Transactional to Emotional: Building Brand Love in a DTC World

Canadian women’s apparel retailer Aritzia has been rapidly expanding, with 130+ boutiques across North America and customers in 180+ countries shopping online … and counting. As they continue to innovate, Director of DTC Ken Pelasky shared some of their keys to their success with us.

Speakers

• Ken Pelasky, Director, DTC, Aritzia
• Moderated by Lauren Allen of MobileFuse

Finding Your Audience: Modern Tools and Tricks of the Trade

Marzetti. New York Bakery. Sister Schubert’s. And those are just three of the brands in the Marzetti family. Luke Oppliger and Michael Reda discussed the challenges of marketing brands that serve different audiences, as well as how they’re finding relevancy for heritage brands in today’s world. Opplinger emphasized the importance of finding out who you’re really talking to and where they exist in terms of their lifestyles.

Speakers

• Luke Oppliger, Head of Creative and Content, The Marzetti Company
• Michael Reda, Omni-Channel Marketing & Insights, The Marzetti Company
• Moderated by Kate Turkcan of BERA

How Archetypes Humanize Modern Brands

We’re told we have to be great storytellers, but how do you tell a great story if you don’t know the character or role you’re playing in it? Lillian Marsh gave us a crash course in using the 12 brand archetypes to evoke deep emotional connections with your audience. She showed us how this framework can be liberating, not limiting, for creative teams.

Speaker

• Lillian Marsh, Founder, TinyWins

Guest Host Breaking and Entering Interviews Goodyear

Did we mention Breaking and Entering Media was in the building? Geno and Jack sat down with Goodyear’s Linda Lollo and talked about what it took to consolidate over 80 social accounts into one global account. It was a tedious, massive undertaking Lillo likened to untangling a ball of Christmas lights. Now with that done, she can focus on the fun stuff, which she talks about more in this session.

Speakers

• Linda Lollo, Global Director of Social, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
• Interviewed by Breaking and Entering Media

Beyond Buzz: Building Cultural Relevance

It’s not about chasing trends—it’s about shaping culture with intention. The most impactful brands know that partnerships can unlock new levels of growth, but only when chosen with care. Homage’s Kelly Cahill shared how partnerships with athletes like the Kelce brothers amplified their brand; Columbus Fury’s CEO David Paitson talked about introducing professional women’s volleyball to a new market; and Nationwide’s Todd Kubli reiterated the importance of choosing the right partners for your brand.

Speakers

• Kelly Cahill, SVP, Marketing, HOMAGE
• Todd Kubli, Sr. Consultant, Sports Marketing, Nationwide
• David Paitson, Ed.D., CEO, Columbus Fury
• Moderated by Josh Rosen, Reticle AI

Building Brand Love with the Wellness Consumer

You’d think patient stories would resonate the most with health and wellness consumers, but Wexner Medical Center’s Skip Hidlay found it was doctor’s stories that got the most traction. It humanizes who doctors are, shows you they are real people, instills confidence you can trust them with your care. Trust came up with Pedialyte’s Josephine Severe too, who pointed out people see through too many claims or too much emotion.

Speakers

• William “Skip” Hidlay, CMO, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
• Josephine Severe, Senior Brand Manager, Abbott – Pedialyte
• Moderated by Tricia Allen, VP Business Development, Reticle AI

Creatively Relating to Your Audience

You can’t spell relate without r-e-a-l, and every marketer on this panel talked about how important it is to stay true to your brand. For Condado Taco’s Sara Kear, that means not spending too much time looking at what everyone else is doing. Part of it is being real with your results too; Airsteam’s Carey Walley talked about moving on when something just doesn’t stick. And then there’s AI … it powers efficiency, but for Jeni’s Danielle Keska, it’s important to ask if that’s the most important thing to your consumer.

Speakers

• Sara Kear, Chief Marketing Officer, Condado Tacos
• Danielle Keska, Creative Director, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
• Carey Walley, Director of Marketing, Airstream
• Moderated by Josh Rosen of Reticle AI