Sunday, April 2
Management Practitioners Forum


7:30 - 8:25 AM – REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST

Sponsored by Analytic Partners


8:25 - 8:30 AM – WELCOME

Nancy Hill, President & CEO, 4A's

Forum Moderator:  Andrew Graff, CEO, Allen & Gerritsen


8:30 - 9:10 aM – Experiential Marketing Matters – The Final Frontier

People value experiences over physical things (they’re willing to spend their hard-earned money learning a new skill or taking an exotic vacation, or attending a concert). It’s not enough anymore to weave a brand story around a product – great film and digital can only go so far to build "authentic" brand affinity.

Experiential marketing is the final frontier for marketers looking to create "real and authentic" brand stories for their consumer. So, where is experiential now and where is it headed? 

How can we use mobile and digital to accelerate and help scale our clients’ brands? How will technologies like VR, AR and AI enable more impactful audience interaction? What can we do today to help amplify the experiences we build around the world? And more important, who ‘owns’ experiential marketing, how can we integrate it into the marketing mix, and how can mid-market and smaller budget advertisers leverage experience marketing to get a strong return?

Speaker: Denise Wong, President, GPJ Experience Marketing


9:10 - 9:50 AM – Agency Case Story – The Tombras Group

Connecting Data and Creativity for Business Results

It took sixty years for the Knoxville based Tombras Group to shift into high gear. President Charlie Tombras will describe three generations of family management, tripling in growth over the last ten years and the focus that led to Agency-of-the Year recognition. The Tombras Group has remained independent, never borrowed money and has strategically invested in a content factory, proprietary social listening and influencer tools and has their own trading desk. Charlie will share The Tombras Group game plan and share what he sees on the horizon.

Speaker: Charlie TombrasPresidentThe Tombras Group


9:50 - 10:30 AM – Nurturing Agency Culture

An agency's culture provides the platform for recruiting and retaining talent as well as a mechanism for distinguishing an agency in the eyes of clients and prospects. You will hear case examples of how highly regarded agencies have evolved their culture and the panelists will share best practices on preserving culture during periods of growth and transformation.

Moderator: Andrew Graff, CEO, Allen & Gerritsen

Panelists:
Steve Connelly, President, Connelly Partners
Karen King, President/CEO, Spawn
Sam Meers, CEO, Meers Advertising


10:30 - 10:50 AM – Break


10:50 - 11:20 AM  – 10 Tips in 20 Minutes to Tip Your Pitch in a Winning Direction

What works and what doesn’t work?  New business executives would love to be a fly on the wall in pitch meetings to witness best and worst practices from competitive agencies.  See the do's and don’ts through the eyes of a search consultant who has managed a myriad of new business pitches over the past 16 years.  Learn about the good, bad and ugly through stories and examples of what resonates and what should be buried.  Listen to Lisa give agencies the advice they need to put their best foot forward and increase their chances of winning new accounts.

Speaker: Lisa Colantuono, Co-President, AAR Partners



11:20 - 12:00 PM – What Social Media Means For You Today And Tomorrow

2.3 billion people globally use social platforms, a number that continues to grow. Social media has evolved from marketing’s bright shiny object to a crucial and integrated layer of all successful marketing programs. 

The social platforms consumers use have changed as mobile devices get ever more powerful, and technologies such as live streaming become ubiquitous. 

So which are the crucial platforms to use now? Who is doing it best? How do you measure success and collect the data that matters? Work with influencers? And achieve all of this while staying ahead of what will work tomorrow. 

This interactive session will answer your questions and leave you inspired to continue the evolution of your social media marketing efforts.

Speaker: Gemma Craven, SVP, Director of Social & Mobile, McCann


12:00 - 12:30 PM – New Member Spotlight: Team Epiphany

Team Epiphany was born of the desire to connect brands with consumers at a time when fashion, music, art and technology were converging and transforming culture. Founder Coltrane Curtis has been at the forefront of connecting brands with influencers and tastemakers by way of thoughtful matchmaking.

Team Epiphany possesses millennial and influencer prowess. Team Epiphany has grown to boast powerhouse capabilities, including cultural qualitative research and proprietary Culture Maps trend reports. Team Epiphany is a leader in the experiential marketing space and one of the few agencies that can give brands both ideation and complete event production ranging from multi-market tours, to retail experiences and trade shows, and anything imaginable in between.

Team Epiphany sits on the forefront of culture because every team member, from the staff to surrounding influencers, are actively cultivating brand narratives and creating impactful, unique, and effective advertising. 

Speaker: Coltrane Curtis, Founder & Managing Partner, Team Epiphany


12:30 - 1:30 PM – Lunch


1:30 - 1:45 PM –  THE STATE OF AGENCY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

In order to help agencies improve the focus and effectiveness of their new business efforts, 4A's and Advertiser Perceptions have partnered on a proprietary study that explores what matters to advertiser decision makers.

The marketer information that will be presented will include:

·     Agency search methods
·  Agency selection criteria and decision makers
·    Client relationship preferences
·    Marketer procurement practices
·  Emerging agency trends

The presentation will also highlight business development advice for agencies

Speaker:  Randy CohenPresident & COOAdvertiser Perceptions


1:45 - 2:30 PM – INNOVATION LABS

Many business strategists say that innovation is the key to survival in today’s business world. But without a sustained effort to learn the changing digital landscape of media messaging, consumer behavior, product development, and even new operational tools and processes, agencies may quickly fall behind in the race to profitably serve their clients.

In response, many agencies have created "labs,” specialized departments, new staff positions, dedicated time for experimentation, and other ways to keep up and get ahead. Three of these agencies—each with a different vision, but all with successful innovation practices—will discuss the whys, the hows, and the varied paths to sustainable innovation in the agency environment.

Moderator: Chick Foxgrover, Chief Digital Officer, 4A’s

Panelists:
Chuck Fletcher
, Technology Director, Emerging Experiences, SapientRazorfish
Rick Gardinier, Partner, Chief Digital Officer, Brunner
Mark Logan, SVP, Innovation, Barkley


2:30 - 3:10 PM – Creative Directors: Leading by Great Example

Today, many of us are recruiting young talent differently. We’re choosing mindset over skill set. We’re filling hybrid roles with eager young women who want to find their niche and make their mark. But our industry can still be tough without the proper mentorship and guidance.

We’ll hear from creative leaders, as they’ll share personal stories about what it took to overcome discrimination in this business. How they persevered through their careers to become the leaders they are today. How mentorship guided them then. How purpose propelled them. And how they lead by great example now.

Moderator: Jennifer Putnam, CCO, Allen & Gerritsen

Panelists:
Leyla Touma Dailey, Chief Creative Officer, Y&R Chicago and Cavalry
Melissa Healy, Group Creative Director, The Abundancy
Shanteka Sigers, SVP & Executive Creative Director, Sanders/Wingo


3:10 - 3:30 PM – Break


3:30 - 4:15 PM – The Power of Pricing Options

Pricing experts and behavioral economists know that buyers want the opportunity to evaluate different benefit features along with value and cost trade-offs prior to finalizing a purchase decision. Industry pricing and negotiating experts will discuss the importance of providing clients with a range of service, benefit and price options for all significant proposals.

Moderator: Tim Williams, Founding Partner, Ignition Consulting Group

Panelists:
Neal Grossman, COO, TBWA Worldwide, COO Americas, eg+ Worldwide, COO, The Designory
Rick Weber, SVP, Client Finance & Operations, IPG 



4:15 - 5:00 PM – Leveraging Data & Analytics
 

MPF members are interested in learning about data management platforms, software tools and analytics service providers that can complement their agency's analytics service offering to clients. The MPF audience is interested in the current state-of-the-art and they want to know how their agency can take advantage of the rapidly evolving marketing data and analytics targeting and measurement capabilities. Discussion of analytics services will include: 
•    Social Analytics
•    Web Analytics
•    Attribution
•    Reporting/Aggregation

Moderator: Susan Noonan, Executive Director of Media and Analytics, Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners

Panelists:
David Berkowitz, Chief Strategy Officer, Sysomos
Hank Buonforte, Head of Marketing Analytics and Reporting, Domo
Adam Gitzes, Sr. Digital Analyst, MaassMedia LLC
Maggie Merklin, Executive Vice President, Analytic Partners


5:00 PM – Forum Adjourns


6:00 - 8:00 PM – Welcome Reception

Sponsored by AudienceXpress