Building Brands People Choose

Thursday, September 10, 2026

• 9:00 AM Breakfast & Registration
• 10:00 AM Welcome Remarks

  Brandon Gutman, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Brand Innovators

  Marc Sternberg, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Brand Innovators

• 10:10 AM Stop Planning Campaigns. Start Designing Systems

  The best brands aren’t launching campaigns – they’re building machines. Always-on, adaptive, and designed to evolve. How do we move from episodic thinking to continuous relevance? on gaming and beyond.

  Karan Kapur, Global Marketing Head – Gaming Category, Lenovo

  Jess Mara, Head of Global Community, Creator, Gaming and Small Business, Lenovo

• 10:50 AM Would Your Brand be Missed if it Disappeared Tomorrow?

  You’re not just competing with other brands – you’re competing with creators, entertainment, and the infinite scroll. What earns brand love today—and what keeps it?

  Marlene Sidhu, Vice President, Indulgent Morning & Snacking, Bimbo Bakeries, USA

  Moderated by: Jason Hanson, Director Brand & Agency Partnerships, AdQuick

• 11:10 AM From Big Moments to Daily Relevance

  Brand building vs. performance is a false choice. The real challenge is balancing cultural moments with the constant demand for content. How do you show up every day without becoming noise?

• 12:00 PM From Ads to Episodes

  More brands are experimenting with storytelling formats people opt into—series, long- form, recurring content. What separates something people watch from something they skip?

• 12:30 PM Letting Go Without Losing Control

  Creators don’t just distribute ideas—they shape them. How do you give creators real freedom without compromising your brand—or slowing everything down with process?

  Sarah King, Vice President; Senior Marketing Manager – Social Media Center of Excellence, Bank of America

  Kelsey Leetzow, Senior Brand Marketing Manager, Hanes

  Hollyn Phelps, Senior Manager, Global Creator Marketing, Lenovo

  Moderated by: Tom Hatton, Divisional Vice President – Enterprise, Bazaarvoice

• 1:00 PM Lunch
• 2:00 PM Renting Relevance: Do Big Partnerships Actually Pay Off?

  Massive partnerships—World Cup, Olympics, US Open—offer unmatched reach, credibility, and cultural relevance. But too often, brands show up for the moment and disappear just as quickly. How do you choose the right partners, activate in ways that actually matter and extend that “borrowed equity” into long-term brand impact?

  Justin Bailey, Global Consumer & Partnership Marketing, Harley-Davidson

  Laura Barefoot, NA Sponsorships, Lenovo

  Moderated by: Pete Moylan, Senior Director of Client Partnerships, DIRECTV

• 2:30 PM How the Algorithm Actually Works (And Why Most Brands Get It Wrong)

  The signals aren’t a mystery anymore—but execution still is. What do platforms actually reward today, and why are so many brands optimizing for the wrong things?

• 3:00 PM How AI Is Killing the Middle

  The rise of AI is forcing marketers to rethink where they invest: fewer, bigger brand moments or high-volume, algorithm-driven content. Is the era of mid-tier campaign production over—or just evolving?

  Santi Pochat, Vice President , Brand + AI, Lenovo

• 3:30 PM Networking Break
• 3:45 PM Designing for Distribution

  Volume, speed, and platform fluency once gave marketers an edge. Today, they’re the baseline and the algorithm decides what gets seen. In a world where everyone can create at scale, what signals drive reach and why are so many brands optimizing for output over impact?

• 4:15 PM How Bold Thinking Survives the System

  Most big ideas don’t get rejected—they never get voiced. In environments shaped by consensus and unspoken rules, marketers often self-edit before the conversation even begins. How do you create a culture where different thinking is encouraged early—and protected long enough to see the light of day?

  Whit Bowers, Director, Marketing Strategy & Planning, Lenovo

• 4:45 PM Successful Brand Alliances

  Delve into the art of co-branding, from identifying the right partner to navigating the complexities of co-created campaigns. Uncover the keys to building strategic brand alliances that drive mutual growth and elevate your brand’s positioning.

• 5:15 PM Wrap