The three-day event was filled with game-changing discussions about growth and scalability, including insights from our very own Seraj Bharwani, who moderated the One Click from Inspiration to Action panel on June 5. This panel also included an incredible conversation with Cynthia Kleinbaum, Chief Marketing Officer at MoneyLion. 

Brand Innovators always puts on an amazing event and this one was no exception. We will see you at the next one for even more exciting insights.  

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Our own Seraj Bharwani moderated the Building a Strong Brand in Chicago panel in the afternoon. This panel included the Director of Marketing at Farmer’s Fridgem, Liz Mella, Sr. Director of Brand Marketing at Simple Mills, Ashley Nazarian Findlay, Manager of Global Sponsorship Activation Market and Community Innovation at United Airlines, Derek Russell, and the Manager of Advertising & Social Media Content at United Airlines Mike Wolf. 

Panelists dove into everything brand and discussed some of their core marketing challenges. They cracked a window into their strategy, sharing brilliant insight into how they’re building a legacy for their businesses. 

As always Brand Innovators put on an amazing event – we can’t wait for the next one! 

To see more from illumin, be sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn where we share interesting news and insights from the worlds of ad tech and advertising.

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Tell me about AI without telling me about AI

Although almost every session flirted with AI in one way or another, one thing almost universally missing was the application of AI; which isn’t necessarily a bad thing since we live in a world where our LinkedIn feed is already full of “the next big, hot generative AI tool.” Instead, the narrative focused on how we, as marketers, can use AI to enhance our jobs, not replace them. By using AI as a tool, the same way we use other tools in all our Ad and MarTech stack, we can replace mundane and repeatable tasks, letting our entire team elevate how we work (which is in line with a recent EMARKETER study). Instead of spending hours sorting through the data, we can spend time actioning it. Instead of simply measuring, we can now invest cycles in applying. The takeaway: use AI to run your strategy, don’t build a strategy for AI.

Social is the medium

Gary Vaynerchuk wasn’t there to hawk his book. In fact, he outright told us not to buy it: “Download it on the torrent sites, I don’t care” if I were to paraphrase. Instead, he focused on telling us why we need to stop ignoring our social feeds. He advocates that, for the first time, “the creative creates the reach,” and CPG is the next big shift in transportation. He says it’s time to take social seriously by building ads for social, not putting your ads on social. He made a great point about putting creative and media back together, and I certainly agree.

The new T&Cs

Like a pro, Michael Kassan pushed through his personal controversies to compare marketers to the dinner table scene in Curb Your Enthusiasm, where often we are left to elevate the discussions in our circles:

(Discretion advised.)

Last year, Michael shared his new “T&Cs” and this year he went a bit deeper. A few I noted:

• Talent and Tech (roles and tools to make a CMO successful)
• Transformation (everyone is part of this new journey)
• Content drives Commerce
• Community (including skill set at the board levels)

Overheard

Other great tidbits heard throughout the 3 days:

• Monday: Does CMO now stand for Change Management Officer? As marketers, it often falls to us to embrace transformations, and this is the best time in our history to be in marketing. Let’s lead the charge in our companies.
• Tuesday: DTC means direct to consumer, or is it direct to creator now?
• Wednesday: The leadership trifecta is like an orchestra between the CEO, CFO, and CMO – and it should hum. But if procurement is in the first chair, are we letting the money lead decisions instead of creativity?

All that data

Two other big standouts should be of no surprise: cookieless and retail media. Countless articles have already been written on these topics, so I won’t delve into details here. But instead let me focus on what wasn’t said: solutions are not sitting on a database of first-party data. Too many discussions were very high-level, by the likes of Walmart, Instacart, and Target’s Roundel, leaving behind the smaller brands that will struggle when cookies are off the menu. But don’t worry, we have you covered.

And while I’m being critical, one more thing: although Kit Hoover’s addition as MC added some star power, I think a “celebrity” within our own ranks would have been more relatable. Kit seemed ill-prepared, relied far too much on the teleprompter, and added awkward pauses between some major presenters.

All that booth

We had a great time meeting other marketers and partners and fueling them for that messy middle! Thanks for all the great conversations.

On March 18 our very own Seraj Bharwani, Chief Strategy Officer at illumin, moderated an exciting Fireside Chat, Navigating Digital Shifts: A Brand Transformation Journey. This chat featured a much-valued vision from guest speaker Kacy Cole, Chief Marketing Officer of Holland America. 

Later in the day illumin hosted a private Journey Studio – the perfect opportunity to showcase the power of journey advertising. 

Brand Innovator’s continues to host incredible events and illumin was so proud to have been a part of this one. See you at the next one!

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To see more from illumin, be sure to follow us on X and LinkedIn where we share interesting news and insights from the worlds of ad tech and advertising.

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The event kicked off on day one with The Impact of New AI Developments on the Future of Marketing Panel, moderated by Alex Genov, Head of Marketing Insights and Customer Research, Zappos. Guest speakers included Brandon Larson, Head of Brand Strategy, Microsoft Cloud, and our very own Seraj Bharwani, Chief Strategy Officer at illumin. 

On March 9 Seraj also moderated an exciting panel discussion on Building an Authentic Employment Brand on a Shoestring Budget. Guest speakers included Mary Huss, Brand Storyteller at Securian, Joe Lutz, Director of Brand and Corporate Marketing at Securian, and Eric Martin, Creative Director at Securian. 

illumin was also pleased to offer a Journey Studio on March 9, showing brands the power of journey advertising first-hand. The studio provided participants the opportunity to bring customer journeys to life – demonstrating the full value of holistic journey strategies. 

As always, Brand Innovator’s put on an amazing event and we can’t wait for the next one. 

Made for marketers

Learn how illumin unlocks the power of journey advertising

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To see more from illumin, be sure to follow us on X and LinkedIn where we share interesting news and insights from the worlds of ad tech and advertising.

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Stop by our booth to recharge with something special, and we can fill you in on what’s new in illumin’s journey advertising platform. It’s a brand-new way for brands to get in front of potential customers during the moments that matter. The best part: illumin is made for marketers.

So how about it? You: recharged. Advertising – reinvented.

At POSSIBLE? Don’t be shy — say hi!

We are at POSSIBLE all week, checking out the sights, talks, and demos, and perhaps even. showing you the potential of journey advertising.  Check in below and we’ll make sure you have fuel for your journey (hint hint).

Marketing leaders gathered alongside Brand Innovators to spend the day discussing industry trends and how brands can prioritize health and wellness. Health is fundamental to the creation of resilient, vibrant brands and this event proved a vital resource for exploring how companies can better support personal and organizational wellness. 

This event, dedicated to analyzing content and connections included so many informative panels, two of which were moderated by illumin’s own Seraj Bharwani. The Optimizing Consumer Reach panel included sage perspective from HP’s Global Media Strategy Lead  Sylviane Francou and Albertsons Companies’ Director of Paid Media – Marketing Strategy Tony Colvin. 

The CMO Leadership panel also included some fantastic wisdom from Nuna & Tavopets Global Chief Marketing and Growth Officer Austin Hodges, Talkspace’s Chief Marketing Officer Katelyn Watson, and True Botanicals’ Chief Marketing Officer Rebecca Boston. 

Once again, illumin is proud to have participated in an insightful and productive event from Brand Innovators. We can’t wait to see you at the next one. 

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This exciting event let us gather with an insightful panel of CMOs to share ideas and compare best practices from the past year. Attendees could hear productive and unique reflections throughout the event, alongside exciting expectations for 2024. 

The panel held important discussions about marketing and leadership, tackling the state of CX, and how leaders can enhance the customer experience – a major priority for CMOs. Is the rapid development of tools and technology making it easier for marketers to create more engaging campaigns, or is it complicating processes too quickly for them to keep up? 

It was incredible to see so many strong leaders delve into the details of their favorite strategies for advancing contemporary marketing while analyzing the tactics and trends that made 2023 a success. Examinations of what worked and what didn’t grew into conversations about future trends and impactful changes. Where are leaders pushing their digital media strategies in 2024? Where are they investing? What patterns are worth paying attention to? Every conversation at BIMA was worth a listen. 

Alongside moderation from illumin’s own Seraj Bharwani, there were engaging appearances from Justin Holmes (Head of Marketing, Zipcar), Nancy Tao Go (CMO, Devoted Health), and Mekea Harvey (Director of Marketing, Greater Boston Food Bank).

To see more from illumin, be sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn where we share interesting news and insights from the worlds of ad tech and advertising.

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Advertising Week New York was home to several special events, providing the advertising industry with both fun and engaging networking opportunities. It was such a rewarding way to connect and exchange ideas. Not to mention, attendees also had the opportunity to be a part of Advertising Week’s Future is Female Awards for its fifth year. 

Advertising Week is always a blast, but this year it truly was an event to remember. 

How it went

Not only was Advertising Week New York a great chance to share ideas from across the industry, it was also an exciting week for illumin as we announced our latest product integration with Meta. 

We got to spend the whole week meeting with industry experts and peers over a fresh iced-coffee at our activation space, brewed in partnership with Caribou Coffee. It was also great to share ideas at our session with Erin Newkirk, CMO of Caribou Coffee and David Edelman, former CMO of Aetna/CVS (a current Professor at Harvard Business School), getting an inside perspective on the future of programmatic. 

Just down the street, we also participated in the Brand Innovators sessions, where we hosted a mini-Studio, showcasing the power of journey advertising. We also hosted an on-stage interview, diving into the travel industry with Jim Mollica, CMO at Bose, and Matt Dacey, VP of Marketing at Tripadvisor. 

Advertising Week New York was not only incredibly insightful, it was a ton of fun and we can’t wait for next year. 

To see more from illumin, be sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn where we share interesting news and insights from the worlds of ad tech and advertising.

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This year POSSIBLE was held in Miami, Florida at the Fontainebleau hotel from April 17 to 19. So, April 17 we touched down in Miami (except for a few of our team members who are lucky enough to live in the heat all year round). The gorgeous Fontainebleau was all decked out for POSSIBLE, our beautiful staircase included. We were ready to soak in the sun and see everything this event had to offer. 

The next day was spent making sure our booth was set up and ready to go for a week of journey activation. Well, we also spent a fair bit of time exploring the garden, beach, and of course, our illumin yacht. Seeing our booth come to life was magic. Watching hard work come to fruition is always a beautiful experience and this was no exception. 

Day one of the conference was amazing. Our masterclass with CSO Seraj Bharwani went off without a hitch and hearing them share key insights and valuable experience was, as always, a real treat. 

And we can’t forget the yacht! The yacht turned out to be one of the best places to relax and learn about everything illumin can do for brands and agencies. With the water waving and the music pumping it was easy to sit back and get excited about the future of journey advertising. 

POSSIBLE ended with a bang. The final evening of the conference was not just spent partying, however, we also took the opportunity to turn our booth into a full-out demo space – sharing our state of the art journey advertising platform with as many people as possible (pun intended). 

We want to thank everyone that helped bring this event to life and everyone who came by our booth to say hello. We can’t wait to do it all again next year.