Conference Agenda

ANA MEDIA AND MEASUREMENT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEETING (MMLC)

The ANA’s Media and Measurement Leadership Council is an activist group of brand advertisers’ Chief Media and Research Officers who are responsible for the effective deployment of media expenditures and measurement tools to support investments. The MMLC identifies and solves key industry challenges to drive advertiser value and growth, utilizing working groups that foster member collaboration and mentorship.

In this meeting, we will discuss active MMLC initiatives, including (but not limited to) retail media (measurement and internal organizational alignment), influencer marketing (optimizing investment), cross-media measurement (ANA's Aquila), CTV measurement, sustainable media practices, and AI in media planning.

This session is open only to active members of the council. If you wish to join the MMLC and lead media and/or media measurement at your brand, please email Jason Trubowitz at jtrubowitz@ana.net. 

OPENING HOST REMARKS

Leah Marshall

Vice President, Digital & Influencer Marketing ANA

 INSIDE WALMART’S CREATOR-POWERED RETAIL STRATEGY

Learn how Walmart is reshaping the retail experience through the power of creators and commerce innovations. From Gen Z shopping insights to AI’s role in disruption, get an inside look into how Walmart is turning creator influence into measurable impact and why the retail giant is betting on big on shoppable social content.

Sarah Henry

VP, Head of Content, Influencer & Commerce Walmart

THE LEGO BLUEPRINT: BUILDING A TRANSPARENT PROGRAMMATIC ECOSYSTEM USING ANA’S BENCHMARKING TOOLS

Lego is applying its core principle of systematic creativity to the complexities of programmatic media. In this session, Lego shares how it partnered with the ANA and Fiducia to implement the learnings from the 2023 Transparency Study and the current ANA Programmatic Benchmark. Learn how Lego constructed a stronger, more accountable media supply chain using transparency “building blocks” — log-level data access, trusted seller strategies, and inclusion lists. This case study offers marketers a practical roadmap to identify waste, improve media efficiency, and ensure every digital dollar delivers brand-safe, measurable value.

Freddie Liversidge

Vice President, Global Media Activation LEGO

SESSION 3

PERSPECTIVE FROM A WALL STREET ANALYST

Brian Nowak leads the Morgan Stanley Internet research team. He covers 40+ companies in the technology and digital advertising sector including Amazon, Google, Meta, and The Trade Desk. According to Mr. Nowak's recent analysis, the outlook for online advertising is characterized by intensifying competition and challenges for players outside of walled gardens; e-commerce is projected to continue its long-term growth; and AI in search has both risks and opportunities.

Brian Nowak

Head of U.S. Internet Research & Managing Director Morgan Stanley

CLOSING REMARKS

Leah Marshall

Vice President, Digital & Influencer Marketing ANA

PRESENTING PARTNER OPENING REMARKS

MEDIA’S HIGH STAKES FUTURE: NAVIGATING DISRUPTION, FRAGMENTATION & OPPORTUNITY

The media ecosystem is evolving faster than ever, reshaped by AI disruption, shifting consumer expectations, fragmented channels, and unprecedented measurement pressures. Today’s media leaders must navigate an environment where breakthrough opportunities and complex challenges collide. This keynote will examine the most critical shifts shaping the future of media and explore how industry leaders are balancing innovation with responsibility. Hear where the industry is headed and what it will take to win in a marketplace that demands both innovation and accountability.

Bob Liodice

Chief Executive Officer ANA

HOST OPENING REMARKS

Maria Givens

VP, Head of Media & Digital Platforms Bayer

GLOBAL CHIEF MEDIA OFFICER KEYNOTE

Shenan Reed

Global Chief Media Officer General Motors

THRIVING IN TECTONIC TIMES

We are no longer in transformational times. We are in tectonic times. Rishad will share the five tectonic shifts we are all going through. How the mediascape is being ruptured and marketing reshaped. Most importantly, Rishad will share how we can all thrive and lead today.

Rishad Tobaccowala

Author Rethinking Work

INSIDE GEORGIA-PACIFIC’S AI-POWERED MEDIA TRANSFORMATION

As marketers face rising pressure to do more with less, Georgia-Pacific is showing what’s possible when AI, data, and strategy work together. Join Laura Knebusch, SVP of CPG Marketing & Consumer Experience, for a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the world’s largest manufacturers of packaged goods is using AI to innovate media planning and optimize spend in real time across iconic brands including Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, and Brawny.

Laura Knebusch

SVP of CPG Marketing & Consumer Experience Georgia-Pacific

MANAGING MULTI-BRAND PORTFOLIOS: UNITY WITHOUT UNIFORMITY

Marissa Yoss

VP, Media & Brand Marketing Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

PRESENTING SPONSOR KEYNOTE

DIRECT CONTRACTS WITH PROGRAMMATIC SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERS

Increasingly, marketers are engaging directly with programmatic supply chain partners: DSPs, SSPs, and ad verification companies. Reasons for doing so are focused on transparency, control/ownership of data, and making programmatic investments work harder. This session will showcase ANA research on direct contracts with practical insight from the leader of the digital investment and ad tech partnership team at a major consumer health advertiser.

Gary Guarnaccia

Head of Investment, AdTech Bayer

HOW BRANDS REALLY GROW: WHAT RETAIL MEDIA MARKETERS NEED TO KNOW

For years, advertisers have invested heavily in media channels that look impressive on dashboards but fail to deliver true brand growth. Search and social often claim credit for sales that would have happened anyway - providing attribution, not incrementality. Meanwhile, marketing mix models tend to favor high-reach channels while undervaluing retail media’s impact. The result? Misallocated budgets and missed opportunities. In this session, independent analyst Andrew Lipsman will reveal why retail media is currently underestimated and how it can drive real growth by building reach, strengthening brand presence, and ensuring physical availability. Whether on-site, off-site, or in-store, retail media offers brand marketers powerful ways to engage high-value audiences with media that truly moves the needle on incremental sales.

Andrew Lipsman

Independent Analyst & Consultant, Retail Media Media, Ads + Commerce

SESSION 12

MADISON AVENUE REVISITED – AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR MEDIA

During the past 20 years, media has radically transformed itself – from channel simplicity to complexity, from advertising certainty to insecurity, from holding company growth to stagnation, and from media agency profitability to austerity. Big tech took over revenue and the technological infrastructure, media mixes shifted to low-cost programmatic, and many legacy brands suffered a serious slowdown in growth. Holding companies have attempted to reverse their deterioration through principal-based media trading and other radical means. What decisions have C-suite executives at marketers and agencies made that have worsened their outcomes? What do these executives need to now do to change course, particularly in light of AI? Madison Avenue Revisited is Michael Farmer’s newest book, following Madison Avenue Manslaughter, and Madison Avenue Makeover.

Michael Farmer

Chairman & CEO / Author Farmer & Company / Madison Avenue Media Madness

RETAIL MEDIA MEASUREMENT

As retail media grows, advertisers must fully evaluate the respective offerings, while becoming familiar with both new opportunities and risks. With so many retail vendors, the need to establish common measurement practices and standards is great.  While retail media offer many benefits, it also presents a notable challenge – the lack of those common measurement standards, which has put a costly burden on advertisers and hindered the industry's growth. This session will review the ANA retail media measurement guideline to help advertisers optimize spend.

Jackson Bazley

EVP, Measurement for Marketers ANA

CLOSING REMARKS

Enjoy an elevated reception with attendees and speakers featuring cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres.

CONFERENCE HOST REMARKS

Maria Givens

VP, Head of Media & Digital Platforms Bayer

MEDIA OPTIMIZATION AT NISSAN

Allyson Witherspoon is chief marketing officer, Nissan U.S. and global brand advisor, where she is responsible for global brand strategy, U.S, marketing communications and media, data innovation and customer experience, enhancing brand value, customer trust and insights, and brand and product marketing. Allyson will discuss Nissan’s media optimization initiatives – what they did, how it worked, lessons learned, and what’s to come.

Allyson Witherspoon

Chief Marketing Officer Nissan U.S.

IN-HOUSING MEDIA

The in-housing of media has accelerated in recent years. The in-house media team at HP is a full-scale operation focused primarily on digital media planning and buying, including search, social, and programmatic. The team was built to achieve greater control over data, ensure transparency in media buying, and enable faster, more agile go-to-market activations. While most digital operations are in-house, HP maintains a hybrid model, working closely with external agencies for specific expertise, traditional media, and broader strategy/innovation. This session will take us behind the scenes on how HP's in-house media team blends internal expertise with strategic external agency partnerships for the effective management of their substantial advertising investments.

Karolina Tuszewicka Martínez

Head of Media – North America & Latin America HP

SPORTS. STORY. SCALE: INSIDE “LOVE, YOUR MIND” AS A MENTAL HEALTH MEDIA ECOSYSTEM

Explore how the Ad Council’s “Love, Your Mind” campaign transforms game-day attention into meaningful action. This session will reveal how athletes, leagues, and media partners collaborate to deliver messages that destigmatize mental health and move culture forward. Hear how sports storytelling and the media ecosystem behind it can reach audiences at unprecedented scale, deliver measurable results, and drive social impact.

DJ Perera

Chief Media Officer The Ad Council

SESSION 16

SESSION 17

CONFERENCE CLOSING REMARKS