This Summer's Main Stage Content
The Screening Room will feature exclusive fireside chats & discussions,
as well as brand film screenings followed by Q&As with special guests
Monday, July 22nd - Arrival Day
“Dairy Diaries” - Why MilkPEP is Prioritizing Entertainment, Not Ads
6:00 PM - Screening Room Foyer - Food & Drinks
7:30 PM - Screening Room - Screening and Q&A
Ben James
Chief Innovation Officer
GALE
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Omar Bustos
VP, Head of Production
Crispin
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Eric Korsh
President
Scout Productions
How do you get consumers interested in dairy farming? You send Emmy-nominated sketch comedian and actress Vanessa Bayer to upstate New York for a fish-out-of-water experience that entertains and educates simultaneously. Join MilkPEP – the team behind “Got Milk? – along with its agency partners GALE and Scout Productions for a screening of the first two episodes of the humor-filled “Dairy Diaries.” Through Bayer’s experiences, viewers get an up-close look at the realities of modern dairy farming and the innovative sustainability and animal care practices shaping the industry's future. After the screening, hear from the creators about how the series came together, its incredible success on Roku, and why MilkPEP focuses on creating entertainment over ads to connect with consumers.
Tuesday, July 23rd - Day 1
How Brands Win with Stories
8:30 AM - Screening Room
Marketing is going through a revolution. Trillions of dollars are at stake. Billions of people are being affected every single day. Great brands can no longer be built through targeted advertising and clever messaging.
The solution to great brand storytelling is empowerment. It’s about improving people’s lives, one small step at a time. In this story-driven presentation, Jeff Rosenblum will use neuroscience, behavioral data and case studies to show how brands can use stories to build an army of brand champions who carry the messages forward better than traditional advertising ever could.
Influencing the C-Suite
9:00 AM - Screening Room
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Struggling to secure C-Suite buy-in for your branded content initiatives? Join our expert panel as they delve into the nuances of gaining approval and support from top leadership for brand-funded content and entertainment. Seasoned professionals Kate Pfetsch, Joshua Reiman, and moderator Marc Battaglia will share their strategies, pivotal deliverables, and insightful conversations that led to successful buy-ins. Each will share their experiences on how to effectively communicate objectives, address the pain points of C-Suite executives, and integrate content into a broader marketing strategy. Hear from the pro’s and bolster your own ability to navigate the complexities of executive approval, ensuring your branded content projects not only get the green light but also drive meaningful impact.
The Future of Immersive Brand Experiences
9:30 AM - Screening Room
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Colin Crotty
Chief Executive Officer
Hyperquake
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Marshall Thompson
Director of Strategic Growth
Hyperquake
A glimpse into the future of storybuilding in physical and immersive space, where new is no longer enough. Join Eric Hurt, Director of Immersive Experiences at Microsoft, Dan Barczak and Marshall Thompson from Hyperquake as they share how they’re leveraging storytelling to co-create one of Microsoft’s most ambitious storytelling experiences ever built—Microsoft’s flagship executive experience center—dedicated to stories of human potential.
Fireside Chat with Scott Ballew
10:00 AM - Screening Room
Marc Battaglia
Co-Founder
Story + Strategy
“People, they don’t change.”
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Artist Scott Ballew proclaims as the first line of the first song of his junior album, Rio Bravo—an unexpected remark from a man whose life has been punctuated by personal evolution. A reductive synopsis would be as follows: Texas football star turned film director turned junkie turned musician. Austin-born Ballew’s story is so compelling that a mini-doc was created in 2023 to chronicle his enticing metamorphosis.
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His resume is staggering, from his work as Yeti’s Head of Content for 9 years, directing shorts featuring Ryan Bingham, Jimmy Chin, and Margo Price, to more recent independent ventures, including a documentary on Terry Allen and a film, All That is Sacred, chronicling the hazy creative stratosphere of Key West in the 70s. The latter is a glimpse of the lives of American literary giants Thomas McGuane and Jim Harrison and superstar Jimmy Buffett. A true artistic visionary, Ballew’s latest endeavor is a near-obsessive pursuit of quality songwriting, a skill that landed him on La Honda Records' coveted roster.
Via his creative studio and production engine Leisure Rodeo, Ballew is now working directly with brands and agencies to help bring their stories and mission to life while also developing independent film and music projects.
The Power of Travel
Hosted by Marriott Bonvoy
5:30 PM - Screening Room Foyer - Beer and Wine
6:00 PM - Screening Room - Screening and Q&A
Tahiirah Habibi
Founder
Hue Society
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Marriott Content Studio presents The Power of Travel - to inspire, to transform and to build communities around the world. The Head of the Studio, Kate Pfetsch, will screen the film series and then we’ll join Tahiirah Habibi, founder of The Hue Society, for a bespoke wine tasting experience.
Wednesday, July 24th - Day 2
The Science of Immersion
8:30 AM - Screening Room
Braden Dragomir
Founder, Creative Director
Untold Storytelling
Using the smartwatches that people already wear, you can turn your audience into a real-time neuroscience panel that returns actionable insight in minutes.
'The Human Component' from Logitech
9:00 AM - Screening Room
Global Head of Communications for Workspace Solutions
+ Logitech for Education
Logitech
“The Human Component” takes us to Mogotio, a township in Kenya, where 11-year-old Leddy is captivated by space exploration. Leddy hopes to one day travel beyond our sky, and her ambition grows when Logitech and her teacher, Nelly Cheboi, arrange a classroom visit from Aisha Bowe, a former NASA Aerospace Engineer and future Blue Origin Astronaut, who is expanding the frontier of possibility for all women. For Leddy and her classmates, the experience is eye-opening -- because if you can see it, you can be it. “The Human Component'' was produced for Logitech by BBC StoryWorks, as part of Logitech’s Women Who Master global movement addressing the gender gap in STEM.
Crafting Narratives: The Power of Purpose-Driven Storytelling
9:30 AM - Screening Room
Romy Oltuski
Executive Editor, Forbes Content & Design Studio
Forbes
Pulling a page from Disney, how can brands thoughtfully weave stories, amplify their brand message, boost their presence, and do good?
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In this session, we will explore how to think outside of your sector—whether it be healthcare, finance, retail, or otherwise—to leverage your own intellectual property and forge relationships to tell meaningful stories while addressing the issues that matter most to society.
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Northwell Health’s Chief Marketing Officer, Ramon Soto, will reveal his company’s secret sauce to storytelling and entertainment marketing, providing non-traditional content that has captured the attention of critics and audiences worldwide. Plus, get a look at Northwell’s most recent HBO-streaming docuseries “One South: Portrait of a Psych Unit.”
Fireside Chat with Rock the Vote
10:10 AM - Screening Room
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Join us for an engaging fireside chat with Carolyn DeWitt, President/Executive Director of Rock the Vote, the non-profit organization dedicated to empowering young people to participate in our democratic process. This conversation will delve into their latest initiatives, strategies for increasing voter registration and turnout, and the role of digital, content, and social media in mobilizing the youth vote. Whether you're passionate about civic engagement or looking to understand the impact of content and brand storytelling for youth participation in elections, this chat promises to be insightful and inspiring. Don't miss this opportunity to hear firsthand how Rock the Vote's marketing is helping to shape the future of democracy.
'The Crux' a New Series from The North Face
5:30 PM - Screening Room Foyer - Beer and Wine
6:00 PM - Screening Room - Screening and Q&A
More details coming soon!