At our Planning & Buying Summit in Scottsdale, leaders from Dutch Bros, Arizona Lottery, Exverus, Media Bridge, and Good Apple shared insights on surprise-and-delight moments, retail-focused OOH, AI-driven measurement shifts, alternative sports buys, and competitive positioning.

Luke Perkins shares why AI produces "correct" work but not meaningful ideas, how the 1.7-second attention window is changing creative, and why lived human experience still drives the most impactful briefs today.

NP Digital's SVP, Growth Marketing, writes " Will AI replace marketers? Will automation eliminate strategy? Will technology outpace human judgment? The problem with those types of questions is that they completely miss the point."

Jeremy Hull shares his take on what really drives performance marketing and why strategy, experimentation, and human insight still make the difference.

At our Retail Summit in Scottsdale, leaders from Crunch Fitness, Bealls, Helzberg, SHEIN, Tecovas shared insights on nostalgia-led marketing, nano-influencers, social strategies, creator-driven products, and retention tactics.

Ryan Sullivan shared how GoodRx's "fearless ally" brand strategy led to the Savings Wrangler campaign, covering character-driven storytelling, full-funnel channel strategy, and balancing entertainment with clear communication of prescription savings.

Cadence OTC's SVP, GM, writes "AI comes in with enormous raw potential and zero context. It doesn't know your brand, your customers, or your financial targets. It's a gap in the onboarding."

Jonathan Yantz shares his take on data-driven strategy and fast pivoting, highlighting how these approaches shape media planning, measurement, and ongoing optimization.

Rene Federico talks about Primark's approach to balancing digital marketing with an in-store retail model, how the brand thinks about discovery in an AI-driven landscape, and how they leverage IP partnerships to drive brand affinity, traffic, and ultimately sales.

Quality Brand Group's Senior Marketing Manager writes, "We have moved beyond the era of simple utility. In a market crowded by choice and squeezed by inflation, Gen Z and Alpha are performing micro vibe checks."