When Gene Turner began his ad agency career, he started on the conventional route as a media buyer at McCann-Erickson, negotiating advertising deals for big consumer marketers like Sony Pictures. But he quickly jumped to what many would have considered the decidedly less glamorous side of the media services business: performance media and marketing. After cutting his teeth at direct-response giant Wunderman, focusing on business results-oriented media-buying for clients in the telecommunications and home security categories, he jumped to independent media services giant Horizon Media, where he became managing partner of its burgeoning direct marketing …

Although Reed Galen has been a Republican powerhouse for more than 20 years, this year his organization The Lincoln Project took his skills and visibility to new levels. Without Galen, Trump may have won re-election in 2020. Galen is well-positioned for his role in making an impact in American politics. The political strategist has spent years working for President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others. Since 2011, he has been the owner of Jedburghs, a full-service agency specializing in public affairs, PR and political consultancy. Yet The Lincoln …

Despite the challenges of 2020, Reonna Johnson stands out as someone who has spent the past 12 months transforming the ad industry into becoming more culturally inclusive and diverse. Although the vice president/director of marketing & business development at RPA did not intend to become one of the leading figures pushing for equality, she recognized her expertise and talents could and would make a difference and rose to the occasion. This is why Johnson is one of MediaPost’s 2020 All-Stars. Johnson has always been active in raising awareness around diversity and inclusion, albeit on a …

When the Ad Council slated its calendar for 2020, the organization had expected a busy year. Among its many projects, the group was developing messaging around registering to vote in the Presidential elections, mental health, youth vaping, Empowering Girls in STEM, as well as expanding its popular Love Has No Labels campaign.  Then, COVID-19 began to spread across the U.S., igniting the Ad Council to launch its largest communications effort in its history, all spearheaded by MediaPost's All-Star Lisa Sherman, President/CEO, The Ad Council. Sherman's ability to guide the Ad Council through these past 12 months …

Even before COVID-19, product innovation in the CPG space was hyper competitive as brands and retailers grappled with SKU rationalization. For female-led startups, the challenge was exponentially more difficult. Cue the pandemic and things turned upside down — even for giant marketers like Frito-Lay North America. Ciara Dilley, who is vice president, transform brands & sustainability, already had a full plate considering her roles in product innovation, female empowerment and sustainability as it relates to the company’s packaging. Nonetheless, Frito-Lay continued to launch healthier snack options while increasing its support of female-led companies under Dilley’s …

By any measure, Warby Parker has earned its status as archetypal D2C. How many “disruptors” startup business plans have somewhere in their pages “We propose to be the Warby Parker of X?” The decade-old brand didn’t just check every classic D2C box. Their longtime brand builder and CMO for much of that time, Lori Krauss, helped outline a lot of those boxes.  School buddies felt burned by the exorbitant price of eyewear, so they decided to undercut a monopolized industry with a cheaper, more direct channel that also had a social conscience. Famously, they sent …

Following a year of ultimate disruption, MediaPost is recognizing Claudine Patel as an All-Star for a career based on embracing disruption. As general manager of marketing for Reckitt Benckiser’s North America Health division, Patel has pushed the envelope and broken new boundaries to help connect the company’s prescription and over-the-counter brands with consumers and healthcare professionals who depend on them. During 2020, Patel spearheaded the first “TikTok challenge” in the healthcare industry, launching a public health information campaign in response to COVID-19 that brokered new partnerships to use data analytics and technology to drive performance …

"Everything comes down to reach and frequency and how it delivers your communication goals," says MediaPost All Star Russell Zingale, "but if you can get that down to how it performs for different stores and trading areas, it can make a real difference at a time like this where every dollar has to work harder."

As much as the industry's focus on data has changed, Peter Sedlarcik says he remains focused on the role media plays in activating consumers on behalf of his clients' brands.